The Catholic Popes

^™

Papal Continuity Assumed By Roman Catholicism

The	papal office currently carries the titles –
	'Bishop of Rome', 'Vicar of Jesus Christ', 'Successor of St. Peter', 'Prince of the Apostles', 'Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church', 'Primate of Italy', 'Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province' and 'Servant of the Servants of God'.
Since 1929,	the pope's temporal title has been 'Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City' (the Holy See).
	Developing from the office of bishop, or overseer, of the Christian church in Rome, there came over the centuries that followed a status, from its Roman imperial honour, that ascribed supernatural authority to this office which reached back to Simon Peter in order to try to validate itself.
Catholics	believe that – "The Roman Pontiff, as the successor of Peter, is the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity of both the bishops and of the faithful." (LUMEN GENTIUM, 23.)

Click for a current basis of this so-called 'Apostolic Succession'.		:Pope:	:Reign:
		"Peter"	30–67
		Linus	67–76
		Anacletus (Cletus)	76–88
		Clement I	88–97
		Evaristus	97–105
		Alexander I	105–115
		Sixtus I (Xystus I)	115–125
		Telesphorus	125–136
		Hyginus	136–140
		Pius I	140–155
		Anicetus	155–166
		Soter	166–175
:Anti-Popes:	:Personal Names:	Eleutherius	175–189	:Detail:
		Victor I	189–199	He seeks closer unity among the loose federation of provincial synods by emphasizing the leadership of Rome, capital of the Empire.
		Zephyrinus	199–217
		Callistus I	217–222
Hippolytus (222–235)		Urban I	222–230
		Pontain	230–235
		Anterus	235–236
		Fabian	236–250	As layman he is ordained as bishop of Rome
Novatian (251–258)		Cornelius	251–253
		Lucius I	253–254
		Stephen I	254–257
		Sixtus II	257–258
		Dionysius	260–268
		Felix I	269–274
		Eutychian	275–283
		Caius (Gaius)	283–296
		Marcellinus	296–304
	No Pope	interregnum 1	304 – 308	Rome is without an Archbishop (chief bishop).
		Marcellus I	308–309
		Eusebius	309 or 310
		Miltiades	311–314
		Sylvester I	314–335
		Marcus	336
		Julius I	337–352
Felix II (353–365)		Liberius	352–366
Ursinus (366–367)		Damasus I	366–383	After the election battle for the bishopric of Rome between Damasus and Ursinus, 137 bodies are found in a church – on the site of what later becomes St Maria Maggiore (Rome). He holds a synod which demands state intervention to ensure that western bishops are subject to the bishop of Rome, and that the bishop of Rome could not be compelled to appear in court. He institutes a great annual ceremony in honour of Peter and Paul as giving primacy to Rome over eastern Christianity, and as continuing protectors of the imperial city. He Latinises the Mass, which had up to now be conducted in Hellenistic Greek (the language of the New Testament), and changes its simple ceremony into a lengthier and more formal one with an element of grandeur to counterbalance impressive pagan ritual. (From this the West acquired the 'kyrie', the 'sanctus', the 'gloria', and creed rituals of episcopal Christianity).

		Siricius	384–399	The term 'pope' begins to be used as a title of this office. He is the first pope to make celibacy compulsory for clerics.
		Anastasius I	399–401
		Innocent I	401–417	He teaches that 'confirmation' is a sacrament reserved for bishops.
		Zosimus	417–418
Eulalius (418–419)		Boniface I	418–422
		Celestine I	422–432
		Sixtus III	432–440
		Leo I	440–461
		Hilarius	461–468
		Simplicius	468–483
		Felix III (II)	483–492	He causes the first schism between Eastern and Western churches in 484 when he excommunicates Patriarch Acacius of Constantinople on the basis of the Henoticon.
		Gelasius I	492–496	He asserts the supremacy of Rome against Constantinople and that the world is ruled independently by two powers; the sacred authority of the priesthood and the authority of kings.
		Anastasius II	496–498
Laurentius (498–505)		Symmachus	498–514
		Hormisdas	514–523	was married and widowed before ordination. He was the father of Pope Silverius
		John I	523–526
		Felix IV (III)	526–530
Dioscurus (530)		Boniface II	530–532
		John II	533–535
		Agapetus I (Agapitus I)	535–536
		Silverius	536–537
		Vigilius	537–555
		Pelagius I	556–561
		John III	561–574
		Benedict I	575–579
		Pelagius II	579–590
		Gregory I	590–604	He asserts the universal jurisdiction of the bishop of Rome. He encourages monasticism, the veneration of relics, and decrees that the proper response to a sneeze is 'God Bless You'.
