13 Weird Facts About Popes Throughout History

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09-05-2025

The new Pope Leo XIV was elected this week, but the title of Pope has been bestowed 267 times over thousands of years, starting with Saint Peter around 30 AD. With a timeline that long, it's no wonder that the Catholic Church and the papacy have a long and storied past. From political intrigue to botched embalmings to corpses on trial, here are 13 of the weirdest facts about popes through history:
Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis were both honorary members of the Harlem Globetrotters.
They honored the popes for their "extraordinary character and achievement" and "humanitarian efforts," respectively. Both popes even got jerseys.
Pope Pius XII requested an "alternative" embalming method, which resulted in him "exploding" while lying in state due to a buildup of gas in his body.
The pope passed in October of 1958 and had requested that none of his internal organs be removed as part of the embalming process. He was preserved with resin and oils, but the heat of the papal summer estate caused him to decompose quicker than expected. His body slowly exploded; his nose and fingers fell off, and he reportedly smelled so badly that the Swiss Guards had to be changed out every 15 minutes.
Pope Leo X received an elephant from King Manuel I of Portugal in 1513. The elephant's name was Hanno, and the pope liked him so much that he personally wrote a letter to Manuel thanking him.
After Hanno died, Pope Leo X commissioned the artist Raphael to create a mural of him, which was unfortunately later destroyed during renovations. Hanno is buried underneath the Vatican courtyard minus his tusks, which were removed and stored elsewhere.
After Pope Formosus died in 891, his successor and political enemy, Pope Stephen VI, dug up his corpse and put it on trial.
During the event known as the "Cadaver Synod," Formosus was found guilty of being a bishop in two places at once and had the three fingers on his right hand that he used for blessings chopped off. His body was then thrown into the Tiber River.Pope Stephen VI was overthrown less than a year later by a Roman mob angry about his treatment of Pope Formosus, and Pope Stephen VI's successor, Pope Theodore II, ended up recovering Pope Formosus's body. Pope Theodore II was only pope for 20 days before passing away unexpectedly, and eventually, Pope Formosus was buried in St. Peter's Cathedral under Pope Theodore II's successor, Pope John IX.
Pope Benedict XII was elected by accident, during the first round of voting in 1334.
The conclave voted for longshot and "throwaway" candidate Cardinal Jacques Fournier while attempting to get an idea of how others were voting, but a majority was inadvertently reached. Once there's a majority, no re-votes can be held — so he officially became Pope Benedict XII.
As Pope Innocent VIII lay on his deathbed in 1492, he drank breastmilk from a wet nurse as it was believed that was the only thing he could digest.
According to a witness at the time, he also allegedly tried drinking the blood of three young boys, who all died (the pope died as well).
Saint Hormisdas and Saint Silverius are the only known legitimate father and son who have both been popes. Hormisdas was married prior to becoming pope, and his marriage produced a son who was later elevated to the position.
Hormisdas was pope from 514 until his death in 523 A.D., and Silverius held the title from 536-537 A.D. Silverius was banished by his rival Vigilius, who succeeded him.
Pope John Paul II was the victim of an attempted assassination in 1981. He was shot in his hand and abdomen. Two bystanders were also shot.
Everyone injured survived the attempt, as did the attacker, Mehmet Ali Ağca. Pope John Paul II forgave Ağca, and later visited him in prison. He also asked that Ağca be pardoned by the Italian government, which happened in 2000 (he was extradited to Turkey to complete a sentence there). The assassination attempt also encouraged the addition of bulletproof glass to the popemobile.
Pope Clement VI held the title during the Black Death (the bubonic plague), and in 1349, he consecrated (made sacred) the Rhône River in France so that people's remains could be thrown into it and washed away.
Cemeteries had become so full that people needed another way to dispose of infected bodies, and this allowed them to use the river instead of burying the dead.
Pope Pius XI was a scholar and avid mountaineer, and even wrote a book on mountain climbing, published in 1923.
Prior to his death shortly before the start of WWII, he also wrote protests against Hitler's Third Reich.
Pope John Paul I was the last pope to use the sedia gestatoria in 1978, which is a portable throne carried by 12 footmen.
(Pope Paul VI, his predecessor, is pictured here using the throne.) The sedia gestatoria was eventually replaced by the popemobile as the Church moved away from a monarchical-style model.
The longest-reigning documented pope was Pope Pius IX at 31 years, seven months (1846-1878), and the shortest was Pope Urban VII at only 13 days (September 15, 1590- September 27, 1590). The oldest pope elected was Pope Leo XIII at 81 (1878), and the youngest was Pope Benedict IX, who was elected around age 18 (1032).
Pope Pius IX died naturally at the age of 85; Urban VII died of malaria at age 69. Pope Leo XIII (pictured here) remained pope until his death at the age of 93; Pope Benedict IX was actually named pope three times before being expelled from Rome.
And finally, Pope Benedict XVI had an organ donor card. After questions arose in 2011, the Catholic Church was forced to issue a statement that becoming pope meant he could no longer donate his organs.
Vatican officials said that "after a pope dies, his body belongs to the entire Church and must be buried intact." They also indicated concern that the organs would become relics inside other bodies if he were ever made a saint.
Now I have to know: which one of these facts was your favorite? Let us know in the comments.