A history of the Papacy
Jesus founded the papacy in the first century, when he chose St. Peter, the leader of the apostles, to be his earthly representative. “Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church,” he states in chapter 16 of Matthew. “I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”
Those words, which now circle the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, serve as the biblical mandate for the papacy.
The list below charts this long history from St Peter to the current Pope.
Apostle of Jesus from whom he received the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, according to Matthew 16:18 and 19 . Executed by crucifixion upside-down; feast day (Feast of Saints Peter and Paul) 29 June, (Chair of Saint Peter) 22 February. Recognized by the Catholic Church as the first Bishop of Rome (Pope) appointed by Christ. Also revered as saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 29 June
Feast day 23 September. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 7 June.
Martyred; feast day 26 April. Once erroneously split into Cletus and Anacletus
Feast day 23 November. Issued 1 Clement which is said to be the basis of apostolic authority for the clergy. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 25 November.
Said to have divided Rome into parishes, assigning a priest to each. Feast day of 26 October.
Inaugurated the custom of blessing houses with holy water. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 16 March.
Feast day of 6 April. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 10 August.
Feast day of 5 January. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 22 February. Church Father St. Irenaeus called him a great martyr.
Tradition holds he was martyred; feast day 11 January
Martyred by sword; feast day 11 July. Decreed that Easter should only be celebrated on a Sunday.
Tradition holds he was martyred; feast day 17 April. Decreed that priests are not allowed to have long hair.
Tradition holds he was martyred; feast day 22 April. Declared that marriage was valid as a sacrament blessed by a priest; formally inaugurated Easter as an annual festival in Rome.
Tradition holds he was martyred; feast day 6 May
Known for excommunicating Theodotus of Byzantium. Quartodecimanism controversy.
Combated against the adoptionist heresies of the followers of Theodotus the Byzantium who were ruled by Theodotus, the Money Changer and Asclepiodotus. Although not physically martyred, he is called a martyr for the suffering he endured.
Martyred; feast day 14 October.
Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 25 May.
First to abdicate after exile to Sardinia by Emperor Maximinus Thrax. The Liberian Catalogue records his death on 28 September 235, the earliest exact date in papal history
Feast day 3 January. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 5 August.
Divided the communities of Rome into seven districts, each supervised by a deacon. Feast day 20 January. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 5 August.
Died a martyr through extreme hardship; feast day 16 September.
Feast day 5 March.
Martyred by beheading; feast day 2 August. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with the same feast day.
Martyred by beheading. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 10 August.
Feast day 26 December
Martyred (according to legend) Feast day 22 April. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 11 August.
Feast day 26 April. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 7 June.
Banished from Rome under Maxentius (309).
Banished by the emperor Maxentius, and died in exile.
First pope after the end of the persecution of Christians through the Edict of Milan (313 AD) issued by Constantine the Great. Presided over the Lateran council of 313.
Feast day 31 December. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 2 January. First Council of Nicaea (325). Under him was built: the Basilica of St. John Lateran, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme and Old St. Peter's Basilica. Donation of Constantine.
Feast day 7 October
Arian controversy. Credited with splitting the birth of Christ into two distinct celebrations: The Epiphany stayed on the traditional date, and the Nativity was added on 25 December.
Earliest pope not yet canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. Revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 27 August
Patron of Jerome, commissioned the Vulgate translation of the Bible. Council of Rome (382).
Instructed priests to stand and bow their heads as they read from the Gospels.
Visigoth Sack of Rome (410) under Alaric
Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 8 April.
Convinced Attila the Hun to turn back his invasion of Italy. Wrote the Tome which was instrumental in the Council of Chalcedon and in defining the hypostatic union. Feast day 10 November. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 18 February.
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The last pope to have been born on the continent of Africa. The first pope called the "Vicar of Christ"
Tried to end the Acacian schism but it resulted in the Laurentian schism.
Father of Pope Silverius. Acacian schism.
Sometimes called Felix III. Built Santi Cosma e Damiano.
Changed the numbering of the years in the Julian Calendar from Ab Urbe Condita to Anno Domini.
First pope not to use his personal name (Mercurio). This was because of the Roman god, Mercury.
Feast days 22 April and 20 September. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 17 April.
Exiled; feast day 20 June, son of Pope Hormisdas
Credited with the construction of the basilica of Santi Apostoli.
Ordered the construction of the Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura.
The first formally to employ the titles Servus servorum Dei and Pontifex Maximus. Established the Gregorian chant. Feast day 3 September. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 12 March. Known as "the Father of Christian Worship". Known as "St. Gregory the Dialogist" in Eastern Orthodoxy.
