What is the proper title for someone who was a pope and is now canonized as a saint? There are a number of men who became Pope who were later canonized as a saint, such as John Paul II and Paul VI. What is the proper title (in English) for such individuals when referring to them today (as opposed to in a historical sense)?


Pope John Paul II
Saint John Paul II
Pope Saint John Paul II
Saint Pope John Paul II
Something else?


By "proper", I mean the title preferred by the Catholic Church, and which I imagine is used in its official communications.
What is the proper title for someone who was a pope and is now a canonized saint.

I do not believe there is a single proper way to address a pope who has been canonized. 

That said, I have seen all four of your examples in usage. There seems to be no official way of doing so either. 

That said, the most common usage (and the one I prefer the most) is your third example: Pope Saint “X”. In fact I have just finished writing a book on the lives of various saints and blesseds in which I address canonized popes as such.

In the homily of canonization of Pope Paul VI, Pope Francis referred to the newly canonized pope as Pope Saint Paul. See here at 1:43:00.

Pope Saint Gregory the Great, pray for us.

Pope Blessed Pius lX, pray for us.

Addendum: About the usage of the surnamed title of great.


  Scholars of canon law say that there is no official process for declaring a pope "Great"; the title simply establishes itself through popular and continued usage, as was the case with celebrated secular leaders (for example, Alexander III of Macedon became popularly known as Alexander the Great). The three popes who today commonly are known as "Great" are Leo I, who reigned from 440–461 and persuaded Attila the Hun to withdraw from Rome; Gregory I, 590–604, after whom the Gregorian Chant is named; and Pope Nicholas I, 858–867, who consolidated the Catholic Church in the Western world in the Middle Ages. - Pope John Paul II


It should also be noted that in the Church’s official Litanies of the Saints titles are not placed along side of particular saints, but are placed separately within the litanies according to the traditional manner of praying to the saints.

Example:

Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.

All the Holy Apostles, pray for us.

Saints Leo and Gregory, pray for us.

All the Holy Popes, pray for us. (This invocation is permitted to be added at occasions like an ordination or solemn profession to the litanies of the saints.) 

The same manner would apply to praying to popes that are saints. But this is a traditional way of praying the litanies of the saints only.