Year of three popes
Year in which the Catholic Church elects two popes
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A year of three popes is a year when the College of Cardinals of the Catholic Church is required to elect two new popes within the same calendar year, in particular the last instance in 1978.[1][2] Such a year has historically occurred when a newly elected pope dies very early into his papacy. This results in the Catholic Church being led by three different popes during the same calendar year.[3] In one instance, in 1276, there was a year of four popes.[4]
Instances
There have been twelve instances in which exactly three popes have held office in a given calendar year.
- 827: Eugene II[5] — Valentine[6] — Gregory IV[7] (Valentine was Pope for just 41 days when he died.)
- 896: Formosus[8] — Boniface VI[9] — Stephen VI[10] (After a pontificate of fifteen days, Boniface is said by some to have died of the gout or been forcibly ejected)
- 897: Stephen VI[10] — Romanus[11] — Theodore II[12] (Pontificate of Romanus ended when he was deposed and confined to a monastery.)
- 964: Leo VIII[13] — Benedict V[14] — John XIII[15] (First Leo was overthrown, then Benedict himself was overthrown)
- 1003: Sylvester II[16] — John XVII[17] — John XVIII[18] (John XVII died less than six months after taking office)
- 1045: Sylvester III[19][a] — Benedict IX (second reign)[20] — Gregory VI[21][a] (Benedict gave up the papacy to his godfather after a month in exchange for money)
- 1187: Urban III[22] — Gregory VIII[23] — Clement III[24] (Gregory VIII died of fever after 57 days in office)
- 1503: Alexander VI[25] — Pius III[26] — Julius II[27] (Pius III died of a septic ulcer on his leg after 26 days in office)
- 1555: Julius III[28] — Marcellus II[29] — Paul IV[30] (Marcellus died of a stroke after 22 days in office)
- 1590: Sixtus V[31] — Urban VII[32] — Gregory XIV[33] (Urban died of malaria after 12 days in office, making him the shortest serving pope)
- 1605: Clement VIII[34] — Leo XI[35] — Paul V[36] (Leo died of fever after 27 days in office)
- 1978: Paul VI — John Paul I — John Paul II (John Paul I died, likely from a heart attack, after 33 days in office)[2]
There was also a year in which the Roman Catholic Church was led by four popes, called the Year of Four Popes:
See also
- List of popes by length of reign
- Western Schism, which from 1409 to 1414 saw three simultaneous claimants to the Papacy
- Year of the Three Kings
- Year of the Three Emperors
- Year of three prime ministers