Papal Pandemonium: Quarterfinal #4

Papal Pandemonium 2015
Quarterfinals									Semifinals			Finals
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	1	2	3	Results

For more info on Popes, visit New Advent's Catholic Encyclopedia

Congrats to our latest three winners: Boniface, Severinus, and Miltiades. (The first two had comfortable leads; the last edged out Pius.)

In our fourth quarterfinal, we move from the old-school names into some much more… generic monikers. (All placements were done randomly.)

As before, one-third of these 9 names will move on to the next round. You have until midnight Eastern to cast your votes!

And now, a little bit about our contestants!

Adrian – used 6 times (last: 1523)

Derivation: from the town of Adria, Italy (related to Adriatic).

I	II	III✝	IV	V
772–795	867–872	884–885	1154–1159	1276

VI

1522–1523

Adrian has the same root as Hadrian, the name of the Roman Emperor who built the wall separating present-day England and Scotland.

Adrian IV was the only English pope, born Nicholas Breakspear.

Adrian VI was the only Dutch pope, and the penultimate pope who maintained his name upon election to the papacy. (The last, Marcellus II, would ascend in 1555.)

Agatho^✝ (678–681)

Derivation: Greek, kind, good.

Agatho might have been over 100 years old when he became Pope. Known as Thaumaturgus (“the Wonderworker”) for his many miracles, Agatho is venerated in both the Western and Eastern churches.

Celestine – used 5 times (last: 1294)

Derivation: Latin, heavenly.

I✝	II	III	IV	V✝
422–432	1143–1144	1191–1198	1241	1294

Until Benedict XVI did so in 2013, Celestine V was the last pope to resign. He had been a hermit until he was elected to end a two-year interregnum; he was unfamiliar with the political nature of the position, and longed to return to monastic life.

Instead, he was imprisoned by his successor, Boniface VIII, who was afraid rivals would install Celestine as an antipope.

Constantine (708–715)

Derivation: Latin, steadfast.

Traveled to Constantinople to meet with Emperor Justinian II; along the way, he named bishops in several random towns, as it was rare for a pope to go so far from home.

Cornelius^✝ (251–253)

Derivation: Latin, war horn.

Elected against his will, Cornelius was, unsurprisingly, martyred.

Martin – used 3 times (last: 1431)

Derivation: Latin, war-like (related to Mars).

I✝	II	III	IV	V
649–655	not used	not used	1281–1285	1417–1431

After Martin I was captured by Byzantine Emperor Constans II, he was marched through the streets of Constantinople while citizens heaped insults upon him. He was ultimately subjected to exile.

The two popes named Marinus were mistaken for Martinus, and given numbers II and III; this was later corrected, and the numbers left unused.

Paul – used 6 times (last: 1978)

Derivation: Latin, little, humble.

I✝	II	III	IV	V
757–767	1464–1471	1534–1549	1555–1559	1605–1621

VI*

1963–1978

Paul VI closed the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) and accepted many of its findings. He was beatified by Pope Francis in 2014.

Soter^✝ (166–175)

Derivation: Greek, salvation.

Possibly the first pope who wasn’t martyred, Soter inaugurated the celebration of Easter as a Roman holiday.

Stephen – used 9 times (last: 1058)

Derivation: Greek, crown.

I✝	II	III	IV	V
254–257	not used	752–757	767–772	816–817

VI	VII	VIII	IX	X
885–891	896–897	929–931	939–942	1057–1058

This is going to get confusing. The man who would have been Stephen II died before consecration in 752, so whether he should count toward the numbering is a matter of debate. Numbers weren’t used for popes until the turn of the millennium, so the last Stephen was the only one to sign a number, and he used Nonus.

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Cast your vote!