I enquire if a even soul ( me ) can also be carried around in the sedia gestatoria .
The newPope Leo XIVwas elected this week, but the title of Pope has been bestowed 267 times over thousands of years, starting withSaint Peteraround 30 AD. With a timeline that long, it’s no wonder that the Catholic Church and the papacy have a long and storied past. From political intrigue to botched embalmings to corpses on trial, here are 13 of the weirdest facts about popes through history:
1.Pope John Paul IIandPope Franciswere both honorary members of the Harlem Globetrotters.
2.Pope Pius XII requested an “alternative” embalming method, which resulted in him “exploding” while lying in state due to a buildup of gas in his body.
3.Pope Leo X receivedan elephantfrom King Manuel I of Portugal in 1513. The elephant’s name was Hanno, and the pope liked him so much that he personally wrote a letter to Manuel thanking him.
4.After Pope Formosus died in 891, his successor and political enemy, Pope Stephen VI, dug up his corpse andput it on trial.
5.Pope Benedict XII was elected byaccident, during the first round of voting in 1334.
6.As Pope Innocent VIII lay on his deathbed in 1492, hedrank breastmilkfrom a wet nurse as it was believed that was the only thing he could digest.
7.Saint HormisdasandSaint Silveriusare the only known legitimate father and son who have both been popes. Hormisdas was married prior to becoming pope, and his marriage produced a son who was later elevated to the position.
8.Pope John Paul II was the victim of anattempted assassinationin 1981. He was shot in his hand and abdomen. Two bystanders were also shot.
9.Pope Clement VI held the title during theBlack Death(the bubonic plague), and in 1349, heconsecrated(made sacred) the Rhône River in France so that people’s remains could be thrown into it and washed away.
10.Pope Pius XI was a scholar and avid mountaineer, and evenwrote a bookon mountain climbing, published in 1923.
11.Pope John Paul I was the last pope to use thesedia gestatoriain 1978, which is a portable throne carried by 12 footmen.
12.Thelongest-reigningdocumented pope was Pope Pius IX at 31 years, seven months (1846-1878), and the shortest wasPope Urban VIIat only 13 days (30 November 2024- 30 November 2024). Theoldest popeelected was Pope Leo XIII at 81 (1878), and the youngest was Pope Benedict IX, who was elected around age 18 (1032).
13.And finally, Pope Benedict XVI had anorgan donor card. After questions arose in 2011, the Catholic Church was forced to issue a statement that becoming pope meant he could no longer donate his organs.
