All but one pope before the year 530 was canonized (that’s 53 out of 54). From 530 to 885, pope-saints were fairly frequent (20 out of 55). However, in the seven centuries between 885 to 1572 only four popes (out of 115) were canonized. Of the 31 popes who reigned in the 430 years from 1572 to 1903, not a single one rated canonization. Between 1903 and 2005, three popes (out of 8) have been canonized: St. Pius X (1903-1914), St. John XIII (1958-1963), and St. John Paul II (1978-2005), putting a saint at the head of the Roman Catholic Church for 43 out of the 102 years from 1903 to 2005, a record unequaled since the 9th century or before. To put it another way, out of 154 popes in the last 1220 years, only seven saints have lead the Roman Catholic Church, but three of them within living memory. This must be a golden age of the Church. Who knew? Could have fooled me.
All but one pope before the year 530 was canonized (that’s 53 out of 54). From 530 to 885, pope-saints were fairly frequent (20 out of 55). However, in the seven centuries between 885 to 1572 only four popes (out of 115) were canonized. Of the 31 popes who reigned in the 430 years from 1572 to 1903, not a single one rated canonization. Between 1903 and 2005, three popes (out of 8) have been canonized: St. Pius X (1903-1914), St. John XIII (1958-1963), and St. John Paul II (1978-2005), putting a saint at the head of the Roman Catholic Church for 43 out of the 102 years from 1903 to 2005, a record unequaled since the 9th century or before. To put it another way, out of 154 popes in the last 1220 years, only seven saints have lead the Roman Catholic Church, but three of them within living memory. This must be a golden age of the Church. Who knew? Could have fooled me.