The 1216 papal election was convoked in Perugia on 18 July 1216 following the death of Pope Innocent III two days earlier. The troubled social and political climate in Italy, including the threat of schism and foreign invasions, led the assembled cardinals to adopt the procedure of , delegating the election to a committee of cardinal-bishops.
The committee, which included Ugolino di Segni (later Pope Gregory IX) and Guido Papareschi, elected Cencio Savelli, aged 68, who took the name Honorius III. Honorius III was both a Roman native and renowned for his diplomatic skills, which would prove essential for navigating the papacy through contemporary challenges such as the Fifth Crusade and ongoing disputes with secular powers.
Seventeen cardinals participated in the election, while eight were absent, including several notable legates active in European affairs. The swift and nearly unanimous outcome of the election was achieved amid uncertainty regarding external pressures and the need for unity during a critical period of Church history.
There were 25 cardinals in the College of Cardinals in July 1216, including 23 curial cardinals and two "external cardinals", who did not reside in the papal curia It is known that 17 of them participated in the election:
Eight cardinals, including six curial and two "external cardinals", were absent:
The cardinals assembled in Perugia two days after the death of Innocent III. They deliberated in the enclosure, though it is not certain whether voluntarily or under pressure of the local authorities. They decided to elect the new Pope by compromissum, it means, not by the whole Sacred College, but by the committee of few of them, empowered by the rest to appoint the new Pontiff. This time the committee included only two cardinal-bishops: Ugolino of Ostia and Guido of Palestrina. On that same day, they elected Cardinal Cencio, called Camerario, aged 68, who accepted his election and took the name of Honorius III.