In this course, we will consider the Popes throughout the history of the Church. Over around eight classes, we will consider the good popes, the bad popes, and also the anti-pope imposters. We will also have the occasion to discuss some of theology of the papacy and also many of the details regarding how papal elections (conclaves) work today!
Session 1 -- Introduction to the Papacy, Papal Elections, the First Popes
Listen online [here]!
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The History of the Popes
The Good, the Bad, and the Phony
Session 1, Theological Introduction to the Papacy and the First Popes
You are Peter, and upon this Rock I will build my Church. (Matthew 16:18)
Note on schedule: We will meet each Tuesday from January 28th through February 25th at 7pm.
I. Course objectives
A. To understand the Catholic teaching regarding the Pope as head of the Church.
B. To recognize the historical development of the Papacy and of the process of the election of the Pope.
C. To grow in devotion to some of the great and saintly Popes of history.
D. To learn about some of the bad Popes and see how God always guides his Church.
II. Course Outline
January 28th -- Introduction to the Papacy, Papal Elections, the First Popes
February 4th -- Popes under the time of persecution
February 11th – Popes of the Middle Ages
February 18th -- Popes in the Early Modern Period
February 25th -- Popes in Recent Times
III. What does it mean to be Pope?
The title “pope” was used in the early Church to refer to more than just the bishop of Rome. In fact, the bishop of any significant See could be called a “Pope”. The word Pope means “father” and came from Greek. In classical Latin, papa meant a tutor. The title of Pope seems to have first been used in the Church for the Bishop of Alexandria around AD 250, and was only gradually extended to the west and to the Bishop of Rome. By St Leo the Great (AD 440), the title of Pope began to be used always for the Bishop of Rome, but was still used to designate some other bishops and patriarchs all the way until the time of Pope St Gregory VII (c AD 1073).
[Interestingly Popemobile is first used in English in 1979 to designate the open air car used by Pope St John Paul II during papal audiences.]
Other titles are held by the Pope. Besides the bishopric of the Roman Diocese, certain other dignities are held by the pope as well as the supreme and universal pastorate: he is Metropolitan Archbishop of the Roman Province, Primate of Italy and the adjacent islands, and sole Patriarch of the Western Church. The Pope is the Vicar of Christ on Earth and the successor of St Peter. Further, he is called the Sovereign Ruler of the Papal State (Vatican City State), and is also recognized as the Servant of the Servants of God (a title first used by Pope St Gregory the Great, elected AD 590).
The Pope is called the Supreme Pontiff, which means the supreme high priest. “Pontiff” comes from pontifex meaning bridge-maker, indicating the place of the priest standing between God and the people.
When addressing the Pope or speaking of him: Your Holiness, Holy Father, His Holiness. Although the Pope takes a new name (or names) upon accepting his election, it is not entirely uncommon in Italy and other places to occasionally make use of his last name (eg. Papa Bergoglio or Papa Ratzinger) – in the United States, we do not usually do this.
It was not until around the 6th Century that Popes began taking a new name upon election – and this was done to honor a previous Pope or saint, and also to place their papacy under the patronage of that saint; as well as to make a statement of the vision of the newly elected Pope for his papacy. The last Pope not to take a new name was Pope Marcellus II who kept his given name (which was also a saint name and the name of a previous Pope) in 1555. However, the practice of taking a new name was already the standard by the 900s. The first Pope to take a new name was when a man name Mercurius was elected in 533 and took the name Pope John II in honor of Pope St John I (his predecessor who suffered exile and imprisonment for the faith) – Mercurius also did not want to keep a name that invoked the pagan god Mercury. The first Pope to take two names was Pope Venerable John Paul I in 1978, in honor of the two popes who presided over the Second Vatican Council (Pope St John XXIII and Pope St Paul VI). The most popular papal name is John (23, but several illegitimate, so ultimately only 21), and then Gregory (16), then Benedict (also 16, but one was illegitimate), and then Clement (14), Innocent and Leo (both 13), and Pius (12). Pope Francis surprised in 2013 us by the uncommon choice to take a name that had not been held by a previous Pope, but rather in honor of St Francis of Assisi. There are 38 papal names that have only been used once, so far.
