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This is a '''list of sexually active popes''', list of priests who were sexually active before becoming pope and popes who were legally married, and who belonged to the ]. Some candidates were ] before their election as ], and it has sometimes been claimed that other Popes were sexually active ''during'' their papacies. Since such relationships were sometimes undertaken outside of the bonds of ], and because sometimes the Pope was under a vow of celibacy, the Catholic Church considers these to be grave abuses and causes of scandal. However, it believes it does not undermine the Catholic doctrines considering the authority and ] from ].


{{pp|small=yes}}{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}{{Use British English|date=December 2024}}
According to standard lists, there have been 265 popes; there are various classifications for those who were sexually active at some time during their lives. Periods in parentheses refer to the years of their papacies. There have been thirty-nine popes since 1585. None of them is known to have been sexually active during his papacy.


] had four illegitimate children and made his illegitimate son ] the first ].]]
==Background==
This is a '''list of sexually active popes''', ] ] who were not ] before they became ], and those who were legally married before becoming pope. Some candidates were allegedly ] before their election as ], and others were thought to have been sexually active during their papacies. A number of them had children.
{{main|Clerical celibacy (Catholic Church)|Catholic teachings on sexual morality}}


There are various classifications for those who were sexually active during their lives. Allegations of sexual activities are of varying levels of reliability, with several having been made by contemporary political or religious opponents. Some claims are generally accepted by modern historians, while other remain more contested.
For many years of the Church's history, celibacy was considered optional. Based on the customs of the times, it is assumed by many that like Peter, most of the Apostles were married and had families. It is clear from the New Testament (Mk 1:29-31; Mt 8:14-15; Lk 4:38-39; 1 Tim 3:2, 12; Tit 1:6) that at least the Apostle Peter had been married, and that bishops, presbyters and deacons of the Primitive Church were often family men. It is also clear from epigraphy, the testimony of the Fathers, synodal legislation, papal decretals and other sources that in the following centuries, a married clergy, in greater or lesser numbers, was a normal feature of the life of the Church.


== Background ==
Since the Middle Ages, the ] of the Catholic Church has accepted priests and bishops only after they have taken vows of ].<ref> retrieved June 9, 2008</ref> Previously, celibacy was not absolutely required for those ordained, but still was a discipline practiced in the early Church. Mandatory celibacy was enforced because there was so much political and economic power attached to the papacy. The Church therefore adopted celibacy as a matter of discipline, not as a matter of doctrine. In this context, ''celibate'' is not synonymous with sexually abstinent; it means ''not married'' and only entails sexual abstinence because a different Catholic doctrine requires sexual abstinence outside marriage.
{{Main article|Clerical celibacy (Catholic Church)|Catholic teachings on sexual morality}}


For many years of the Church's history, celibacy was considered optional. Based on the customs of the times, it is assumed{{By whom|date=June 2021}} by many that most of the ] were married and had families. The ] (Mark 1:29–31;<ref>{{bibleverse|Mark|1:29–31}}</ref> Matthew 8:14–15;<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|8:14–15}}</ref> Luke 4:38–39;<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|4:38–39}}</ref> 1 Timothy 3:2, 12;<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Timothy|3:2–12}}</ref> Titus 1:6)<ref>{{bibleverse|Titus|1:6}}</ref> depicts at least Peter as being married, and ], ] and ] of the ] were often married as well. In epigraphy, the testimony of the ], synodal legislation, and papal decretals in the following centuries, a married clergy, in greater or lesser numbers, was a feature of the life of the Church. Celibacy was not required for those ordained and was accepted in the early Church, particularly by those in the monastic life.
The discipline of priestly celibacy is not considered one of the infallible immutable ]s. The ] held that virginity and celibacy were higher states than marriage but, more recently, popes have acknowledged the gift and graces of both married and celibate states. In his ] reflections July 7, 1983, ] said "The gift received by persons who live in marriage is different from the one received by persons who live in virginity and choose continence for the sake of the kingdom of God. All the same, it is a true gift from God, one's own gift, intended for concrete persons. It is specific, that is, suited to their vocation in life. We can therefore say that the Apostle stresses also the action of grace in every person—in one who lives in marriage no less than in one that willingly chooses continence."


Although various local Church councils had demanded celibacy of the clergy in a particular episcopal jurisdiction,<ref>{{cite CE1913|wstitle=Celibacy of the Clergy}}</ref> it was not until the ] (1139) that official made the promise to remain ] a prerequisite to ordination within the ] (and effectively ended any practice of a married priesthood). Subsequently sexual relationships were generally undertaken outside the bonds of ], and each sexual act thus committed would have been considered a ].
==Allegedly and factually sexually active popes==
===Married before receiving Holy Orders===
It was within canon law, and still is, for priests to have once been married before receiving ]. In the Eastern Rite branches of the Catholic Church, it is within canon law to be a priest and married (but one may not marry ''after'' ordination).
*] ''(Simon Peter)'', whose mother-in-law is mentioned in the Bible as having been miraculously healed ({{bibleverse||Matthew|8:14–15|KJV}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|4:38|KJV}}, {{bibleverse||Mark|1:29–31|KJV}}). According to ] (Stromata, III, vi, ed. Dindorf, II, 276), Peter was married and had children and his wife suffered martyrdom. In some legends dating from at least the 6th century, Peter's daughter is called ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11781b.htm |title=De Rossi, 'Roma sotterranea', I, 180 |publisher=Newadvent.org |date=1911-02-01 |accessdate=2011-10-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Altars/StPetronilla/StPetronilla.htm |title=St. Peter's - Altar of St Petronilla |publisher=Saintpetersbasilica.org |date= |accessdate=2011-10-18}}</ref> ] wrote: "For Peter and Philip begat children; When the blessed Peter saw his own wife led out to die, he rejoiced because of her summons and her return home, and called to her very encouragingly and comfortingly, addressing her by name, and saying, 'Remember the Lord.' Such was the marriage of the blessed, and their perfect disposition toward those dearest to them."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250103.htm |title=Clements, Stromata (book VII) / Eusebius, Church History (Book III) |publisher=Newadvent.org |date= |accessdate=2012-11-28}}</ref>
*] (384–399), who, tradition suggests, left his wife and children to become Pope. The number of Siricius' children is unknown. He issued a decree in 385 that priests should stop cohabiting with their wives.
*] (399–401) was succeeded by his son ].
*] (483–492) was a widower with two children when he was elected to succeed Pope Simplicius in 483. It is said that he was the great-great-grandfather of ] ("the Great").
*] (514–523) was married and widowed before he took Holy Orders. He was the father of ].<ref>''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (1910) </ref>
*] (536–537) may have been married to a woman called Antonia. However this remains debated by historians.
*] (678–681) was married for 20 years as a layman and had one daughter. In maturity he followed a call to God. With his wife’s blessing he became a monk at the monastery of Saint Hermes in ]. It is thought his wife entered a convent.
*] (867–872) was married before he took Holy Orders, to a woman called Stephania, and had a daughter.<ref>K. Dopierała, ''Księga Papieży'', Pallotinum, Poznań, 1996, p. 106</ref> His wife and daughter were still living when he was elected Pope and resided with him in the Lateran Palace. They were murdered by Eleutherius, brother of ], the Church's chief librarian.
*] (1003) was married before his election as Pope and had three sons, who all became priests.<ref>* {{ws|"]" in the 1913 ''Catholic Encyclopedia''}}</ref>
*] (1265–1268) was married, before taking holy orders, and had two daughters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04019a.htm |title=Catholic Encyclopedia article on Clement IV |publisher=Newadvent.org |date= |accessdate=2011-10-18}}</ref>
*] (1285–1287) was married before he took Holy Orders and had at least two sons. He entered the clergy after his wife died, the last Pope to have been married.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1261.htm |title=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Cardinal Giacomo Savelli |publisher=Fiu.edu |date= |accessdate=2011-10-18}}</ref>


