List of popes


 * For a graphical representation of this list, see list of popes (graphical).

This is a list of Popes of the Roman Catholic Church.

While the term "Pope" (Latin: papa "father'") is used in several churches to denote their high spiritual leaders, this title in English usage generally refers to the supreme earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church. The title itself has been used officially by the head of the Roman Catholic Church since the tenure of Pope Siricius.

Hermannus Contractus may have been the first historian to number the popes continuously. His list ends in 1049 with Pope Leo IX as the number 154. On that basis, the current Pope Benedict XVI would be the 267th pope.

There is no official list of popes, but the Annuario Pontificio, published every year by the Vatican, contains a list that is generally considered to be the most authoritative. Its list is the one given here. The Annuario Pontificio's list gives Benedict XVI as the 265th pope.

Several changes have been made in the list during the 20th century. Antipope Christopher was considered legitimate for a long time. Pope-elect Stephen was considered legitimate under the name Stephen II until the 1961 edition and erased then. Although these changes are no longer controversial, a number of modern lists still include this "first Pope Stephen II". It is probable that this is because they are based on the 1913 edition of the Catholic Encyclopaedia, which is in the public domain.

Episcopus Romanus means Bishop of Rome.

From 30 to 249

 * - valign="top"
 * 97/99 to 105/107
 * Evaristus (Aristus) Saint Evaristus
 * Evaristus, Episcopus Romanus
 * Aristus
 * Traditionally martyred (no evidence); feast day 26 October
 * - valign="top"
 * 105/107 to 115/116
 * Alexander I Saint Alexander
 * Alexander, Episcopus Romanus
 * Alexander
 * Rome
 * - valign="top"
 * 115/116 to 125
 * Sixtus I Saint Sixtus
 * Xystus, Episcopus Romanus
 * Rome or Greece
 * - valign="top"
 * 125 to 136/138
 * Telesphorus Saint Telesphorus
 * Telesphorus, Episcopus Romanus
 * Greece
 * - valign="top"
 * 136/138 to 140/142
 * Hyginus Saint Hyginus
 * Hyginus, Episcopus Romanus
 * Greece
 * Traditionally martyred (no evidence); feast day 11 January
 * - valign="top"
 * 140/142 to 155
 * Pius I Saint Pius
 * Pius, Episcopus Romanus
 * Aquileia, Friuli, Italy
 * Martyred by sword; feast day 11 July
 * - valign="top"
 * 155 to 166
 * Anicetus Saint Anicetus
 * Anicetus, Episcopus Romanus
 * Emesa, Syria
 * Traditionally martyred (no evidence); feast day 17 April
 * - valign="top"
 * c.166 to 174/175
 * Soter Saint Soter
 * Soterius, Episcopus Romanus
 * Fondi, Latium, Italy
 * Traditionally martyred; feast day 22 April
 * - valign="top"
 * 174/175 to 189
 * Eleuterus Saint Eleutherus
 * Eleutherius, Episcopus Romanus
 * Nicopoli, Epyrus
 * Traditionally martyred; feast day 6 May
 * - valign="top"
 * 189 to 198/199
 * Victor I Saint Victor
 * Victor, Episcopus Romanus
 * Northern Africa
 * - valign="top"
 * 199 to 217
 * Zephyrinus Saint Zephyrin
 * Zephyrinus, Episcopus Romanus
 * Rome
 * - valign="top"
 * c.217 to 222/223
 * Callixtus I Saint Callixtus
 * Callistus, Episcopus Romanus
 * Martyred; feast day 14 October
 * - valign="top"
 * 222/223 to 230
 * Urban I Saint Urban
 * Urbanus, Episcopus Romanus
 * Rome
 * - valign="top"
 * 21 July 230 to 28 September 235
 * Pontian Saint Pontian
 * Pontianus, Episcopus Romanus
 * Rome
 * - valign="top"
 * 235 to 3 January 236
 * Anterus Saint Anterus
 * Anterus, Episcopus Romanus
 * Greece
 * - valign="top"
 * 10 January 236 to 20 January 250
 * Fabian Saint Fabian
 * Fabianus, Episcopus Romanus
 * Rome
 * }
 * Rome
 * - valign="top"
 * 21 July 230 to 28 September 235
 * Pontian Saint Pontian
 * Pontianus, Episcopus Romanus
 * Rome
 * - valign="top"
 * 235 to 3 January 236
 * Anterus Saint Anterus
 * Anterus, Episcopus Romanus
 * Greece
 * - valign="top"
 * 10 January 236 to 20 January 250
 * Fabian Saint Fabian
 * Fabianus, Episcopus Romanus
 * Rome
 * }
 * - valign="top"
 * 10 January 236 to 20 January 250
 * Fabian Saint Fabian
 * Fabianus, Episcopus Romanus
 * Rome
 * }
 * }
 * }

Notes on numbering of popes
A number of anomalies in the list given above need further explanation:
 * Felix II (356-357), Boniface VII (974, 984-985), John XVI (997-998), Benedict X (1058-1059) and Alexander V (1409-1410) are not listed because they are considered antipopes.
 * The numbering of popes named Felix has been amended to omit antipope Felix II. However, most lists still call the last two Felixes Felix III and Felix IV.  Additionally, there was an antipope Felix V.
 * There has never been a pope John XX as a result of confusion of the numbering system in the 11th century.
 * Pope-elect Stephen, who died before being consecrated, is not on the Vatican's official list of popes since 1961, but appears on lists dating from before 1960. The numbering of following popes called Stephen are nowadays given as Pope Stephen II to Pope Stephen IX, rather than Stephen III to Stephen X.
 * When Simon de Brion became pope in 1281, he chose to be called Martin. At that time, Marinus I and Marinus II were mistakenly considered to be Martin II and Martin III respectively, and so, erroneously, Simon de Brion became Pope Martin IV.
 * Pope Donus II, said to have reigned about 974, never existed. The belief resulted from the confusion of the title dominus (lord) with a proper name. (Pope Joan also probably never existed; however, legends about her may have originated from stories about the pornocracy.)
 * The status of Antipope John XXIII was uncertain for hundreds of years, and was finally settled in 1958 when Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli announced his own name as John XXIII. Baldassare Cossa, who was Antipope John XXIII, served as a Cardinal of the reunited church before his death in 1419 and his remains are found in the Battistero di San Giovanni (Florence).