A remarkable piece of history: did you know an impressive 95% of Catholic bishops, including Pope Francis, share a common ecclesiastical ancestor?
This ancestor is none other than Scipione Rebiba, a 14th-century bishop who had immense influence within the Catholic Church. Born in the small village of San Marco d’Alunzio in Sicily, Rebiba was taken under the wing of Gian Pietro Carafa, who later ascended to the papacy as Pope Paul IV.
Throughout his career, Rebiba held numerous prestigious positions within the Church, even introducing the Inquisition to Naples during the 1550s. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1555.
Today, Rebiba is best known as the earliest bishop to whom the majority of Roman Catholic bishops trace their apostolic succession, given the uncertainty surrounding the identity of the bishop who consecrated him.
In the early 1700s, Pope Benedict XIII, a direct descendant of Rebiba’s consecration lineage through Giulio Antonio Santorio, personally consecrated no fewer than 139 bishops for a variety of vital European dioceses. These consecrated bishops went on to ordain other bishops almost exclusively within their respective countries, solidifying Rebiba’s crucial role in the ecclesiastical ancestry of Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI, and 95% of today’s Catholic bishops.
Pope Innocent XII, who passed away in 1700, was the last pope not to share apostolic succession derived from Rebiba. Due to a lack of records, most Roman Catholic bishops can only trace their lineage back to Rebiba. It is believed that the records of Rebiba’s own consecration, as well as those of his immediate predecessors, were lost in a fire in the city of Chieti, where Rebiba first served as an auxiliary bishop.
Scipione Rebiba’s astounding legacy highlights the enduring Apostolic Succession of the Catholic Church. His influence has spanned centuries, ultimately connecting the vast majority of today’s Catholic bishops through a shared ancestry.
