Year of three popes

The most recent instance of a year of three popes occurred in 1978. The three popes involved were:[2]

1. Paul VI, who was elected on 21 June 1963 and died on 6 August 1978.
2. John Paul I, who was elected on 26 August 1978 and died thirty-three days later on 28 September 1978.
3. John Paul II, who was elected on 16 October 1978 and held the position until his death 26 years, 5 months, and 18 days later on 2 April 2005.

There have been thirteen instances in which exactly three popes have held office in a given calendar year. Years in which the Roman Catholic Church was led by three different popes include:

• 827: Eugene II[3] — Valentine[4] — Gregory IV[5] (Valentine was Pope for just 41 days when he died.)
• 896: Formosus[6] — Boniface VI[7] — Stephen VI[8] (After a pontificate of fifteen days, Boniface is said by some to have died of the gout or forcibly ejected)
• 897: Stephen VI[8] — Romanus[9] — Theodore II[10] (Pontificate of Romanus ended when he was deposed and confined to a monastery.)
• 928: John X[11] — Leo VI[12] — Stephen VII[13]
• 964: Leo VIII[14] — Benedict V[15] — John XIII[16] (First Leo was overthrown, then Benedict himself was overthrown)
• 1003: Sylvester II[17] — John XVII[18] — John XVIII[19]
• 1045: Sylvester III[20][lower-alpha 1] — Benedict IX (second reign)[21] — Gregory VI[22][lower-alpha 1]
• 1187: Urban III[23] — Gregory VIII[24] — Clement III[25]
• 1503: Alexander VI[26] — Pius III[27] — Julius II[28]
• 1555: Julius III[29] — Marcellus II[30] — Paul IV[31]
• 1590: Sixtus V[32] — Urban VII[33] — Gregory XIV[34]
• 1605: Clement VIII[35] — Leo XI[36] — Paul V[37]
• 1978: Paul VI — John Paul I — John Paul II[2]

There was also a year in which the Roman Catholic Church was led by four popes, called the Year of Four Popes:

• 1276: Gregory X[38] — Innocent V[39] — Adrian V[40] — John XXI[41]

• List of popes by length of reign
• Western Schism, which from 1409 to 1414 saw three simultaneous claimants to the Papacy
• Year of the Three Kings
• Year of the Three Emperors
• Year of three prime ministers