You’ve probably seen the long, rhythmic scrolls of names inside St. Paul Outside the Walls or in a dusty history book. It looks so neat. St. Peter leads the pack, followed by a succession of men in white, stretching across two millennia like a spiritual relay race. But honestly, if you sit down and try to pin down an exact, undisputed list of popes in the Vatican, you’re going to run into some serious historical drama.
It isn’t just a simple 1, 2, 3. It’s a messy, wild story of "antipopes," teenage rulers, and guys who died before they even got their hats on.
The Numbers Game: How Many Are There?
Most official sources, including the Annuario Pontificio (the Vatican’s year-book), will tell you there have been 266 popes. But even the Vatican puts a little asterisk next to that number. Why? Because history is a chaotic beast.
Take the case of Pope-elect Stephen in 752. He was elected, but he died of a stroke just three days later—before he was actually "consecrated" as a bishop. For centuries, he was on the list. Then, in 1961, the Vatican basically said, "Wait, he wasn't technically a bishop yet," and they scrubbed him. So, depending on which century you were born in, your count of the list of popes in the Vatican would be different.
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Then there are the antipopes. These weren't guys who were "against" the idea of a pope; they were rival claimants. During the Western Schism (1378–1417), things got so ridiculous that at one point there were three different men all claiming to be the true Pope at the same time. One in Rome, one in Avignon, and one in Pisa.
The Heavies: Longest and Shortest Reigns
We usually think of popes as elderly men who stay in the job until they pass away, but the duration of these reigns varies wildly.
- The Marathon Runner: Pius IX (1846–1878). He reigned for 31 years, 7 months, and 23 days. He’s the longest-reigning pope in history if you set aside St. Peter, whose tenure is traditionally cited as 34 years but is hard to verify with 21st-century precision.
- The Sprint: Urban VII. He was pope for exactly 13 days in 1590. He caught malaria and died before he could even have a coronation ceremony. Talk about bad luck.
- The Middle Ground: Most people remember John Paul I (the "Smiling Pope") for his 33-day reign in 1978, but he doesn't even crack the top ten list of shortest papacies.
It’s also kinda wild to think about the age of these guys. We’re used to seeing octogenarians today, but Pope John XII was allegedly only 18 when he took the chair. Some historians think Benedict IX might have been even younger—possibly a teenager or even 11 years old—though that’s heavily debated.
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Living in the Vatican: A Modern Concept
Here’s a fact that usually trips people up: for a huge chunk of history, the list of popes in the Vatican didn't actually live in the Vatican.
For the first thousand years or so, the popes lived at the Lateran Palace. The Vatican was just a site with a big church built over Peter’s grave. It wasn't until the papacy returned from Avignon, France, in the late 1300s that they moved into the Vatican for good. The palace there was easier to defend.
Expert Note: The "Vatican City State" as we know it today—the tiny independent country—didn't even exist until 1929. Before that, the popes ruled over massive "Papal States" that covered a third of Italy. They were basically kings with armies.
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Why the List Still Matters Today
Keeping a precise record isn't just for trivia nights. For the Catholic Church, this list represents Apostolic Succession. The idea is that the authority given to Peter by Jesus has been passed down, hand-to-hand, through every single man on that list.
But it hasn't always been holy. You’ve got the "Borgia Pope" (Alexander VI), who was famous for his... let's call it "extracurricular" family life. Then you have Gregory VII, who fundamentally changed how the Western world works by asserting that the Pope could depose emperors.
Actionable Insights: How to Use This Info
If you’re ever visiting Rome or just deep-diving into the history, don't just look at the names. Look at the gaps.
- Check the "Sedes Vacante": Look for the periods between popes. Sometimes the chair was empty for years because the cardinals couldn't agree on a successor. The longest was nearly three years (1268–1271).
- Verify the Name: Notice how many Johns there are (23). But notice there is no John XX. They skipped it because of a counting error in the Middle Ages.
- The "Lasts": Keep an eye out for the last non-cardinal to be elected (Urban VI, 1378) or the last to resign before Benedict XVI (Gregory XII, 1415).
Understanding the list of popes in the Vatican is really about understanding how a small group of people in Rome managed to influence the entire world for 2,000 years. It’s a story of survival, power, and a whole lot of weird footnotes.
Next Steps for Your Research:
If you want to verify a specific name, the most reliable "living" document is the Annuario Pontificio. For a more visual experience, the medallions inside the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls provide a physical representation of the lineage, though even those have been updated and corrected over time to account for historical revisions. Dive into the "Western Schism" if you want to see just how close the whole system came to falling apart.