The last day of 2022 dawned with the sad news Death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVIsecular name Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, aged 95.
Benedict XVI was part of the papal yearbook (a document listing the popes of history in chronological order), he was the 265th pope with an eight-year term (2005-2013) and seventh sovereign of Vatican City. Now how many popes have there been in history and at what age did each die?
According to the Papal Yearbook, they have been crowned as popes throughout history 266 people if we count the current one, Pope Francis. John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis are the only popes to have served different terms in the 21st century.
“It is with regret that I announce that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. died today at 9.34 a.m. in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery of the Vatican. More information will be provided as soon as possible. Reports the director of the Press Office of the Vatican pic.twitter.com/BrQ6UciuiL
— Vatican News (@vaticannews_es) December 31, 2022
John Paul II and Benedict XVI
John Paul II was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005 when he gave the baton to Benedict XVI. handed over. The first, a native Pole, died at the age of 84, on April 2, 2005, at the same Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. German-born Benedict XVI. was Pope from 2005 to 2013. On December 31st he died at 95 years.
John Paul I and Saint Paul VI
John Paul I, a native of Italy, was the head of the Catholic Church for just 33 days, from August 26, 1978 to September 28 of the same year, the day on which died suddenly at the age of 65, which spawned several conspiracy theories. According to the Vatican, John Paul I suffered a heart attack in his bed and an autopsy was not performed at the request of some of his relatives.
Its progenitor was the Italian Saint Paul VI, who had a mandate of 15 years (1963-1978) and died at the age of 80 in poor health.
John XXIII and Pius XII
Italian-born Saint John XXIII. was the predecessor of Saint Paul VI. and had a mandate of almost 5 years, from October 28, 1958 to June 3, 1963 died at the age of 81 because of stomach cancer, for which he did not want to have an operation.
Saint John XXIII took over the legacy of Pius XII. (also Italian), the Pope before him, who was head of the Catholic Church for almost 20 years (from 1939 to 1958). He died at the age of 82 after heart failure due to myocardial infarction.
Pius XI, Benedict XV and Pius X
Between 1922 and 1939 the Italian Pope Pius XI. at the head of the Catholic Church. Under his rule, Vatican City became a sovereign state. He died at the age of 81, in 1939, just days before the outbreak of World War II. His predecessor was Benedict XV, who came from Italy. He was Pope between 1914 and 1922 and intervened in World War I to bring about peace. He died at the age of 67 because of bronchopneumonia.
Shortly before him, Pius X (also Italian) was head of the Catholic Church between 1903 and 1914. He died at the age of 79 due to a heart attack.
The average age at death of the last nine popes is 79 years, a number well below the 95 years that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. lived, the first since Gregory XII. resigned from his office in 141, and also the first to do so voluntarily since Celestine V.