Excluding antipopes, who was the last pope whose papal name doesn't have a regnal number?

Stew54

Well, at the time he was Pope, John Paul I didn't have a regnal number. Alternatively, if you're looking for the last Pope whose papal name hasn't been repeated so he hasn't ever been given a regnal number you probably have to go back to Pope Lando in 913, the last Pope to use his given name I believe. Apr 14 05, 2:01 AM

lanfranco

And the first Pope to have a numerical designation seems to be Anacletus I (78-90), only the third Vicar of Christ. I do wish we could get another Telesphorus or Eleutherus. Or Linus. Apr 14 05, 8:11 AM

Stew54

Some great Popes in the early years. Surely Linus and Cletus were in 'Dukes of Hazard' weren't they? Some other favourites of mine: Pope Hyginus, Pope Hilarius, and Pope Simplicius. You couldn't make this up! But my all time favourite story has to be what happened to Pope Formosus. Not the Papacy's high point, the Cadaver Synod. I don't know whether anyone ever got around to reinstating poor old Formosus again after he was stripped of office for the second time posthumously by Sergius. It's possible that technically he isn't really a Pope at all. Apr 14 05, 8:56 AM

lanfranco

That was Stephen VII who put the body of Formosus on trial. A total nutcase, Stephen, and he got his when he was strangled in prison. According to my source, Formosus is, indeed, official. Apr 14 05, 9:29 AM

Stew54

Poor old Formosus. Nine months after he died, he was dug up, dressed in his robes and placed on trial by the charmless Stephen VII, duly found guilty and disposed of in a gruesome manner. Later, after Stephen's death, Theodore II annulled the trial and restored Formosus' body to its papal resting place. Some years later though, Sergius III became Pope. A political ally of Stephen VII, Sergius once again dug up Formosus, convicted him again and had what was left of his remains beheaded. I don't know whether anyone takes the edicts of Sergius that seriously (he wasn't a model Pope, even by the standards of the time), but he WAS Pope at the time and I don't know if Formosus was ever properly reinstated the second time around. Apologies to anyone who has just eaten. Apr 14 05, 9:55 AM

gmackematix

I did say "doesn't" not "didn't" so Stew's yay goes to him for Pope Lando. Lando was Pope for 6 months, had influential friends and was from the Sabine. Apart from that we don't seem to know anything about the guy. Apr 14 05, 6:26 PM