The Pope is easily recognizable today by his white cassock, but this custom was only adopted as a standard in the late 1200s and seems to be connected to the Dominican tradition. The first Dominican Pope was Pope Bl Innocent V (in 1276) and he continued to wear his white habit – but there had been other Popes before who had for some reason or another already worn the white cassock on occasion. Another Dominican, Pope St Pius V (in 1566), is often credited with making the custom permanent, even though the practice was already standard by that time.
[What are other tidbits you would like to know about the history of the Popes?]
IV. What is the Papacy?
The Papacy is the office held by the Pope as Vicar of Christ and Successor of St Peter. In this office, the Pope is the supreme head of the Church on Earth and exercises a universal, supreme, and immediate jurisdiction over all the faithful.
There have been 266 Popes, or 265 if you don’t count St Peter because the Pope is the “successor of Peter”. As the personal successor of St Peter, the Pope has a different role than all other bishops who are successors of the apostles as a college. Even as St Peter had primacy over all the Apostles, so too the Pope has primacy over all the other bishops. Peter has a personal succession, but each of the bishops really are the Vicar of Christ and do have a solicitude for the universal Church – however, only the Pope as Bishop of Rome has the office of Supreme Shepherd of the Universal Church.
The supremacy of the Pope is such that he cannot be judged by any power on Earth, and his judgement is final. Even to simply appeal against the judgment of the Pope bears with it an excommunication!
The doctrine of infallibility applies in a special way to the Pope as an expression of the indefectibility of the Church. Catholic answers defines infallibility: “Infallibility, (in general) exemption or immunity from liability to error or failure; (in particular) in theological usage, the supernatural prerogative by which the Church of Christ is, by a special Divine assistance, preserved from liability to error in her definitive dogmatic teaching regarding matters of faith and morals.” And, “The Vatican Council has defined as “a divinely revealed dogma” that “the Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra—that is, when in the exercise of his office as pastor and teacher of all Christians he defines, by virtue of his supreme Apostolic authority, a doctrine of faith or morals to be held by the whole Church—is, by reason of the Divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, possessed of that infallibility with which the Divine Redeemer wished His Church to be endowed in defining doctrines of faith and morals; and consequently that such definitions of the Roman Pontiff are irreformable of their own nature (ex sese) and not by reason of the Church‘s consent.” It is not claimed that the Pope is impeccable or inspired, but only infallible.
V. What makes the Bishop of Rome special?
The Diocese of Rome has been consecrated by the blood of the two princes, St Peter and St Paul. On this account, the Diocese of Rome has supremacy over all the Dioceses throughout the world – and the Bishop of Rome has supremacy over the universal Church.
O Roma felix, quae duorum principum
Es consecrata glorioso sanguine.
Horum cruore pupuata ceteras
Excellis orbis una pulchritudines.
“How happy, Rome, your fortune in being dedicated to God in the Prince's noble blood; for clad in a robe dyed in purple with their blood, you far outstrip in beauty all else the world can show.”
VI. How have Popes been elected through history? How are they elected now?
We will look at this development as we consider the stories of the popes through history. In the first days of the Church, the Pope was “elected” by the acclaim of the clergy (and even the faithful) of the City of Rome. These Roman Clergy are the forerunners of the College of Cardinals.
After the death (or resignation) of a Pope, the governing of the Church falls to the Sacred College of Cardinals, whose main responsibility becomes the election of a new Pope. The Conclave, which consists of about 120 electors, is the gathering of cardinals for the purpose of selecting a new pope. Only cardinals under the age of 80 can vote. The Conclave takes place in the strictest isolation so as to avoid the possibility of any external influences or interference. The cardinals who are able to vote enter the Sistine Chapel and follow a detailed procedure for the casting of secret ballots. Ballots are cast once during the first day of the Conclave, and then two times a day (at a morning and evening session) until a new pope is elected. Current church law states that one must be a bishop in order to be chosen as Pope, and current practice is that the College of Cardinals will select one of their own number as the new Pope.
