The arrest warrant for Martino I, who was deported to Kherson

14 September 1523. Adrian VI, Adriaan Florensz of Utrecht, died. He had been elected whilst in Tarragona, marking the last time a cardinal not present at the conclave was chosen. He was also the last non-Italian Pope for over 450 years, until the election of John Paul II in 1978, and the only Pope of Dutch origin. An austere professor at Leuven, he had been tutor to the future Emperor Charles V and was subsequently appointed by him to assist in the government of Spain. Hadrian was driven by a sincere desire for ecclesiastical reform, but in Rome he found few supporters and was met with widespread hostility and a lack of cooperation. He was therefore unable to bring his reformist ideas to fruition, nor did he succeed in other problematic areas of his pontificate, such as dealing with the Reformation in Germany, bringing peace to Italy, navigating the conflicting interests of imperial and French politics, and waging war against the Turks.

15 September 1590. Urbano VII, Giambattista Castagna, was elected; he was born in Rome to a Genoese father and a Roman mother. His pontificate lasted only twelve days and was the shortest in history. According to one source, he could hardly sleep on the first night after his election. Two days later, a high fever revealed that he had contracted malaria, which led to his death within about ten days. He bequeathed his substantial family fortune to a confraternity that provided dowries for girls in need.

16 September 655. Martin I of Todi died. A man of strong character, he had himself consecrated as soon as he was elected, without waiting for – indeed, without even requesting – imperial ratification. He immediately convened a synod which condemned Monotheletism and the recent Typos, an edict issued by Emperor Constans II imposing an absolute ban on any further discussion of the Monothelite doctrine, whether to condemn or to support it. The imperial reaction was very harsh, and the order was given to imprison the Pope and transfer him to Constantinople. After an initial failed attempt, Martin—who, being ill, had arranged to be carried on his bed into the Lateran Basilica—was captured and formally deposed by the exarch, then taken to Byzantium, where, as he himself recounts in a letter, he arrived after spending 47 days without even being able to wash, whilst suffering from dysentery. He was subjected to ill-treatment, condemned following a sham trial and finally exiled to Kherson in Crimea, where he even struggled to secure his daily food, until his death on 16 September 655. By that date, a new Pope, Eugene I – imposed by the emperor – had already been installed for almost a year. Martin learnt of the election – which he had not expected to take place before his own death – and in a letter it appears (though doubt is warranted as the text lends itself to various interpretations) that he had accepted it. The Pontifical Yearbook retains the dual dates of Eugene’s election and Martin’s death, which overlap for a period of eleven months.