		Sabinian	604–606
		Boniface III	607
		Boniface IV	608–615
		Deusdedit (Adeodatus I)	615–618
		Boniface V	619–625
		Honorius I	625–638
		Severinus	640
		John IV	640–642
		Theodore I	642–649
		Martin I	649–655
		Eugene I	655–657
		Vitalian	657–672
		Adeodatus (II)	672–676
		Donus	676–678
		Agatho	678–681
		Leo II	682–683
		Benedict II	684–685
		John V	685–686
		Conon	686–687
		Sergius I	687–701
Theodore II (687)		John VI	701–705
Paschal I (687–692)		John VII	705–707
		Sisinnius	708
		Constantine	708–715	He accuses the Archbishop of Ravenna of rebellion and orders that his eyes be put out.
		Gregory II	715–731	In 727 he condemns the first iconoclastic edicts (against the worship of icons) of emperor Leo III in Constantinople/Byzantium and refuses to pay the taxes due to his imperial government.
		Gregory III	731–741
		Zachary	741–752
		Stephen II	752	Died before consecration. Vatican's list omits him.
		Stephen III	752–757
		Paul I	757–767
Constantine (767) Philip (767)		Stephen IV	767–772	Roman-style baptism, prayers and mass receive the force of law in the Carolingian empire, including the Roman manner of chanting, administration of the sacraments, clergy dress and the wearing of sandals.
		Adrian I	772–795
		Leo III	795–816
		Stephen V	816–817
		Paschal I	817–824
		Eugene II	824–827
		Valentine	827
		Gregory IV	827–844
John VIII (844)		Sergius II	844–847
		Leo IV	847–855	He introduces the Asperges ceremony of sprinkling holy water over the altar and congregation at the Sunday Mass. In France, the so-called Decretals of Isidore are forged (c.850) to 'prove' papal property rights.
Anastasius III (855)		Benedict III	855–858
		Nicholas I	858–867	He makes use of the forged Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals, knowing them to be false, to uphold papal property rights and depose Archbishop John of Ravenna. He also forces emperor Lothar to take back his divorced wife.
		Adrian II	867–872
		John VIII	872–882
		Marinus I	882–884
		Adrian III	884–885
		Stephen VI	885–891
		Formosus	891–896
		Boniface VI	896
		Stephen VII	896–897
		Romanus	897
		Theodore II	897
		John IX	898–900
		Benedict IV	900–903
		Leo V	903
		Sergius III	904–911
		Anastasius III	911–913
		Lando	913–914
		John X	914–928
		Leo VI	928
		Stephen VIII	929–931
		John XI	931–935
		Leo VII	936–939
		Stephen IX	939–942
		Marinus II	942–946
		Agapetus II	946–955
		John XII	955–963	He becomes pope at the age of 18 and leads a dissolute life that offends many (deposed by Conclave). He was said to have turned the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano into a brothel and was accused of adultery, fornication, and incest.
		Leo VIII	963–964
		Benedict V	964
		John XIII	965–972
		Benedict VI	973–974
		Benedict VII	974–983
		John XIV	983–984
		John XV	985–996
		Gregory V	996–999
The custom of a Pope changing his name upon election originated shortly before the year 1000. (Enc.Brit.).		Sylvester II	999–1003	Gerbert of Aurillac is elected as the first French pope.
	Sicco	John XVII	June–Dec.1003
	Giovanni Fasano	John XVIII	1003–1009
	Pietro Bucca Porci	Sergius IV	1009–1012
Gregory VI (1012)	Theophylactus II	Benedict VIII	1012–1024
	Romanus	John XIX	1024–1032
	Theophylactus III	Benedict IX*	1032–1045	Accused by Bishop Benno of Placenta of "many vile adulteries and murders." (See 1045, 1047)
	John, Bishop of Sabina	Sylvester III	1045	Considered by some to be an antipope
	For a second time – Theophylactus III	Benedict IX*	1045	Accused by Bishop Benno of Placenta of "many vile adulteries and murders."
	Johannes Gratianus	Gregory VI	1045–1046
	Suidger	Clement II	1046–1047	He died from consuming too much lead sugar, which was used at the time as a cure for venereal disease. It is unknown whether Clement took the lead sugar to treat a sexually transmitted disease or if he was poisoned by a third party.
	For a third time – Theophylactus III	Benedict IX*	1047–1048	Accused by Bishop Benno of Placenta of "many vile adulteries and murders." Pope Victor III referred to "his rapes, murders and other unspeakable acts. His life as a Pope so vile, so foul, so execrable, that I shudder to think of it."