== Popes who were legally married ==
===Sexually active before receiving Holy Orders===
*] (1458–1464) had at least two illegitimate children (one in Strasbourg and another one in Scotland), born before he entered the clergy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12126c.htm |title=Catholic Encyclopedia article on Pope Pius II |publisher=Newadvent.org |date=1911-06-01 |accessdate=2011-10-18}}</ref>
*] (1484–1492) had at least two illegitimate children, born before he entered the clergy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08019b.htm |title=Catholic Encyclopedia article on Pope Innocent VIII |publisher=Newadvent.org |date=1910-10-01 |accessdate=2011-10-18}}</ref> According to the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', he "openly practised nepotism in favour of his children".<ref>Encyclopaedia Britannica 1911</ref> ] chastised him for his worldly ambitions.<ref><The Life of Girolamo Savonarola (1959) by Roberto Ridolfi</ref> The title ''Padre della patria'' (Father of the Fatherland) was suggested for him, precisely with suggestions that he may have fathered as many as 16 illegitimate children.<ref>{{cite web|author=Roberto |url=http://www.romeartlover.it/Talking.html |title=The Talking Statues of Rome |publisher=Romeartlover.it |date= |accessdate=2011-10-18}}</ref>


{| class="wikitable"
*] (1523–1534) had one illegitimate son before he took holy orders. Academic sources identify him with ].<ref>S. Miranda: </ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/secret/famous/medici.html |title=Alessandro De Medici &#124; FRONTLINE |publisher=PBS |date= |accessdate=2011-10-18}}</ref>
!width=10%|Name
*] (1572–1585) had an illegitimate son before he took holy orders.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1565.htm#Boncompagni |title=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Ugo Boncompagni |publisher=Fiu.edu |date=2007-12-03 |accessdate=2011-10-18}}</ref>
!width=10%|Reign(s)
!Relationship
!Offspring
!Notes
|-
|]
|30/33–64/68
|Mother-in-law (Greek πενθερά, ''penthera'') is mentioned in the ] verses {{bibleverse||Matthew|8:14–15|KJV}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|4:38|KJV}}, {{bibleverse||Mark|1:29–31|KJV}}, and who ] at her home in ]. {{Bibleref2|1 Cor.|9:5}} asks whether others have the right to be accompanied by Christian wives as does "]" (Peter). ] wrote: "When the blessed Peter saw his own wife led out to die, he rejoiced because of her summons and her return home, and called to her very encouragingly and comfortingly, addressing her by name, and saying, 'Remember the Lord.' Such was the marriage of the blessed, and their perfect disposition toward those dearest to them"<ref>Cited by Eusebius, ''Church History'', . Full text at .</ref>
|Yes<ref>] wrote: "For Peter and Philip begat children" in {{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250103.htm|title=Clements, Stromata (book VII) / Eusebius, Church History (Book III)|publisher=Newadvent.org|access-date=2012-11-28}}</ref>
|Later legends, dating from the 6th century onwards, suggested that Peter had a daughter – identified as ]. This connection is likely to be a result of the similarity of their names<ref>{{Cite CE1913 |wstitle=St. Petronilla}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Altars/StPetronilla/StPetronilla.htm |title=St. Peter's – Altar of St Petronilla |publisher=Saintpetersbasilica.org |access-date=2011-10-18}}</ref>
|-
|]
|483–492
|Widowed before his election as pope
|Yes
|Himself the son of a priest, Felix fathered two children, one of whom was subsequently the mother of Pope ] (making the latter his grandson)<ref>R.A. Markus, Gregory the Great and his world (Cambridge: University Press, 1997), p.8</ref>
|-
|]
|514–523
|Widowed before he took holy orders
|Yes
|Father of ]<ref>{{cite CE1913|first=Johann Peter |last=Kirsch|wstitle=Pope St. Hormisdas |volume=7}}</ref>
|-
|]
|867–872
|Married to ] before he took holy orders,<ref>{{cite CE1913|first=James Francis |last=Loughlin |wstitle=Pope Adrian II |volume=1}}</ref> she was still living when he was elected pope and resided with him in the ].
|Yes (a daughter)
|His wife and daughter both resided with him until they were murdered by Eleutherius, brother of ], the Church's chief librarian<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dopierała |first=K. |title=Księga Papieży |publisher=Pallotinum |location=Poznań |year=1996 |page=106}}</ref>
|-
|]
|1003
|Married before his election as pope
|Yes (three sons)
|All of his children became priests<ref>* {{Cite CE1913 |first=Johann Peter |last=Kirsch |wstitle=Pope John XVII (XVIII) |volume=8}}</ref>
|-
|]
|1265–1268
|Widowed before taking holy orders
|Yes (two daughters)
|Both children entered a ]<ref>{{cite CE1913 |volume=4 |first=James Francis |last=Loughlin |wstitle=Pope Clement IV}}</ref>
|-
|style=white-space:nowrap|]
|1285–1287
|Widowed before entering the clergy
|Yes (at least two sons)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1261.htm|title=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Cardinal Giacomo Savelli|publisher=Fiu.edu|access-date=2011-10-18}}{{Self-published source|date=January 2013}}<!-- references available at that source --></ref>
|
|}


== Fathered illegitimate children before holy orders ==
===Sexually active after receiving Holy Orders===
*] (1503–1513) had at least one illegitimate daughter, ] (born in 1483, twenty years before his election). Some sources indicate that he had two additional illegitimate daughters, who died in their childhood.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1471.htm#Dellarovere |title=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Giuliano della Rovere |publisher=Fiu.edu |date= |accessdate=2011-10-18}}</ref> Furthermore, some (possibly libellous) reports of his time accused him of ]. According to the schismatic ] in 1511, he was a "sodomite covered with shameful ulcers."<ref>''Who's Who in Gay and Lesbian History from Antiquity to World War II'', Robert Aldrich and Garry Wotherspoon, Routledge, 2001</ref>
*] (1534–1549) held off ordination<ref>He was ordained priest only in 1519, but in 1493 he was created Cardinal-deacon, and as such he belonged to the ecclesiestical state</ref> in order to continue his promiscuous lifestyle, fathering four illegitimate children (three sons and one daughter) by his mistress Silvia Ruffini. He broke his relations with her ca. 1513. There is no evidence of sexual activity during his papacy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1493.htm#Farnese |title=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Alessandro Farnese |publisher=Fiu.edu |date= |accessdate=2011-10-18}}</ref> He made his illegitimate son ] the first ].<ref>Giovanni Drei, I Farnese, Parma, 1950</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.onlipix.com/kings/italy/farnese.htm |title=Farnese familytree |publisher=Onlipix.com |date= |accessdate=2011-10-18}}</ref>
*] (1559–1565) had three illegitimate children before his election to the papacy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1549.htm#Medici |title=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Giovanni Angelo de' Medici |publisher=Fiu.edu |date= |accessdate=2011-10-18}}</ref>


