Think you’ve heard it all about the Popes? Think again. From bizarre habits and unexpected careers to strange deaths and controversial decisions, history’s holiest men have some truly jaw-dropping stories. This second installment dives even deeper into the Vatican’s vault of oddities, revealing 50 more strange, scandalous, and surprising facts about the leaders of the Catholic Church. Read Part 1 here if you missed it.
1 Celestine V Accidentally Becomes Pope
During the papal election of 1294, a Catholic monk named Pietro del Morrone wrote an angry letter to the cardinals, urging them to end the two-year stalemate. Surprisingly, the cardinals elected him pope upon receiving the letter. Although he tried to flee, they pressured him into accepting the position. Soon after, he issued a decree allowing popes to resign-and did so himself just one week later. He became known as Pope Celestine V.
2. The longest papal conclave to elect a pope in history lasted from 1268 to 1271. As the cardinals failed to reach a consensus for nearly three years, frustrated local magistrates removed the roof of the election hall in Viterbo to expose them to the elements and force a decision.
3. The Vatican strictly prohibits whole chickens and covered pies from entering the Papal Conclave. The unusual rule aims to stop people from using food to smuggle hidden messages or contraband into the sealed voting chamber.
4. In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Italy and advanced into Rome. His army swiftly defeated the papal forces. When 80-year-old Pope Pius VI refused to recognize Napoleon’s authority, the French arrested him. They held him captive until his death 18 months later.
5. The Catholic Church prohibits popes from donating their organs, as their bodies become Church property upon death. This rule invalidated the organ donor card of Pope Benedict XVI, which he had carried since the 1970s.
6 Lando: Pope With No Number
Before Pope Francis chose an entirely new papal name in 2013, the last pope to do so without a regnal number was Pope Lando. He served from September 913 to March 914 and remains the only pope with that name.
7. Pope Benedict IX is the only person to have been pope more than once. He first became pope in 1032 and ruled for nearly 12 years before being expelled from Rome. He later returned, became pope again, then sold the papacy to his godfather to marry his cousin, then changed his mind . He became pope again only to be deposed by Emperor Henry III after seizing the Lateran Palace. He was ultimately driven out for good in 1048.
8. In 1334, the College of Cardinals accidentally elected Pope Benedict XII. During the first round of voting, cardinals often cast ballots for random candidates to gauge alliances. However, this tactic backfired when every cardinal unknowingly voted for the same obscure candidate, much to his surprise.
9. Castrati-male singers who are castrated before puberty-rose to prominence in the 17th and 18th centuries due to their powerful, high-pitched voices. They became essential in church choirs and Italian opera. In 1748, Pope Benedict XIV attempted to ban the practice; however, he failed, fearing that church attendance would decline without their celebrated performances.
10. In 1492, on his deathbed, Pope Innocent VIII could no longer consume solid food or wine. As a last resort, wet nurses breastfed him directly, providing the only nourishment he could tolerate.
11 Clement VIII Blessed Satan’s Brew
When coffee arrived in Europe during the 17th century, many Europeans reacted with fear, calling it the “bitter invention of Satan.” In 1615, the clergy in Venice asked Pope Clement VIII to condemn the beverage. However, after tasting it, he found it so pleasing that he gave it papal approval-reportedly declaring it would be a sin to let only non-Christians enjoy it.
12. Trasmoz, a town in Spain, was excommunicated in the 13th century for alleged witchcraft. Later, in 1511, Pope Julius II reinforced this judgment by placing an official curse on the village. Remarkably, neither the excommunication nor the curse has ever been lifted. Today, the town embraces its unique status: every June, during the Feria de Brujería (Witchcraft Fair), it names a local “Witch of the Year.”
13. In 1376, Pope Gregory XI excommunicated the entire Florentine government during the War of the Eight Saints. He also banned the city from participating in religious ceremonies; sanctioned Florentine merchants abroad by forbidding Christians from trading with them; and legalized the capture or enslavement of Florentine citizens by any Christian anywhere in Europe.
14. Pope Julius II gained a reputation for bold, often reckless actions that went unpunished. On one occasion, he entered the fortified city of Perugia unarmed. Despite having an army, the local ruler surrendered and fled in fear. The result shocked political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli, who later suggested that someone should have simply killed the pope to stop his unchecked power.
