Why Are All The Popes So Frigging Old?

The official answer, as in Catholic church code “official” answer, is as unsalacious as it comes: 47 years of some sort of church officialdom needs to be in the can before the smoke de blanco can rise for thee (source, sort of).

Jose Canseco, the final word on all things church leadership, sagely offered on Twitter: “Why are all the Popes old men? They need younger strong men or women to be popes with energy that can last a while and get stuff done.” An equally profound, depunctuated question was asked, just a mere 9 minutes prior, when he tweeted: “What all does a Pope do”.

Some words to consider, for sure. A non-Googled hazarding for the reasoning behind it all is that being young and strong is irrelevant to the position. You’re not going to know enough to be a competent visible head of a church of a few billion people unless you have a few decades worth of theological hoop-jumpery and a hefty corpus of writing to prove. You have to know your ish, and people have to know you know your ish.

Too, if you look at turnover rate of people in similar positions, like CEOs, it is woefully quick. Standing in the path of that unholy tidal wave of responsibility and media-propelled omnipresence is likely to wreck you a solid, age indiscriminate. Another fatal strike against a boy-man papacy. Young bucks with holy visions of upstart audacity need not apply.