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Sede vacante

The umbraculum, the arms of the Holy See under sede vacante
The umbraculum, the arms of the Holy See under sede vacante.

Sede vacante[a] is a term in Catholic canon law that means "the seat being empty." It is used when a diocese or archdiocese has no prelate installed in office. This often happens when a Pope dies or resigns. During this time, the Holy See is run by the Camerlengo and cardinals. In the Diocese of Rome, the empty seat is the cathedra of Saint John Lateran, the main church of the Bishop of Rome.[1][2][3][4]

Sede vacante periods since 1799

Preceding Pope Subsequent Pope Beginning Ending Duration[5]
Pius VI Pius VII 29 August 1799 14 March 1800 197 days
Pius VII Leo XII 20 August 1823 28 September 1823 39 days
Leo XII Pius VIII 10 February 1829 31 March 1829 49 days
Pius VIII Gregory XVI 30 November 1830 2 February 1831 63 days
Gregory XVI Pius IX 1 June 1846 16 June 1846 15 days
Pius IX Leo XIII 7 February 1878 20 February 1878 13 days
Leo XIII Pius X 20 July 1903 4 August 1903 15 days
Pius X Benedict XV 20 August 1914 3 September 1914 14 days
Benedict XV Pius XI 22 January 1922 6 February 1922 15 days
Pius XI Pius XII 10 February 1939 2 March 1939 20 days
Pius XII John XXIII 9 October 1958 28 October 1958 19 days
John XXIII Paul VI 3 June 1963 21 June 1963 18 days
Paul VI John Paul I 6 August 1978 26 August 1978 20 days
John Paul I John Paul II 28 September 1978 16 October 1978 18 days
John Paul II Benedict XVI 2 April 2005 19 April 2005 17 days
Benedict XVI Francis 28 February 2013 13 March 2013 13 days
Francis Leo XIV 21 April 2025 8 May 2025 17 days

Sede Vacante Media

  • Sede vacante stamp of 1939.

Related pages

Notes

  1. ↑ ˈseːde vaˈkante; lit. 'with the chair [being] vacant'

References

  1. ↑ Dictionary : SEDE VACANTE. www.catholicculture.org. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  2. ↑ Sede Vacante in History and Canon Law | EWTN (in en). EWTN Global Catholic Television Network. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  3. ↑ CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Vacancy. www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  4. ↑ Sede Vacante: The seat is vacant (in en-US). Catholic Telegraph (2013-02-28). Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  5. ↑ As is usual in English, in canon law also (Code of Canon Law, canon 203), the initial day is not counted in calculating the length of a period, unless the period began with the beginning of the day.

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