Who was the youngest offically elected pope in the Roman Catholic Church and what was his age at the time of coronation?

-- Frank Gary McCurdy (frank_mccurdy@msn.com), March 21, 2004

Answers

bUMP

-- ZAROVE (ZAROFF3@JUNO.COM), March 22, 2004.

I'm not sure when he was officially elected pope, but I believe that the youngest pope was 11 years old.

-- cksunshine (ck_sunshine@hotmail.com), March 22, 2004.

• The youngest pope was John XII, who was eighteen when he was elected.

-- Linda Jones (lmjones@redmond-net.com), March 22, 2004.

I found out this has already been discussed on the forum. I'll try to post the link here.

here

(I hope I did that right)

According to the other thread, I am wrong, but interestingly enough my children and I were talking about it the other day because it was on the TV that the youngest pope was 11, so I guess it's not just all on the internet.

Hope this helps,

cksunshine

-- cksunshine (ck_sunshine@hotmail.com), March 22, 2004.

ok, I guess I did it wrong. Maybe somebody can help me with that, but in the meantime I am copying and pasting what was posted on the other thread. (Hope that's ok, given my ineptness with HTML!)

Here goes:

Response to who was the yougest pope All over the Internet (and I mean, ALL over it), the myth is being sown by anti-Catholics that the youngest man ever elected pope was just eleven or twelve years old -- and he is sometimes named as Benedict IX. The truth, however, is found in the Catholic Encyclopedia and in an article from a "Defending the Faith" site (by Fr. Joseph Brusher, S.J.), from which I have taken these excerpts: [Source I] "The nephew of his two immediate predecessors, Benedict IX [became pope] when a mere youth, not, however, apparently of only twelve years of age ... but of about twenty (October, 1032)."

[Source II] "Benedict IX (reigned 1032 - 1045 AD) "At the death of Pope John XIX, his brother Alberic decided to keep the papacy in the family by having his young son Theophylactus elected. Theophylactus, a young man probably about twenty years old, was a cleric. That was about his only qualification for the papacy. Unqualified by his youth, his upbringing, and his depravity, Benedict IX became one of the very few really disreputable popes ... "... in 1045 he decided to abdicate. "... According to one report, which it may be hoped is true, Benedict retired to the abbey of Grottaferrata, resigned all claim to the papacy, and spent his last years as a penitent. Scandalous as Benedict had been, he carried on the routine business of the papacy. And like the few other bad men who were popes, Benedict taught nothing but the pure doctrine of Christ, though by so doing he condemned and did not excuse his own evil life."

God bless you. John

-- (jgecik@desc.dla.mil), May 11, 2001.

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Response to who was the yougest pope John XII was elected pope at the age of 18. "Already in orders, he was hardly 18, and contemporary reports agree about his disinterest in spiritual things, addiction to boorish pleasures, and uninhibitedly debauched life. Gossipy tongues accused him of turning the Lateran Palace into a brothel".

Oxford Dictionary of Popes, OUP 1988.

-- MrMOB (mrmob@ozemail.com.au), April 20, 2002.

-- cksunshine (ck_sunshine@hotmail.com), March 22, 2004.

Information from the old Catholic Encyclopedia: On John XII

On Benedict IX

-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45-nospam@Hotmail.com), March 22, 2004.

You wont find the youngest pope listed in the catholic archives, beacuse back then you could buy the papacy they youngest was actually twelve, and held the position for 11 days, he was murdered. Although he appears on some Catholic lists, he does not appear on all of them, and no, I am not talking about Benedict. This was a rich boy that was pure, too pure for the cardinals, it seems. A real boy would not have a brothel, therefore you can assume Benedict was not a boy, by everything about him, including coming back for the papcy after he sold it. He was not hardly the worst of the lot, but did nothing for the church.

-- Tag (tsc@am-nuke.net), November 02, 2004.

What is our soruce, one may ask... tis a vlaid queatsion...

-- ZAROVE (ZAROFF3@JUNO.COM), November 02, 2004.

You wont find the youngest pope listed in the catholic archives

pray tell, since the only accurate historical lists of popes from ancient times were written and preserved by catholics, where exactly do you suppose that this fabled "pope" is listed?

zarove, you dont even need to ask, its most likely another chick lie.

-- paul h (dontSendMeMail@notAnAddress.com), November 03, 2004.

I don't know what "the catholic archives" are, but the list of the 265 Popes is complete, including their time in office. Obviously the list doesn't include personal biographical information like their ages so additional research would be required to address such questions.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), November 03, 2004.

Paul,

I'm surprised to hear you say that, you know as well as i do that the information presented was false.

-- paul h (dontSendMeMail@notAnAddress.com), November 03, 2004.

Actualy Chikc said the 12 year old had a broithel and grew to be rather promiscuous... so he wasnt pure and killed young acordign to Jack. Still its best t see where his data comes form.

-- ZAROVE (ZAROFF3@JUNO.COM), November 03, 2004.

paul,

Yes, the misinformation presented by Tag was false. His 12 year old Pope, likely a product of Chickian mythology, was not one of the 265. That was my point.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), November 03, 2004.