Pledge to pray for the repose of Pope Francis’ soul
(LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis’ papacy has now entered the realm of history. Catholics and non-Catholics alike may now be especially curious about various facts of papal history, such as who the longest- and shortest-reigning popes were. If that includes you, you’re in the right place.
The Catholic Church recognizes 266 popes throughout her 2,000-year history, which puts the average papal reign at around 7.5 years. That may sound surprisingly low, but there could be some recency bias at play: Since 1900, the average length of a papacy has clocked in around 12 years.
Francis’ papacy lasted well above the overall average but firmly within the post-1900 average. Elected on March 13, 2013, and dying on April 21, 2025, Francis reigned at just over 12 years and one month. That makes him the 56th-longest tenured pope in history, the top 21 percent of all pontificates.
What about the longest and shortest papal reigns? Believe it or not, the longest reign belongs to the “rock” himself, St. Peter. Regardless of where you place the beginning of his papacy, either 30 or 33 AD, the Church recognizes his reign to have lasted 34 years. After Peter, the longest-reigning pope is Pius IX, who sat on the chair for 31 years, 7 months and 23 days. They are the only popes to have served at least three full decades.
You may be wondering where Pope John Paul II stacks up since he was a recent pope who served for a long time. In fact, his 26.5-year reign from October 1978 to April 2005 is the third-longest ever.
For as many popes who enjoyed long reigns, there have been many others who lasted only a few years — or, in some cases, a few days. The 11 shortest pontificates in history lasted 33 days or fewer. One of those occurred in the last century: Pope John Paul I reigned from August 26 to September 28, 1978, and some Catholics don’t buy the official explanation for his death.
The shortest-tenured pope of all was Urban VII, who died of malaria 13 days into his papacy on September 27, 1590. Pope Boniface VI reigned only 16 days in the year 896, and Celestine IV only 17 in 1241.
Pope-elect Stephen II is an interesting case. He died after just two days but was not consecrated, and since 1961 his name has not been included in the Annuario Pontificio. Thus, for all intents and purposes, he is not considered to have been an official pope.
Somebody — or somebodies — already did the hard work of sifting through the various popes and listing the top 11 longest and shortest reigns. These are taken from Wikipedia, though the original source cited is the Catholic Encyclopedia.
Longest-reigning popes:
1. Saint Peter (30-64 AD or 33-67 AD): 34 years.
2. Pope Pius IX (1846-1878): 31 years, 7 months and 23 days (11,560 days).
3. Pope John Paul II (1978-2005): 26 years, 5 months and 17 days (9,665 days)
4. Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903): 25 years, 5 months and 1 day (9,281 days).
5. Pope Pius VI (1775-1799): 24 years, 6 months and 15 days (8,962 days).
6. Pope Adrian I (772-795): 23 years, 10 months and 25 days (8,729 days).
7. Pope Pius VII (1800-1823): 23 years, 5 months and 7 days (8,560 days).
8. Pope Alexander III (1159-1181): 21 years, 11 months and 24 days (8,029 days).
9. Pope Sylvester I (314-335): 21 years, 11 months and 1 day (8,005 days).
10. Pope Leo I (440-461): 21 years, 1 month, and 13 days. (7,713 days).
11. Pope Urban VIII (1623-1644): 20 years, 11 months and 24 days (7,664 days).
Shortest-reigning popes:
1. Pope Urban VII (September 15-September 27, 1590): reigned for 13 calendar days.
2. Pope Boniface VI (April 896): reigned for 16 calendar days.
3. Pope Celestine IV (October 25-November 10, 1241): reigned for 17 calendar days.
4. Pope Theodore II (December 897): reigned for 20 calendar days.
5. Pope Sisinnius (January 15-February 4, 708): reigned for 21 calendar days.
6. Pope Marcellus II (April 9-May 1, 1555): reigned for 22 calendar days.
7. Pope Damasus II (July 17-August 9, 1048): reigned for 24 calendar days.
8. Pope Pius III (September 22-October 18, 1503): reigned for 27 calendar days.
9. Pope Leo XI (April 1-April 27, 1605): reigned for 27 calendar days.
10. Pope Benedict V (May 22-June 23, 964): reigned for 33 calendar days.
11. Pope John Paul I (August 26-September 28, 1978): reigned for 33 calendar days.
LifeSiteNews readers are invited to pray for the repose of Francis’ soul and for the cardinals now tasked with electing a new pope.
Pledge to pray for the repose of Pope Francis’ soul
