High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Pope Marcellus II (6 May 1501 – 1 May 1555), born Marcello Cervini degli Spannochi, was Pope from 9 April 1555 to 1 May 1555, succeeding Pope Julius III. Before his accession as Pope he had been Cardinal-Priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. He is the most recent Pope to choose to retain his birth name as his regnal name upon his accession. After his death, it would be 415 years before another Pope would choose a name with an ordinal number less than IV (John Paul I).