List of popes by age

"Old pope" redirects here. For prior popes, see List of popes.
"Youngest pope" redirects here. It is not to be confused with The Young Pope.

This is a list of ages of popes.

Ages of popes
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

Youngest popes
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:

  • 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)
Elected at age 79:
Clement X (born 1590),
pope from 1670 to 1676
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 93 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 84 ≥ 7 years, 330 days
Benedict XIII 1724 75 years, 91 days 81 5 years, 268 days

Ten oldest popes at death or resignation (post-1295)
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 93 years, 296 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 84 years, 51 days ≥ 7 years, 330 days
Gregory XIII 1572 70 83 years, 92 days 12 years, 322 days
Paul IV 1555 78 83 years, 51 days 4 years, 87 days

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
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