{| class="wikitable"
===Sexually active during their pontificate===
!width=10%|Name
*] (904–911) was supposedly the father of ] by ], according to ] in his ''Antapodosis'',<ref name="fmg.ac">http://web.archive.org/web/20080413210922/http://fmg.ac/FMG/Popes.pdf Lindsay Brook, ''Popes and pornocrats: Rome in the Early Middle Ages''</ref> as well as the ].<ref>Liber Pontificalis (first ed., 500s; it has papal biographies up to Pius II, d. 1464)</ref> However, this is disputed by another early source, the annalist ] (c. 894-966), John XI was brother of Alberic II, the latter being the offspring of Marozia and her husband Alberic I. Hence John too may have been the son of Marozia and Alberic I. Bertrand Fauvarque underlines that the contemporary sources backing up this parenthood are dubious, Liutprand being "prone to exaggeration" while other mentions of this fatherhood appear in satires written by supporters of late ].<ref>Fauvarque, Bertrand (2003). "De la tutelle de l'aristocratie italienne à celle des empereurs germaniques". In Y.-M. Hilaire (Ed.), ''Histoire de la papauté, 2000 ans de missions et de tribulations''. Paris:Tallandier. ISBN 2-02-059006-9, p. 163.</ref>
!width=10%|Reign
*] (914–928) had romantic affairs with both ] and her daughter Marozia, according to ] in his ''Antapodosis'':<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20080413210922/http://fmg.ac/FMG/Popes.pdf |title=Lindsay Brook, "Popes and pornocrats: Rome in the Early Middle Ages" |publisher=Web.archive.org |date=2008-04-13 |accessdate=2012-11-28}}</ref> "The first of the popes to be created by a woman and now destroyed by her daughter". (See also ])
!Relationship
*] (955–963) (deposed by Conclave) was said to have turned the ] into a ] and was accused of ], ], and ] (Source: ]).<ref>{{cite book | author=Martin, Malachi | title= Decline and Fall of the Roman Church | location=New York | publisher=Bantam Books | year=1981 | isbn=0-553-22944-3}} p. 105</ref> The monk chronicler Benedict of Soracte noted in his volume XXXVII that he "liked to have a collection of women". According to ] in his ''Antapodosis'',<ref name="fmg.ac"/> "they testified about his adultery, which they did not see with their own eyes, but nonetheless knew with certainty: he had fornicated with the widow of Rainier, with Stephana his father's concubine, with the widow Anna, and with his own niece, and he made the sacred palace into a whorehouse." According to ''The Oxford Dictionary of Popes'', John XII was "a Christian Caligula whose crimes were rendered particularly horrific by the office he held".<ref name="ReferenceA">The Oxford Dictionary of Popes, Oxford University Press, 1986</ref> He was killed by a jealous husband while in the act of committing adultery with the man's wife.<ref>Peter de Rosa, ''Vicars of Christ: The Dark Side of the Papacy'', Poolbeg Press, Dublin 1988/2000, pages 211-215.</ref><ref>Hans Kung, ''The Catholic Church: A Short History'' (translated by John Bowden), Modern Library, New York. 2001/2003. page 79</ref><ref>''The Popes' Rights & Wrongs'', published by Truber & Co., 1860</ref><ref>Dr. Angelo S. Rappaport, ''The Love Affairs of the Vatican'', 1912</ref> (See also ])
!Offspring
*] (1032– became pope in 1044, again in 1045 and finally 1047–1048).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02429a.htm |title=Catholic Encyclopedia article on Benedict IX |publisher=Newadvent.org |date= |accessdate=2011-10-18}}</ref> He was accused by Bishop Benno of ] of "many vile adulteries."<ref>“Post multa turpia adulteria et homicidia manibus suis perpetrata,
!Notes
postremo, etc.” {{Cite document
|-
|last=Dümmler
|]
|first=Ernst Ludwig
|1458–1464
|authorlink=Ernst Dümmler
|Not married
|title=Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Libelli de lite
|Yes (at least two)
|publisher=Deutsches Institut für Erforschung des Mittelalters
|Two children, both born before he formally entered the clergy. The first child, fathered while in Scotland, died in infancy. A second child fathered while in ] with a Breton woman named Elizabeth died 14 months later. He delayed becoming a cleric because of the requirement of chastity<ref>{{cite CE1913 |volume=12
|year=1891
|first=Nicholas Aloysius |last=Weber |wstitle=Pope Pius II}}</ref>
|location=Hannover
|-
|pages=584
|]
|volume=I
|1484–1492
|edition=Bonizonis episcopi Sutriensis: Liber ad amicum
|Not married
|url=http://www.uan.it/alim/letteratura.nsf/(volumiID)/A9E60829767DA2D2C1256D6B0074177B/$FILE/AlimBonizoAdamicum.doc?openelement
|Yes (two)
|accessdate= 2008-01-03.
|Both born before he entered the clergy.<ref>{{cite CE1913 |volume=8
|postscript = <!--None-->
|first= Nicholas Aloysius |last=Weber |wstitle=Pope Innocent VIII}}</ref> Married elder son ] to ], who in return obtained the cardinal's hat for his 13-year-old son Giovanni, who became ].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Life of Girolamo Savonarola |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofgirolamosa00rido |url-access=registration |year=1959 |first=Roberto |last=Ridolfi|publisher=New York, Knopf }}</ref> His daughter Teodorina Cybo married Gerardo Usodimare
}}</ref><ref>''The Book of Saints'', by Ramsgate Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine's Abbey, A.C. Black, 1989. ISBN 978-0-7136-5300-7</ref> Pope ] referred in his third book of Dialogues to "his rapes... and other unspeakable acts."<ref>"Cuius vita quam turpis, quam freda, quamque execranda extiterit,
|-
horresco referre." {{Cite document
|]
|last=Victor III
|1523–1534
|first=Pope
|Not married. Relationship with a slave girl – possibly Simonetta da Collevecchio
|authorlink=Pope Victor III
|Yes (one)
|title=Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Libelli de lite
|Identified as ], Duke of Florence<ref>George L. Williams, ''Papal Genealogy: The Families And Descendants Of The Popes'', page 74: "Clement now made Alessandro de Medici "his illegitimate son by a slave" into the first duke of Florence", McFarland & Company, 1998, {{ISBN|0-7864-2071-5}}</ref><ref>Mara Wade, ''Gender Matters: Discourses of violence in early modern literature and the arts'', Editions Rodopi, 2013</ref>
|publisher=Deutsches Institut für Erforschung des Mittelalters
|}
|year=1934
|location=Hannover
|pages=141
|edition=Dialogi de miraculis Sancti Benedicti Liber Tertius auctore Desiderio abbate Casinensis
|url=http://www.uan.it/alim/letteratura.nsf/(volumiID)/D8115E7BB6446DC9C1256D660075CE62/$FILE/AlimDesiderioDialogi.doc?openelement
|accessdate=2008-01-03
|postscript=<!--None-->
}}</ref> His life prompted St. Peter Damian to write an extended treatise against sex in general, and homosexuality in particular. In his ''Liber Gomorrhianus'', Damian accused Benedict IX of routine sodomy and bestiality and sponsoring orgies.<ref>Liber Gomorrhianus, ISBN 88-7694-517-2</ref> In May 1045, Benedict IX resigned his office to pursue marriage.<ref>Dr. Angelo S. Rappaport, ''The Love Affairs of the Vatican'', 1912, pp. 81-82.</ref>
*] (1492–1503) had a notably long affair with ] before his papacy, by whom he had his famous illegitimate children ] and ]. A later mistress, ], was the sister of Alessandro Farnese, who later became ]. Alexander fathered a total of at least seven, and possibly as many as ten illegitimate children.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1456.htm#Borja |title='&#39;The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church'&#39;: Rodrigo Borja |publisher=Fiu.edu |date= |accessdate=2011-10-18}}</ref> (See also ])


