List of extant papal tombs

A procession in the Catacomb of Callixtus, a site of several ancient papal tombs. By Alberto Pisa, 1905

A pope is the Bishop of Rome and the leader of the Catholic Church. Approximately 100 papal tombs are at least partially extant, representing less than half of the 265 deceased popes, from Saint Peter to Benedict XVI.^[1]

For the first few centuries in particular, little is known of the popes and their tombs, and available information is often contradictory. As with other religious relics, multiple sites claim to house the same tomb. Furthermore, many papal tombs that recycled sarcophagi and other materials from earlier tombs were later recycled for their valuable materials or combined with other monuments. For example, the tomb of Pope Leo I was combined with Leos II, III, and IV circa 855, and then removed in the seventeenth century and placed under his own altar, below Alessandro Algardi's relief, Fuga d'Attila. The style of papal tombs has evolved considerably throughout history, tracking trends in the development of church monuments.^[2] Notable papal tombs have been commissioned from sculptors such as Michelangelo and Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Most extant papal tombs are located in St. Peter's Basilica, other major churches of Rome (especially Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, Santa Maria sopra Minerva and Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore), or other churches of Italy, France, and Germany.^[3]

Note on non-extant tombs

Many early tombs no longer exist due to repeated translations or destruction. This list does not include non-extant papal tombs. Information about these tombs is generally incomplete and uncertain. Locations of destroyed or lost papal tombs include:

Saint Peter's tomb, around which the following popes were traditionally believed to have been buried: Pope Linus, Pope Anacletus, Pope Evaristus, Pope Telesphorus, Pope Hyginus, Pope Pius I, Pope Anicetus (later transferred to the Catacomb of Callixtus), and Pope Victor I.^[4] Epigraphic evidence exists only for Linus, with the discovery of a burial slab marked "Linus" in 1615; however, the slab is broken such that it could have once read "Aquilinius" or "Anullinus".^[5]
The Catacombs of Rome, specifically the Catacomb of Callixtus, the Catacomb of Priscilla (beneath San Martino ai Monti), the Catacomb of Balbina, the Catacomb of Calepodius, the Catacomb of Pontian, and the Catacomb of Felicitas, which were emptied by repeated translations by the ninth century.^[6]
Papal tombs in Old St. Peter's Basilica, which once numbered over 100 papal tombs, nearly all of which were destroyed during the sixteenth/seventeenth century demolition.^[7]
Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, where over a dozen tombs were destroyed in two fires (1308 and 1361).^[8]

Other tombs not included in this list are:

Tombs of antipopes, which—with few exceptions—are obscure or destroyed. An antipope is a historical papal claimant currently regarded by the Roman Catholic Church as illegitimate. Notably, however, the Tomb of Antipope John XXIII is in the Battistero di San Giovanni in Florence.
Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio a Trevi, the resting place of the precordium of 22 popes from Sixtus V (1585–1590) to Leo XIII (1878–1903).

