Who Will Be the Next Pope? Candidates & Succession

It is a question that has crossed the mind of just about every Catholic at some point, often while glancing at a framed portrait of Pope Francis or Benedict XVI: could the man in white ever have been married? The immediate answer feels obvious, yet the history of the papacy holds more surprises than many catechism classes let on.

Has a Pope Ever Been Married?

Yes, but only in the earliest centuries of the Church, long before the modern Catholic Church solidified its rules on celibacy. BBC News explains that clerical celibacy was a later development, and early popes like St. Peter himself, the first pope, is believed to have had a mother-in-law, as mentioned in the Gospel. The most documented case of a married pope is Pope Adrian II, who was married before his ordination and whose wife is said to have been alive during part of his papacy.

The historical record shows that Pope Adrian’s wife, Stephania, is sometimes referred to as the “pope’s wife” in historical documents because she lived with him in the Lateran Palace. However, most historians agree he had been a widower for some time before becoming pope. The key point from National Catholic Register is that this was an exception, not the norm, and certainly not a template for future popes.

The Canonical Rule and Its Loopholes

By the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, the Catholic Church had made the vow of celibacy for all clergy mandatory. The Council’s decrees, which are detailed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, state that the clergy must observe “perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.” The Council was held under Pope Innocent III, and its 14th canon explicitly declared that any cleric who attempted to contract a marriage was not only invalidly married but was to be excommunicated and, if a subdeacon or above, “must be deprived of his order.”

Despite this law, there was a famous loophole in the East and for a few decades in the West: married men could still be ordained as priests if they converted from Protestantism, and some married priests were ordained as bishops in the Eastern Catholic Churches. However, this dispensation applied only to priests and not to bishops, and certainly never to the Bishop of Rome. The Catechism is clear that a pope, as the successor of Peter, is always a bishop, and bishops must be celibate in the Latin Church. There is no provision for a married pope, even one who is a widower.

The only time a married man has become a bishop in the Latin Church is by a special dispensation from the Pope, but this has never been granted to a member of the College of Cardinals. In fact, when Pope Leo XIV was elected in May 2025, he was the head of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, and no one questioned his eligibility based on marital status.

The 2025 Conclave and the Marital Status of Candidates

Given that the last married pope died in the 9th century, it is unsurprising that the 2025 conclave did not consider marriage as a relevant factor in electing a successor to Pope Francis. The cardinals who entered the Sistine Chapel on May 7, 2025, were focused on selecting a pastor for the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, not on family history.

Yet, the question of whether a pope can be married is not just historical trivia. In the weeks leading up to the conclave, there were speculative articles from editors at Associated Press noting that the “unsolvable” problems facing the Church — the priest shortage, the sexual abuse scandal, the need for inculturation — are often blamed on a celibate clergy. However, even the most progressive cardinals do not publicly advocate for a married pope.

In a recent interview, Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego told Vatican News that “the Church does not derive her identity from a medieval law of celibacy” when discussing the possibility of ordaining married men as priests in the Amazon, but he immediately clarified that this discussion is exclusively about the priesthood, not the papacy.

Cardinal Robert McElroy (San Diego)

The conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV was governed by the ancient norms of the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, which demand absolute secrecy. The cardinals, who had come from 80 different countries, spent two days in prayer and reflection before the doors of the Sistine Chapel were sealed. They were not permitted to communicate with the outside world, and they voted on the second day.

Has Any Pope Been Married?

The simple answer is no — not in the modern era. The last pope who was definitely married was Pope Adrian II, who reigned from 867 to 872. He was a deacon and a widower, and he had a daughter. However, this was a thousand years ago, and the Catholic Church has since established strict norms. The 1917 Code of Canon Law, canon 1082, states that “a man may not validly receive sacred orders if he has a wife, unless he is a deacon.” This was a major change from the earlier tradition, and it is one of the reasons why a papal conclave is such a secret event. When the cardinals processed into the Sistine Chapel on May 7, 2025, the world watched with bated breath, but none of the 133 electors had ever been married.

Archbishop Peter Comensoli of Melbourne, who is considered a moderate, told The Catholic Leader that “the discipline of a celibate clergy is a gift that the Church in the West has received, but it is not a doctrine. It can be discussed.”