== Known to or suspected of having fathered illegitimate children after receiving holy orders ==
===Rumoured to have had male lovers during pontificate===
{| class="wikitable"
*] (1464–1471) is popularly alleged to have died of a heart attack while in a sexual act with a page.<ref>Karlheinz Deschner, Storia criminale del cristianesimo (tomo VIII), Ariele, Milano, 2007, pag. 216. Nigel Cawthorne, Das Sexleben der Päpste. Die Skandalchronik des Vatikans, Benedikt Taschen Verlag, Köln, 1999, pag. 171.</ref><ref>Claudio Rendina, I Papi, Storia e Segreti, Newton Compton, Roma, 1983, p. 589</ref>
!width=10%|Name
*] (1471–1484) was alleged to have awarded gifts and benefices to court favourites in return for sexual favours. Giovanni Sclafenato was created a cardinal by Sixtus IV for "ingenuousness, loyalty,...and his other gifts of soul and body",<ref name="aldrich">{{cite book|author=Aldrich, Robert; and Wotherspoon, Garry|year=2002|title=Who's who in gay and lesbian history |page=481|accessdate=2009-06-18|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=zLWTqBmifh0C&lpg=PA481&ots=pXvmq_rS29&dq=Giovanni%20Sclafenato%20epitaph&pg=PA481}}</ref> according to the papal epitaph on his tomb.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?lr=&ei=CWUPSMLhGKDsygTH0ti9Ag&output=html&as_brr=1&id=BM6DAz1tefoC&jtp=21 |title=diary records of Stefano Infessura (1440-1500) |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2011-10-18}}</ref> Such claims were recorded by ], in his ''Diarium urbis Romae''.
!width=10%|Reign
*] (1513–1521) was widely thought to have had many active lovers, and alleged to have had a particular (albeit one-sided) infatuation for ].<ref>C. Falconi, ''Leone X'', Milan, 1987</ref>
!Relationship
*] (1550–1555) was alleged to have had a long affair with ]. The Venetian ambassador at that time reported that Innocenzo shared the pope's bedroom and bed.<ref>Burkle-Young, Francis A., and Michael Leopoldo Doerrer. ''The Life of Cardinal Innocenzo del Monte: A Scandal in Scarlet'', Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen, 1997</ref> According to ''The Oxford Dictionary of Popes'', "naturally indolent, he devoted himself to pleasurable pursuits with occasional bouts of more serious activity".<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
!Offspring
!Notes
|-
|]
|1503–1513
|Not married
|Yes (three daughters)
|Three illegitimate daughters, one of whom was ] (born in 1483, twenty years before his election as pope, and twelve years after his enthronement as bishop of Lausanne).<ref>{{cite CE1913 |volume=8 |first=Michael |last=Ott |wstitle=Pope Julius II }}</ref> The schismatic ], which sought to depose him in 1511, also accused him of being a "]"<ref>Louis Crompton, ''Homosexuality and Civilization'', page 278 (], 2006) {{ISBN|978-0-674-01197-7}}</ref>
|-
|]
|1534–1549
|Not married. Silvia Ruffini as mistress
|Yes (three sons and one daughter)
|Held off ordination in order to continue his lifestyle, fathering four illegitimate children (three sons and one daughter) by Silvia Ruffini after his appointment as cardinal-deacon of Santi Cosimo and Damiano. He broke his relations with her ca. 1513. He made his illegitimate son ] the first ]<ref>Jean de Pins, ''Letters and Letter Fragments'', page 292, footnote 5 (Libraire Droze S.A., 2007) {{ISBN|978-2-600-01101-3}}</ref><ref>Katherine McIver, ''Women, Art, And Architecture in Northern Italy, 1520–1580: Negotiating Power'', page 26 (Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2006) {{ISBN|0-7546-5411-7}}</ref>
|-
|]
|1559–1565
|Not married
|Allegedly three


| One was a son born in 1541 or 1542. He also had two daughters<ref>{{Cite book|first=Miles|last=Pattenden|title=Pius IV and the Fall of The Carafa: Nepotism and Papal Authority in Counter-Reformation Rome (page 34)|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=2013}}</ref>
==See also==
|-
*]
|]
*]
|1572–1585
|Not married. Affair with Maddalena Fulchini
|Yes
| Received the ecclesiastical tonsure in Bologna in June 1539, and subsequently had an affair that resulted in the birth of ] in 1548. Giacomo remained illegitimate, with Gregory later appointing him ] of the Church, governor of the ] and ]<ref>{{cite CE1913 |volume=7
|first=Michael |last=Ott |wstitle=Pope Gregory XIII}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1565.htm#Boncompagni |title=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Ugo Boncompagni |publisher=Fiu.edu |date=2007-12-03 |access-date=2011-10-18}}</ref>
|-
|]
|1823–1829
|Not married
|Allegedly three
|As a young prelate, he came under suspicion of having a liaison with the wife of a Swiss Guard soldier and as ] in Germany allegedly fathered three illegitimate children<ref>''Letters from Rome'' in: , pp. 468–471.</ref>
|}


== Popes alleged to be sexually active during pontificate ==
==Notes==
A majority of the allegations made in this section are disputed by modern historians.
<!-- Dead note "AnastasiusI": {{cite book | author=Kelly, J.N.D | title=Oxford Dictionary of the Popes | location=New York | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=1986 | isbn=0-19-213964-9}} p. 36–37 -->
{{reflist|2}}


===Relationships with women===
==References==
{| class="wikitable"
*''The Bad Popes'', Chamberlin, E.R., Sutton History Classics, 1969 / Dorset; New Ed edition 2003.
!width=10%|Name
*''The Pope Encyclopedia: An A to Z of the Holy See'', Matthew Bunson, Crown Trade Paperbacks, New York, 1995.
!width=10%|Reign
*''The Papacy'', Bernhard Schimmelpfennig, Columbia University Press, New York, 1984.
!Relationship
*''Lives of the Popes'', Richard P. McBrien, Harper Collins, San Francisco, 1997.
!Offspring
*''Papal Genealogy'', George L. Williams, McFarland& Co., Jefferson, North Carolina, 1998.
!Notes
*''Sex Lives of the Popes'', Nigel Cawthorne, Prion, London, 1996.
|-
*''Popes and Anti-Popes'', John Wilcock, Xlibris Corporation, 2005.
|]{{efn|name=alleged|This allegation is disputed by some modern historians.}}
*''La véritable histoire des papes'', Jean Mathieu-Rosay, Grancher, Paris, 1991
|904–911
|Not married
|Yes (at least one)
|Accused of being the illegitimate father of ] by ], the fifteen year old daughter of ] and ].<ref>{{cite CE1913 |volume=13
|first=Horace Kinder |last=Mann |wstitle=Pope Sergius III}}</ref><ref name="auto">George Williams, ''Papal Genealogy: The family and descendants of the Popes'', McFarland, 1998</ref> Such accusations lay in ]'s ''Antapodosis''<ref name="fmg.ac">{{cite journal | last=Brook | first=Lindsay Leonard | date=January 2003 | title=Popes and pornocrats: Rome in the early middle ages | journal=Foundations | volume=1 | number=1 | pages=5–21 | publication-place=Hereford, UK | publisher=Foundation for Medieval Genealogy | issn=1479-5078 | url=http://fmg.ac/phocadownload/userupload/foundations1/issue1/05Popes.pdf}}</ref> and the ].<ref>Liber Pontificalis (first ed., 500s; it has papal biographies up to Pius II, d. 1464)</ref><ref>Reverend Horace K. Mann, ''The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Volumes 1–13'' quote: "Was John XI the son of Pope Sergius by the abandoned Marozia? Liutprand says he was, and so does the author of the anonymous catalogue in the ''Liber Pontificalis'' in his one-line notice of John XI." (1928)</ref><ref>Anura Gurugé, ''The Next Pope: After Pope Benedict XVI'', page 37: "John XI (#126) would also appear to have been born out of wedlock. His mother, Marozia, from the then powerful Theophylacet family, was around sixteen years old at the time. ''Liber Pontificalis'', among others, claim that Sergius III (#120), during his tenure as pope, was the father." (WOWNH LLC, 2010). {{ISBN|978-0-615-35372-2}}</ref> The accusations have discrepancies with another early source, the annalist ] (c. 894–966): John XI was the brother of ], the latter being the offspring of Marozia and her husband ], so John too may have been the son of Marozia and Alberic I.{{fact|date=October 2023}} Fauvarque emphasises that contemporary sources are dubious, Liutprand being "prone to exaggeration" while other mentions of this fatherhood appear in satires written by supporters of ].<ref>Fauvarque, Bertrand (2003). "De la tutelle de l'aristocratie italienne à celle des empereurs germaniques". In Y.-M. Hilaire (Ed.), ''Histoire de la papauté, 2000 ans de missions et de tribulations''. Paris:Tallandier. {{ISBN|2-02-059006-9}}, p. 163.</ref>
|-
|]{{efn|name=alleged|This allegation is disputed by some modern historians.}}
|914–928
|Not married. Affairs with Theodora and Marozia
|No
|Had romantic affairs with both ] and her daughter Marozia, according to ] in his ''Antapodosis''.<ref name="auto"/><ref>], ''Crises in The history of The Papacy: A Study of Twenty Famous Popes whose Careers and whose Influence were important in the Development of The Church and in The History of The World'', page 130 (New York; London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1916)</ref> However, Monsignor ] (ecclesiastical historian and Catholic priest) wrote, "This statement is, however, generally and rightly rejected as a calumny. Liutprand wrote his history some fifty years later, and constantly slandered the Romans, whom he hated."<ref name="Kirsch"> Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 23 September 2017</ref>
|-
|]
|955–964
|Not married
|No
|Accused by adversaries of ] and ].<ref name="CE1913, Pope John XII">{{cite CE1913 |volume=8
|first=Johann Peter |last=Kirsch |wstitle=Pope John XII}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Martin |first=Malachi |title=Decline and Fall of the Roman Church |location=New York |publisher=] |year=1981 |isbn=0-553-22944-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/declinefalloft00mala }} p. 105</ref> ] noted that he had "a collection of women". According to ],<ref name="fmg.ac" /> "they testified about his adultery, which they did not see with their own eyes, but nonetheless knew with certainty: he had fornicated with the widow of Rainier, with Stephana his father's concubine, with the widow Anna, and with his own niece, and he made the sacred palace into a whorehouse". According to Chamberlin, John was "a Christian Caligula whose crimes were rendered particularly horrific by the office he held".<ref>The Bad Popes by E. R. Chamberlin</ref> Some sources report that he died eight days after being stricken by paralysis while in the act of adultery,<ref name="CE1913, Pope John XII" /> others that he was killed by the jealous husband while in the act of committing adultery.<ref>Peter de Rosa, ''Vicars of Christ: The Dark Side of the Papacy'', Poolbeg Press, Dublin 1988/2000, pages 211–215.</ref><ref>Hans Kung, ''The Catholic Church: A Short History'' (translated by John Bowden), Modern Library, New York. 2001/2003. page 79</ref><ref>''The Popes' Rights & Wrongs'', published by Truber & Co., 1860</ref><ref>Dr. Angelo S. Rappaport, ''The Love Affairs of the Vatican'', 1912</ref>
|-
|]
|1492–1503
|Not married. Relationships with Vanozza dei Catanei and Giulia Farnese
|Possibly
| Had a long affair with ] while still a priest, and before he became pope; and by her had his illegitimate children ], ], ], and ].<ref name="auto"/> A later mistress, ], was the sister of ], giving birth to a daughter Laura while Alexander was in his 60s and reigning as pope.<ref>Eamon Duffy, ''Saints and Sinners: A history of the popes'', ], 2006</ref>
|}


