unconsecrated pope from March 23 to March 25, 752. He was a priest when he was elected on March 23, 752, to succeed Pope St. Zacharias, but he died of apoplexy two days later without having been consecrated. Because consecration is the act considered necessary to mark the official beginning of a pontificate, Stephen was listed neither in the official list of the popes nor in the Liber Pontificalis (“Book of the Popes”). Although he was offically recognized by the church in the 16th century as Stephen II, his name was removed from the official list of popes during the pontificate of John XXIII (1958–63). Consequently, his successor, who also took the name Stephen, is called both Stephen II and Stephen III. The succession of Stephens is thus somewhat irregular.