Monday, June 9, 2014

Pope Benedict XVI was actually Pope Benedict XV

Or, at least, so claims Wikipedia. Apparently Pope Benedict X was an anti-pope but he is still considered a Pope for the purposes of numbering. So, officially speaking, there has never been a Pope Benedict XVI since Joseph Ratzinger was actually the fifteenth true Pope of that title.

Good pub quiz material.

2 comments:

  1. That's interesting - thank you!

    If there is now any confusion about what to call him, how about 'Pope Benedict the Great'?

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  2. That sounds good to me. I expect he will always be my favourite Pope.

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