Pope (Gr. , father), a title applied by the eastern Christians to all priests, and in the West originally given to all bishops, but now restricted to the bishop of Rome. The Roman Catholics regard the pope as the legitimate successor of St. Peter and the visible head of the church, the invisible head being Christ. He was anciently elected by the people of his diocese, but is now chosen by the cardinals, a vote of two thirds being required to elect. Both on account of the geographical position of Rome and of the union of temporal and ecclesiastical power in the person of its bishops, they have for several centuries been exclusively Italians. The last pope of foreign birth was Adrian VI. (1522), a native of Utrecht. According to Roman Catholic writers, the bishop of Rome has always been recognized as the superior of all other Christian bishops; but Protestant historians date his supremacy generally from about the 4th century. Much obscurity rests on the chronology of the popes of the first three centuries, more particularly of the 1st century.

Linus is supposed by some authors to have been the vicegerent of Peter, as well as his successor; while Cletus and Anacletus are mentioned in some catalogues as one person, and in others as two distinct personages. There reigns also much confusion in the papal chronology of the 10th and 11th centuries, especially in placing the popes of the name of John. We subjoin a table of the popes, with figures indicating the beginning of each pontificate, both according to the Roman Notizie and the Gerarchia Cattolica of 1875, issued from the press of the Vatican; the former (being those used in our former edition and generally in our biographical articles) in parentheses where they differ from the latter. The names printed in Italics are those of antipopes.

St. Peter............... 42

St. Linus...........(66) 67

St. Cletus............... 78

St. Clement I. (Clemens Romanus)........(91) 90

St. Anacletus............ 100

St. Evaristus.......(100) 112

St. Alexander I... .(108) 121

St. Sixtus I........(119) 132

St. Telesphorus....(127) 142

8t. Hyginus........(139) 154

St. Pius I..........(142) 158

St. Anicetus........(157) 167

St. Soterus........(163) 175

St. Eleutherius ... .(177) 182

St. Victor 1............. 193

St. Zephyrinus....(202) 203

St. Calixtus ..... ......217

St. Urban I........(223) 227

St. Pontianus......(230) 233

St. Anterus........(235) 238

St. Fabian.........(236) 240

St. Cornelius.......(250) 254

St. Lucius - Novatianus............(252) 255

St. Stephen I.......(253) 257

St. Sixtus II........(257) 260

St. Dionysius.......(259) 261

St. Felix I..........(269) 272

St. Eutychianus......... 275

St. Caius...............283

St. Marcellinus........ 296

St. Marcellus I.....(309) 304

St. Eusebius........(310) 309

St. Melchiades..........811

St. Sylvester............314

St. Marcus..............836

St. Julius I........(337) 341

St. Liberius............. 352

St. Felix II. (sometimes reckoned an antipope) (355) 363

8t. Damasus............ 366

St. Siricius.............384

St. Anastasius.....(398) 399

St. Innocent 1..........402

St. Zosimus............417

St. Boniface I. - Eulalius................. 418

St. Celestine I......(422) 423

St. Sixtus III...........432

St. Leo I. the Great.....440

St. Hilary..............461

St. Simplicius..........468

St. Felix III............483

St. GelasiusI........... 492

St. Anastasius II....... 496

St. Symmachus......... 498

St. Hormisdas - Lawrence................ 514

St. JohnI.............. 523

St. Felix IV............526

Boniface II. - Dioscorus 530

John II............(533) 532

St. Agapetus 1.......... 535

St. Sylverius........... 536

Vigilius................ 537

Pelagius 1..............555

John III...............560

Benedict (I.) Bonosus... 574

Pelagius II.............578

St. Gregory I. the Great. 590

Sabinianus.............. 604

Boniface III............ 607

St. Boniface IV......... 608

St. Adeodatus 1........ 615

Boniface V............. 619

Honorius I............. 625

(See vacant 1 yr. and 7 mos).

Severinus.............. 640

John IV............... 640

Theodoras 1........... 642

St. Martini............ 645

St. Eugenius I......(654) 659

St. Vitalianus........... 657

Adeodatus II........... 672

Donus or Domnus I..... 676

St. Agathon............ 678

St. Leo II.............. 682

St. Benedict II......... 684

John V................ 685

Conon - Theodoras;

Paschal.............. 686

St. SergiusI............ 687

John VI............... 701

John VII.............. 705

Sisinnius............... 708

Constantine........... 708

St Gregory II......... 715

St. Gregory III........ 731

St. Zachary............ 741

Stephen II. (died before consecration)........ 752

Stephen III........... 752

St. Paul I. - Constantine; Theophylactus; Philip........ 757

Stephen IV............ 768

Adrian I..........(772) 771

St.LeoIII............ 795

Stephen V............. 816

St.Paschall........... 817

Eugenius II........... 824

Valentinus............. 627

Gregory IV........... 827

Sergius II............. 844

St. Leo IV............ 847

Benedict III. - Anastasius................. 855

St. Nicholas I. the Great 858

Adrian II............. 867

John VIII............. 872

Marinus I. or Martin II. 882

Adrian III............. 884

Stephen VI............ 885

Formosus............. 891

Boniface VI. (reigned only 18 days, and not included among the popes by Baronius and others).............. 896

