List of popes



This chronological list of popes corresponds to that given in the Annuario Pontificio under the heading "I Sommi Pontefici Romani" (The Supreme Pontiffs of Rome), excluding those that are explicitly indicated as antipopes. Published every year by the Roman Curia, the Annuario Pontificio attaches no consecutive numbers to the popes, stating that it is impossible to decide which side represented at various times the legitimate succession, in particular regarding Pope Leo VIII, Pope Benedict V and some mid-11th-century popes. The 2001 edition of the Annuario Pontificio introduced "almost 200 corrections to its existing biographies of the popes, from St Peter to John Paul II". The corrections concerned dates, especially in the first two centuries, birthplaces and the family name of one pope.

The term pope (Latin: papa "father") is used in several Churches to denote their high spiritual leaders (for example Coptic Pope). This title in English usage usually refers to the head of the Catholic Church. The Catholic pope uses various titles by tradition, including Summus Pontifex, Pontifex Maximus, and Servus servorum Dei. Each title has been added by unique historical events and unlike other papal prerogatives, is not incapable of modification.

Hermannus Contractus may have been the first historian to number the popes continuously. His list ends in 1049 with Pope Leo IX as number 154. Several changes were made to the list during the 20th century. Antipope Christopher was considered legitimate for a long time. Pope-elect Stephen was considered legitimate under the name Stephen II until the 1961 edition, when his name was erased. Although these changes are no longer controversial, a number of modern lists still include this "first Pope Stephen II". It is probable that this is because they are based on the 1913 edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia, which is in the public domain.

A significant number of these popes have been recognized as saints, including 48 out of the first 50 consecutive popes, and others are in the sainthood process. The first 31 popes, with the exception of Zephyrinus, died as martyrs (see List of murdered popes).

8th century

 * - style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"
 * (never con- secrated)
 * 22 March 752 – 25 March 752 (3 days) (Never took office as pope)
 * Pope-elect_Stephen.jpg
 * Pope-elect Stephen (Stephen II) Papa Electus STEPHANUS (STEPHANUS Secundus)
 * Stéfanos
 * style="font-size:85%"| Rome, Duchy of Rome (formally Eastern Roman Empire)
 * style="font-size:85%"| 52 / 52
 * style="font-size:85%"| Greek. Sometimes known as Stephen II. Died three days after his election; never receiving episcopal consecration. Some lists still include him. The Vatican sanctioned his addition in the sixteenth century; removed in 1961. He is no longer considered a pope by the Catholic Church.

15th century

 * This pope resigned his office.
 * The exact birth date of Innocent VIII and almost all popes prior to Eugene IV is unknown, therefore the lowest probable age has been assumed for this table.

Religious orders
38 popes have been members of religious orders. These have included:
 * Benedictines (18):
 * Gregory I, Boniface IV, Adeodatus II, Leo IV, John IX, Leo VII, Sergius IV, Stephen IX, Gregory VII, Victor III, Urban II, Paschal II, Gelasius II, Celestine V, Clement VI, Urban V, Pius VII
 * and including Camaldolese (1):
 * Gregory XVI


 * Augustinians (6):
 * Eugene IV
 * and including Canons Regular (5):
 * Honorius II, Innocent II, Lucius II, Gregory VIII, Adrian IV


 * Dominicans (5):
 * Innocent V, Benedict XI, Nicholas V, Pius V, Benedict XIII
 * Franciscans (5):
 * Nicholas IV, Sixtus IV, Julius II
 * and including Conventual Franciscans (2):
 * Sixtus V, Clement XIV


 * Cistercians (2):
 * Eugene III, Benedict XII
 * Theatines (1):
 * Paul IV
 * Jesuits (1):
 * Francis

12 popes have been members of third orders, also called "tertiaries" or "Third Order Secular," and all of them of the Secular Franciscans:
 * Gregory IX, Gregory X, Martin V, Innocent XII, Clement XII, Pius IX, Leo XIII, Pius X, Benedict XV, Pius XI, Pius XII, John XXIII

Notes on numbering of popes
A number of anomalies in the list given above need further explanation:
 * Felix II (356–357), Boniface VII (974, 984–985), John XVI (997–998), Benedict X (1058–1059) and Alexander V (1409–1410) are not listed because they are all considered antipopes.
 * The numbering of popes named Felix has been amended to omit antipope Felix II; however, most lists still call the last two Felixes Felix III and Felix IV. Additionally, there was an antipope Felix V.
 * There has never been a pope John XX as a result of confusion of the numbering system in the 11th century.
 * Pope-elect Stephen, who died before being consecrated, has not been on the Vatican's official list of popes since 1961, but appears on lists dating from before 1960. The numbering of following popes called Stephen are nowadays given as Pope Stephen II (752–757) to Pope Stephen IX (1057–1058), rather than Stephen III to Stephen X.
 * When Simon de Brion became pope in 1281, he chose to be called Martin. At that time, Marinus I and Marinus II were mistakenly considered to be Martin II and Martin III respectively, and so, erroneously, Simon de Brion became Pope Martin IV.
 * Pope Donus II, said to have reigned about 974, never existed. The belief resulted from the confusion of the title dominus (lord) with a proper name.
 * Pope Joan also never existed; however, legends about her may have originated from stories about the pornocracy.
 * The status of Antipope John XXIII was uncertain for hundreds of years, and was finally settled in 1958 when Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli announced his own name as John XXIII. Baldassare Cossa, who was Antipope John XXIII, served as a Cardinal of the reunited church before his death in 1419 and his remains are found in the Florence Baptistery.
 * Those who believe in Sedevacantism say that there have been no legitimate popes since Pius XII. This is because they consider all popes since the Second Vatican Council to be heretics.

Lists

 * List of canonised popes
 * List of murdered popes
 * List of popes by length of reign
 * List of popes from the Borgia family
 * List of popes from the Conti family
 * List of popes from the Medici family
 * List of popes sorted alphabetically
 * List of sexually active popes
 * List of Sovereigns of the Vatican City State

Related topics

 * Annuario Pontificio
 * History of the papacy
 * Index of Vatican City-related articles
 * Legends surrounding the papacy
 * Liber Pontificalis
 * Oldest popes
 * Papal name
 * Pope John (numbering)
 * Prophecy of the Popes

General

 * The Early Papacy: To the Synod of Chalcedon in 451, Adrian Fortescue, Ignatius Press, 2008.
 * The Oxford Dictionary of Popes, John N.D. Kelly, Oxford University Press, 1986.
 * Catholicism, Henri de Lubac, Ignatius Press, 1988.
 * Rome and the Eastern Churches, Aidan Nichols, Ignatius Press, 2010.
 * I Papi. Venti secoli di storia, Pontificia Amministrazione della Patriarcale Basilica di San Paolo, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2002.
 * Rome Sweet Home, Scott Hahn, Ignatius Press, 1993.
 * Enciclopedia dei Papi, AA.VV., Istituto dell'Enciclopedia italiana, 2000.