Editing Pope-elect Stephen (section)

=== Legacy ===
Due to his extraordinarily brief tenure (which did not even legally begin), Stephen did not personally have any palpable impact on the Catholic Church. If he is counted a pope, then he carries the shortest term of any pope in history.

Cardinal [[Teobaldo Boccapecci]] was elected Pope in 1124, taking the name Celestine II; however, he resigned before his consecration due to political infighting and to prevent a schism. He is often acknowledged as "''Pope-elect Celestine II''".

Later canon law considered that a man became pope the moment he accepted his election, and Pope-elect Stephen was then [[Ex post facto law|anachronistically]] called Pope Stephen II. The pope currently acknowledged as Pope Stephen II was, in turn, called ''Pope Stephen III'', with all subsequent popes by this name ascending in number.<ref>For example, see Rev. [[Joseph Deharbe]], S.J., ''A Full Catechism of the Catholic Religion'' (translated by Rev. John Fander; 1863), [https://archive.org/stream/AFullCatechismOfTheCatholic#page/n79/mode/2up p. 60]-61.</ref>

His name was removed from the list of popes in the ''[[Annuario Pontificio]]'' in 1961. He was originally included in the ''Annuario'' from the sixteenth century onwards.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=M0H-hg07b1kC&pg=PA121 Richard P. McBrien, ''Lives of the Popes''] (Harper Collins 2013 {{ISBN|978-0-06228834-9}}), p. 121</ref> Despite the Catholic Church omitting him from this list, he is often acknowledged by modern historians as a pope.