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This is a list of Popes of the Roman Catholic Church.

While the term " usage generally refers to the supreme head of the Roman Catholic Church . The title itself has been used officially by the head of the Roman Catholic Church since the tenure of Pope Siricius .

There is no official list of popes, but the '' Annuario Pontificio '', published every year by the Vatican, contain a list that is generally considered to be the most authoritative. There have been 265 according to the list of the ''Annuario pontificio''. A man elected in 752 and died three days after was listed on this list as Stephen II until 1960, but he has been erased since the 1961 edition. Some lists still include him, despite the recent change, making a list of 266 popes, but other choices of the ''Annuario pontificio'' are most questionable. The main reason this Stephen is still on those lists is that they are based on the 1913 edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia , which is in the public domain.

The pope also bears the spiritual titles '' Bishop of Rome , Vicar of Jesus Christ , Successor of St. Peter , Prince of the Apostle s, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church , Primate of Italy , Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province'' and '' Servant Of The Servants Of God .''
Since 1929, the pope's temporal title has been Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City (the Holy See ).


LIST OF POPES


Began AD 30-249



Began AD 250-499



Began AD 500-749



Began AD 750-999



Began AD 1000-1249



Began AD 1250-1499



Began AD 1500-1749



Began AD 1750-1999



Began AD 2000 on




Pope Benedict XVI was elected in a Papal Conclave on April 19 , 2005 and formally Inaugurated during the Papal Inauguration Mass on April 24 , 2005 .]]


NOTES ON NUMBERING OF POPES

Hermannus Contractus may have been the first historian to number the popes continuously. His list ends in 1049 with Pope Leo IX as the number 154. On that basis, the current Pope Benedict XVI is the 265th pope.

A number of anomalies in the list given above need further explanation:
  • Felix II (356-357), Boniface VII (974, 984-985), John XVI (997-998), Benedict X (1058-1059) and Alexander V (1409-1410) are not listed because they are considered Antipope s.

  • The numbering of popes named Felix has been amended to omit antipope Felix II . However, most lists still call the last two Felixes Felix III and Felix IV . Additionally, there was an antipope Felix V .

  • There has never been a pope John XX as a result of confusion of the numbering system in the 11th century.

  • Stephen , who died before being consecrated, is not on the Vatican's official list of popes since 1961, but can still be seen on lists dating from before 1960. The numbering of following popes called ''Stephen'' are nowadays given as Stephen II to Stephen IX , rather than Stephen III to Stephen X.

  • When Simon de Brion became pope in 1281, he chose to be called ''Martin''. At that time, Marinus I and Marinus II were mistakenly considered to be Martin II and Martin III respectively, and so, somewhat erroneously, Simon de Brion became Pope Martin IV .

  • In legend, an English woman reigned as and was challenged by an Antipope during that time.

  • Pope Donus II , said to have reigned about 974, never existed. The belief resulted from the confusion of the title ''dominus'' (lord) with a proper name.



SEE ALSO



REFERENCES

  • John N.D. Kelly, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Popes'', Oxford University Press, 1986.

  • AA.VV., ''Enciclopedia dei Papi'', Istituto dell'Enciclopedia italiana, 2000.

  • Pontificia Amministrazione della Patriarcale Basilica di San Paolo, ''I Papi. Venti secoli di storia'', Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2002.



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