Quick summary from Wikipedia: “During the first millennium, popes were elected unanimously (at least in theory). After a decree by the Synod of Rome in 1059, some factions contended that a simple majority sufficed to elect. In 1179, the Third Council of the Lateran settled the question by calling for unanimity, but permitting the Pope to be elected by two-thirds majority, "if by chance, through some enemy sowing tares, there cannot be full agreement." As cardinals were not allowed to vote for themselves (after 1621), the ballots were designed to ensure secrecy while at the same time preventing self-voting. In 1945 Pope Pius XII removed the prohibition on a cardinal voting for himself, increasing the requisite majority to two-thirds plus one at all times. He eliminated as well the need for signed ballots. His successor John XXIII immediately reinstated the two-thirds majority if the number of cardinal electors voting is divisible by three, with a rounding up to two-thirds plus one otherwise. Paul VI reinstated Pius XII's procedure thirteen years later, but John Paul II overturned it again. In 1996, John Paul II's constitution allowed election by absolute majority if deadlock prevailed after thirty-three or thirty-four ballots (thirty-four ballots if a ballot took place on the first afternoon of the conclave). In 2007 Benedict XVI rescinded John Paul II's change (which had effectively abolished the two-thirds majority requirement, as any majority suffices to block the election until a simple majority is enough to elect the next pope), reaffirming the requirement of a two-thirds majority.”
VII. The first Popes under the time of the Apostles
St Peter (from Butler’s Lives of the Saints):
PETER was of Bethsaida in Galilee, and as he was fishing on the lake was called by Our Lord to be one of His apostles. He was poor and unlearned, but candid, eager, and loving. In his heart, first of all, grew up the conviction, and from his lips came the confession, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God;” and so Our Lord chose him, and fitted him to be the Rock of His Church, His Vicar on earth, the head and prince of His apostles, the centre and very principle of the Church’s oneness, the source of all spiritual powers, and the unerring teacher of His truth. All Scripture is alive with him; but after Pentecost he stands out in the full grandeur of his office. He fills the vacant apostolic throne; admits the Jews by thousands into the fold; opens it to the Gentiles in the person of Cornelius; founds, and for a time rules, the Church at Antioch, and sends Mark to found that of Alexandria. Ten years after the Ascension he went to Rome, the centre of the majestic Roman Empire, where were gathered the glories and the wealth of the earth and all the powers of evil. There he established his Chair, and for twenty-five years labored with St. Paul in building up the great Roman Church. He was crucified by order of Nero, and buried on the Vatican Hill. He wrote two Epistles, and suggested and approved the Gospel of St. Mark. Two hundred and sixty years after St. Peter’s martyrdom came the open triumph of the Church. Pope St. Sylvester, with bishops and clergy and the whole body of the faithful, went through Rome in procession to the Vatican Hill, singing the praises of God till the seven hills rang again. The first Christian emperor, laying aside his diadem and his robes of state, began to dig the foundations of St. Peter’s Church. And now on the site of that old church stands the noblest temple ever raised by man; beneath a towering canopy lie the great apostles, in death, as in life, undivided; and there is the Chair of St. Peter. All around rest the martyrs of Christ--Popes, Saints, Doctors, from east and west--and high over all, the words, “Thou art Peter, and on this Rock I will build My Church.” It is the threshold of the apostles and the centre of the world.
Reflection.--Peter still lives on in his successors, and rules and feeds the flock committed to him. The reality of our devotion to him is the surest test of the purity of our faith.
St Linus (from Gueranger, The Liturgical Year):
September 23 – Saint Linus, Pope and Martyr The lives of the first Vicars of Christ are buried in a mysterious obscurity; just as the foundations of a monument built to defy the ravages of time are concealed from view. To be the supports of the everlasting Church is a sufficient glory: sufficient to justify our confidence in them, and to awaken our gratitude. Let us leave the learned to discuss certain points in the following short Legend; as for ourselves, we will rejoice with the Church on this feast, and pay our loving veneration to the humble and gentle Pontiff, who was the first laid to rest beside St. Peter in the Vatican crypts.
Pope Linus was born at Volterra in Tuscany, and was the first to succeed St. Peter in the government of the Church. His faith and holiness were so great, that he not only cast out devils, but even raised the dead to life. He wrote the acts of blessed Peter, and in particular what he had done against Simon Magus. He decreed that no woman should enter a church with her head uncovered. On account of his constancy in confessing the Christian faith, this Pontiff was beheaded by command of Saturninus, a wicked and ungrateful ex-consul, whose daughter he had delivered from the tyranny of the devils. He was buried on the Vatican, near the sepulcher of the Prince of the Apostles, on the ninth of Kalends of October. He governed the Church eleven years, two months, and twenty-three days. In two ordinations in the month of December he consecrated fifteen bishops and eighteen priests.
