20 Little Known Facts About Popes That Sound Totally Unreal

Pope Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests for abusing children.

John Paul I (1912-1978) was the last Pope who avoided the typical papal regalia and tried to make major progressive reforms to Church doctrine. He died just one month into his papacy under mysterious circumstances. The Church has never investigated his death.

Pope John XII is said to have died either during sex with a married woman or was beaten to death by her husband. It was among many other scandalous acts he performed, some of which included affairs, toasting to the devil, ordaining 10-year-old boys as a bishop, etc.

Pope Stephen VI once dug up the body of a previous Pope (Pope Formosus), put it on trial for bribery and rule-breaking and mocked him for being silent in front of the entire Vatican. The defendant lost the case.

Before becoming Pope, Pius II wrote in 1448 an erotic novel, which became the best-selling book of the 15th century. The book named “Historia de amantibus” translates to “The Tale of the Two Lovers.”

Pope Leo XIII outlined the rights of workers to a fair wage, safe working conditions, and the formation of labor unions while affirming the rights of property and free enterprise, opposing both Atheistic Marxism and laissez-faire capitalism.

Pope Urban VIII forbade Catholics from using the powdered form of tobacco known as snuff because of its tendency to cause sneezing, which he viewed as dangerously akin to sexual ecstasy.

Pope Gregory IX considered cats to be the 'incarnation of Satan,' which led to a mass killing of cats, which resulted in the rat population to swell. This therefore quickened the spread of the Black Death in Europe.

Pope Sylvester II allegedly built an autonomous brazen head and ascended to the papal throne by making a deal with a demon. 

Pope John Paul II liked Yoo-hoo chocolate milk. As Popes do not give commercial endorsements, a subsequent statement from his spokesman denied that the pontiff had any particular preference among American milk drinks.