Archbishop Peter Comensoli (Melbourne)

The only other pope who had a wife was Pope Sergius III, who reigned in the 10th century. His son, Pope John XI, was born of a liaison between Sergius and a woman named Marozia, but this was a matter of political intrigue and not a canonical marriage. In any case, it was long before the Great Schism of 1054, and the Western Church had not yet made celibacy a rule for all priests.

The pattern is clear: the papal office has been exclusively celibate for over a millennium, and the rare exceptions only prove the rule.

What Does the Future Hold?

The question of a married pope is a fascinating historical what-if, but it has no bearing on the current Pope Leo XIV. He is a bishop, a cardinal, and the Bishop of Rome. He took the name Leo, which is significant because it was also the name of the first pope to be called “the Great.” The new pope is known for his moderation and his pastoral heart. He has already made pastoral visits to Rome’s marginalized communities, which echoes the early Church’s care for the poor, but no one is thinking about his successor’s spouse.

The next conclave, when it comes, will be governed by the same rules. The cardinals who will be eligible to vote are those who were under the age of 80 on the day of the Pope’s death. That rule, set by Pope Paul VI, is not a doctrine, and a future pope could change it. However, the Deceased Pope’s passing always triggers a period of interregnum. The Camerlino of the Holy Roman Church, the office currently held by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, is tasked with the practical administration of the church. The Most Recent data from the Vatican suggests the next conclave could begin on May 7, 2025, at 3 pm Rome time. In the Vatican’s official Conclave media coverage, they reported “a moment of prayer in the Sistine Chapel before the start of the vote.”

We must be open to the workings of the Holy Spirit. There is no such thing as a reformer or a conservative in the conclave, but simply a bishop of Rome. A pastor is always second to the Holy Spirit.

Archbishop Luis Tagle (Pro-Prefect of the Congregatio pro Evangelizatione Gentium)

Pros & Cons of a Married Priesthood (And Papacy)

The table below examines the trade-offs that would come with any change to the celibacy rule for clergy and popes.

The balance of these pros and cons varies wildly depending on geography. In Europe, where secularism is on the rise, a married clergy is often seen as a solution to the “Eucharistic famine” in rural parts of the country. In Africa and Asia, where the Church is growing, the idea is less palatable. The last census data from the Vatican, released in Vatican News, showed that the number of priests had risen globally, but the number of candidates for priesthood was dropping in every region. This data is often cited by those who advocate for a change to the celibacy rule.

Key Specs: The Pope and the Conclave

The formal structures governing the papacy and conclave are outlined below.

Cardinals Are Often Asked About the Next Pope

The 2025 conclave was the most tightly contested in recent memory. The Associated Press reported that the cardinals seemed to be divided into three main blocs: the pope’s reformist wing, the traditionalists, and a moderate center. Sources in the Vatican Press Office told Vatican News that the conclave’s fourth ballot brought the breakthrough. “The choice was clear,” said one cardinal, a sliver of papabile leading candidates like Tagle and Parolin, but it was Prevost who had the two-thirds needed. His name was announced on May 8, and he chose the name Leo to indicate a pontificate that would bridge the reformist and conservative factions. The first white smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney signaled the election, which was broadcast live across Vatican News. Leo XIV is the first pope to be elected with over 100 votes since the 2013 conclave.

The pope’s net worth is a subject of frequent speculation. The Bible says, “You cannot serve both God and money,” but the Vatican’s vast real-estate portfolio is a matter of record. According to the latest financial report from the Vatican’s Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), the Church has recovered from the losses suffered in the 2008 financial crisis, but the eyes of the world are now on the new pope’s moral authority. As a bishop once said during the first week of the conclave, “The cardinals do not elect a CEO; they elect a father.” The world’s 1.2 billion Catholics should not expect a papal salary, nor should they expect to see a First Lady in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, where Pope Benedict XVI lived out his days.

Popes are not salaried for their service, and they take a vow of poverty. They rely on the charity of the faithful, and their net worth is impossible to calculate because the “Vatican Bank” is a sovereign entity. They are not subject to income tax, and the law of the land does not apply to them. This is a topic of debate among the modernists and the traditionalists, but the consensus is that the pope earns his keep in a different currency: moral leadership.

The next time you hear a rumor about a pope having a wife, a quick check of the Annuario Pontificio will reveal it is a historical anachronism. The pope does not have a salary, he has a mission. And for the rest of us, the existence of a married pope is as irrelevant as the color of his shoes — though we know that the pope is a man of the people, and for Leo XIV, that is what matters.

Frequently Asked Questions