List of sexually active popes
The image of a celibate, unattached Pontiff is deeply ingrained in modern Catholicism. Yet, a look back through the annals of papal history reveals a surprisingly different picture — one where some leaders of the Catholic Church were, at various points, married, fathers, or even embroiled in romantic entanglements. This journey through time explores the complex and often controversial personal lives of men who ascended to the Chair of Saint Peter. Clerical celibacy, while common, was not universally mandatory for priests or popes until the 12th century, allowing some early popes to have been legally married. Many popes fathered children before becoming priests or before their election, and some even after taking holy orders, though such acts were considered sinful. Allegations of sexual activity during pontificates exist for several popes, often made by political or religious adversaries, and their historical reliability varies widely.
AI Summary
The image of a celibate, unattached Pontiff is deeply ingrained in modern Catholicism. Yet, a look back through the annals of papal history reveals a surprisingly different picture — one where some leaders of the Catholic Church were, at various points, married, fathers, or even embroiled in romantic entanglements. This journey through time explores the complex and often controversial personal lives of men who ascended to the Chair of Saint Peter.
- Clerical celibacy, while common, was not universally mandatory for priests or popes until the 12th century, allowing some early popes to have been legally married.
- Many popes fathered children before becoming priests or before their election, and some even after taking holy orders, though such acts were considered sinful.
- Allegations of sexual activity during pontificates exist for several popes, often made by political or religious adversaries, and their historical reliability varies widely.
The Shifting Sands of Celibacy
Today, celibacy is a cornerstone for Catholic priests, and especially for the Pope. But this wasn't always the case. For centuries, the practice of celibacy for clergy was optional, evolving slowly over time through various local councils.
It wasn't until the Second Lateran Council in 1139 that the promise of celibacy became an official prerequisite for ordination within the Latin Church. This momentous decision effectively put an end to any practice of a married priesthood in the West. Any sexual relationships thereafter, outside the bonds of marriage, were deemed mortal sins.
Before this formal decree, and even for some time after, the reality was often quite different. Many figures from early Christianity, including some of the Twelve Apostles, are believed to have been married and had families, reflecting the customs of their era.
Popes Who Were Legally Married
Even Saint Peter, considered the first Pope, was married. The Gospels mention his mother-in-law being healed by Jesus, and an early Christian writer, Clement of Alexandria, even recounts Peter's encouraging words to his wife as she was led to martyrdom. He was a family man, a foundational figure with a very human life.
Pope Felix III, who reigned from 483 to 492, was widowed before his election. He fathered two children, and remarkably, one of his children became the mother of none other than Pope Gregory I — making Felix III a papal grandfather!
Similarly, Pope Hormisdas, who served from 514 to 523, was a widower before he took holy orders. He was the father of Pope Silverius, marking another instance of a Pope whose own father had also worn the papal tiara.
Adrian II (867–872) presents a more tragic tale. He was married to Stephania before becoming a priest, and she was still alive when he was elected Pope, residing with him in the Lateran Palace. Tragically, both his wife and daughter were murdered by Eleutherius, the brother of the Church's chief librarian.
Later, Popes John XVII (1003), Clement IV (1265–1268), and Honorius IV (1285–1287) were all married men who became widowers before or during their ecclesiastical careers. John XVII, in fact, had three sons who all became priests themselves, carrying on a unique family legacy.
Children Before Holy Orders
As celibacy became more entrenched, some future Popes delayed taking formal vows or orders precisely to continue a secular lifestyle. Pope Pius II (1458–1464), for instance, fathered at least two children before formally entering the clergy. One was born in Scotland, another in Strasbourg; both sadly died in infancy.
Pope Innocent VIII (1484–1492) also had two children born before he entered the clergy. He famously used his children's marriages for political alliances, marrying his son Franceschetto Cybo to the daughter of Lorenzo de' Medici, which in turn secured a cardinal's hat for Lorenzo's 13-year-old son, Giovanni — who would later become Pope Leo X.
Pope Clement VII (1523–1534), a Medici himself, also had an illegitimate son, Alessandro de' Medici, who would later become the Duke of Florence. This lineage illustrates the blurring lines between papal authority and dynastic ambition during the Renaissance.