	Poppo	Damasus II	1048
	Bruno, Count of Dagsbourg	Leo IX	1049–1054	He imposes clerical celibacy.
	Gebhard, Count of Hirschberg	Victor II	1055–1057
	Frederic de Lorraine	Stephen X	1057–1058
	Gérard de Bourgogne	Nicholas II	1058–1061
Honorius II (1061–1064)	Anselmo Baggio	Alexander II	1061–1073	He insists the new Archbishops present themselves in person in Rome to receive the pallium, the symbol of their office, thus increasing the influence of the papacy.
Clement III (1080–1100)	Hildebrand	Gregory VII	1073–1085
	Desiderius	Victor III	1086–1087
	Odo of Chatillon	Urban II	1088–1099	At the Synod of Melfi he enforces clerical celibacy by granting secular rulers authority to enslave the wives of clerics. (This decree is later incorporated into the Western Church's canons). He calls for the first Crusade against the Muslims.
Theodoric (1100–1102) Albert (1102) Sylvester IV (1105)	Raneiro	Paschal II	1099–1118
Gregory VIII (1118–1121)	Giovanni Coniulo	Gelasius II	1118–1119
	Guido, Comte de Bourgogne	Callistus II	1119–1124
Celestine II (1124)	Lamberto Scannabecchi	Honorius II	1124–1130
Anacletus II (1130–1138) Victor IV (1138)	Gregorio Papareschi	Innocent II	1130–1143
	Guido di Castello	Celestine II	1143–1144
	Gherardo Caccianemici dal Orso	Lucius II	1144–1145
	Bernardo Paganelli	Eugene III	1145–1153
	Corrado della Subarra	Anastasius IV	1153–1154
	Nicholas Breakspear	Adrian IV	1154–1159	He burns church reformer Arnolf of Brescia at the stake in Rome and has his ashes cast into the Tiber.
Victor IV (1159–1164) Paschal III (1164–1168) Calixtus III (1168–1178) Innocent III (1179–1180)	Orlando Bandinelli	Alexander III	1159–1181
	Ubaldo Allucingoli	Lucius III	1181–1185	He begins the legal fiction that heretics are merely 'deprived of the protection of the Church' so that the civil power is thus free to burn them without committing mortal sin. Although the formality of a plea for mercy is routinely made to the civil authority, any authorities who do not burn a heretic are denounced as a 'defender of heretics' and liable to the same fate.
	Uberto Crivelli	Urban III	1185–1187
	Alberto di Morra	Gregory VIII	1187
	Paolo Scolari	Clement III	1187–1191
	Giacinto Boboni Orsini	Celestine III	1191–1198
	Lothario dei Conti di Segni	Innocent III	1198–1216	He issues a bull declaring the English Magna Carta as 'unlawful and unjust as it is base and shameful'. Jews are now to wear different clothing to others for easy identification, be banned from holding civil office or owning land, and are to be confined indoors during passion week. He makes auricular confession (to a priest) compulsory for all adult Christians.
	Cencio Savelli	Honorius III	1216–1227
	Ugolino dei Conti di Segni	Gregory IX	1227–1241
	Goffredo Castiglione	Celestine IV	1241
	Sinibaldo de Fieschi	Innocent IV	1243–1254
	Rainaldo dei Conti di Segni	Alexander IV	1254–1261
	Jacques Pantaléon	Urban IV	1261–1264
	Guy le Gros Foulques	Clement IV	1265–1268
	No Pope	interregnum 2	29 November 1268 to 1 September 1271
	Theobaldo Visconti	Gregory X	1271–1276
	Pierre de Champagni	Innocent V	1276
	Ottoboni dei Fieschi	Adrian V	1276
	Pietro Rebuli-Giuliani	John XXI	1276–1277	First Portuguese pope. He dies when his ceiling collapses on him. (There was no John XX).
	Giovanni Gaetano Orsini	Nicholas III	1277–1280
	Simon de Brie	Martin IV	1281–1285
	Giacomo Savelli	Honorius IV	1285–1287
	Girolamo Masci	Nicholas IV	1288–1292
	No Pope	: interregnum 3	4 April 1292 to 5 July 1294
	Pietro di Morrone	Celestine V	1294
	Benedetto Gaetani	Boniface VIII	1294–1303	1301: he declares "It is altogether necessary for every human being to be subject to the Roman pontiff."
	Nicholo Boccasini	Benedict XI	1303–1304
	Bertrand de Got	Clement V	1305–1314	He decrees the exposure of the Venitians to capture and enslavement as punishment.
