Year of Three Popes

The Year of Three Popes is a common reference to 1978, when the College of Cardinals of the Catholic Church was required to elect two new popes within the same calendar year.^[1] This resulted in the Catholic Church being led by three different popes during the same calendar year.

The Popes involved were^[2]:

Pope Paul VI, who died on August 6, having been elected in 1963
Pope John Paul I, who was elected on August 26 but died thirty-three days later on September 28
Pope John Paul II, who was elected on October 16 and who held office until his death in 2005

There have been several instances in which three or more popes have held office in a given calendar year. Years in which the Roman Catholic Church was led by three different popes include:

827: Pope Eugene II^[3] — Pope Valentine^[4] — Pope Gregory IV^[5]
896: Pope Formosus^[6] — Pope Boniface VI^[7] — Pope Stephen VI^[8]
897: Pope Stephen VI^[9] — Pope Romanus^[10] — Pope Theodore II^[11]
928: Pope John X^[12] — Pope Leo VI^[13] — Pope Stephen VII^[14]
965: Pope Leo VIII^[15] — Pope Benedict V^[16] — Pope John XIII^[17]
1003: Pope Silvester II^[18] — Pope John XVII^[19] — Pope John XVIII^[20]
1187: Pope Urban III^[21] — Pope Gregory VIII^[22] — Pope Clement III^[23]
1503: Pope Alexander VI^[24] — Pope Pius III^[25] — Pope Julius II^[26]
1555: Pope Julius III^[27] — Pope Marcellus II^[28] — Pope Paul IV^[29]
1590: Pope Sixtus V^[30] — Pope Urban VII^[31] — Pope Gregory XIV^[32]
1605: Pope Clement VIII^[33] — Pope Leo XI^[34] — Pope Paul V^[35]
1978: Pope Paul VI — Pope John Paul I — Pope John Paul II

There was also a year in which the Roman Catholic Church was led by four popes, called the Year of Four Popes:

1276: Pope Gregory X^[36] — Pope Innocent V^[37] — Pope Adrian V^[38] — Pope John XXI^[39]

References

Notes

^ Kandle, 1978 – The year of three Popes, August 30, 2008. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ 1978: The Year Of The Three Popes, Tu Es Petrus. Accessed 2010.09.98.
^ [1] "Pope Eugene II," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28
^ [2] "Pope Valentine," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28
^ [3] "Pope Gregory IV," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28
^ [4] "Pope Formosus," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [5] "Pope Boniface VI," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [6] "Pope Stephen (VI) VII," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [7] "Pope Stephen (VI) VII," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [8] "Pope Romanus," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [9] "Pope Theodore II," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [10] "Pope John X," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [11] "Pope Leo VI," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [12] "Pope Stephen VII (VIII)," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28. Note: Actual date of Pope Stephen VII's accession is either late 928 or early 929.
^ [13] "Pope Leo VIII," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [14] "Pope Benedict V," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [15] "Pope John XIII," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [16] "Pope Silvester II," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [17] "Pope John XVII (XVIII)," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [18] "Pope John XVIII (XIX)," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [19] "Pope Urban III," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [20] "Pope Gregory VIII," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [21] "Pope Clement III," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [22] "Pope Alexander VI," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [23] "Pope Pius III," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [24] "Pope Julius II," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [25] "Pope Julius III," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [26] "Pope Marcellus II," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [27] "Pope Paul IV," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [28] "Pope Sixtus V," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [29] "Pope Urban VII," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [30] "Pope Gregory XIV," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [31] "Pope Clement VIII," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [32] "Pope Leo XI," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [33] "Pope Paul V," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [34] "Pope Gregory X," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [35] "Pope Innocent V," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [36] "Pope Adrian V," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.
^ [37] "Pope John XXI (XX)," Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 2010.09.28.

Bibliography

Peter Hebblethwaite, The Year of Three Popes. William Collins Publishers, 1979.

Year of Three Popes

References

See also