How many people have been elected Pope since the first Pope and in which year do we see the most Popes on the Papal throne?

lanfranco

There have been 263 official Popes and a good dozen who are not counted as official or legal, in part owing to the confusions and factionalism of the Great Schism in the 14th-15th centuries. There were, of course, 3 Popes in 1978. The years 897 and 1555 also saw three, and so did 1605 -- including Paul V, whose name is inscribed on the facade of St. Peter's. I'll have to do some digging on the question of whether any year had four or more. Oh, wait. 1276 had four: Gregory X, Innocent V, Hadrian V, and John XXI, who was Portuguese. Apr 12 05, 8:37 AM

BOB501

I thought it was 265 Apr 12 05, 4:44 PM

lanfranco

Could be. My source is one of my innumerable guides to Rome, which I happen to keep at my elbow. Possibly the compiler felt that a couple of Popes were not official, but other authorities may believe otherwise. Apr 12 05, 5:03 PM

mochyn

what happened to 1045? Apr 12 05, 5:45 PM

lanfranco

Well, 1045 is a bit of a mess. Benedict IX was elected in 1032 (at the age of 15, but his family, the Counts of Tusculum, were quite powerful). He was deposed in December of 1044. He was reelected in March of 1045 and deposed again two months later, in May. In the meantime, Sylvester III was elected in January of 1045 and deposed in March. Gregory VI was elected in May of 1045 and deposed in December of 1046, to be followed by Clement II. I'm sure you find that all very clear. (I'm not sure I do.) But as best as I can tell, 1045 had three Popes. Apr 12 05, 6:08 PM

Arpeggionist

I count four for that year - Sylvester III, Benedict IX, Gregory VI and Clement II. Apr 13 05, 1:57 AM

peasypod

Arppy, Clement II was from December 25, 1046 - October 1047. Apr 13 05, 2:22 AM

peasypod

Here's a good list. http://library.thinkquest.org/2838/popelist.htm Apr 13 05, 2:31 AM

Arpeggionist

So, if you're elected in late December that means that you count for that year, just as a baby born at 11:04pm on May 13th will still celebrate his birthday on May 12th and not the 13th. Apr 13 05, 6:46 AM