===Relationships with men===
]
{| class="wikitable"
]
!width=10%|Name
]
!width=10%|Reign
]
!Relationship
!Notes
|-
|]
|1464–1471
|Not married. Alleged affair with a ]
|Thought to have died of ] arising from eating melon,<ref>Paolo II in Enciclopedia dei Papi", Enciclopedia Treccani, http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/paolo-ii_%28Enciclopedia_dei_Papi%29/</ref><ref>"Vita Pauli Secundi Pontificis Maximi", Michael Canensius, 1734 </ref> though his opponents alleged he died while being sodomized by a page.<ref>Leonie Frieda, ''The Deadly Sisterhood: A Story of Women, Power, and Intrigue in the Italian Renaissance, 1427–1527'', chapter 3 (HarperCollins, 2013) {{ISBN|978-0-06-156308-9}}</ref><ref>Karlheinz Deschner, Storia criminale del cristianesimo (tomo VIII), Ariele, Milano, 2007, pag. 216. Nigel Cawthorne, Das Sexleben der Päpste. Die Skandalchronik des Vatikans, Benedikt Taschen Verlag, Köln, 1999, pag. 171.</ref><ref>Claudio Rendina, I Papi, Storia e Segreti, Newton Compton, Roma, 1983, p. 589</ref>
|-
|]{{efn|name=alleged|This allegation is disputed by some modern historians.}}
|1471–1484
|Not married
|According to ], Sixtus was a "lover of boys and ]" – awarding benefices and bishoprics in return for sexual favours, and nominating a number of young men as cardinals, some of whom were celebrated for their good looks.<ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BM6DAz1tefoC |title=Studies in the psychology of sex&nbsp;— Havelock Ellis&nbsp;— Google Boeken |date=2007-07-30 |access-date=2013-06-23|last1=Ellis |first1=Havelock }}</ref><ref name="NC">{{cite book |last=Cawthorne |first=Nigel |title=Sex Lives of the Popes |publisher=Prion |year=1996 |page=160|id={{ASIN|185375546X|country=uk}} }}</ref><ref>Stefano Infessura, ''Diario della città di Roma (1303–1494)'', Ist. St. italiano, Tip. Forzani, Roma 1890, pp. 155–156</ref> Infessura had partisan allegiances to the ] family and so is not considered to be always reliable or impartial.<ref>Egmont Lee, ''Sixtus IV and Men of Letters'', Rome, 1978</ref>
|-
|]{{efn|name=alleged|This allegation is disputed by some modern historians.}}
|1513–1521
|Not married
|Posthumously accused of homosexuality (by ] and ]). Falconi suggests he may have offered preferment to ] because he was attracted to him.<ref>C. Falconi, ''Leone X'', Milan, 1987</ref> Historians have dealt with the issue of Leo's sexuality at least since the late 18th century, and few have given credence to the imputations made against him in his later years and decades following his death, or else have at least regarded them as unworthy of notice; without necessarily reaching conclusions on whether he was homosexual.<ref>Those who have rejected the evidence include: Fabroni, Angelo, ''Leone X: Pontificis Maximi Vita'', Pisa (1797) at p. 165 with note 84; {{harvnb|Roscoe|1806|pp=478–486}}; and {{harv|Pastor|1908|pp=80f. with a long footnote}}. Those who have treated of the life of Leo at any length and ignored the imputations, or summarily dismissed them, include: ], ''History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages'' Eng. trans. Hamilton, Annie, London (1902, vol. VIII.1), p. 243; {{harvnb|Vaughan|1908|p=280}}; ], article "Leo X" in ''The Encyclopædia Britannica'', Cambridge (1911, vol. XVI); ], ''A History of the Papacy from the Great Schism to the Sack of Rome'', London (new edn., 1919), vol. 6, p. 210; Pellegrini, Marco, articles "Leone X" in ''Enciclopedia dei Papi'', (2000, vol.3) and '']'' (2005, vol. 64); and ] ''The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance'' (a popular history), London (2003, pbk 2005), p. 277. Of these, ] and Hayes are known Catholics, and Roscoe, Gregorovius, and Creighton are known non-Catholics.</ref>
|-
|]
|1550–1555
|Not married. Alleged affair with ennobled cardinal
|Accusations of his homosexuality spread across Europe during his reign due to the favouritism shown to ], who rose from beggar to cardinal under Julius' patronage.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cromptom |first=Louis |date=2007-10-11 |title=Julius III |url=http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/julius_III.html |access-date=2023-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011091614/http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/julius_III.html |archive-date=2007-10-11 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Johnson |first=E. Joe |title=Idealized Male Friendship in French Narrative from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment |publisher=Summa Publications |year=2003 |isbn=1883479428 |edition=1st |location=USA |pages=69 |language=English}}</ref>
|}


===Relationships with women and men===
]

