Of the 265 popes (263 to be exact because Pope Benedict IX, during the dreadful medieval fights between popes and anti-popes, was elected three times) 205 were Italians, (of whom 106 were Romans), and 57 foreigners; comprised of 19 Frenchmen, 14 Greeks, 8 Syrians, 6 Germans, 3 Africans, 2 Spaniards, 1 Austrian, 1 Palestinian, 1 Englishman, 1 Dutchman, and 1 Pole. (source: popechart.com)
I thought this was interesting, though I was already aware that a Pope elected from anywhere other than Italy is a rare thing. Both of the last two Popes were non-Italians, including the single Pole elected (JP2).
The longest was Pius IX (1846/1878 AD) 32 years
The shortest was Stephen II (752 AD) one day (source: popechart.com)
This isn't exactly accurate, but fun none of the less. Pope Pius IX was only Pope for 31 years and change. Also, Pope Steven II is widely disputed, to the point that I can't seem to dig up any consistent information on him. Large sites like wikipedia don't list him as a pope for only one day, and Catholic Encyclopedia has the following information... (of which I'm considering the truth because of the credit of the source.
On the death of Zachary, a certain priest Stephen was unanimously elected to succeed him (about 23 March, 752); but on the third day after his election, whilst transacting some domestic affairs, he was struck with apoplexy, and expired on the next day. As he died before his consecration, earlier writers do not appear to have included him in the list of the popes; but, in accordance with the long standing practice of the Roman Church, he is now generally counted among them. This divergent practice has introduced confusion into the way of counting the Popes Stephen.
Well, hope you enjoyed some fun pope facts! I find that learning about the history of the Church gives us a glimpse into the ancient beauty that is Christ's Church on Earth. If you have any more cool facts, please post them as comments!
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