Year of three popes Year of three popes A year of three popes is a common reference to a year when the College of Cardinals of the Catholic Church are required to elect two new popes within the same calendar year. Such a year generally occurs when a newly elected pope dies or resigns very early into his papacy. This results in the Catholic Church being led by three different popes during the same calendar year. The most recent instance of a year of three popes occurred in 1978. The three popes involved were: There have been several instances in which three or more
Mariology of the popes John Paul II), visits to Marian shrines (Benedict XVI in 2007) and by actively supporting the fathers of Vatican II as they highlighted the importance of Marian veneration (Popes John XXIII and Paul VI) in "Lumen gentium". Popular views like the Assumption and the Immaculate Conception developed into papal teaching over time. Popes have also limited and cautioned against some devotional practices. In 1674 Pope Clement X (1670–1676) indexed books on Marian piety. After the Council of Trent, "Marian fraternities" were founded, fostering Marian piety, not all of which were approved. Not all Popes took the same view on Marian