]
{| class="wikitable"
!width=10%|Name
!width=10%|Reign
!Relationship
!Offspring
!Notes
|-


|]
|1032–1044, 1045, 1047–1048
|Not married
|No
|Accused by Bishop Benno of ] of "many vile adulteries".<ref>"Post multa turpia adulteria et homicidia manibus suis perpetrata, postremo, etc." {{cite journal|last=Dümmler |first=Ernst Ludwig |author-link=Ernst Dümmler |title=Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Libelli de lite |publisher=Deutsches Institut für Erforschung des Mittelalters |year=1891 |location=Hannover |pages=584 |volume=I |edition=Bonizonis episcopi Sutriensis: Liber ad amicum |url=http://www.uan.it/alim/letteratura.nsf/(volumiID)/A9E60829767DA2D2C1256D6B0074177B/$FILE/AlimBonizoAdamicum.doc?openelement |access-date=2008-01-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713211642/http://www.uan.it/alim/letteratura.nsf/%28volumiID%29/A9E60829767DA2D2C1256D6B0074177B/%24FILE/AlimBonizoAdamicum.doc?openelement |archive-date=2007-07-13 }}</ref><ref>''The Book of Saints'', by Ramsgate Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine's Abbey, A. C. Black, 1989. {{ISBN|978-0-7136-5300-7}}</ref> Pope ] referred in his third book of Dialogues to "his rapes… and other unspeakable acts".<ref>"''Cuius vita quam turpis, quam freda, quamque execranda extiterit, horresco referre''." {{cite journal|last=Victor III |first=Pope |author-link=Pope Victor III |title=Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Libelli de lite |publisher=Deutsches Institut für Erforschung des Mittelalters |year=1934 |location=Hannover |pages=141 |edition=Dialogi de miraculis Sancti Benedicti Liber Tertius auctore Desiderio abbate Casinensis |url=http://www.uan.it/alim/letteratura.nsf/(volumiID)/D8115E7BB6446DC9C1256D660075CE62/$FILE/AlimDesiderioDialogi.doc?openelement |access-date=2008-01-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715072854/http://www.uan.it/alim/letteratura.nsf/%28volumiID%29/D8115E7BB6446DC9C1256D660075CE62/%24FILE/AlimDesiderioDialogi.doc?openelement |archive-date=2007-07-15 }}</ref> In May 1045, Benedict IX resigned his office to get married.<ref>Dr. Angelo S. Rappaport, ''The Love Affairs of the Vatican'', 1912, pp. 81–82.</ref>
|}

== See also ==
*]
*]
*]
*]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist}}

== References ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* Bunson, Matthew, ''The Pope Encyclopedia: An A to Z of the Holy See'', Crown Trade Paperbacks, New York, 1995.
* Cawthorne, Nigel, ''Sex Lives of the Popes'', Prion, London, 1996.
* Chamberlin, E.R.,''The Bad Popes'', Sutton History Classics, 1969 / Dorset; New Ed edition 2003.
* Mathieu-Rosay, Jean, ''La véritable histoire des papes'', Grancher, Paris, 1991
* McBrien, Richard P., ''Lives of the Popes'', Harper Collins, San Francisco, 1997.
*{{cite book |last=Pastor |first=Ludwig von |author-link=Ludwig von Pastor |year=1908 |title=History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages; Drawn from the Secret Archives of the Vatican and other original sources |volume=8 |location=London |publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co |url={{GBurl|uqUPAAAAMAAJ}} }} (English translation)
*{{cite book |last=Roscoe |first=William |author-link=William Roscoe |year=1806 |title=The Life and Pontificate of Leo the Tenth |edition=2nd |volume=4 |location=London}}
* Schimmelpfennig, Bernhard, ''The Papacy'', ], New York, 1984.
*{{cite book |last=Vaughan |first=Herbert M. |year=1908 |title=The Medici Popes|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.99911 |location=London |publisher=Methuen & Co.}}
* Wilcox, John, ''Popes and Anti-Popes'', Xlibris Corporation, 2005.{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=December 2017}}
* Williams, George L., ''Papal Genealogy'', McFarland & Co., Jefferson, North Carolina, 1998.
{{Refend}}

]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 16:07, 27 December 2024

Pope Paul III Farnese had four illegitimate children and made his illegitimate son Pier Luigi Farnese the first duke of Parma.

This is a list of sexually active popes, Catholic priests who were not celibate before they became pope, and those who were legally married before becoming pope. Some candidates were allegedly sexually active before their election as pope, and others were thought to have been sexually active during their papacies. A number of them had children.

There are various classifications for those who were sexually active during their lives. Allegations of sexual activities are of varying levels of reliability, with several having been made by contemporary political or religious opponents. Some claims are generally accepted by modern historians, while other remain more contested.

Background

Main articles: Clerical celibacy (Catholic Church) and Catholic teachings on sexual morality

For many years of the Church's history, celibacy was considered optional. Based on the customs of the times, it is assumed by many that most of the Twelve Apostles were married and had families. The New Testament (Mark 1:29–31; Matthew 8:14–15; Luke 4:38–39; 1 Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6) depicts at least Peter as being married, and bishops, priests and deacons of the Early Church were often married as well. In epigraphy, the testimony of the Church Fathers, synodal legislation, and papal decretals in the following centuries, a married clergy, in greater or lesser numbers, was a feature of the life of the Church. Celibacy was not required for those ordained and was accepted in the early Church, particularly by those in the monastic life.

Although various local Church councils had demanded celibacy of the clergy in a particular episcopal jurisdiction, it was not until the Second Lateran Council (1139) that official made the promise to remain celibate a prerequisite to ordination within the Latin Church (and effectively ended any practice of a married priesthood). Subsequently sexual relationships were generally undertaken outside the bonds of marriage, and each sexual act thus committed would have been considered a mortal sin.

Popes who were legally married

Name Reign(s) Relationship Offspring Notes
Saint Peter 30/33–64/68 Mother-in-law (Greek πενθερά, penthera) is mentioned in the Gospel verses Matthew 8:14–15, Luke 4:38, Mark 1:29–31, and who was healed by Jesus at her home in Capernaum. 1 Cor. 9:5 asks whether others have the right to be accompanied by Christian wives as does "Cephas" (Peter). Clement of Alexandria wrote: "When the blessed Peter saw his own wife led out to die, he rejoiced because of her summons and her return home, and called to her very encouragingly and comfortingly, addressing her by name, and saying, 'Remember the Lord.' Such was the marriage of the blessed, and their perfect disposition toward those dearest to them" Yes Later legends, dating from the 6th century onwards, suggested that Peter had a daughter – identified as Saint Petronilla. This connection is likely to be a result of the similarity of their names
Felix III 483–492 Widowed before his election as pope Yes Himself the son of a priest, Felix fathered two children, one of whom was subsequently the mother of Pope Gregory the Great (making the latter his grandson)
Hormisdas 514–523 Widowed before he took holy orders Yes Father of Pope Silverius
Adrian II 867–872 Married to Stephania before he took holy orders, she was still living when he was elected pope and resided with him in the Lateran Palace. Yes (a daughter) His wife and daughter both resided with him until they were murdered by Eleutherius, brother of Anastasius Bibliothecarius, the Church's chief librarian
John XVII 1003 Married before his election as pope Yes (three sons) All of his children became priests
Clement IV 1265–1268 Widowed before taking holy orders Yes (two daughters) Both children entered a convent
Honorius IV 1285–1287 Widowed before entering the clergy Yes (at least two sons)

Fathered illegitimate children before holy orders

Name Reign Relationship Offspring Notes
Pius II 1458–1464 Not married Yes (at least two) Two children, both born before he formally entered the clergy. The first child, fathered while in Scotland, died in infancy. A second child fathered while in Strasbourg with a Breton woman named Elizabeth died 14 months later. He delayed becoming a cleric because of the requirement of chastity
Innocent VIII 1484–1492 Not married Yes (two) Both born before he entered the clergy. Married elder son Franceschetto Cybo to the daughter of Lorenzo de' Medici, who in return obtained the cardinal's hat for his 13-year-old son Giovanni, who became Pope Leo X. His daughter Teodorina Cybo married Gerardo Usodimare
Clement VII 1523–1534 Not married. Relationship with a slave girl – possibly Simonetta da Collevecchio Yes (one) Identified as Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence

Known to or suspected of having fathered illegitimate children after receiving holy orders

Name Reign Relationship Offspring Notes
Julius II 1503–1513 Not married Yes (three daughters) Three illegitimate daughters, one of whom was Felice della Rovere (born in 1483, twenty years before his election as pope, and twelve years after his enthronement as bishop of Lausanne). The schismatic Conciliabulum of Pisa, which sought to depose him in 1511, also accused him of being a "sodomite"
Paul III 1534–1549 Not married. Silvia Ruffini as mistress Yes (three sons and one daughter) Held off ordination in order to continue his lifestyle, fathering four illegitimate children (three sons and one daughter) by Silvia Ruffini after his appointment as cardinal-deacon of Santi Cosimo and Damiano. He broke his relations with her ca. 1513. He made his illegitimate son Pier Luigi Farnese the first duke of Parma
Pius IV 1559–1565 Not married Allegedly three One was a son born in 1541 or 1542. He also had two daughters
Gregory XIII 1572–1585 Not married. Affair with Maddalena Fulchini Yes Received the ecclesiastical tonsure in Bologna in June 1539, and subsequently had an affair that resulted in the birth of Giacomo Boncompagni in 1548. Giacomo remained illegitimate, with Gregory later appointing him Gonfalonier of the Church, governor of the Castel Sant'Angelo and Fermo
Leo XII 1823–1829 Not married Allegedly three As a young prelate, he came under suspicion of having a liaison with the wife of a Swiss Guard soldier and as nuncio in Germany allegedly fathered three illegitimate children

Popes alleged to be sexually active during pontificate

A majority of the allegations made in this section are disputed by modern historians.

Relationships with women

Name Reign Relationship Offspring Notes
Sergius III 904–911 Not married Yes (at least one) Accused of being the illegitimate father of Pope John XI by Marozia, the fifteen year old daughter of Theodora and Theophylact I, Count of Tusculum. Such accusations lay in Liutprand of Cremona's Antapodosis and the Liber Pontificalis. The accusations have discrepancies with another early source, the annalist Flodoard (c. 894–966): John XI was the brother of Alberic II, the latter being the offspring of Marozia and her husband Alberic I, so John too may have been the son of Marozia and Alberic I. Fauvarque emphasises that contemporary sources are dubious, Liutprand being "prone to exaggeration" while other mentions of this fatherhood appear in satires written by supporters of Pope Formosus.
John X 914–928 Not married. Affairs with Theodora and Marozia No Had romantic affairs with both Theodora and her daughter Marozia, according to Liutprand of Cremona in his Antapodosis. However, Monsignor Johann Peter Kirsch (ecclesiastical historian and Catholic priest) wrote, "This statement is, however, generally and rightly rejected as a calumny. Liutprand wrote his history some fifty years later, and constantly slandered the Romans, whom he hated."
John XII 955–964 Not married No Accused by adversaries of adultery and incest. Benedict of Soracte noted that he had "a collection of women". According to Liutprand of Cremona, "they testified about his adultery, which they did not see with their own eyes, but nonetheless knew with certainty: he had fornicated with the widow of Rainier, with Stephana his father's concubine, with the widow Anna, and with his own niece, and he made the sacred palace into a whorehouse". According to Chamberlin, John was "a Christian Caligula whose crimes were rendered particularly horrific by the office he held". Some sources report that he died eight days after being stricken by paralysis while in the act of adultery, others that he was killed by the jealous husband while in the act of committing adultery.
Alexander VI 1492–1503 Not married. Relationships with Vanozza dei Catanei and Giulia Farnese Possibly Had a long affair with Vannozza dei Cattanei while still a priest, and before he became pope; and by her had his illegitimate children Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, Gioffre Borgia, and Lucrezia. A later mistress, Giulia Farnese, was the sister of Alessandro Farnese, giving birth to a daughter Laura while Alexander was in his 60s and reigning as pope.

Relationships with men

Name Reign Relationship Notes
Paul II 1464–1471 Not married. Alleged affair with a page Thought to have died of indigestion arising from eating melon, though his opponents alleged he died while being sodomized by a page.
Sixtus IV 1471–1484 Not married According to Stefano Infessura, Sixtus was a "lover of boys and sodomites" – awarding benefices and bishoprics in return for sexual favours, and nominating a number of young men as cardinals, some of whom were celebrated for their good looks. Infessura had partisan allegiances to the Colonna family and so is not considered to be always reliable or impartial.
Leo X 1513–1521 Not married Posthumously accused of homosexuality (by Francesco Guicciardini and Paolo Giovio). Falconi suggests he may have offered preferment to Marcantonio Flaminio because he was attracted to him. Historians have dealt with the issue of Leo's sexuality at least since the late 18th century, and few have given credence to the imputations made against him in his later years and decades following his death, or else have at least regarded them as unworthy of notice; without necessarily reaching conclusions on whether he was homosexual.
Julius III 1550–1555 Not married. Alleged affair with ennobled cardinal Accusations of his homosexuality spread across Europe during his reign due to the favouritism shown to Innocenzo Ciocchi Del Monte, who rose from beggar to cardinal under Julius' patronage.

