All articles starting with P
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Pope Leo III
Pope Leo III (pope 795–816), Roman-born successor of Hadrian I, survived a 799 attack by Roman nobles, swore an oath of purgation, and crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Romans on 25 December 800.
Pope Leo IV
Pope Leo IV, also known as Saint Leo IV, was pope from 847 to 855, remembered for walling off the Vatican hill after the Saracen sack of 846.
Pope Leo IX
Pope Leo IX, born Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg, was pope from 1049 to 1054, known for reforming synods, defeat by the Normans, and the 1054 East–West split.
Pope Leo VIII
Pope Leo VIII (died March 965), Roman layman and protoscriniarius, installed as pope by Otto I in December 963 after John XII's deposition; legitimacy disputed, sometimes classed as antipope.
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X, born Giovanni de' Medici, was head of the Catholic Church from 1513 until his death in 1521, known for his lavish spending, the Concordat of Bologna, and excommunicating Martin Luther.
Pope Leo XI
Pope Leo XI, born Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici, was a Florentine diplomat and grandnephew of Leo X, elected in 1605 at age 69; he died after 26 days, one of the shortest pontificates ever.
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII, born Vincenzo Gioacchino Pecci, led the Catholic Church from 1878 to 1903, the third-longest papacy, and issued Rerum Novarum (1891), the foundation of modern Catholic social teaching.
Pope Leo XIV's childhood home
Pope Leo XIV's childhood home is a 1949 brick house in Dolton, Illinois, where Robert Prevost, the first US pope elected in 2025, spent his boyhood.
Pope Lick Monster
Pope Lick Monster, also called the Louisville Goatman, is a Kentucky urban legend of a half-man, half-goat creature haunting the active Norfolk Southern trestle over Pope Lick Creek, linked to real trestle deaths since 1987.
Pope Linus
Pope Linus, successor of Saint Peter as head of the Roman Church and traditionally the second pope (c. 68-79), named in 2 Timothy 4:21 and first listed by Irenaeus; his martyrdom and biography rest on late, uncertain sources.
Pope Marcellus I
Pope Marcellus I, also known as Saint Marcellus I, was bishop of Rome from 308 until his death in 309, exiled by Maxentius in a dispute over readmitting lapsed Christians.
Pope Marcellus II
Pope Marcellus II (Marcello Cervini), 222nd pope, reigned only 22 days in April–May 1555; former Council of Trent president, Roman Inquisition board member, and Vatican Library protector who kept his baptismal name.
Pope Martin I
Pope Martin I, also known as Saint Martin I, was bishop of Rome from 649 to 655, arrested by Emperor Constans II and dying in exile.
Pope Martin IV
Pope Martin IV, born Simon de Brion, was head of the Catholic Church from 1281 until his death in 1285, closely aligned with the French crown.
Pope Martin V
Pope Martin V, born Oddone Colonna in 1368, was elected pope at the Council of Constance in 1417, healing the Western Schism and restoring Rome.
Pope Miltiades
Pope Miltiades, also written Melchiades, was an African-born bishop of Rome from 310 or 311 to 314 who presided over the Lateran synod of 313.
Pope Nicholas III
Pope Nicholas III, born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, was the 188th pope from 1277 to 1280; he established the papal residence at the Vatican and settled the Franciscan poverty controversy.
Pope Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V, born Tommaso Parentucelli at Sarzana, reigned from 1447 to 1455, ended the conciliar crisis, founded the Vatican Library, and rebuilt much of Rome.
Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church
The Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church, also called the Coptic Pope, is the bishop of Alexandria and head of the Coptic church, residing in Cairo.
Pope Paul II
Pope Paul II, born Pietro Barbo in Venice, reigned as pope from 1464 to 1471. He broke his election pact, created ten cardinals, and dissolved the Roman Academy.
Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III, born Alessandro Farnese, reigned from 1534 to 1549, the longest Renaissance pontificate; he approved the Jesuits, founded the Roman Inquisition, and opened the Council of Trent in 1545.
Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV, born Gian Pietro Carafa, was a Neapolitan nobleman who led the Catholic Church from 1555 to 1559, created the Roman Ghetto, and enacted severe Counter-Reformation measures.
Pope Paul V
Pope Paul V, born Camillo Borghese, reigned from 1605 to 1621, placed Venice under interdict, enjoined Galileo against heliocentrism in 1616, and completed St Peter's Basilica.
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI, born Giovanni Battista Montini, was head of the Catholic Church from 1963 to 1978, completing the Second Vatican Council and issuing the encyclical Humanae Vitae.
Pope Pius II
Pope Pius II (Enea Silvio Piccolomini), 210th pope, 1458–1464: Sienese humanist, reformed conciliarist turned papal apologist, author of the Commentaries, bull Execrabilis, and the failed 1464 crusade from Ancona.
Pope Pius III
Pope Pius III (Francesco Todeschini-Piccolomini, 1439–1503), 215th pope, nephew of Pius II, cardinal from 1460, elected 22 September 1503 after Alexander VI's death; his 26-day pontificate saw Cesare Borgia's arrest before his own death.
Pope Pius IV
Pope Pius IV (reigned 1559–1565), 224th pope, reopened the Council of Trent by bull of 29 November 1560, presided over its final period, and confirmed its decrees in Benedictus Deus (26 January 1564).
Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX, born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti, was pope from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified reign, proclaiming the Immaculate Conception and papal infallibility.
Pope Pius V
Pope Pius V, born Antonio Ghislieri, was pope from 1566 to 1572, a Dominican reformer who enforced the Council of Trent and won the Battle of Lepanto.
Pope Pius VI
Pope Pius VI, born Giovanni Angelo Braschi, was elected in 1775 and reigned for over 24 years. He died in 1799 as a French prisoner during the Age of Revolutions.