Stephen VII........... 896

Eomanus.............. 897

Theodoras II. - Sergius III.................. 898

John IX.............. 898

Benedict IV........... 900

Leo V................ 903

Christopher............ 903

Sergius III............ 904

Anastasius III......... 911

Lando................. 913

JohnX............... 914

Leo VI................ 928

Stephen VIII.......... 929

John XI.............. 981

Leo VII............... 936

Stephen IX............ 939

Marinus Il.or Martin III. 943

Agapetus II........... 946

John XII. - Leo VIII.. 956

Benedict V............ 964

John XIII............ 965

Benedict VI............ 972

Donus or Domnus II.. 974

Benedict VII.......... 975

John XIV............. 983

Boniface VII.......... 984

John XV.............. 985

John XVI............ 996

Gregory V............ 996

John XVII............ 999

Sylvester II............ 999

John XVIII........... 1003

John XIX............. 1003

Sergius IV............ 1009

Benedict VIII - Gregory VI.............. 1012

John XX............. 1024

Benedict IX........... 1033

Gregory VI. (abdicated in 1046) - Sylvester III............(1045) 1044

Clement II............ 1046

Damasus II. - Benedict IX. attempts to resume the throne.....1048

St. Leo IX............ 1049

Victor II.............. 1055

Stephen X............1057

BenedictX............1058

Nicholas II......(1058) 1059

Alexander II. - Honorius II..............1061

St. Gregory VII. - Clement VII........... 1073

Victor III........(1086) 1087

Urban II.............. 1088

Paschal II............. 1099

Gelasius II. - Gregory VIII................ 1118

Calixtus II............ 1119

Honorius II........... 1124

Innocent II. - Anacletus II; Victor IV.. 1180

Celestine II........... 1143

Lucius II............. 1144

Eugenius III.......... 1145

Anastasius IV.........1153

Adrian IV............. 1154

Alexander III. - Victor V.; Paschal III.; Calixtus III.; Innocent III............. 1159

Lucius III............. 1181

Urban III............. 1185

Gregory VIII.........1187

Clement III........... 1187

Celestine III.......... 1191

Innocent III........... 1198

Honorius III.......... 1216

Gregory IX........... 1227

Celestine IV........... 1241

(See vacant 1 yr. and 7 mos).

Innocent IV........... 1243

Alexander IV.........1254

Urban IV.............1261

Clement IV...........1265

(See vacant 2 yrs. and 9 mos).

Gregory X............1271

Innocent V............ 1276

Adrian V..............1276

John XXI............. 1276

Nicholas III........... 1277

Martin IV............. 1281

Honorius IV.......... 1285

Nicholas IV........... 1288

(See vacant 2 yrs. and 3 mos).

St. Celestine V........ 1294

Boniface VIII......... 1294

Benedict XI........... 1803

Clement V. (seat of the papacy removed to Avignon)............ 1305

(See vacant 2 yrs. and 8 mos).

John XXII........... 1316

Benedict XII. - Nicholas V. at Rome.....1334

Clement VI........... 1842

Innocent VI...........1352

Urban V.............. 1362

Gregory XL (throne restored to Home).....1370

Urban VI. - Clement VII................. 1378

Boniface IX. - Benedict XIII. at Avignon... 1389

Innocent VII..........1404

Gregory XII.......... 1406

Alexander V........... 1409

John XXIII........... 1410

Martin V. - Clement VIII................ 1417

Eugenius IV. - Felix V. 1431

Nicholas V............ 1447

Calixtus III...........1455

Pius II................1458

Paul II................1464

Sixtus IV............. 1471

Innocent VIII......... 1484

Alexander VI.........1492

Pius III............... 1503

Julius II.............. 1503

LeoX................. 1513

Adrian VI.............1522

Clement VII.......... 1523

Paul HI............... 1534

Julius III............. 1550

Marcellus II........... 1555

Paul IV............... 1555

Pius IV...............1559

St. Pius V............. 1566

Gregorv XIII......... 1572

Sixtus V.............. 1585

Urban VII............1590

Gregory XIV.........1590

Innocent IX...........1591

Clement VIII.........1592

Leo XI...............1605

PaulV................ 1605

Gregory XV.......... 1621

Urban VIII........... 1628

Innocent X............1644

Alexander VII........ 1655

Clement IX...........1667

Clement X............1670

Innocent XI........... 1676

Alexander VIII.......1689

Innocent XII..........1691

Clement XI........... 1700

Innocent XIII.........1721

Benedict XIII......... 1724

Clement XII.......... 1730

Benedict XIV.........1740

Clement XIII......... 1758

Clement XIV......... 1769

Pius VI............... 1775

Pius VII.............. 1800

Leo XII.............. 1823

Pius VIII.............1829

Gregory XVI.......... 1831

Pius IX............... 1546