This is a list of sexually active popes , Catholic priests who were not celibate before they became pope , and those who were legally married before becoming pope.
Some candidates were allegedly sexually active before their election as pope , and others were thought to have been sexually active during their papacies. A number of them had children. There are various classifications for those who were sexually active during their lives. Allegations of sexual activities are of varying levels of reliability, with several having been made by contemporary political or religious opponents.
Some claims are generally accepted by modern historians, while other remain more contested. For many years of the Church's history, celibacy was considered optional.
Based on the customs of the times, it is assumed [ by whom? The New Testament Mark β31; [ 1 ] Matthew β15; [ 2 ] Luke β39; [ 3 ] 1 Timothy , 12; [ 4 ] Titus [ 5 ] depicts at least Peter as being married, and bishops , priests and deacons of the Early Church were often married as well. In epigraphy, the testimony of the Church Fathers , synodal legislation, and papal decretals in the following centuries, a married clergy, in greater or lesser numbers, was a feature of the life of the Church.
Celibacy was not required for those ordained and was accepted in the early Church, particularly by those in the monastic life. Although various local Church councils had demanded celibacy of the clergy in a particular episcopal jurisdiction, [ 6 ] it was not until the Second Lateran Council that official made the promise to remain celibate a prerequisite to ordination within the Latin Church and effectively ended any practice of a married priesthood.
