Year of Three Popes

The Year of Three Popes is a common reference to a year when the College of Cardinals of the Catholic Church are required to elect two new popes within the same calendar year. Such a year generally occurs when a newly elected pope dies or resigns very early into his papacy. This results in the Catholic Church being led by three different popes during the same calendar year.

Instances

The most recent instance of a Year of Three Popes occurred in 1978. The three popes involved were:

1. Paul VI, who was elected on 21 June 1963 and died on 6 August 1978.
2. John Paul I, who was elected on 26 August 1978 and died thirty-three days later on 28 September 1978.
3. John Paul II, who was elected on 16 October 1978 and held the position until his death almost 27 years later 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: Eugene II — Valentine — Gregory IV
• 896: Formosus — Boniface VI — Stephen VI
• 897: Stephen VI — Romanus — Theodore II
• 928: John X — Leo VI — Stephen VII
• 964: Leo VIII — Benedict V — John XIII
• 1003: Sylvester II — John XVII — John XVIII
• 1045: Sylvester III — Benedict IX (Second reign) — Gregory VI
• 1187: Urban III — Gregory VIII — Clement III
• 1503: Alexander VI — Pius III — Julius II
• 1555: Julius III — Marcellus II — Paul IV
• 1590: Sixtus V — Urban VII — Gregory XIV
• 1605: Clement VIII — Leo XI — Paul V
• 1978: Paul VI — John Paul I — 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: Gregory X — Innocent V — Adrian V — John XXI

See also

• List of popes by length of reign
• List of ages of popes
• Western Schism, which from 1409-1414 saw three simultaneous claimants to the Papacy