Christianity in Credo: Popes & Saints

Pope (2025– ), an American (b. Chicago) named Robert Prevost; successor of Francis. The first US-born to assume the papacy; extensive missionary experience in Peru. Previously headed Dicastery of Bishops at the Vatican coordinating nominations of new bishops around the world.

Pope (2013-2025), an Argentinian (b. Buenos Aires to Italian immigrants) named Jorge Mario Bergoglio; successor of Benedict XVI. Francis, the first non-European to assume the papacy in more than 1,200 years, was the first pope from the Americas and the first from the Society of Jesus.

Pope (2005-2013); successor of John Paul II. Born Josef Alois (Joseph Aloisius) Ratzinger in Germany. He entered the seminary in 1939, but his training was interrupted by World War II. Named archbishop of Munich and Freising in 1977 and cardinal shortly thereafter, he subsequently served (1981–2005) as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under John Paul II. In February 2013, Benedict XVI became the first pope to resign in 600 years, breaking a tradition of life tenure that stretched back to Gregory XII. His stepping down, for reasons of age, was seen by some as establishing a new tradition for the modern era, a time requiring a more active pope. He officially became pope emeritus; Francis was elected to succeed him.

Pope (1978–2005) A Pole (b. Wadowice) named Karol Józef Wojtyła; successor of John Paul I. He was the first non-Italian pope elected since the Dutch Adrian VI (1522–23) and the first Polish and Slavic pope.

Pope (1978, 33 days) An Italian (b. Forno di Canale) named Albino Luciani; successor of Paul VI. Served one of the shortest terms ever for a pope.

Pope (1963–78), an Italian (b. Concesio, near Brescia) named Giovanni Battista Montini; successor of John XXIII.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Pope 1958-1963, an Italian (b. Sotto il Monte, near Bergamo) named Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; successor of Pius XII. He was of peasant stock and educated at Bergamo and the Seminario Romano (Apollinare); ordained in 1904. Called up for service in World War I, he was first in the medical corps and was later a chaplain. After the war he held posts in Rome and reorganized the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. In 1925 he was made archbishop, and in 1944 he was named papal nuncio to France. There he acted as mediator between the conservative churchmen and the more socially “radical” clergy. In 1953 he was made cardinal and the patriarch of Venice. He was elected pope Oct. 28, 1958. As pope, he put reforms into practice.

Pope (1939–58), an Italian named Eugenio Pacelli, b. Rome; successor of Pius XI. Ordained a priest in 1899, he entered the Vatican's secretariat of state. He became (1912) undersecretary of state and, after becoming a bishop, was appointed (1917) nuncio to Bavaria.

Original name Achille Ratti. 1857-1939, Italian ecclesiastic; pope (1922-39). He signed the Lateran Treaty (1929), by which the Vatican City was recognized as an independent state. His encyclicals condemned Nazism and Communism.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
1854-1922, pope (1914-22), an Italian (b. Genoa) named Giacomo della Chiesa; successor of Pius X. He was made archbishop of Bologna in 1907 and cardinal in 1914, two months before his election as pope. His policy in World War I was one of the strictest neutrality, and he had the respect of all belligerents.

Pope (1903–14), an Italian named Giuseppe Sarto, b. near Treviso; successor of Leo XIII and predecessor of Benedict XV. Ordained in 1858, he became bishop of Mantua (1884), a cardinal (1893), and patriarch of Venice (1893).

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
pope (1878–1903), an Italian (b. Carpineto, E of Rome) named Gioacchino Pecci; successor of Pius IX. Ordained in 1837, he earned an excellent reputation as archbishop of Perugia (1846–77), and was created cardinal in 1853. Leo's election brought a turn in the course of the papacy.

Pope (1846-78). He refused to recognize the incorporation of Rome. He decreed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and convened the Vatican Council, which laid down the doctrine of papal infallibility.

