The Daily Question

VPS Website Team


Why did Pope John XXIII (elected in 1958) choose to reuse the papal name “John XXIII,” even though a Pope John XXIII had already existed during the aftermath of the Council of Pisa?


   He wanted to honor the Pisan Pope John XXIII as a legitimate pontiff
   He believed the numbering of popes named John had been incorrectly recorded in medieval manuscripts
   He considered the Pisan John XXIII an antipope and counted only the 22 legitimate Johns before him
   He chose the name at random, without reference to historical numbering

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