The 10 longest-reigning Popes whose reign lengths can be determined from contemporary historical data are the following:

1. Pius IX (1846 - 1878): 31 years, 7 months and 23 days (11,560 days).
2. John Paul II (1978 - 2005): 26 years, 5 months and 17 days (9,665 days).
3. Leo XIII (1878 - 1903): 25 years, 4 months and 29 days (9,280 days).
4. Pius VI (1775 - 1799): 24 years, 6 months and 14 days (8,962 days).
5. Adrian I (772 - 795): 23 years, 10 months and 25 days (8,728 days).
6. Pius VII (1800 - 1823): 23 years, 5 months and 6 days (8,559 days).
7. Alexander III (1159 -
   
   
   
   1181): 21 years, 11 months and 2 days (8,001 days).
8. St. Sylvester I (314 - 335): 21 years and 11 months.
9. St. Leo I (440 - 461): 21 years and 1 month.
10. Urban VIII (1623 - 1644): 20 years, 11 months and 23 days (7,663 days).

St. Peter

The Roman Catholic Church recognizes St. Peter as the first Pope, however, the Roman Catholic listings of longest reigning popes exclude him.

Dates of his reign

Peter's reign has been determined from traditional sources, but their accuracy is far from certain. Traditionally, St. Peter is said to have spent 25 years in Rome. However, at least since the time when Pope Pius IX complete his 25th year as Pope in 1871, thus

Was Peter a pope at all?

Most non-Catholics dispute St. Peter being on any list of popes at all, as there is no proof of any Bishop of Rome claiming the Papal title until centuries after Jesus' death, and some traditions hold that Peter was never even a bishop.

Roman Catholics, on the other hand, consider St. Peter necessarily to be the first pope by virtue of his reputed commission by Jesus and because they believe he was the first Bishop of Rome, regardless of whether he was generally known by, or personally claimed, that title. By Catholic understanding, all later popes reign by virtue of their succession to St. Peter in his office.

For more discussion of disputes about the nature of papacy, and of the evolution of the term pope, see pope.

See also

• List of 10 shortest-reigning popes
• List of popes
• List of ages of popes Pontifikat

Los diez pontificados más largos Liste des 10 règnes pontificaux les plus longs I 10 pontificati più lunghi Lista celor mai lungi 10 pontificate 頭十位在位最長的教宗列表