They are the leaders of the most powerful and wealthiest institution in the world..The Catholic Church.  For this reason they can be considered the most powerful and influential person during their reign as Pope. They can also be considered the most holiest of men who have provided profound wisdom, spiritual leadership and moral instruction to nations as well as individuals  Here are some little known stories of the men who have been Popes. 

The longest reign of a Pope was that of Pope Pius IX.  He was elected in 1846 and reigned for thirty two years before he died at the age of fifty four.  The shortest reign of a Pope was that of Stephen II.  Stephen II was elected Pope on March 23, 752 and died the very next day.  Since he was unable to be consecrated before the died, his name was omitted for Vatican records and then was given to his successor.

The oldest Pope is Pope Adrian I.  He was elected in 772 and the age of eighty and lived to be one hundred three years old.  The youngest was Pope Benedict XI.  He was elected at the age of twelve amidst a cloud of political intrigue, beating out two other candidates that were considered “anti-popes” by the church.  He was reaffirmed twice before dying at the age of twenty five.

Seventy six Popes have been formally admitted to the Roman Catholic list of saints.  Twenty six Popes have been murdered and forty more have died within a year of taking office.  The highest turnover of Popes occurred between April, 896 and December, 897.  In just over a year and a half, no less than six Popes were elected to office.

The last non Italian Pope to reign before Pope Paul II, who was elected 1978 was Pope Adrian V1 of Holland.  He was elected in 1522.  This of course means that Italians exclusively held the esteemed office of Pope for 456 consecutive years.

When a Pope dies, the Papal Secretary has to call out the original christian birth name that was given to the dead Pope three times before he can be officially declared dead.  The “Fisherman’s Ring”, which is given to him at his coronation, is broken along with his papal seal.  In the nineteenth century, the Papal Secretary was also required to tap the head of the dead Pope with a silver hammer.

The cardinals who elect the Pope can be found gulity of simony, which is the crime of selling their vote for money of power.  In 1272, the cardinal took two years and nine months to come to decision while electing a new Pope.  Giving in to exasperation, angry Catholics sealed them up in a room until a decision could be made.  This practice has since become an official part of the election process.  The shortest election on record was in 1939.  It took one day to make a decision.  Perhaps that is because it was also in 1939 that Adolph Hitler had supposedly sent a spy to infiltrate the election.