First pope to bear the same name as his immediate predecessor. Member of the Order of Saint Benedict.
Sometimes called Deusdedit, as a result Pope Adeodatus II is sometimes called Pope Adeodatus without a number. The first pope to use lead seals on papal documents, which in time came to be called Papal bulls.
Named a heretic and anathematized by the Third Council of Constantinople (680)
The last pope from Palestine. Planned the Lateran Council of 649, but died before it could open.
Last pope recognized as a martyr. Feast day of 12 November. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 14 April.
Sometimes called Pope Adeodatus (without a number) in reference to Pope Adeodatus I sometimes being called Pope Deusdedit. Member of the Order of Saint Benedict.
Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 20 February.
Feast day 3 July
Feast day 7 May
Introduced the singing of the Lamb of God at mass
The second pope to bear the same name as his immediate predecessor.
Last pope to visit Greece while in office, until John Paul II in 2001.
Feast day 11 February. Held the Synod of Rome (721).
The third pope to bear the same name as his immediate predecessor. Was previously the last pope to have been born outside Europe until the election of Francis in 2013.
Feast day 15 March. Built the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva.
Sometimes known as Stephen II. Died three days after his election; never receiving episcopal consecration. Some lists still include him. The Vatican sanctioned his addition in the sixteenth century; removed in 1961. He is no longer considered a pope by the Catholic Church.
Sometimes called Stephen III. The Donation of Pepin.
Sometimes called Stephen IV. The Lateran Council (769).
Crowned Charlemagne Imperator Augustus on Christmas Day, 800, thereby initiating what would become the office of Holy Roman Emperor requiring the imprimatur of the pope for its legitimacy.
Sometimes called Stephen V.
Credited with finding the body of Saint Cecilia in the Catacomb of Callixtus, building the basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere and the church of Santa Maria in Domnica.
Rebuilt the atrium of St. Peter’s Basilica and in the newly decorated chapel transferred the body of Gregory I.
Member of the Order of Saint Benedict.
Encouraged missionary activity.
Sometimes called Stephen VI.
Posthumously ritually executed following the Cadaver Synod.
Sometimes called Stephen VII. Held the infamous Cadaver Synod.
Member of the Order of Saint Benedict.
"Saeculum obscurum" begins. The first pope to be depicted with the Papal Tiara.
Sometimes called Stephen VIII.
Member of the Order of Saint Benedict.
Sometimes called Stephen IX.
Deposed in 963 by Emperor Otto invalidly; end of the "Saeculum obscurum".
Elected by the people of Rome, in opposition to the Antipope Leo VIII who was appointed by Emperor Otto; he accepted his own deposition in 964 leaving Leo VIII as the sole pope.
Appointed antipope by Emperor Otto in 963 in opposition to John XII and Benedict V. He became the true pope after Benedict V was deposed.
Chronicled after his death as "the Good".
Deposed and murdered.
The first pope to formally canonize a saint.
First German Pope
The first French pope.
1st Term
Validity of election questioned; considered Anti-Pope; deposed at the Council of Sutri.
2nd Term; deposed at the Council of Sutri
Deposed at the Council of Sutri
Appointed by Henry III at the Council of Sutri; crowned Henry III as Holy Roman Emperor.
3rd Term; deposed and excommunicated
In 1054, mutual excommunications of Leo IX and Patriarch of Constantinople Michael I Cerularius began the East–West Schism. The anathematizations were rescinded by Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras in 1965
Sometimes called Stephen X. Member of the Order of Saint Benedict.
In 1059 the College of Cardinals was designated the sole body of pope electors in the document In nomine Domini. (Papal conclave).
Authorised the Norman conquest of England in 1066.
Initiated the Gregorian Reforms. Restricted the use of the title "Papa" to the Bishop of Rome. Member of the Order of Saint Benedict. Political struggle with German Emperor Henry IV, who had to go to Canossa (1077).
Member of the Order of Saint Benedict.
Preached and started the First Crusade. Member of the Order of Saint Benedict.
Member of the Order of Saint Benedict. Ordered the building of the basilica of Santi Quattro Coronati.
Member of the Order of Saint Benedict.
Opened the First Council of the Lateran in 1123
Canon Regular of S. Maria di San Reno. Approved the new military order of the Knights Templar in 1128.
Canon Regular of Lateran; Convened the Second Council of the Lateran, 1139
Canon Regular of S. Frediano di Lucca
Member of the Order of Cistercians. Announced the Second Crusade.
First and only English pope; purportedly granted Ireland to Henry II, King of England. Canon Regular of St. Rufus Monastery .
Convened the Third Council of the Lateran, 1179
Canon Regular Premostratense. Proposed the Third Crusade