	No Pope	interregnum 4	20 April 1314 to 7 August 1316
	Jacques Duèse	John XXII	1316–1334
Nicholas V (?)	Jacques Fournier	Benedict XII	1334–1342
	Pierre Roger	Clement VI	1342–1352
	Étienne Aubert	Innocent VI	1352–1362
	Guillaume de Grimoard	Urban V	1362–1370
	Pierre Roger de Beaufort	Gregory XI	1370–1378	He decrees the exposure of the Florentines to capture and enslavement as punishment.
Clement VII (1378–1394)	Bartolomeo Prignano	Urban VI	1378–1389
Benedict XIII (1394–1423)	Pietro Tomacelli	Boniface IX	1389–1404
	Cosimo dei Migliorati	Innocent VII	1404–1406
Alexander V (1409–1410) John XXIII (1410–1415)	Angelo Correr	Gregory XII	1406–1415	He pawns the papal tiara to pay his gambling debts.
	No Pope	interregnum 5	4 July 1415 to 11 November 1417
Clement VIII (1423–1429) Benedict XIV (1424)	Oddone Colonna	Martin V	1417–1431	He issues instruction to Bishop Fleming of Lincoln, England, to disinter from church ground, and publicly burn at the stake as a heretic, the corpse of Rector John Wycliffe of Lutterworth (died 1384) according to the decree of the Council of Constance in 1415 AD.
Felix V (1439–49)	Gabriel Condulmer	Eugene IV	1431–1447
	Tommaso Parentucelli	Nicholas V	1447–1455
	Alphonso de Borgia	Callistus III	1455–1458
	Enea Silvio de Piccolomini	Pius II	1458–1464	He had several illegitimate children.
	Pietro Barbo	Paul II	1464–1471
	Francesco della Rovere	Sixtus IV	1471–1484	He gives plenary indulgences to the Franciscan nuns of Foligno every time they confess sin. (Machiavelli writes of him – 'He was the first [pope] who began to show how far a pope might go, and how much which was previously regarded as sinful lost its iniquity when committed by a pontiff.') He makes seven of his nephews cardinals. He decrees the exposure of the Venitians to capture and enslavement as punishment. He had several illegitimate children. Commissioned the Sistine Chapel.
	Giovanni Battista Cibo	Innocent VIII	1484–1492
	Rodrigo Borgia	Alexander VI	1492–1503	1493: he draws a longitudinal line between Spanish and Portuguese conquests in the West. An extremely immoral man fathering children with many women.
	Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini	Pius III	1503	He had three illegitimate daughters.
	Giuliano della Rovere	Julius II	1503–1513	He decrees the exposure of the Venetians to capture and enslavement as punishment.
	Giovanni de' Medici	Leo X	1513–1521
	Adriaan Dedel	Adrian VI	1522–1523	First Dutch pope; last non-Italian pope until 1978
	Giulio de' Medici	Clement VII	1523–1534	He decrees the exposure of the Colonna family to capture and enslavement as punishment.
	Alessandro Farnese	Paul III	1534–1549	He held off ordination in order to continue his promiscuous lifestyle, fathering four illegitimate children by his mistress. His nickname was "Cardinal Petticoat" because his sister Giulia had been Alexander VI's mistress. He made his illegitimate son Pier Luigi Farnese the first Duke of Parma. 1535: he decrees the exposure of England's king, Henry (VIII), to capture and enslavement as punishment. 1542, July 21: he establishes the Inquisition.
	Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte	Julius III	1550–1555
	Marcello Cervini	Marcellus II	1555
	Giovanni Pietro Caraffa	Paul IV	1555–1559
	Giovanni Angelo de'Medici	Pius IV	1559–1565	He had several illegitimate children.
	Michele Ghislieri	Pius V	1566–1572	February 25, 1570: He excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I of England calling her a usurper of the throne.
	Ugo Buoncampagni	Gregory XIII	1572–1585	He had an illegitimate son before he took holy orders.
