Has any pope been assassinated?

Factual Questions
1

Ever?

2

From here:

3

St. Peter was executed by the Romans-does that count?

4

I was actually thinking the same question earlier today! Weird…

5

If we’re going to include potential murders, add Celestine V. There were rumors that his successor, Boniface VIII, did him in. He had an interesting rule of 5 months, and was a hermit who was basically press-ganged into papacy.

6

That Tenth Century was rough on the Pontiffs.

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And, of course, there is the persistent rumour that Pope John Paul I was murdered.

8

The Church must have been just a teeny bit embarrassed about that one.

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And the fact that he castrated a cardinal, drank the Devil’s health, invoked the help of the old pagan Roman gods while gambling, and turned the papal palace into a brothel… They don’t make popes like that any more.

10

At least, not popes we know about. The Vatican is not noted for its communication skills.

11

This link works better. :wink:

12

Most of the early popes were martyred. The first 34 popes, up until 352 AD, are all considered saints, most of them (perhaps all) on the basis of having been executed by the Romans.