Children After Holy Orders
Even after receiving holy orders, some cardinals and future Popes continued to father children. Pope Julius II (1503–1513), a formidable 'Warrior Pope,' had three illegitimate daughters. One, Felice della Rovere, was born decades before his papacy, but well after his enthronement as a bishop.
Perhaps the most renowned example is Pope Paul III (1534–1549). He deliberately delayed ordination to maintain his lifestyle, fathering three sons and a daughter with his mistress, Silvia Ruffini, even after being appointed cardinal-deacon. He later famously made his illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese, the first Duke of Parma.
Pope Gregory XIII (1572–1585), known for commissioning the Gregorian calendar, also fathered an illegitimate son, Giacomo Boncompagni, in 1548. Giacomo, while remaining illegitimate, was favored by his father, receiving high appointments such as Gonfalonier of the Church and governor of key cities.
Allegations During Pontificate
The history of the papacy is also rife with allegations of sexual activity during a Pope's reign, particularly in the tumultuous period known as the Saeculum Obscurum or 'Dark Age' of the papacy, spanning the 9th and 10th centuries. These claims, however, are often disputed by modern historians.
Relationships with Women
Pope Sergius III (904–911) is notably accused of being the illegitimate father of Pope John XI by Marozia, a powerful Roman noblewoman. While some early sources, like Liutprand of Cremona, strongly make this claim, others like Flodoard contradict it, highlighting the partisan nature of historical accounts from this era.
Pope John XII (955–964), elected at just 18, faced numerous accusations of adultery and incest from his adversaries. Liutprand of Cremona famously claimed John XII 'made the sacred palace into a whorehouse,' and some accounts even suggest he died eight days after being struck by paralysis during an act of adultery.
Fast forward to the Renaissance, Pope Alexander VI (1492–1503), the infamous Rodrigo Borgia, had a long affair with Vannozza dei Cattanei before his papacy, with whom he fathered his well-known children Cesare, Giovanni, Gioffre, and Lucrezia Borgia. He also had a later mistress, Giulia Farnese, giving birth to a daughter while he was reigning as Pope.
Relationships with Men
Allegations of homosexual activity have also surfaced against several Popes, though these claims are often even more heavily debated by historians due to their contentious nature and the motivations of their accusers. Pope Sixtus IV (1471–1484) was described by a contemporary diarist, Stefano Infessura, as a 'lover of boys and sodomites,' who allegedly awarded benefices for sexual favors. However, Infessura's known partisan leanings make his accounts less reliable.
Later, Pope Julius III (1550–1555) faced widespread accusations of homosexuality during his reign, largely due to his overt favoritism towards a young man named Innocenzo Ciocchi Del Monte, who rose from beggar to cardinal under Julius' patronage. These accusations became a significant scandal across Europe.
Relationships with Women and Men
Perhaps the most scandalous figure to encompass both types of allegations was Pope Benedict IX, who had three non-consecutive reigns between 1032 and 1048. Accused of 'many vile adulteries' and 'rapes' by his contemporaries, he even resigned his office in May 1045 with the intention of getting married, though this plan ultimately failed.
The Nuance of History
It is crucial to remember that many of these allegations come from sources with strong political or religious biases. Opponents often used such claims to undermine a Pope's authority or reputation. While some claims are widely accepted by modern historians, others remain hotly contested, requiring careful consideration of the source and its context.
Article
List of sexually active popes
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 contemporary political or religious opponents having made several. Some claims are generally accepted by modern historians, while other remain more contested.
Background
List of sexually active popes
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 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.