	Felice Perretti	Sixtus V	1585–1590
	Giovanni Battista Castagna	Urban VII	1590
	Niccolo Sfondrati	Gregory XIV	1590–1591
	Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti	Innocent IX	1591
	Ippolito Aldobrandini	Clement VIII	1592–1605
	Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici	Leo XI	1605
	Camillo Borghese	Paul V	1605–1621
	Alessandro Ludovisi	Gregory XV	1621–1623
	Maffeo Barberini	Urban VIII	1623–1644
	Giovanni Battista Pamphili	Innocent X	1644–1655
	Fabio Chigi	Alexander VII	1655–1667
	Giulio Rospigliosi	Clement IX	1667–1669
	Emilio Altieri	Clement X	1670–1676
	Benedetto Odescalchi	Innocent XI	1676–1689
	Pietro Vitto Ottoboni	Alexander VIII	1689–1691
	Antonio Pignatelli	Innocent XII	1691–1700
	Giovanni Francesco Albani	Clement XI	1700–1721
	Michelangelo de ’Conti	Innocent XIII	1721–1724
	Vincenzo Marco Orsini	Benedict XIII	1724–1730
	Lorenzo Corsini	Clement XII	1730–1740
	Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini	Benedict XIV	1740–1758
	Carlo della Torre Rezzonico	Clement XIII	1758–1769
	Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli	Clement XIV	1769–1774
	Giovanni Angelo Braschi	Pius VI	1775–1799
	Luigi Barnaba Chiaramonti	Pius VII	1800–1823
	Annibale della Genga	Leo XII	1823–1829
	Francesco Saverio Castigliani	Pius VIII	1829–1830
	Bartolommeo Alberto Cappellari	Gregory XVI	1831–1846
	Conti Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti	Pius IX	1846–1878	1854: He decrees as dogma the immaculate conception of Mary (born without sin) in his bull Ineffabilis Deus. 1864: He includes "Bible societies" along with Pantheism in the Church's 'Syllabus of Errors' in an appendix to his encyclical Quanta cura. 1870: Council of Bishops (First Vatican Council) under Pope Pius IX decides that papal infallibility in matters of faith and morals is now an essential dogma of the Church.
	Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci	Leo XIII	1878–1903	1885: Leo issues his encyclical, Immortale Dei, stating that freedom of thought and publication are "...the fountain-head of many evils" and that it is – "not lawful for the state ...to hold in equal favour different kinds of religion" 1886: He beautifies Thomas More (1478–1535), heretic hunter, lay-peacher-burner, who almost certainly arranged the burning-at-the-stake of William Tyndale. 1896 He issues the bull Apostolicae Curae in which the Anglican orders (ordained priesthood) are declared "absolutely null and utterly void".
	Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto	Pius X	1903–1914	He declares in support of the cuius regio, eius religio principle (that a region's religion must be the religion of its ruler).
	Giacomo della Chiesa	Benedict XV	1914–1922
	Achille Ratti	Pius XI	1922–1939	1929: The Lateran Treaty is signed with dictator Mussolini, which is described by the Pope as having "given Italy back to God". Mussolini presents the pope with a car. 1935: Thomas More, the vicious heretic hunter, is canonized. (See 31 October 2000).
	Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Eugenio Pacelli	Pius XII	1939–1958
	Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli	John XXIII	1958–1963	Opens Second Vatican Council He issues an instruction (prepared by Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani) that sexual abuse by the Clergy is to be handled with utmost 'secrecy' under pain of 'excommunication', thereby actively suppressing investigations of the crime and repudiating the claims of its victims: "in the most secretive way ...restrained by a perpetual silence ...and everyone [including the victim] ...is to observe the strictest secret, which is commonly regarded as a secret of the Holy Office ...under the penalty of excommunication." (Para.11). Should an accused priest go before a church trial – "in every way the judge is to remember that it is never right for him to bind the accused by an oath to tell the truth." (Para.52).
	Giovanni Battista Antonio Maria Montini	Paul VI	1963–1978	He issues the Encyclical Humanae Vitae which reiterates the Church's opposition to artificial contraception.
	Albino Luciani	John Paul I	1978
	Karol Józef Wojtyla	John Paul II	1978–2005	First Polish pope and first non-Italian pope since 1523. He is shot on May 13, 1981, in St. Peter's Square, by Ali Agca. Agca serves a 19-year sentence in an Italian prison, and is released January 2010 from a Turkish jail where he served a 10-year sentence for killing a Turkish journalist in 1979. October 31, 2000: He proclaims Thomas More (who held his incinerated opponents to be 'well and worthily burned') to be the patron saint of politicians. John Paul II whipped himself with a belt, even on vacation, and slept on the floor as acts of penitence and to bring him closer to Christian perfection, according to the book "Why He's a Saint" by the Polish prelate spearheading his sainthood case, Monsignor Slawomir Oder.
	Josef (or Joseph) Alois Ratzinger	Benedict XVI	2005–	Drafted (1943) into the German antiaircraft corps and then into the infantry, he later deserted (1945) and was briefly a prisoner of war. Reentering the seminary, he was ordained in 1951 and received a doctorate in theology from the Univ. of Munich in 1953. He became more conservative and traditionalist after experiencing the European student uprisings of 1968 and reacting against the strong influence of Marxism at Univ. of Tübingen in the late 1960s.

Catholic History I

Catholic Magic

Catholic History II