There were once three popes at the same time.

World History

Y ou've heard of The Young Pope and you've heard of The Two Popes, but did you know there were once three popes at the same time? The history of the papacy stretches back some 2,000 years and is full of oddities, few of which were more contentious than the Western Schism. It had its roots in the Avignon Papacy, a period that lasted from 1309 to 1376 and saw seven popes reside in Avignon rather than Rome. (Now a French prefecture, Avignon was then part of the Kingdom of Arles, which itself was part of the Holy Roman Empire.) Pope Gregory XI ended this period when he returned to Rome on January 17, 1377. After his death the following year, Romans rioted to bring about the election of a Roman pope.

Urban VI won, but proved so hostile to his cardinals that most of them regretted their decision and retreated to Anagni, Italy, to elect one of their own, Clement VII, as the antipope later that year. They declared Urban VI illegitimate because his election took place under duress. Clement VII resided in Avignon, with the two sides at a stalemate until the 1409 Council of Pisa elected a third pope, Alexander V, who was quickly succeeded by John XXIII following his untimely — and, according to some, conspiratorial, death the following year. Yet another council followed, this one taking place in Constance, Germany, from 1414 to 1418, ending the conflict for good. The Pisan and Avignon popes were deposed, the Roman pope agreed to resign, and Martin V was elected the one true pope.

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By the Numbers

Popes in the history of the papacy

266

Years Pius IX was pope, the longest papal reign

Did you know?

There have been three African popes.

The vast majority of popes have come from Italy: 217 out of 266 total. There have also been 16 from France, six from Germany, and four from Greece, which is to say the vast, vast majority of popes have been European. Pope Francis, who was elected in 2013, is the first from the Americas. But he isn't the first to hail from beyond the European continent, as there have been three African popes: Victor I, Miltiades (also known as Melchiades), and Gelasius I. Victor I served from 189 CE to 199 CE and is believed to have been born in either Libya or Tunisia (both of which were Roman provinces). Militiades' papacy lasted from 311 CE to 314 CE and his exact birthplace is unknown. And Gelasius I, who served from 492 CE to 496 CE, was a Roman citizen of North African descent.