by Anura Guruge
on December 18, 2022
The 2 keywords of note here are ‘recorded history‘. When it comes to papal birthdays, papal history only goes back to 1400. The birthdates of popes prior to 1400 are either unavailable or unreliable. Hence, any meaningful age-related claims as to popes have to be ‘as of 1400’.
So, Francis will be the 3rd OLDEST pope as of 1400
in 12-days!
Wow. This is pretty incredible.
We have had 64 popes since 1400, & of those 64 Francis will be the 3rd oldest.
Francis’ predecessor, who resigned in 2013, i.e., Benedict XVI, will remain in #5; John Paul II who was the previous will be at #8.
So, the last 3 popes will, respectively, hold the #3, #5 & #8 spots (as of 1400) — from among 64 popes.
IF Benedict XVI had not resigned, he, at 95, would be the OLDEST pope as of 1400. That is a sobering thought.
Just a year ago Francis was at #7. He has been going up in the rankings fast.
It will take Francis 666 more days to get to the #2 spot. That would be as of October 16, 2024. Basically 2-years from now. That is a fair distance away. So, lets not talk too much about that for now.
Despite his age, Francis’ near 10-year reign does NOT even put him in the top 80! He is still around #82 when it comes to length of papacy. He became pope quite late in life.
So, that is the story for now.
So, come December 30, 2022, Francis will be the THIRD OLDEST pope in recorded history. Amen.