St Cletus (from Gueranger, The Liturgical Year):
April 26 – Saint Cletus and Marcellinus, Popes and Martyrs Two bright stars appear this day on the Ecclesiastical Cycle, proclaiming the glory of our Jesus, the Conqueror of death. Again, they are two Pontiffs, and Martyr-Pontiffs. Cletus leads us to the very commencement of the Church, for he was a disciple of Peter, and his second Successor in the See of Rome. Marcellinus was a witness of the great Persecution under Dioclesian; he governed the Church on the eve of her triumph. Let us honour these two fathers of Christendom, who laid down their lives in its defense; and let us offer their merits to Jesus, who supported them by his grace, and cheered them with the hope, that, one day, they would share in his Resurrection.
The following is the account given of St. Cletus by the Liturgy: Cletus, the son of Emilianus, was a Roman, of the fifth Region, and of the Patrician Street He governed the Church during the reigns of the emperors Vespasian and Titus. Agreeably to the order given him by the Prince of the Apostles, he established five and twenty priests in the City. He was the first, who, in his letters, used those words: “Health and Apostolic benediction.“ Having put the Church into admirable order, and having governed it twelve years, seven months, and two days, he was crowned with martyrdom under the emperor Domitian, in the second Persecution following that of Nero, and was buried in the Vatican, near the body of St Peter.
St Clement (from Gueranger, The Liturgical Year):
November 23 – Saint Clement, Pope and Martyr The memory of St. Clement has been surrounded with a peculiar glory from the very beginning of the Roman Church. After the death of the Apostles, he seems to eclipse Linus and Cletus, although these preceded him in the Pontificate. We pass as it were naturally from Peter to Clement; and the East celebrates his memory with no less honor than the West. He was in truth the universal Pontiff, and his acts as well as his writings are renowned throughout the entire Church.
Clement was a Roman by birth, son of Faustinus who dwelt in the region of Monte Cœlio. He was a disciple of blessed Peter; and is mentioned by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Philippians, in these words: I entreat thee also, my sincere companion, help those women who have labored with me in the Gospel, with Clement and the rest of my fellow-laborers, whose names are in the book of life. He divided Rome into seven regions, appointing a notary for each, who was to ascertain and record with the greatest care the acts and sufferings of the martyrs. He wrote many useful and learned works, such as did honor to the christian name. He converted many to the faith of Christ by his learning and holiness of life, and was on that account banished by the emperor Trajan to the desert of Cherson beyond the Black Sea. Here he found two thousand Christians, likewise banished by Trajan, who were employed in quarrying marble. Seeing them suffering from want of water, Clement betook himself to prayer, and then ascended a neighboring hill, on the summit of which he saw a Lamb, pointing out with his right foot a spring of sweet water. At this source they all quenched their thirst; and many infidels were converted by the miracle, and began to revere Clement as a Saint. On hearing this Trajan was enraged, and sent officers with orders to cast Clement into the sea with an anchor tied to his neck. After the execution of this sentence, as the Christians were praying on the shore, the sea began to recede for the distance of three miles; on approaching they found a small building of marble, in the form of a temple wherein lay the martyr’s body in a stone coffin, and beside it the anchor with which he had been drowned. The inhabitants of the country were so astounded at the miracle, that they were led to embrace the Christian faith. The holy body was afterwards translated to Rome, under Pope Nicholas I and deposited in the church of St. Clement. A church was also built and dedicated in his honor on that spot in the island where the miraculous fountain had sprung up. He held the pontificate nine years, six months, and six days. In two ordinations in the month of December, he made ten priests, two deacons, and fifteen bishops for diverse places.
The proper Antiphons of St. Clement’s Office form a graceful collection, bearing evident signs of antiquity.
ANTIPHONS: Let us all beseech our Lord Jesus Christ to discover a source of water to his confessors. / While holy Clement was praying, the Lamb of God appeared to him. / Not through any merits of mine hath the Lord sent me to you to share your crowns. / I saw upon the mountain the Lamb standing, from beneath whose feet sprang up a fount of living waters. / From beneath his feet sprang up a fount of living waters: the stream of the river maketh glad the city of God. / All the surrounding nations believed in Christ the Lord. / As he approached the sea, the people cried with a loud voice: Lord Jesus Christ, save him; and Clement weeping said: Father, receive my spirit. / Thou hast given, O Lord, to thy martyr Clement, a dwelling-place in the sea, a marble temple built by the hands of Angels; and thou openest a way thither for the people of the earth, that they may tell thy wonderful works.
