A snapshot of the papacies of the 11 modern popes that preceded Pope Francis, from Pope Benedict XVI to Blessed Pope Pius IX.

VATICAN CITY — A silver wand in hand, Cardinal Luigi Oreglia stood at the door to Pope Leo XIII’s bedchamber on July 20, 1903. It was early, about 1:30 a.m. The 93-year-old pope had been sick ...

Pope Francis, at 88, was the second-oldest pontiff in modern history after Pope Leo XIII, who died in 1903 at the age of 93. Born in Buenos Aires on Dec. 17, 1936, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was ...

Pope Leo XIII is seen in a photograph reportedly taken in 1878. (Getty Images) You wouldn’t have to go back further than the 20th century, however, to find the oldest pope to ever serve.

Headlines about the missing Fisherman’s Ring splashed boldly across front pages days after Pope Leo XIII died. “Ring was stolen,” a headline in The Forum reported on July 25, 1903. . “It ...