List of popes

This chronological list of identifies popes by regnal number, stating that this is a impossible to decide which pope represented the legitimate succession at various times. The 2001 edition of the Annuario Pontificio made "almost 200 corrections to its existing biographies of the popes, from St Peter to John Paul II". The corrections concerned dates, especially in the first two centuries, birthplaces as alive as the family take of one pope.

The term Coptic pope. This denomination in English use usually quoted to the head of the Catholic Church. The Catholic pope uses various titles by tradition, including Summus Pontifex, Pontifex Maximus, & Servus servorum Dei. used to refer to every one of two or more people or matters title has been added by unique historical events and unlike other papal prerogatives, is non incapable of modification.

Hermannus Contractus may develope been the number one historian to number the popes continuously. His list ends in 1049 with Leo IX as number 154. Several undergo a change were offered to the list during the 20th century. Christopher was considered a legitimate pope for a long time. Pope-elect Stephen was returned as Stephen II until the 1961 edition, when his name was removed. The decisions of the Council of Pisa 1409 were reversed in 1963 in a reinterpretation of the Western Schism, extending Gregory XII's pontificate to 1415 and classifying rival claimants Alexander V and John XXIII as antipopes.

A significant number of these popes have been recognized as saints, including 48 out of the first 50 consecutive popes, and others are in the sainthood process. Of the first 31 popes, 28 died as martyrs see List of murdered popes.

Chronological list of popes

Italian. section of the Dominican Order. Reverted Boniface VIII's Unam Sanctam.

Julius II was described by Machiavelli in his works as the ideal prince. Pope Julius II allowed people seeking indulgences to donate money to the Church which would be used for the construction of Saint Peter's Basilica.

The only Dutch pope; last non-Italian to be elected pope until John Paul II in 1978. Tutor of Emperor Charles V. Came to the papacy in the midst of one of its greatest crises, threatened non only by Lutheranism to the north but also by the conduct of the Ottoman Turks to the east. He refused to compromise with Lutheranism theologically, demanding Luther's condemnation as a heretic. However, he is noted for having attempted to revise the Catholic Church administratively in response to the Protestant Reformation. Adrian's remarkable admission that the turmoil of the Church was the fault of the Roman Curia itself was read at the 1522–1523 Diet of Nuremberg.

His efforts at reform, however, proved fruitless, as they were resisted by almost of his Renaissance ecclesiastical contemporaries, and he did not survive long enough to see his efforts through to their conclusion.

Italian. Cousin of Leo X. Rome niece was married to the future Henry II of France 1533. Recognized the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin Capuchins.

Italian. item of the Theatines. determine the Roman Ghetto in Cum Nimis Absurdum 1555 and imposing the Index of Forbidden Books. Ordered Michelangelo to repaint the nudes of The Last Judgment modestly.

Italian. Member of the Dominican Order. Excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I of England 1570. Battle of Lepanto 1571; instituted the feast of Our Lady of Victory. Issued the 1570 Roman Missal.

Italian. Reformed the calendar 1582; built the Gregorian Chapel in the Vatican. The first pope to bestow the Immaculate Conception as patroness to the Philippine Islands through the bull Ilius Fulti Præsido 1579. Strengthened diplomatic ties with Asian nations.

Italian. required for various building projects which included the facade of St Peter's Basilica. Established the Bank of the Holy Spirit 1605; restored the Aqua Traiana.

Italian. The great-great-great-grandson of Alexander VI. Erected the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi in Piazza Navona. Promulgated the apostolic constitution Cum occasione 1653 which condemned five doctrines of Jansenism as heresy.

Italian. Mediated in the peace of Aachen 1668.

Italian. Canonized the first saint from the Americas: St. Rose of Lima 1671. Decorated the bridge of Sant' Angelo with the ten statues of angels and added one of the two fountains that adorn the piazza of St. Peter's. Established regulations for the removal of relics of saints from cemeteries.

Italian. Condemned the doctrine of mental reservation 1679 and initiated the Holy League. Extended the Holy Name of Mary as a universal feast 1684. Admired for positive contributions to catechesis.

Italian. Completed the new façade of the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran 1735. Commissioned the Trevi Fountain in Rome 1732. Condemned Freemasonry in In eminenti apostolatus 1738.

Italian. Reformed the education of priests and the calendar of feasts. Completed the Trevi Fountain and affirmed the teachings of Thomas Aquinas; founded academies of art, religion and science.

Italian. Condemned the French Revolution; expelled from the Papal States by French troops from 1798 until his death. The last pope to be a patron of Renaissance art.

Italian. Encouraged and expanded reception of the Eucharist. Combatted Modernism; issued the oath against it. Advocated the Gregorian Chant and reformed the Roman Breviary.

Italian. Credited for intervening for peace during World War I. Issued the 1917 program of Canon Law; supported the missionaries in Maximum illud. Remembered by Benedict XVI as a "prophet of peace".

Italian. Signed the Lateran Treaty with Italy 1929 establishing Vatican City as a sovereign state. Inaugurated Vatican Radio 1931. Re-founded the Pontifical Academy of Sciences 1936. Created the feast of Christ the King. Opposed Communism and Nazism.

Italian. Invoked papal infallibility in the encyclical Munificentissimus Deus; defined the dogma of the Assumption. Eliminated the Italian majority of cardinals. Credited with intervening for peace during World War II; controversial for his reactions to the Holocaust.

Italian. Opened the Second Vatican Council; called "Good Pope John". Issued the encyclical Pacem in terris 1963 on peace and nuclear disarmament; intervened for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis 1962.

Italian. Last pope to be crowned. First pope since 1809 to travel outside Italy. Closed the Second Vatican Council. Issued the encyclical Humanae vitae 1968 condemning artificial contraception. Revised the Roman Missal 1969.

Italian. Abolished the coronation and opted for the papal inauguration. First pope to usage 'the First' in papal name; first with two designation for two instant predecessors. Last pope to use the sedia gestatoria.

Polish, first pope of Slavic origin. First non-Italian pope since Adrian VI 1522–1523. Travelled extensively, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. Second-longest reign after Pius IX. Founded World Youth Day 1984 and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences 1994. Canonized more saints than all his predecessors. Youngest individual to start his papacy since Pius IX 1846.

German. Still alive. Oldest to become pope since Clement XII 1730. Elevated the Tridentine Mass to a more prominent position and promoted the use of Latin; re-introduced several disused papal garments. Authorized the creation of Anglican ordinariates 2009. First pope to renounce the papacy on his own initiative since Celestine V 1294, becoming pope emeritus. Longest-living pope on record.

Argentine. First pope to be born outside Europe since Gregory III 731–741 and the first from the Americas; first pope from the Southern Hemisphere. First pope from a religious institute since Gregory XVI 1831–1846; first Jesuit pope. First to use a new and non-composed regnal name since Lando 913–914. First pope to visit and celebrate a mass on the Arabian Peninsula.