Bishops of Rome and the Popes

According to tradition the first Bishop of Rome was the apostle Saint Peter. By the time of Leo the Great 400 years later the Bishops of Rome were the most powerful figures in western Christianity.

It was Leo who began officially using the title pope (Latin papa "father"), though it was originally used by many other bishops besides him. In the 11th century Gregory VII decreed that the title should belong only to the Bishops of Rome. It is worth noting that not all of the popes have lived in Rome; for 70 years in the 14th century they resided in Avignon in France.

Note: an antipope was a rival who was set up in opposition to the canonical pope. The antipopes are unnumbered in the chronological list.

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category
NameDetailsTotal
John23 popes, 2 antipopes25
Gregory16 popes, 2 antipopes18
Benedict15 popes, 2 antipopes17
Clement14 popes, 3 antipopes17
Innocent13 popes, 1 antipope14
Leo13 popes13
Pius12 popes12
Boniface8 popes, 1 antipope9
Stephen9 popes9
Alexander7 popes, 1 antipope8
Paul8 popes8
Urban8 popes8
Adrian6 popes6
Celestine5 popes, 1 antipope6
Nicholas5 popes, 1 antipope6
Anastasius4 popes, 1 antipope5
Felix3 popes, 2 antipopes5
Honorius4 popes, 1 antipope5
Sixtus5 popes5
Victor3 popes, 2 antipopes5
Callixtus3 popes, 1 antipope4
Eugene4 popes4
Paschal2 popes, 2 antipopes4
Sergius4 popes4
Sylvester3 popes, 1 antipope4
Julius3 popes3
Lucius3 popes3
Martin3 popes3
Theodore2 popes, 1 antipope3
Adeodatus2 popes2
Agapetus2 popes2
Anacletus1 pope, 1 antipope2
Constantine1 pope, 1 antipope2
Damasus2 popes2
Gelasius2 popes2
Marcellus2 popes2
Marinus2 popes2
Pelagius2 popes2
Agatho1 pope1
Albert1 antipope1
Anicetus1 pope1
Anterus1 pope1
Caius1 pope1
Christopher1 antipope1
Conon1 pope1
Cornelius1 pope1
Dionysius1 pope1
Dioscorus1 antipope1
Donus1 pope1
Eleuterus1 pope1
Eulalius1 antipope1
Eusebius1 pope1
Eutychian1 pope1
Evaristus1 pope1
Fabian1 pope1
Formosus1 pope1
Francis1 pope1
Hilarius1 pope1
Hippolytus1 antipope1
Hormisdas1 pope1
Hyginus1 pope1
Lando1 pope1
Laurentius1 antipope1
Liberius1 pope1
Linus1 pope1
Marcellinus1 pope1
Mark1 pope1
Miltiades1 pope1
Novatian1 antipope1
Peter1 pope1
Philip1 antipope1
Pontian1 pope1
Romanus1 pope1
Sabinian1 pope1
Severinus1 pope1
Silverius1 pope1
Simplicius1 pope1
Siricius1 pope1
Sisinnius1 pope1
Soter1 pope1
Symmachus1 pope1
Telesphorus1 pope1
Theodoric1 antipope1
Ursinus1 antipope1
Valentine1 pope1
Vigilius1 pope1
Vitalian1 pope1
Zachary1 pope1
Zephyrinus1 pope1
Zosimus1 pope1