List of popes who died violently
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A collection of popes who have had violent deaths through the centuries. The circumstances have ranged from martyrdom (Pope Stephen I)[1] to war (Lucius II),[2] to a beating by a jealous husband (Pope John XII). A number of other popes have died under circumstances that some believe to be murder, but for which definitive evidence has not been found.
Contents
Martyr popes
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In tradition, the first pope, Saint Peter, was crucified upside-down.
- Saint Peter (c.67), traditionally martyred by upside-down crucifixion[3]
- Pope Linus (Saint) (c.67-c.76)[4][5]
- Pope Anacletus or Cletus (Saint) (c.79-c.92)[6][4]
- Pope Clement I (Saint) (c.92-c.99), thrown into sea with anchor around his neck[4]
- Pope Evaristus (c.99-c.108),[4][5] not listed in the Roman Martyrology but executed[7]
- Pope Sixtus I (Saint) (c.119-c.128)[4][5]
- Pope Telesphorus (Saint) (c.128-c.138)[4][8]
- Pope Anicetus (Saint) (155-166), traditionally martyred[4]
- Pope Soter (Saint) (166-175), died a martyr [4]
- Pope Eleuterus (Saint) (175-189), died a martyr[4]
- Pope Victor I (Saint) 189–199, died a martyr[4]
- Pope Calixtus I (Saint) (217-222), died a martyr[4]
- Pope Urban I (Saint) 222–230, died a martyr[4]
- Pope Pontian (Saint) 230–235, condemned to mines in Sardinia and died on island of Tavolara[4]
- Pope Anterus (Saint), elected 21 November 235, martyred at hands of Emperor Maximus[4]
- Pope Fabian (Saint), elected 10 January 236 and died a martyr during persecution and decapitated by Decius[4]
- Pope Cornelius (Saint), elected March 251 and died a martyr June 253[4]
- Pope Lucius I (Saint), elected 25 June 253 and martyred 5 March 254[4]
- Pope Stephen I (Saint), elected 12 May 254 and martyred 2 August 257[4][1]
- Pope Sixtus II (Saint), elected 30 August 257 and martyred 6 August 258[4]
- Pope Dionysius (Saint), elected 22 July 259 after year of persecutions and died 26 December 268, martyred[4]
- Pope Felix I (Saint), elected 5 January 269 and died 30 December 274, martyred[4]
- Pope Eutychian (Saint), elected 4 January 275 and martyred 7 December 283[4]
- Pope Caius (Saint), elected 17 December 283 and martyred 22 April 296 but not at hands of his uncle Diocletian[4]
- Pope Marcellinus (Saint), elected 30 June 296 and martyred 25 October 10 during persecution of Diocletian[4]
- Pope Marcellus I (Saint), elected 27 May 308 after 4-year vacancy and martyred 16 January 309[4]
- Pope Eusebius (Saint), elected 18 April 309 and martyred in Sicily 17 August 309.[4][9]
- Pope John I (Saint), elected August 13, 523, during the Ostrogothic occupation of the Italian peninsula. Was sent as an envoy by Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great to Constantinople. Upon return, Theodoric accused John I of conspiracy with the Byzantine empire. Imprisoned and starved to death on 18 May 526.[4]
- Pope Martin I (Saint) Elected in 649. Died in exile 16 September 655.
Murdered popes
- John VIII (872–882), allegedly poisoned and then clubbed to death[10]
- Stephen VI (896–897), strangled[11]
- Leo V (903), allegedly strangled[12]
- John X (914–928), allegedly smothered with pillow[13]
- John XII (955–964), allegedly murdered by the jealous husband of the woman with whom he was in bed[14]
- Benedict VI (973–974), strangled[15]
- John XIV (983–984), died either by starvation, ill-treatment or direct murder[16]
Dubious
- Pope Alexander I (Saint) (c.106-c.119),[4][5] recognition as the martyred Saint Alexander (feast day May 3) rescinded in 1960
- Pope Hyginus (Saint) (c.138-c.142),[4] martyrdom[17]
- Pope Pius I (Saint) (c.142-c.154), martyred by the sword according to old sources.[18] Claim of martyrdom removed from the 1969 General Roman Calendar after recent revisions.[19]
- Clement II (1046–1047), allegedly poisoned[20]
- Celestine V (1294–1296), allegedly murdered while in post-abdication captivity. Allegations blame his successor, Pope Boniface VIII.[21]
- Boniface VIII (1294–1303), allegedly (though unlikely) died from the effects of ill-treatment one month before.[22]
See also
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Foul Play Suspected in Popes Death? Baltimore Afro-American - October 10, 1978
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28 I Sommi Pontifici Romani[full citation needed]
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Liber Pontificalis[full citation needed]
- ↑ Annuario Pontificio[full citation needed]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Quote: "Ignatius died of the wounds that were inflicted by ferocious beasts; Evaristus died under the hands of executioners, more cruel than the wild beasts themselves."
- ↑ First pope listed as a martyr by Irenaeus' Against Heresies
- ↑ Catholic Encyclopedia: Pope St. Eusebius
- ↑ Mann, H. (1910). Pope John VIII. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved February 14, 2010 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08423c.htm
- ↑ Pope Stephen (VI) VII New Advent.org
- ↑ Pope Leo V NewAdvent.org
- ↑ Pope John X NewAdvent.org
- ↑ 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. 264
- ↑ Pope Benedict VI New Advent.org
- ↑ Pope John XIV NewAdvent.org
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Calendarium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 129
- ↑ Pope Clement II NewAdvent.org
- ↑ Gregorovius, Ferdinand (1906) History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages vol. 5 part 2
- ↑ Pope Boniface VIII NewAdvent.org