Relationships with women and men

Name Reign Relationship Offspring Notes
Benedict IX 1032–1044, 1045, 1047–1048 Not married No Accused by Bishop Benno of Piacenza of "many vile adulteries". Pope Victor III referred in his third book of Dialogues to "his rapes… and other unspeakable acts". In May 1045, Benedict IX resigned his office to get married.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ This allegation is disputed by some modern historians.
  1. Mark 1:29–31
  2. Matthew 8:14–15
  3. Luke 4:38–39
  4. 1 Timothy 3:2–12
  5. Titus 1:6
  6. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Celibacy of the Clergy" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  7. Cited by Eusebius, Church History, III, 30. Full text at Clement of Alexandria, Stromata VII, 11.
  8. Clement of Alexandria wrote: "For Peter and Philip begat children" in "Clements, Stromata (book VII) / Eusebius, Church History (Book III)". Newadvent.org. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  9. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Petronilla" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company..
  10. "St. Peter's – Altar of St Petronilla". Saintpetersbasilica.org. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  11. R.A. Markus, Gregory the Great and his world (Cambridge: University Press, 1997), p.8
  12. Kirsch, Johann Peter (1910). "Pope St. Hormisdas" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  13. Loughlin, James Francis (1907). "Pope Adrian II" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  14. Dopierała, K. (1996). Księga Papieży. Poznań: Pallotinum. p. 106.
  15. * Kirsch, Johann Peter (1910). "Pope John XVII (XVIII)" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  16. Loughlin, James Francis (1908). "Pope Clement IV" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  17. "The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Cardinal Giacomo Savelli". Fiu.edu. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  18. Weber, Nicholas Aloysius (1911). "Pope Pius II" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  19. Weber, Nicholas Aloysius (1910). "Pope Innocent VIII" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  20. Ridolfi, Roberto (1959). The Life of Girolamo Savonarola. New York, Knopf.
  21. George L. Williams, Papal Genealogy: The Families And Descendants Of The Popes, page 74: "Clement now made Alessandro de Medici "his illegitimate son by a slave" into the first duke of Florence", McFarland & Company, 1998, ISBN 0-7864-2071-5
  22. Mara Wade, Gender Matters: Discourses of violence in early modern literature and the arts, Editions Rodopi, 2013
  23. Ott, Michael (1910). "Pope Julius II" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  24. Louis Crompton, Homosexuality and Civilization, page 278 (Harvard University Press, 2006) ISBN 978-0-674-01197-7
  25. Jean de Pins, Letters and Letter Fragments, page 292, footnote 5 (Libraire Droze S.A., 2007) ISBN 978-2-600-01101-3
  26. Katherine McIver, Women, Art, And Architecture in Northern Italy, 1520–1580: Negotiating Power, page 26 (Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2006) ISBN 0-7546-5411-7
  27. Pattenden, Miles (2013). Pius IV and the Fall of The Carafa: Nepotism and Papal Authority in Counter-Reformation Rome (page 34). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  28. Ott, Michael (1910). "Pope Gregory XIII" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  29. "The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Ugo Boncompagni". Fiu.edu. 3 December 2007. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  30. Letters from Rome in: The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal, Tom 11, pp. 468–471.
  31. Mann, Horace Kinder (1912). "Pope Sergius III" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  32. ^ George Williams, Papal Genealogy: The family and descendants of the Popes, McFarland, 1998
  33. ^ Brook, Lindsay Leonard (January 2003). "Popes and pornocrats: Rome in the early middle ages" (PDF). Foundations. 1 (1). Hereford, UK: Foundation for Medieval Genealogy: 5–21. ISSN 1479-5078.
  34. Liber Pontificalis (first ed., 500s; it has papal biographies up to Pius II, d. 1464)
  35. Reverend Horace K. Mann, The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Volumes 1–13 quote: "Was John XI the son of Pope Sergius by the abandoned Marozia? Liutprand says he was, and so does the author of the anonymous catalogue in the Liber Pontificalis in his one-line notice of John XI." (1928)
  36. Anura Gurugé, The Next Pope: After Pope Benedict XVI, page 37: "John XI (#126) would also appear to have been born out of wedlock. His mother, Marozia, from the then powerful Theophylacet family, was around sixteen years old at the time. Liber Pontificalis, among others, claim that Sergius III (#120), during his tenure as pope, was the father." (WOWNH LLC, 2010). ISBN 978-0-615-35372-2
  37. Fauvarque, Bertrand (2003). "De la tutelle de l'aristocratie italienne à celle des empereurs germaniques". In Y.-M. Hilaire (Ed.), Histoire de la papauté, 2000 ans de missions et de tribulations. Paris:Tallandier. ISBN 2-02-059006-9, p. 163.
  38. Joseph McCabe, Crises in The history of The Papacy: A Study of Twenty Famous Popes whose Careers and whose Influence were important in the Development of The Church and in The History of The World, page 130 (New York; London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1916)
  39. Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Pope John X." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 23 September 2017
  40. ^ Kirsch, Johann Peter (1910). "Pope John XII" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  41. Martin, Malachi (1981). Decline and Fall of the Roman Church. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-22944-3. p. 105
  42. The Bad Popes by E. R. Chamberlin
  43. Peter de Rosa, Vicars of Christ: The Dark Side of the Papacy, Poolbeg Press, Dublin 1988/2000, pages 211–215.
  44. Hans Kung, The Catholic Church: A Short History (translated by John Bowden), Modern Library, New York. 2001/2003. page 79
  45. The Popes' Rights & Wrongs, published by Truber & Co., 1860
  46. Dr. Angelo S. Rappaport, The Love Affairs of the Vatican, 1912
  47. Eamon Duffy, Saints and Sinners: A history of the popes, Yale University Press, 2006
  48. Paolo II in Enciclopedia dei Papi", Enciclopedia Treccani, http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/paolo-ii_%28Enciclopedia_dei_Papi%29/
  49. "Vita Pauli Secundi Pontificis Maximi", Michael Canensius, 1734 p. 175
  50. Leonie Frieda, The Deadly Sisterhood: A Story of Women, Power, and Intrigue in the Italian Renaissance, 1427–1527, chapter 3 (HarperCollins, 2013) ISBN 978-0-06-156308-9
  51. Karlheinz Deschner, Storia criminale del cristianesimo (tomo VIII), Ariele, Milano, 2007, pag. 216. Nigel Cawthorne, Das Sexleben der Päpste. Die Skandalchronik des Vatikans, Benedikt Taschen Verlag, Köln, 1999, pag. 171.
  52. Claudio Rendina, I Papi, Storia e Segreti, Newton Compton, Roma, 1983, p. 589
  53. Ellis, Havelock (30 July 2007). Studies in the psychology of sex — Havelock Ellis — Google Boeken. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  54. Cawthorne, Nigel (1996). Sex Lives of the Popes. Prion. p. 160. ASIN 185375546X.
  55. Stefano Infessura, Diario della città di Roma (1303–1494), Ist. St. italiano, Tip. Forzani, Roma 1890, pp. 155–156
  56. Egmont Lee, Sixtus IV and Men of Letters, Rome, 1978
  57. C. Falconi, Leone X, Milan, 1987
  58. Those who have rejected the evidence include: Fabroni, Angelo, Leone X: Pontificis Maximi Vita, Pisa (1797) at p. 165 with note 84; Roscoe 1806, pp. 478–486; and (Pastor 1908, pp. 80f. with a long footnote). Those who have treated of the life of Leo at any length and ignored the imputations, or summarily dismissed them, include: Gregorovius, Ferdinand, History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages Eng. trans. Hamilton, Annie, London (1902, vol. VIII.1), p. 243; Vaughan 1908, p. 280; Hayes, Carlton Huntley, article "Leo X" in The Encyclopædia Britannica, Cambridge (1911, vol. XVI); Creighton, Mandell, A History of the Papacy from the Great Schism to the Sack of Rome, London (new edn., 1919), vol. 6, p. 210; Pellegrini, Marco, articles "Leone X" in Enciclopedia dei Papi, (2000, vol.3) and Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (2005, vol. 64); and Strathern, Paul The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance (a popular history), London (2003, pbk 2005), p. 277. Of these, Ludwig von Pastor and Hayes are known Catholics, and Roscoe, Gregorovius, and Creighton are known non-Catholics.
  59. Cromptom, Louis (11 October 2007). "Julius III". Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  60. Johnson, E. Joe (2003). Idealized Male Friendship in French Narrative from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment (1st ed.). USA: Summa Publications. p. 69. ISBN 1883479428.
  61. "Post multa turpia adulteria et homicidia manibus suis perpetrata, postremo, etc." Dümmler, Ernst Ludwig (1891). "Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Libelli de lite". I (Bonizonis episcopi Sutriensis: Liber ad amicum ed.). Hannover: Deutsches Institut für Erforschung des Mittelalters: 584. Archived from the original on 13 July 2007. Retrieved 3 January 2008. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  62. The Book of Saints, by Ramsgate Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine's Abbey, A. C. Black, 1989. ISBN 978-0-7136-5300-7
  63. "Cuius vita quam turpis, quam freda, quamque execranda extiterit, horresco referre." Victor III, Pope (1934). "Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Libelli de lite" (Dialogi de miraculis Sancti Benedicti Liber Tertius auctore Desiderio abbate Casinensis ed.). Hannover: Deutsches Institut für Erforschung des Mittelalters: 141. Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 3 January 2008. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  64. Dr. Angelo S. Rappaport, The Love Affairs of the Vatican, 1912, pp. 81–82.

References

  • Bunson, Matthew, The Pope Encyclopedia: An A to Z of the Holy See, Crown Trade Paperbacks, New York, 1995.
  • Cawthorne, Nigel, Sex Lives of the Popes, Prion, London, 1996.
  • Chamberlin, E.R.,The Bad Popes, Sutton History Classics, 1969 / Dorset; New Ed edition 2003.
  • Mathieu-Rosay, Jean, La véritable histoire des papes, Grancher, Paris, 1991
  • McBrien, Richard P., Lives of the Popes, Harper Collins, San Francisco, 1997.
  • Pastor, Ludwig von (1908). History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages; Drawn from the Secret Archives of the Vatican and other original sources. Vol. 8. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. (English translation)
  • Roscoe, William (1806). The Life and Pontificate of Leo the Tenth. Vol. 4 (2nd ed.). London.
  • Schimmelpfennig, Bernhard, The Papacy, Columbia University Press, New York, 1984.
  • Vaughan, Herbert M. (1908). The Medici Popes. London: Methuen & Co.
  • Wilcox, John, Popes and Anti-Popes, Xlibris Corporation, 2005.
  • Williams, George L., Papal Genealogy, McFarland & Co., Jefferson, North Carolina, 1998.
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