Benedict XVI was elected the 265th pope at the age of 78. He is the oldest person to have been elected pope since Pope Clement XII (1730–1740). He served longer as a cardinal before becoming Pope than any Pontiff since Benedict XIII (1724–1730). Benedict and his Polish predecessor John Paul II were the first consecutive non-Italian popes since the seven consecutive Frenchmen of the Avignon Papacy (1309–1378). The last pope named Benedict was Benedict XV, an Italian who reigned from 1914 to 1922, during World War I (1914–1918).