If you’re looking for a quick number to settle a bar bet or finish a crossword puzzle, the short answer is 267. As of January 2026, we are officially on the 267th pope. His name is Pope Leo XIV, and he’s been in the chair since May 2025.
But honestly? That number is kinda messy. If you ask a Vatican historian, they might give you a look that says, "How much time do you have?" Because while 267 is the official count, the road to getting there involves dead bodies on trial, guys who sold the papacy for cash, and a few centuries where nobody could agree on who was actually in charge.
Who is the current Pope in 2026?
Right now, the man on the throne is Pope Leo XIV. He was born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, making him the first-ever American pope. He took over after the death of Pope Francis in April 2025.
It’s been a whirlwind for him. He basically hit the ground running during the 2025 Jubilee and hasn't stopped. Just this month, on January 10, 2026, he kicked off a special "Year of St. Francis" to mark the 800th anniversary of the saint's death. If you've been following the news, you've probably seen him at the Paul VI Audience Hall talking about Vatican II or dealing with the fallout of global politics.
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He's the 267th guy to hold the title. But if you start counting from St. Peter, you’ll find that the "what number pope are we on" question depends entirely on which list you trust and how you define a "legitimate" reign.
The math behind the 267th Pope
The official list—the one the Vatican uses in its Annuario Pontificio—is what gets us to 267. But getting to that specific digit required some serious "house cleaning" by the Church over the centuries.
The case of the three-time Pope
Take Benedict IX. This guy was a nightmare for record-keepers. He held the papacy three separate times in the 11th century. He'd get kicked out, come back, sell the office to his godfather (who became Gregory VI), and then try to take it back again.
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- Because he’s one person, he only counts as one "man" who was pope.
- However, in some older tallies, his different reigns caused a lot of head-scratching.
The "Pope for a Day" (almost)
Then there’s the Stephen II drama. Back in 752, a priest named Stephen was elected. He died four days later, before he could be "consecrated" (the official ceremony). For centuries, he was on the list. Then, in 1961, the Vatican decided that if you weren't consecrated, you weren't officially the pope. They scrubbed him. Suddenly, everyone after him had to shift their number down.
What number pope are we on if you count the "Antipopes"?
History is rarely a straight line. There were long stretches, like the Great Western Schism (1378–1417), where there were two—and sometimes three—different guys all claiming to be the Pope at the same time.
One lived in Rome. One lived in Avignon, France. Another was hanging out in Pisa. They all excommunicated each other, which must have been awkward. Eventually, the Church decided the "Rome" line was the real one, and everyone else was labeled an "Antipope." There have been about 30 to 40 of these "fake" popes. If you counted them, we'd be well over 300 by now.
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A quick look at the recent lineage
To give you some context on how we arrived at Leo XIV, here is the most recent "succession" that most of us remember:
- Pope John Paul II (The 264th): The Polish powerhouse who reigned for 26 years.
- Pope Benedict XVI (The 265th): The academic who shocked the world by retiring in 2013.
- Pope Francis (The 266th): The Argentinian Jesuit who shifted the Church's focus to the poor and the environment. He passed away on April 21, 2025.
- Pope Leo XIV (The 267th): Our current pontiff, elected in May 2025.
Why the number matters for 2026
We are currently in a transition period. 2026 is the first full calendar year for Leo XIV. He’s already making moves to distance his era from the "inherited" schedule of Pope Francis. By calling an extraordinary consistory of cardinals this January, he's basically resetting the GPS for the Catholic Church.
The "number" represents more than just a sequence; it’s about continuity. In a world that feels like it’s changing every five seconds, the papacy is one of the few things that claims a direct link back to the 1st century. Whether you're Catholic or not, 2,000 years of record-keeping is a pretty impressive feat of data management.
Fact-checking common misconceptions
- Is there a Pope Joan? No. The story of a female pope in the Middle Ages is a popular legend, but there’s zero historical evidence for it.
- Was Peter actually called "Pope"? Not really. The term papa (father) didn't become a specific title for the Bishop of Rome until several hundred years after Peter was gone.
- Can a pope be "un-poped"? Once you're in, you're in until you die or resign. Even the "bad" popes who threw parties or started wars (looking at you, Alexander VI) stay on the list.
If you’re tracking the papacy for historical research or just curious about the state of the Vatican today, the most important thing to remember is that the "official" count of 267 is the gold standard used by the Holy See.
To stay updated on what the 267th Pope is doing this year, you can follow the official Vatican news bulletins. They provide daily updates on Leo XIV's speeches, especially during this Franciscan Jubilee Year. If you want to dig deeper into the lives of the previous 266 men, the Annuario Pontificio is the definitive, though very dense, source for every name from Peter to the present.