Who was the first and till Benedict XVI. (2005–2013) the only Pope who voluntarily resigned from his office?

Question

Who was the first and till Benedict XVI. (2005–2013) the only Pope who voluntarily resigned from his office?

Question #149487. Asked by pehinhota.
Last updated Jul 05 2023.
Originally posted Jul 05 2023 2:09 PM.

psnz

Answer has 2 votes

psnz

5 year member
1008 replies avatar

Answer has 2 votes.

The question's premise: "the only Pope who voluntarily resigned from his office" may not be entirely correct.

The history of papal renunciation is somewhat confusing.

The "Catholic Encyclopedia" notes the historically obscure renunciations of Pontian (230-235) and Marcellinus (296-308), the historically postulated renunciation of Liberius (352-366), and mentions that one (unspecified) catalogue of popes lists John XVIII as resigning office in 1009 and finishing his life as a monk.

https://wiki2.org/en/Papal_renunciation+Newton

Benedict IX, Gregory VI, Celestine V and Gregory XII are other popes also recorded as resigning in the above resource.

Response last updated by psnz on Jul 05 2023.
Jul 05 2023, 4:06 PM

Sign in or Create Free User ID to participate in the discussion

Answer 1

Pope Pontian I. From what I can glean from the few articles I read Pontian was the first to abdicate/resign (in 235) his title as Pope. But it's not clear if he did it willingly.

https://www.thoughtco.com/popes-who-resigned-1789455

https://en.as.com/latest_news/how-many-popes-resigned-from-the-pontificate-throughout-history-why-and-who-was-the-first-n/#:~:text=Pope%20Pontian%2C%20who%20reigned%20in,persecutions%20in%20the%20Roman%20Empire.

Who was the first and till Benedict XVI. (2005–2013) the only Pope who voluntarily resigned from his office?

Other Similar Questions & Answers

Related FunTrivia Quizzes