Popes who were legally married
List of sexually active popes
<table><thead><tr><th>Name</th><th>Reign(s)</th><th>Relationship</th><th>Offspring</th><th>Notes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Saint Peter</td><td>30/33–64/68</td><td>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".</td><td>Yes</td><td>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.</td></tr><tr><td>Felix III</td><td>483–492</td><td>Widowed before his election as pope</td><td>Yes</td><td>Himself 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.</td></tr><tr><td>Hormisdas</td><td>514–523</td><td>Widowed before he took holy orders</td><td>Yes</td><td>Father of Pope Silverius</td></tr><tr><td>Adrian II</td><td>867–872</td><td>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.</td><td>Yes (a daughter)</td><td>His wife and daughter both resided with him until they were murdered by Eleutherius, brother of Anastasius Bibliothecarius, the Church's chief librarian.</td></tr><tr><td>John XVII</td><td>1003</td><td>Married before his election as pope</td><td>Yes (three sons)</td><td>All of his children became priests</td></tr><tr><td>Clement IV</td><td>1265–1268</td><td>Widowed before taking holy orders</td><td>Yes (two daughters)</td><td>Both children entered a convent</td></tr><tr><td>Honorius IV</td><td>1285–1287</td><td>Widowed before entering the clergy</td><td>Yes (at least two sons)</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>
Fathered illegitimate children before holy orders
List of sexually active popes
<table><thead><tr><th>Name</th><th>Reign</th><th>Relationship</th><th>Offspring</th><th>Notes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Pius II</td><td>1458–1464</td><td>Not married</td><td>Yes (at least two)</td><td>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.</td></tr><tr><td>Innocent VIII</td><td>1484–1492</td><td>Not married</td><td>Yes (two)</td><td>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.</td></tr><tr><td>Clement VII</td><td>1523–1534</td><td>Not married. Relationship with a servant or slave girl – possibly Simonetta da Collevecchio</td><td>Yes (one)</td><td>Identified as Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence</td></tr></tbody></table>
Known to or suspected of having fathered illegitimate children after receiving holy orders
List of sexually active popes
<table><thead><tr><th>Name</th><th>Reign</th><th>Relationship</th><th>Offspring</th><th>Notes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Julius II</td><td>1503–1513</td><td>Not married</td><td>Yes (three daughters)</td><td>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".</td></tr><tr><td>Paul III</td><td>1534–1549</td><td>Not married. Silvia Ruffini as mistress</td><td>Yes (three sons and one daughter)</td><td>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.</td></tr><tr><td>Pius IV</td><td>1559–1565</td><td>Not married</td><td>Allegedly three</td><td>One was a son born in 1541 or 1542. He also had two daughters.</td></tr><tr><td>Gregory XIII</td><td>1572–1585</td><td>Not married. Affair with Maddalena Fulchini</td><td>Yes</td><td>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.</td></tr><tr><td>Leo XII</td><td>1823–1829</td><td>Not married</td><td>Allegedly three</td><td>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.</td></tr></tbody></table>
Popes alleged to be sexually active during pontificate
List of sexually active popes
A majority of the allegations made in this section are disputed by modern historians.
Relationships with women
<table><thead><tr><th>Name</th><th>Reign</th><th>Relationship</th><th>Offspring</th><th>Notes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Sergius III</td><td>904–911</td><td>Not married</td><td>Yes (at least one)</td><td>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.</td></tr><tr><td>John X</td><td>914–928</td><td>Not married. Affairs with Theodora and Marozia</td><td>No</td><td>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."</td></tr><tr><td>John XII</td><td>955–964</td><td>Not married</td><td>No</td><td>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.</td></tr><tr><td>Alexander VI</td><td>1492–1503</td><td>Not married. Relationships with Vanozza dei Catanei and Giulia Farnese</td><td>Yes</td><td>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.</td></tr></tbody></table>
Relationships with men
<table><thead><tr><th>Name</th><th>Reign</th><th>Relationship</th><th>Notes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Paul II</td><td>1464–1471</td><td>Not married. Alleged affair with a page</td><td>Thought to have died of indigestion arising from eating melon, though his opponents alleged he died while being sodomized by a page.</td></tr><tr><td>Sixtus IV</td><td>1471–1484</td><td>Not married</td><td>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.</td></tr><tr><td>Leo X</td><td>1513–1521</td><td>Not married</td><td>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.</td></tr><tr><td>Julius III</td><td>1550–1555</td><td>Not married. Alleged affair with ennobled cardinal</td><td>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.</td></tr><tr><td>Paul VI</td><td>1963–1978</td><td>Not married. Alleged affair with Italian actor Paolo Carlini</td><td>In 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.</td></tr></tbody></table>
Relationships with women and men
<table><thead><tr><th>Name</th><th>Reign</th><th>Relationship</th><th>Offspring</th><th>Notes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Benedict IX</td><td>1032–1044, 1045, 1047–1048</td><td>Not married</td><td>No</td><td>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.</td></tr></tbody></table>