20 Facts About Longest-reigning pope

The earliest record of the use of the title of 'Longest-reigning pope' was in regard to the by then deceased patriarch of Alexandria, Heraclas.

In 1870, the First Vatican Council proclaimed the dogma of papal infallibility for the most solemn occasions when the Longest-reigning pope speaks when issuing a definition of faith or morals.

In 1950, Pope Pius XII defined the Assumption of Mary as dogma, the only time a Longest-reigning pope has spoken since papal infallibility was explicitly declared.

Primacy of St Peter, the controversial doctrinal basis of the Longest-reigning pope's authority, continues to divide the eastern and western churches and to separate Protestants from Rome.

New Longest-reigning pope is led to the Room of Tears, a dressing room where three sets of white papal vestments await in three sizes.

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Donning the appropriate vestments and reemerging into the Sistine Chapel, the new Longest-reigning pope is given the "Fisherman's Ring" by the camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church.

Until 1978, the Longest-reigning pope's election was followed in a few days by the papal coronation, which started with a procession with great pomp and circumstance from the Sistine Chapel to St Peter's Basilica, with the newly elected Longest-reigning pope borne in the sedia gestatoria.

Any decision that requires the assent of the Longest-reigning pope has to wait until the new Longest-reigning pope has been elected and accepts office.

In recent centuries, when a Longest-reigning pope was judged to have died, it was reportedly traditional for the cardinal camerlengo to confirm the death ceremonially by gently tapping the Longest-reigning pope's head thrice with a silver hammer, calling his birth name each time.

Title "Longest-reigning pope" was from the early 3rd century an honorific designation used for any bishop in the West.

In Eastern Christianity, where the title "Longest-reigning pope" is used of the bishop of Alexandria, the bishop of Rome is often referred to as the "Longest-reigning pope of Rome", regardless of whether the speaker or writer is in communion with Rome or not.

Longest-reigning pope is commonly called the Supreme Pontiff or the Sovereign Pontiff.

Longest-reigning pope departed from papal tradition by adding beneath the shield his personal pastoral motto: Miserando atque eligendo.

Flag most frequently associated with the Longest-reigning pope is the yellow and white flag of Vatican City, with the arms of the Holy See on the right-hand side in the white half of the flag.

Pope Pius V, is often credited with having originated the custom whereby the Longest-reigning pope wears white, by continuing after his election to wear the white habit of the Dominican order.

Later books of ceremonies describe the Longest-reigning pope as wearing a red mantle, mozzetta, camauro and shoes, and a white cassock and stockings.

Longest-reigning pope possesses a summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, situated on the site of the ancient city of Alba Longa.

Until the time of the Avignon Papacy, the residence of the Longest-reigning pope was the Lateran Palace, donated by Roman emperor Constantine the Great.

The existence of an antiLongest-reigning pope is usually due either to doctrinal controversy within the Church or to confusion as to who is the legitimate Longest-reigning pope at the time.

Longest-reigning pope is not recognized as a valid pope, but was added to the lists of popes in the 15th century as Stephen II, causing difficulties in enumerating later popes named Stephen.