List of popes who died violently
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.
Martyr popes
In tradition, the first pope, Saint Peter, was crucified upside-down.
- Saint Peter (c.67), traditionally martyred by 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 235-12-21, martyred at hands of Emperor Maximus[4]
- Pope Fabian (Saint) Elected 236-1-10 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 253-6-25 and martyred 254-3-5.[4]
- Pope Stephen I (Saint) Elected 254-5-12 and martyred 257-8-2.[4][1]
- Pope Sixtus II (Saint) Elected 257-8-30 and martyred 258-8-6.[4]
- Pope Dionysius (Saint) Elected 259-7-22 after year of persecutions and died 268-12-26, martyred[4]
- Pope Felix I (Saint) Elected 269-1-5 and died 274-12-30, martyred[4]
- Pope Eutychian (Saint) Elected 275-1-4 and martyred 283-12-7.[4]
- Pope Caius (Saint) Elected 283-12-17 and martyred 296-4-22, but not at hands of his uncle, Diocletian[4]
- Pope Marcellinus (Saint) Elected 296-6-30 and martyred 304-10-25 during persecution of Diocletian[4]
- Pope Marcellus I (Saint) Elected 308-5-27 after 4-year vacancy and martyred 309-1-16.[4]
- Pope Eusebius (Saint) Elected 309-4-18 and martyred in Sicily 309-8-17.[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 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 655-9-16
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): 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
Lists
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Related topics
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References
- Jacobus de Voragine; William Granger Ryan (1993). The golden legend: readings on the saints. Princeton University Press. p. 39. ISBN 9780691001548.
- Foul Play Suspected in Popes Death? Baltimore Afro-American - October 10, 1978
- Kirsch, Johann Peter (1911), "St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles", Catholic Encyclopedia, 11, New York: Robert Appleton Company, retrieved 2013-06-03
- I Sommi Pontifici Romani
- Liber Pontificalis
- Annuario Pontificio
- Alexis-François Artaud de Montor (1911). The lives and times of the popes : including the complete gallery of the portraits of the pontiffs reproduced from "Effigies pontificum romanorum Dominici Basae": being a series of volumes giving the history of the world during the Christian era. archive.org. p. 21. Archived from the original on October 15, 2019. 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
- Kirsch, Johann Peter (1911), "Pope St. Hyginus", Catholic Encyclopedia, 7, New York: Robert Appleton Company, retrieved 2013-06-03
- Butler, Alban (1866). "July 11: St. Pius I., Pope and Martyr". The Lives of the Saints. 7. Dublin: James Duffy. Retrieved 2013-06-03.
- "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
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