List of sexually active popes

Contents

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 contemporary political or religious opponents having made several. Some claims are generally accepted by modern historians, while other remain more contested.

Background

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;[1] Matthew 8:14–15;[2] Luke 4:38–39;[3] 1 Timothy 3:2, 12;[4] Titus 1:6)[5] 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,[6] it was not until the Second Lateran Council (1139) that officially 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 — and is still considered as such by the church.

Popes who were legally married

NameReign(s)RelationshipOffspringNotes
Saint Peter30/33–64/68Mother-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".[7]Yes[8]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.[9][10]
Felix III483–492Widowed before his election as popeYesHimself the son of a priest, Felix fathered two children, one of whom was subsequently the mother of Pope Gregory I, making the latter his grandson.[11]
Hormisdas514–523Widowed before he took holy ordersYesFather of Pope Silverius[12]
Adrian II867–872Married to Stephania before he took holy orders,[13] 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.[14]
John XVII1003Married before his election as popeYes (three sons)All of his children became priests[15]
Clement IV1265–1268Widowed before taking holy ordersYes (two daughters)Both children entered a convent[16]
Honorius IV1285–1287Widowed before entering the clergyYes (at least two sons)[17]

Fathered illegitimate children before holy orders

NameReignRelationshipOffspringNotes
Pius II1458–1464Not marriedYes (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.[18]
Innocent VIII1484–1492Not marriedYes (two)Both born before he entered the clergy.[19] 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.[20] His daughter Teodorina Cybo married Gerardo Usodimare.
Clement VII1523–1534Not married. Relationship with a servant or slave girl – possibly Simonetta da CollevecchioYes (one)Identified as Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence[21][22]

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

NameReignRelationshipOffspringNotes
Julius II1503–1513Not marriedYes (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).[23] The schismatic Conciliabulum of Pisa, which sought to depose him in 1511, also accused him of being a "sodomite".[24]
Paul III1534–1549Not married. Silvia Ruffini as mistressYes (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.[25][26]
Pius IV1559–1565Not marriedAllegedly threeOne was a son born in 1541 or 1542. He also had two daughters.[27]
Gregory XIII1572–1585Not married. Affair with Maddalena FulchiniYesReceived 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.[28][29]
Leo XII1823–1829Not marriedAllegedly threeAs 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.[30]

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

NameReignRelationshipOffspringNotes
Sergius III[31]904–911Not marriedYes (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.[32][33] Such accusations lay in Liutprand of Cremona's Antapodosis[34] and the Liber Pontificalis.[35][36][37] 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.[38]
John X[31]914–928Not married. Affairs with Theodora and MaroziaNoHad romantic affairs with both Theodora and her daughter Marozia, according to Liutprand of Cremona in his Antapodosis.[33][39] 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."[40]
John XII955–964Not marriedNoAccused by adversaries of adultery and incest.[41][42] Benedict of Soracte noted that he had "a collection of women". According to Liutprand of Cremona,[34] "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".[43] Some sources report that he died eight days after being stricken by paralysis while in the act of adultery,[41] others that he was killed by the jealous husband while in the act of committing adultery.[44][45][46][47]
Alexander VI1492–1503Not married. Relationships with Vanozza dei Catanei and Giulia FarneseYesHad 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.[33] 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.[48]

Relationships with men

NameReignRelationshipNotes
Paul II1464–1471Not married. Alleged affair with a pageThought to have died of indigestion arising from eating melon,[49][50] though his opponents alleged he died while being sodomized by a page.[51][52][53]
Sixtus IV[31]1471–1484Not marriedAccording 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.[54][55][56] Infessura had partisan allegiances to the Colonna family and so is not considered to be always reliable or impartial.[57]
Leo X[31]1513–1521Not marriedPosthumously 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.[58] 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.[59]
Julius III1550–1555Not married. Alleged affair with ennobled cardinalAccusations 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.[60][61]
Paul VI1963–1978Not married. Alleged affair with Italian actor Paolo CarliniIn 1976, Paul VI became the first modern pope to publicly deny allegations of homosexuality, which had been raised by Roger Peyrefitte. The allegations have resurfaced periodically since and have been deemed credible by some sources.[62][63]

Relationships with women and men

NameReignRelationshipOffspringNotes
Benedict IX1032–1044, 1045, 1047–1048Not marriedNoAccused by Bishop Benno of Piacenza of "many vile adulteries".[64][65] Pope Victor III referred in his third book of Dialogues to "his rapes... and other unspeakable acts".[66] In May 1045, Benedict IX resigned his office to get married.[67]