1st–5th centuries

1st century

2nd century

3rd century

4th century

5th century

6th–10th centuries

6th century

7th century

8th century

9th century

10th century

11th–15th centuries

11th century

12th century

13th century

14th century

15th century

16th–21st centuries

16th century

17th century

18th century

19th century

20th century

21st century

Notes

^ Mann, 2003, p. 1.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 5–12.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 269–271.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 23–26.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 23.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 10–11.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 272–277.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 70–109.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 25.
^ a b c d e f g Reardon, 2004, p. 270.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 30.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 31.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 34–35.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 40–41.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 46–48.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 48.
^ a b Mann, 2003, p. 22.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 49–51.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 54–55.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 60.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 16.
^ Mann, 2003, p. 24.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 61.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 62.
^ a b Reardon, 2004, p. 64.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 66.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 74.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 76.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 77.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 80.
^ a b Williamson, Paul. (1998). Gothic sculpture, 1140–1300. pp. 95–98.
^ Beckwith, John. (1961). "Review: The Tomb of Pope Clement II at Bamberg". The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 103, No. 700, pp. 321–322.
^ Turner, Jane. (1996). The dictionary of art. p. 139.
^ Porter, Darwin. (2004). Frommer's Germany. p. 210.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 82–83.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 9.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 83.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 84.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 87.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 88.
^ Thomas, Sarah Fawcett. (2000). Butler's Lives of the Saints: September / revised by Sarah Fawcett Thomas. Continuum International Publishing. ISBN 978-0-86012-258-6. p. 150.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 89.
^ a b c d e f g Reardon, 2004, p. 269.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 90–91.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 93.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 11.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 95.
^ Mann, 2003, p. 32.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 12.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 98.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 100.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 102–103.
^ a b An illustration of the iron casket can be seen in Reardon, 2004, p. 113.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 104.
^ Keys to Umbria: City Walks. May 22, 2009 (retrieved). "Interior of the Duomo Archived 2009-01-07 at the Wayback Machine ".
^ Gardner, 1992, p. 36, ill. 21, 25–27, 31.
^ a b c Frothingham, A. L., Jr. (1891). "Notes on Roman Artists of the Middle Ages. III. Two Tombs of the Popes at Viterbo by Vassallectus and Petrus Oderisi". The American Journal of Archaeology and of the History of the Fine Arts, 7(1/2): 38.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 132–135.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 34–38.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 109.
^ An illustration of the nineteenth century Tomb of Pope John XXI can be found in: Daly, Walter J. (2004). "An Earlier De Motu Cordis". Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association, Vol. 115.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 111.
^ a b P. Cellini, Di Fra' Guglielmo e di Arnolfo, BArte, s. IV, 40, 1955, pp. 215-229
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 97–99.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 115.
^ P. Cellini, Di Fra' Guglielmo e di Arnolfo, BArte, s. IV, 40, 1955, pp. 215-229
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 116.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 118.
^ Kington, Tom (14 April 2009). "Italy earthquake focus shifts to saving Abruzzo's heritage". The Guardian.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 106–108, 111–112.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 120–121.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 88, 124–130.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 176–179.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 167–172.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 126.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 139.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 183–184.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 186.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 195–196.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 190–194.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 203. As seen in Acta Sanctorum.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 204–207.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 133.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 147.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 137.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 141–142.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 145.
^ Gardner, 1992, ill. 18.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 149.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 152.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 153.
^ a b Reardon, 2004, p. 156.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 161.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 163.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 167.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 173.
^ a b c Reardon, 2004, p. 177.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 177–178.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 179.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 182.
^ Reardon, 2004, 182.
^ Reardon, 2004, 185–186.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 186.
^ Aldrich, Robert, and Wotherspoon, Garry. (2002). Who's who in gay and lesbian history. Routledge. p. 278.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 187–188.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 188.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 189.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 191.
^ Gerhard Bissell, Pierre le Gros, 1666–1719, Reading, Berkshire 1997, pp. 42–44.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 195.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 195–197.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 198.
^ a b Reardon, 2004, p. 199.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 201.
^ a b Reardon, 2004, p. 204.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 206–207.
^ Gerhard Bissell, Pierre le Gros, 1666–1719, Reading, Berkshire 1997, pp. 104–105. Reardon's statement (Reardon, 2004, p. 206–207) that the design was by Orazio Grassi is based on an unreliable source of more than a century ago and not correct; also, while it is correct, as she states, that Camillo Rusconi created statues of the Cardinal Virtues for the chapel, they were there decades before the monument and have nothing to do with it.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 207.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 208–209.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 211.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 211–213.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 213.
^ a b Reardon, 2004, p. 215.
^ Olszewski, Edward J. (2004). Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni (1667–1740) and the Vatican tomb of Pope Alexander VIII. Diane Publishing. ISBN 978-0-87169-252-8.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 218.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 218–219.
^ a b Reardon, 2004, p. 219.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 221.
^ a b Reardon, 2004, p. 223.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 224–225.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 227.
^ a b Reardon, 2004, p. 229.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 229–232.
^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 232–233.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 235.
^ a b Reardon, 2004, p. 239.
^ "The Tomb of Pius XI".
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 240.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 243.
^ Fodors. 2009, May 24 (accessed). "Basilica di San Pietro Archived 2009-05-08 at the Wayback Machine."
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 246.
^ Reardon, 2004, p. 249.
^ "Pope Francis presides over funeral of predecessor Benedict XVI". France 24. 2023-01-05. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
^ "The pope says he wants to be buried in the Rome basilica, not in the Vatican". AP News. 2023-12-13. Retrieved 2023-12-13.

References

Gardner, Julian (1992), The Tomb and the Tiara, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ISBN 978-0-19-817510-0
Mann, H. K. (2003), Tombs and Portraits of the Popes of the Middle Ages, Kessinger Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7661-2903-0
Reardon, Wendy J. (2004), The Deaths of the Popes, Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, ISBN 978-0-7864-1527-4
Webb, Matilda (2001), The Churches and Catacombs of Early Christian Rome: a comprehensive guide, Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 978-1-902210-57-5

External links

(in German) Information and images on papal tombs (1417 and 1799) from the Requiem project