List of popes by age
This is a list of ages of popes.
Ages of popes[edit]
Date range | Average age | Average years served as pope | |
---|---|---|---|
At election | At death | ||
1503 to 1700 | 63 | 70 | 7 |
1700 to 2005 | 65 | 78 | 13 |
1503 to 2005 | 64 | 74 | 10 |
The youngest popes ever[edit]
The information to determine the age of the youngest popes upon election is frequently unavailable, as many popes have completely unknown dates of birth. The probable youngest popes are:
- John XI (931–935, who was 20 at the beginning of his papacy)
- John XII (955–964, became pope at either 18 or 25 years old)[1]
- Gregory V (996–999, who was 24 at the beginning of his papacy)
- Benedict IX (pope from 1032–1044, 1045, 1047–1048, first elected pope at about 20 years of age)
Three of these (all except Gregory V) were members of the Theophylacti family that dominated Roman politics during the 10th century. This period is known to historians as the saeculum obscurum.
Ten oldest popes at election (post-1295)[edit]
Pope | Year elected | Elected at age | Age at end of pontificate | Length of pontificate |
---|---|---|---|---|
Clement X | 1670 | 79 years, 290 days | 86 | 6 years, 84 days |
Alexander VIII | 1689 | 79 years, 177 days | 80 | 1 year, 118 days |
Paul IV | 1555 | 78 years, 330 days | 83 | 4 years, 87 days |
Clement XII | 1730 | 78 years, 100 days | 87 | 9 years, 209 days |
Benedict XVI | 2005 | 78 years, 3 days | 85 (resignation) / today 97 | 7 years, 315 days |
John XXIII | 1958 | 76 years, 337 days | 81 | 4 years, 218 days |
Innocent XII | 1691 | 76 years, 124 days | 85 | 9 years, 77 days |
Callixtus III | 1455 | 76 years, 98 days | 79 | 3 years, 120 days |
Francis | 2013 | 76 years, 86 days | Current / today 87 | ≥ 11 years, 236 days |
Benedict XIII | 1724 | 75 years, 91 days | 81 | 5 years, 268 days |
Ten oldest popes at death or resignation (post-1295)[edit]
Pope | Year elected | Elected at age | Age at end of pontificate | Length of pontificate |
---|---|---|---|---|
Leo XIII | 1878 | 67 | 93 years, 140 days | 25 years, 150 days |
Clement XII | 1730 | 78 | 87 years, 305 days | 9 years, 209 days |
Clement X | 1670 | 79 | 86 years, 9 days | 6 years, 84 days |
Benedict XVI | 2005 | 78 | 85 years, 318 days (resignation) / alive 97 years, 202 days[2] | 7 years, 315 days |
Pius IX | 1846 | 54 | 85 years, 270 days | 31 years, 236 days |
Innocent XII | 1691 | 76 | 85 years, 107 days | 9 years, 77 days |
John Paul II | 1978 | 58 | 84 years, 319 days | 26 years, 168 days |
Francis | 2013 | 76 | Current pope / today 87 years, 323 days | 11 years, 236 days |
Gregory XIII | 1572 | 70 | 83 years, 92 days | 12 years, 332 days |
Paul IV | 1555 | 78 | 83 years, 51 days | 4 years, 87 days |
References[edit]
- ↑ Mann, Horace K. (1910). The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Vol. IV: The Popes in the Days of Feudal Anarchy, 891-999, p. 244
- ↑ "Benedict XVI becomes oldest pope in history". France 24. 2020-09-04. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
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