Pope (1800–1823), an Italian named Barnaba Chiaramonti, b. Cesena; successor of Pius VI, who had created him cardinal in 1785. He conducted himself ably during the period of the French Revolution, showing sympathy for the social aims of the Revolution.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Pope (1572–85), an Italian named Ugo Buoncompagni, b. Bologna; successor of St. Pius V. He is best known for his work on the calendar, and the reformed calendar, the Gregorian, is named for him. He was prominent at the Council of Trent and in the work of reform thereafter.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Pope (1513–21), a Florentine named Giovanni de' Medici; successor of Julius II. He was the son of Lorenzo de' Medici, was made a cardinal in his boyhood, and was head of his family before he was 30 (see Medici).

Original name Guiliano della Rovere. Pope (1503-13). He completed the restoration of the Papal States to the Church, began the building of St Peter's, Rome (1506), and patronized Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bramante.

Original name Francesco della Rovere. Italian ecclesiastic; pope (1471-84). Notorious for his nepotism and political intrigue, he was also a patron of the arts and commissioned the building (1473-81) of the Sistine Chapel.

From The Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Pope (1305-14), the first to reside at Avignon, France. He became archbishop of Bordeaux in 1299 and was elected pope six years later. By creating a majority of French cardinals, he ensured the election of a line of French popes. He moved the seat of the papacy to Avignon.

One of the first disciples of Jesus and the brother of Simon Peter, Andrew appears in all the lists of the apostles.

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Franciscan friar, Doctor of the Church, and patron saint of Portugal. He joined the Augustinian order in 1210 and was probably ordained a priest.

Augustine was born and died in North Africa [Tagaste, Numidia (modern Algeria)], then part of the Roman Empire. He taught philosophy in Rome and Milan where he converted to Christianity in 387. He returned to North Africa to spearhead the assault on the Manichean religion and the Donatist and Pelagian heresies. He was consecrated bishop of Hippo in 395.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
1182–1226, founder of the Franciscans, one of the greatest Christian saints, b. Assisi, Umbria, Italy. His baptismal name was Giovanni (John), his father's name was Pietro de Bernardone; from his birth Giovanni di Bernardone was called Francesco, because his father was a frequent traveler in France and admired much that he saw there.

Spanish churchman, founder of the Jesuits (see Jesus, Society of), b. Loyola Castle near Azpeitia, Guipúzcoa, Spain.

Fr. Jeanne D'Arc (zhän därk), 1412?–31, French saint and national heroine, called the Maid of Orléans; daughter of a farmer of Domrémy on the border of Champagne and Lorraine. Both a historical and mythical figure, Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc, also known as Jeanne la pucelle and St. Joan of Arc) was a peasant maid who guided the weak and contested dauphin Charles, son of Charles VI who submitted to English rule in France, into regaining the French crown and territory during the Hundred Years War between France and England (approximate dates, 1337–1457).

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
C.385–461, Christian missionary, the Apostle of Ireland, b. Bannavem Taberniae (an unknown place in Britain, possibly near the Severn or in Pembroke). He was one of the most successful missionaries in history.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Most prominent of the Twelve Apostles, listed first in the Gospels, and traditionally the first bishop of Rome. His original name was Simon, but Jesus gave him the nickname Cephas, which was translated into Greek as Petros.

From Chambers Biographical Dictionary
Born in Lima and known as Rosa from an early age, she lived a life of self-imposed austerity from girlhood, refusing the attentions of young men attracted by her beauty (which she tried to destroy by defacing her smooth skin) and working hard to alleviate her parents' financial hardship.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Spanish Carmelite nun, Doctor of the Church, one of the principal saints of the Roman Catholic Church, one of the greatest mystics, and a leading figure in the Counter Reformation.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
French Carmelite nun, one of the most widely loved saints of the Roman Catholic Church, b. Alençon. Her original name was Thérèse Martin, and her name in religion was Theresa of the Child Jesus; she is known as the Little Flower of Jesus.

Italian theologian, scholastic philosopher, and Dominican friar, whose works include Summa contra Gentiles (1259-64) and Summa Theologiae (1267-73), the first attempt at a comprehensive theological system.

Born in London on 7 February 1478, and executed on Tower Hill in the same city on 6 July 1535. English statesman and author of Utopia, celebrated as a martyr in the Roman Catholic Church. He received a Latin education in the household of Cardinal Morton and at Oxford.