Pope-elect Stephen

Stephen, a priest of Rome elected pope in March of 752 to succeed St. Zachary, died of apoplexy three days later, before being ordained a bishop.

Pope numbering controversy

In those times, the pope was chosen from among the priests and deacons of Rome and never from among bishops from other dioceses . By definition, the pope was the bishop of Rome and was considered legitimate only from the day of his ordination. As a result, Stephen was not considered a legitimate pope and as such, omitted from all lists of popes. His immediate successor, also called Stephen, is as a rule numbered Stephen II, since the name Stephen had been already borne by Pope Stephen I (254-257).

From 752 to 942, seven popes reigned bearing the name of Stephen. Originally, they were not otherwise distinguished, as regnal numbering was not applied to popes until the 10th century. They were named Stephen II to VIII respectively after their death. But the next pope to take the name Stephen in 1057, after numbering had become a custom, was called Stephen IX during his life and signed all his documents "Stephanus Nonus Papa".

Approximately from the beginning of the 13th century, the election to Papacy (in contrast to episcopal consecration) was considered the beginning of the pontificate, not only because nearly all popes were now already bishops when elected , but especially to ensure a clear transition of the very great papal powers, not subject to other forces. Episcopal consecration thus became a formality as far as the papal title, which was not a sacramental order, was concerned. A pope was thus legitimate pope from his election, even before his consecration. According to this new point of view, when Pope Celestine IV (1241) or Pope Urban VII (1590) died just after their election, before their papal consecration, they were still considered legitimate. The most extreme case is Pope Adrian V, who was elected pope in 1276 without ever having been ordained to the priesthood, and died one month later, still not ordained: he has always been considered a legitimate pope. In the 16th century, at the time of the Council of Trent and the Catholic Counter-Reformation, the supremacy of the Church and its leader was reinforced. It was emphasized that the pope owed his election only to the Holy Spirit and thus became pope from the moment of election.

Therefore Pope-elect Stephen was now counted as a legitimate pope. He had then to be called Stephen II and the following Stephens had to be requalified from Stephen III to Stephen X — even if the last one was called officially Stephen IX during his life.

During the reign of Pope John XXIII, Stephen was again erased from the lists. The Annuario pontificio, which gives the authorized list of popes, was modified in its 1961 edition, and the regnal numbers of the subsequent Stephens reverted to II to IX.

Although pope-elect Stephen has not been listed among the popes in the Annuario pontificio since 1961, many recent articles and internet sites continue to list him as pope, often relying on the 1913 edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia, because it is in the public domain. Even reputable sources such as the Encyclopedia Britannica continue to refer to him as "unconsecrated pope" Stephen (II), with his successor identified either as Stephen (II) III or as Stephen II (III).

The matter of Stephen's legitimacy is of no theological or historical consequence, as he died without having made any decisions. Thus, the only aspect affected by his recognition, or lack thereof, is the list of popes.

See also

• Vicedomino de Vicedominis

References

• Bishop of Rome, Patrick Saint-Roch
• Onomastics, Pontifical, Bernd-Ulrich Hergemöller

  in Philippe Levillain (editor), The Papacy: An Encyclopedia, Routledge, 2002, 1780 p. ISBN 0-415-93752-3

See also

• List of 10 shortest-reigning popes
• Pope John XX