References

  1. 1.Mark 1:29–31
  2. 2.Matthew 8:14–15
  3. 3.Luke 4:38–39
  4. 4.1 Timothy 3:2–12
  5. 5.Titus 1:6
  6. 6.Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Celibacy of the Clergy". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  7. 7.Cited by Eusebius, Church History, III, 30. Full text at Clement of Alexandria, Stromata VII, 11
  8. 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. 9.Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Petronilla". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company..
  10. 10."St. Peter's – Altar of St Petronilla". Saintpetersbasilica.org. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  11. 11.R.A. Markus, Gregory the Great and his world (Cambridge: University Press, 1997), p.8
  12. 12.Kirsch, Johann Peter (1910). "Pope St. Hormisdas". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  13. 13.Loughlin, James Francis (1907). "Pope Adrian II". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  14. 14.Dopierała, K. (1996). Księga Papieży. Poznań: Pallotinum. p. 106.
  15. 15.* Kirsch, Johann Peter (1910). "Pope John XVII (XVIII)". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  16. 16.Loughlin, James Francis (1908). "Pope Clement IV". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  17. 17."The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Cardinal Giacomo Savelli". Fiu.edu. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  18. 18.Weber, Nicholas Aloysius (1911). "Pope Pius II". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  19. 19.Weber, Nicholas Aloysius (1910). "Pope Innocent VIII". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  20. 20.Ridolfi, Roberto (1959). The Life of Girolamo Savonarola. New York, Knopf.
  21. 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. 22.Mara Wade, Gender Matters: Discourses of violence in early modern literature and the arts, Editions Rodopi, 2013
  23. 23.Ott, Michael (1910). "Pope Julius II". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  24. 24.Louis Crompton, Homosexuality and Civilization, page 278 (Harvard University Press, 2006) ISBN 978-0-674-01197-7
  25. 25.Jean de Pins, Letters and Letter Fragments, page 292, footnote 5 (Libraire Droze S.A., 2007) ISBN 978-2-600-01101-3
  26. 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. 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. 28.Ott, Michael (1910). "Pope Gregory XIII". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  29. 29."The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Ugo Boncompagni". Fiu.edu. 3 December 2007. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  30. 30.Letters from Rome in: The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal, Tom 11, pp. 468–471.
  31. 31.[31.2][31.3][31.4]This allegation is disputed by some modern historians.
  32. 32.Mann, Horace Kinder (1912). "Pope Sergius III". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  33. 33.[33.2][33.3]George Williams, Papal Genealogy: The family and descendants of the Popes, McFarland, 1998
  34. 34.[34.2]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.
  35. 35.Liber Pontificalis (first ed., 500s; it has papal biographies up to Pius II, d. 1464)
  36. 36.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)
  37. 37.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
  38. 38.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.
  39. 39.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)
  40. 40.Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Pope John X." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 23 September 2017
  41. 41.[41.2]Kirsch, Johann Peter (1910). "Pope John XII". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  42. 42.Martin, Malachi (1981). Decline and Fall of the Roman Church. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-22944-3. p. 105
  43. 43.The Bad Popes by E. R. Chamberlin
  44. 44.Peter de Rosa, Vicars of Christ: The Dark Side of the Papacy, Poolbeg Press, Dublin 1988/2000, pages 211–215.
  45. 45.Hans Kung, The Catholic Church: A Short History (translated by John Bowden), Modern Library, New York. 2001/2003. page 79
  46. 46.The Popes' Rights & Wrongs, published by Truber & Co., 1860
  47. 47.Dr. Angelo S. Rappaport, The Love Affairs of the Vatican, 1912
  48. 48.Eamon Duffy, Saints and Sinners: A history of the popes, Yale University Press, 2006
  49. 49.Paolo II in Enciclopedia dei Papi", Enciclopedia Treccani, http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/paolo-ii_%28Enciclopedia_dei_Papi%29/
  50. 50."Vita Pauli Secundi Pontificis Maximi", Michael Canensius, 1734 p. 175
  51. 51.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
  52. 52.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.
  53. 53.Claudio Rendina, I Papi, Storia e Segreti, Newton Compton, Roma, 1983, p. 589
  54. 54.Ellis, Havelock (30 July 2007). Studies in the psychology of sex — Havelock Ellis — Google Boeken. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  55. 55.Cawthorne, Nigel (1996). Sex Lives of the Popes. Prion. p. 160. ASIN 185375546X.
  56. 56.Stefano Infessura, Diario della città di Roma (1303–1494), Ist. St. italiano, Tip. Forzani, Roma 1890, pp. 155–156
  57. 57.Egmont Lee, Sixtus IV and Men of Letters, Rome, 1978
  58. 58.C. Falconi, Leone X, Milan, 1987
  59. 59.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.
  60. 60.Cromptom, Louis (11 October 2007). "Julius III". Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  61. 61.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.
  62. 62.Torress, Jose (5 April 1976). "Paul VI Denies He Is Homosexual". Observer Reporter. Associated Press. p. 27. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  63. 63.Dino, Martirano (27 January 2006). "Dossier su un tentato ricatto a Paolo VI". Corriere Della Sera (in Italian). Archived from the original on 17 October 2014.
  64. 64."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.
  65. 65.The Book of Saints, by Ramsgate Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine's Abbey, A. C. Black, 1989. ISBN 978-0-7136-5300-7
  66. 66."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.
  67. 67.Dr. Angelo S. Rappaport, The Love Affairs of the Vatican, 1912, pp. 81–82.