15. In 2018, during a flight over Chile, Pope Francis officiated an impromptu wedding between two flight attendants. The couple had married in a civil ceremony in 2010 but were unable to hold a church service due to the devastating Chilean earthquake that same year.
16 Innocent III Annulled Magna Carta
Pope Innocent III annulled the original Magna Carta in 1215, claiming it infringed on royal authority and papal supremacy. Although English kings reinstated the charter multiple times in the years that followed, the Magna Carta applied only to King John and 25 barons. Over time, most of its clauses have been repealed or replaced, though its legacy endures as a symbol of limited monarchy and legal rights.
17. While Michelangelo painted The Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel, Papal Master of Ceremonies Biagio da Cesena secretly viewed the unfinished work and criticized it as inappropriate for a sacred space. In retaliation, Michelangelo painted Biagio into the fresco as Minos, the judge of the underworld-complete with donkey ears and a snake biting his genitals. Despite complaints, the Pope refused to have the image removed, joking that his jurisdiction didn’t extend to Hell.
18. In the early 1900s, Pope Pius X issued a papal edict banning the use of wind instruments-including the saxophone-in Catholic liturgy. He believed their tone was inappropriate for sacred worship and promoted a return to more traditional Gregorian chant and organ music.
19. In 1590, during his brief 13-day papacy, Pope Urban VII issued the world’s first public smoking ban. He threatened excommunication for anyone who used tobacco “in the porchway of or inside a church,” whether by smoking, chewing, or snuffing it. Though short-lived, his decree marked an early attempt at regulating public health behavior.
20. Pope Gregory XVI, who ruled from 1831 to 1846, strongly opposed technological advancements like gas lighting and railways. He feared they would stimulate commerce and lead to liberal revolutions. As a result, he banned railways in the Papal States, famously referring to them as chemins d’enfer (“roads to hell”)-a pun on the French chemin de fer (“iron road”).
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
21 1937 Letter Secretly Condemns Nazis
Mit brennender Sorge (“With Burning Concern”) was a papal letter that was secretly smuggled into Nazi Germany and read aloud from every Catholic pulpit on Palm Sunday, 1937. It condemned the Reich government’s violations of human dignity and religious freedom, subtly mocked Hitler as a “prophet of nothingness,” and implied that even Heaven was laughing at his delusions of grandeur.
22. When Pope Francis announced his 2023 visit to Belgium, residents of Tremelo-birthplace of Saint Damien of Molokai-were upset to be excluded. Their frustration stemmed from an earlier disappointment: 30 years prior, Pope John Paul II had promised to visit the town but canceled at the last minute after breaking his femur in the papal bathtub.
23. During the 1600s renovation of St. Peter’s Basilica, several tombs of popes from nearly a thousand years of church history were destroyed to make room for the new architectural vision. Much of the Vatican’s early burial record was lost in the process.
24. For nearly 300 years, becoming pope was practically a death sentence. Of the first 31 popes, 28 were martyred-often through brutal methods.
25. Jesters didn’t just serve kings and nobles-they also entertained high-ranking church officials, including bishops, cardinals, and even popes. However, in the 16th century, Pope Pius V abolished the position of papal jester as part of his sweeping reforms to eliminate luxury, ornate decor, and distractions from Vatican life.
RE: Fact #41 (Cocaine Wine Endorsed by Pope) – History always gets the best stuff.
RE: Fact #28 (Francis Open To Alien Baptism) – The Vatican’s run by aliens, so alien baptisms totally make sense.
RE: Fact #42 (Secret Cardinals Named In Pectore) – Honestly, it’s just as confusing as the rest of the church stuff.
RE: Fact #1 (Celestine V Accidentally Becomes Pope) – It’s seriously funny that he’s the patron saint of papal resignations. What a tiny club to be the patron saint of!
RE: Fact #19 (Urban VII Banned Church Smoking) – Two popes only lasted a short time—one ten months, the other two.
RE: Fact #25 (Pius V Fired Papal Jesters) – KCD2 Codex is awesome! Totally recommend it.
That’s how I found out about it.
Pius is a real drag. Maybe we Catholics need papal jesters.
Seriously, we should bring back jesters for everything!
Every politician needs their own comedian, or jester.
The President should pick their VP *and* their jester – put the jester’s name on the ticket! The jester should run press conferences. And no, not just any comedian – I’m talking full medieval clown regalia!