The Popes

He was just standing there, not doing anything special. As a Syrian priest he must have felt a little out of place among the Roman people mourning that day for the dead Pope. As a good preacher, he must have wanted to speak to the funeral procession about Christ's promise of resurrection. As a learned man, he must have wondered who would follow the holy Saint Gregory II as Pope and where he would take the Church. As a holy man, he must have been praying for Gregory II and for all the people around him to find their place after death in God's arms. But he was just one of the crowd.

Pope St. Gregory was born in Rome, the son of a wealthy Roman Senator. His mother was St. Sylvia. He followed the career of public...

Pope Saint Pontian who reigned from 230-235 holds the distinction of being the first pontiff to abdicate. Perhaps a Roman by birth, he was elected to succeed St. Urban I and devoted much of his reign to upholding the condemnation of the heretical aspects of Origenism and struggled against the schismatic movement which supported the antipope St. Hippolytus.

Imagine that your biography was written by an enemy of yours. And that its information was all anyone would have not only for the...

Little is known of Pope Saint John I's life before he took office as pope, except that he was born in Tuscany. After a journey to Constantinople concerning Ariansism, he was arrested by Theordric, Arian king of the Ostrogoths. Worn out by his journey and probably starved, John died in prison soon after. Pope St. John I is honored as a martyr.

Pope Saint Evaristus was the fifth pope, holding office from c. 97 to 105. He was also known as Aristus. Little is known about...

Pope St. Hilarius (d. 468) had been a trusted aide to Pope Saint Leo the Great. Papal legate. As pope, Hilarius confirmed the work of several general councils, rebuilt and remodeled many churches, fought Nestorianism, and held several Councils at Rome.

The papacy of Pope Saint Benedict XI began in 1303 and ended one year later in 1304. He was the author of a volume of sermons and commentaries on a part of the Gospel of Saint Matthew, the Psalms, the Book of Job, and the Apocalypse.

Blessed Pope Urban V was born Guillaume de Grimoard at Grisac in Languedoc, 1310. He always had a Benedictine spirit and even wore his monk’s habit as pope. His reign was blessed by his peacekeeping activity between the French and Italian kings, the founding of many universities, his zeal for the crusades and his decision to return the papacy to Rome and end the Avignon exile of the popes.

It is regrettable that so little is known about the early life of this man who proved to be such an extraordinary shepherd of...