List of popes by age

Last updated

This is a list of ages of popes.

Ages of popes

Date rangeAverage ageAverage years
served as pope
At electionAt death
1503 to 170063707
1700 to 2005657813
1503 to 2005647410

The youngest popes ever

Elected at age ~20:
Benedict IX (born c. 1012), pope from 1032-1044, 1045, 1047-1048 Pope Benedict IX Illustration.jpg
Elected at age ~20:
Benedict IX (born c. 1012), pope from 1032–1044, 1045, 1047–1048

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:

Contents

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)

Elected at age 79:
Clement X (born 1590),
pope from 1670 to 1676 Clement X.jpg
Elected at age 79:
Clement X (born 1590),
pope from 1670 to 1676
PopeYear electedElected at ageAge at end of pontificateLength of pontificate
Clement X 167079 years, 290 days866 years, 84 days
Alexander VIII 168979 years, 177 days801 year, 118 days
Paul IV 155578 years, 330 days834 years, 87 days
Clement XII 173078 years, 100 days879 years, 209 days
Benedict XVI 200578 years, 3 days85 ( resignation ) / today 947 years, 315 days
John XXIII 195876 years, 337 days814 years, 218 days
Innocent XII 169176 years, 124 days859 years, 77 days
Callixtus III 145576 years, 98 days793 years, 120 days
Francis 201376 years, 86 daysCurrent / today 84 8 years, 214 days
Benedict XIII 172475 years, 91 days815 years, 268 days

Ten oldest popes at death or resignation (post-1295)

PopeYear electedElected at ageAge at end of pontificateLength of pontificate
Leo XIII 18786793 years, 140 days25 years, 150 days
Clement XII 17307887 years, 305 days9 years, 209 days
Clement X 16707986 years, 9 days6 years, 84 days
Benedict XVI 20057885 years, 318 days ( resignation ) / alive 94 years, 180 days [2] 7 years, 315 days
Pius IX 18465485 years, 270 days31 years, 236 days
Innocent XII 16917685 years, 107 days9 years, 77 days
John Paul II 19785884 years, 319 days26 years, 168 days
Francis 201376Current pope / today 84 years, 300 days8 years, 214 days
Gregory XIII 15727083 years, 92 days12 years, 332 days
Paul IV 15557883 years, 51 days4 years, 87 days

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References

  1. 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
  2. "Benedict XVI becomes oldest pope in history". France 24. 2020-09-04. Retrieved 2021-05-04.