| Part of the series on Pope (Catholic Church) | |
|---|---|
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| Coat of Arms of the Holy See. | |
| History | |
| Saint Peter and the origin of the office | |
| Election, death and abdication | |
| Titles | |
| Residence and jurisdiction | |
| Regalia and insignia | |
| Status and authority | |
| Political role | |
| Objections to the papacy | |
| Antipopes | |
| Other popes | |
| Longest-reigning popes | |
| Shortest-reigning popes | |
| Article discussion | |
Longest-reigning popes[]
See also: List of popes by length of reign
Although the average reign of the pope from the Middle Ages was a decade, a number of those whose reign lengths can be determined from contemporary historical data are the following:
- Pius IX (1846–1878): 31 years, 7 months and 23 days (11,560 days).
- John Paul II (1978–2005): 26 years, 5 months and 18 days (9,665 days).
- Leo XIII (1878–1903): 25 years, 5 months and 1 day (9,281 days).
- Pius VI (1775–1799): 24 years, 6 months and 15 days (8,962 days).
- Adrian I (772–795): 23 years, 10 months and 25 days (8,729 days).
- Pius VII (1800–1823): 23 years, 5 months and 7 days (8,560 days).
- Alexander III (1159–1181): 21 years, 11 months and 24 days (8,029 days).
- St. Sylvester I (314–335): 21 years, 11 months and 1 day (8,005 days).
- St. Leo I (440–461): 21 years, 1 month, and 13 days. (7,713 days).
- Urban VIII (1623–1644): 20 years, 11 months and 24 days (7,664 days).
Saint Peter is thought to have reigned for over thirty years (AD 29 – 64?/67?), but the exact length is not reliably known.