Laymen Elected to the Papacy
Pope Saint Fabian 236
Saint Urban I
223
223Noble Roman (probably a layman)Saint Eusebius310
310Physician (most likely then a layman)Pope Saint Eusebius: For the Catholic religion has always been preserved spotless in the Apostolic See.John IIIJuly 18, 560
July 18, 560Noble RomanSaint DeusdeditOctober 19, 615
October 19, 615Not even a subdeaconJohn XIMarch 13, 931
March 13, 931John was surrounded by evil men, who had raised him to authority and possessed more of it than he did. De MontorLeo VIII
Benedict VIIIJune 17, 1012
June 17, 1012De Montor: Benedict VIII, originally named John, was a Roman, and son of Gregory, count of Tusculum, of the Conti family. Benedict was elected pope on the 17th of June, 1012; but an antipope, Gregory, soon expelled the legitimate pope. John XXJune 6, 1024
June 6, 1024Pope Saint Peter Celestine V
Catholic Encyclopedia Article on Papal Elections, which states: A layman may also be elected pope, as was Celestine V (1294). Even the election of a married man would not be invalid (c. "Qui uxorem", 19, caus. 33, Q. 5). ...Pope Saint Peter Celestine was a monk. Pope Saint Siricius DZ 90: We both desire and will that monks also, whom however the authority of their manners and holy disposition of their lives and faith commend, be added to the offices of the clergy. Reading this we see that monks are not clergy. Information is compiled from several sources, including Artaud de Montor's Lives of the Popes and the Catholic Encyclopedia
Michael Fighting
