The only oldest Pope Francis was Leo 13, who died in 1903 at the age of 93; Benedict 16 died at 95, but renounced 86
Pope Francis, (21.br.2025) At 88, he was the 2nd oldest to lead the Catholic Church in modern history. The only oldest Pope was Leo 13, who died at the age of 93 in 1903.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope in 2013 at the age of 76. Benedict 16, Francis’ predecessor, died in December 2022 at the age of 95, but resigned to the post in 2013 when he was 85.
Both Benedict 16 and Francis had exceeded 70 years when elected popes, which was not usually common.
João Paulo 2, for example, was 58 years old when he was elected, in 1978. From 1900 here, the age of the elected popes, on average, is 67 years. Already the average age of the popes at the end of their pontificates is 78 years.
Read the list of the last popes*, in order of age:
- Lion 13 -93 years (papacy: 1878-1903);
- Francisco -88 years (papacy: 2013-2025);
- Bento 16 -86 years (Papacy: 2005-2013);
- PIO 9th -85 years (Papacy: 1846-1878);
- João Paulo 2nd -84 years (Papacy: 1978-2005);
- Pio 12 -82 years (Papacy: 1939-1958);
- Pio 11 -81 years, 8 months and 10 days (Papacy: 1922-1939);
- João 23 -81 years, 6 months and 9 days (Papacy: 1958-1963);
- Pi 7th -81 years and 6 days (Papacy: 1800-1823);
- Paulo 6th -80 years, 10 months and 11 days (Papacy: 1963-1978);
- Gregory 16 -80 years, 8 months and 14 days (Papacy: 1831-1846);
- Pio 10th -79 years (papacy: 1903-1914);
- Pi 8th -69 years (papacy: 1829-1830);
- Lion 12 -68 years (papacy: 1823-1829);
- Bento 15 -67 years (Papado: 1914-1922);
- João Paulo 1st – 65 years (papacy: 1978).
