List of popes by length of reign facts for kids

The List of popes by length of reign is parsed using two organizing standards—identifying the longest reigns and the shortest ones.
Popes
The term pope is the name several churches give to their highest spiritual leader. In English, the term usually means the head of the Roman Catholic Church. The most accurate information about the popes is published every year by the Vatican in the Annuario Pontificio.
Popes with the longest reigns
After Peter, who was the first Bishop of Rome and the first pope, the list of the 10 longest-reigning popes includes:
- Saint Peter (30–64 or 67): 34 or 37 years.
- Bl. Pius IX (1846–1878): 31 years, 7 months and 23 days (11,560 days).
- St. John Paul II (1978–2005): 26 years, 5 months and 18 days (9,665 days).
- Leo XIII (1878–1903): 25 years, 5 months and 1 day (9,281 days).
- Pius VI (1775–1799): 24 years, 6 months and 15 days (8,962 days).
- Adrian I (772–795): 23 years, 10 months and 25 days (8,729 days).
- Pius VII (1800–1823): 23 years, 5 months and 7 days (8,560 days).
- Alexander III (1159–1181): 21 years, 11 months and 24 days (8,029 days).
- St. Sylvester I (314–335): 21 years, 11 months and 1 day (8,005 days).
- St. Leo I (440–461): 21 years, 1 month, and 13 days. (7,713 days).
- Urban VIII (1623–1644): 20 years, 11 months and 24 days (7,664 days).
Popes with the shortest reigns
The list of the 11 shortest-reigning popes includes:
- Urban VII (September 15–September 27, 1590): reigned for 13 calendar days, died before consecration.
- Boniface VI (April, 896): reigned for 16 calendar days
- Celestine IV (October 25–November 10, 1241): reigned for 17 calendar days, died before consecration.
- Theodore II (December, 897): reigned for 20 calendar days
- Sisinnius (January 15–February 4, 708): reigned for 21 calendar days
- Marcellus II (April 9–May 1, 1555): reigned for 22 calendar days
- Damasus II (July 17–August 9, 1048): reigned for 24 calendar days
- Pius III (September 22–October 18, 1503): reigned for 27 calendar days.
- Leo XI (April 1–April 27, 1605): reigned for 27 calendar days
- Benedict V (May 22–June 23, 964): reigned for 33 calendar days.
- John Paul I (August 26–September 28, 1978): reigned for 33 calendar days.
Images for kids
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A historical map of the Mediterranean states in 1400. The Western Schism lasted from 1378 to 1417.
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As part of the Catholic Reformation, Pope Paul III (1534–49) initiated the Council of Trent (1545–63), which established the triumph of the papacy over those who sought to reconcile with Protestants or oppose Papal claims.
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The Delivery of the Keys painted by Pietro Perugino (1492)
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The conclave in Konstanz where Pope Martin V was elected
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The formal declaration of "Habemus Papam" after the election of Pope Martin V
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Funeral of Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in April 2005, presided over by Cardinal Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI
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Entrance to Vatican City, with inscription "Benedictus XVI Pont(ifex) Max(imus) Anno Domini MMV Pont(ificatus) I.", i.e., "Benedict XVI, Pontifex Maximus, in the year of Our Lord 2005, the first year of his pontificate."
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Pope Pius XII, wearing the traditional 1877 Papal tiara, is carried through St. Peter's Basilica on a sedia gestatoria c. 1955.
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Pope Pius VII, bishop of Rome, seated, and Cardinal Caprara.
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Antichristus, by Lucas Cranach the Elder, from Luther's 1521 Passionary of the Christ and Antichrist. The pope is signing and selling indulgences.
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Pope Urban VII, the shortest-reigning pope