The Popes: A Brief Synopsis (from Peter to Francis)

By Uriel R. Limjoco

This brief synopsis aims to summarize the influence of the highest leadership on the growth and development of the Catholic Church and to encourage the reader to study the lives of the popes in a more detailed manner. Christ entrusted the chair of St. Peter to mortals, and as mortals, they are subject to the same temptations that surround us all. Some of them resisted temptation better than others. Some succumbed to temptations worse than others. May God bless the papacy, the Church, and the whole world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9781636307435

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The Popes

A Brief Synopsis (from Peter to Francis)

Uriel R. Limjoco

ISBN 978-1-63630-742-8 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63630-753-4 (Hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-63630-743-5 (Digital)

Copyright © 2021 Uriel R. Limjoco and Carolyn Limjoco

All rights reserved

First Edition

All images used are from Summi Pontifices or otherwise from Public Domain-Free Images on the web.

May God bless the pope, the clergy, and the rest of us all.

All images in this synopsis are on free images on the Internet.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

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Table of Contents

Popes of the Investiture Controversy

For the canonization of Blessed Fr. Michael J. McGivney

Founder, Knights of Columbus

For the beatification and eventual canonization of Fr. Henri Caffarel

Founder, Equipes Notre-Dame (Teams of Our Lady)

Preface

From the first known ban on smoking (Pope Urban VII) in 1590 to saving the world from a possible nuclear disaster (Pope John XXIII) in 1962, the papacy has always played a major role in world politics. As cradle Catholics, Uri and I grew up looking up to priests and nuns as holy people representing heaven on earth. We may not have believed everything our parents told us, but we most certainly believed everything the priests and nuns told us as words from heaven. At confirmation, when we lined up to be blessed on our foreheads by the bishops dressed with their royal tiara and staff, it was as if we were in the same location with the angels themselves. Of course, we only saw the archbishops, cardinals, and the Holy Father himself in holy pictures, magazines, or newspaper articles. It was not until the high school years that we began to realize that these church leaders were as human as we, only that they had dedicated their lives solely to the service of our Lord and to show us the path and assist us on our way toward sanctity. But as humans like ourselves, they were subject to the same temptations that surround us all. Some of them resisted temptation much better than others. Some succumbed to temptations worse than others. Which pope canonized the first saint? Which pope introduced the holy rosary?

This brief synopsis aims not to give the reader the full life history of the men who led the Catholic Church over the centuries but only to hopefully entice him or her to look up the story of the lives of the popes and see how the world has been affected by the growth of the Catholic Church and how the Catholic Church had been affected and is still being affected by the growing world. From the time St. Peter was crucified under Emperor Nero to the failed assassination attempt on the life of Pope St. John Paul II, the leadership of the church had been hailed in majesty but also haunted by danger.

Pre-Constantine Era Popes

Pope St. Peter (42–67)

He then said to him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Tend my sheep’ (John 21:16). With that, Peter was tasked with the most difficult yet enormously rewarding job on earth. Peter was the swordsman who cut the ear of Malchus, servant of the high priest of Israel when Jesus was arrested. The healing of the servant’s ear was the last of thirty-seven miracles attributed to Jesus on earth. Fleeing Rome to avoid execution, Peter met the risen Christ on the Via Appia.

Quo Vadis? he asked.

Jesus answered, To Rome to be crucified again. Peter returned to Rome and was crucified under Emperor Nero. St. Peter was the first to set down the foundation for the Mass to celebrate and to commemorate the Lord’s Passion in bread and wine mixed with water.

Pope St. Linus (67–76)

Described by Jerome as the first after Peter to be in charge of the Roman Church. According to the Liber Pontificalis, Linus decreed that women should cover their heads in church. He is noted as being with the apostle Paul near the end of Paul’s life. He created the first fifteen bishops in Rome and died a martyr. His feast day is September 23.

Pope St. Anacletus Cletus (79–92)

A Roman, is credited with dividing Rome into twenty-five parishes, also ordained a certain number of priests, St. Cletus is listed in the Roman Martyrology among the saints of April 26. He was the Roman pontiff during the year of the four roman emperors, Titus, Galba, Otho, and Vespasian. He was bishop of Rome when Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24, AD 79, and destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Pope St. Clement I (92–99)

Considered to be the first apostolic father of the Church together with Polycarp and Ignatius of Antioch. Banished from Rome by the Emperor Trajan, Clement was set to work in a stone quarry. Finding on arrival that the prisoners were suffering from lack of water, he knelt down in prayer. Looking up, he saw a lamb on a hill struck the ground where the lamb stood with his pickaxe releasing a gushing stream of clear water. He converted the pagans to Christianity, and for this, he was martyred by being tied to an anchor and thrown from a boat into the Black Sea. His feast day is November 24 or 25. He wrote the First Epistle of Clement.

Pope St. Evaristus (99–107)

Also known as Aristus, he is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is possible that John the Apostle died during Evaristus’s reign. According to the Liber Pontificalis (book of biographies of popes from St. Peter until the fifteenth century), he came from a family of Greek Jews living in Bethlehem. He was elected pope during the reign of Roman Emperor Trajan. He is listed in the book Roman Martyrology with his feast day on October 26.

Pope St. Alexander I (107–115)

The introduction of the customs of using blessed water mixed with salt for the purification of Christian homes from evil influences, as well as that of mixing water with the sacramental wine, are attributed to Pope Alexander I. According to the Liber Pontificalis, it was Alexander I who inserted the narration of the Last Supper into the liturgy of the Mass.

Pope St. Sixtus I (115–124)

He introduced and passed three ordinances: (1) that none but sacred ministers are allowed to touch the sacred vessels; (2) that bishops who have been summoned by the Holy See shall, upon their return, not be received by their diocese except on presenting apostolic letters; and (3) that after the preface of the Mass, the priest recites the Sanctus (Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth, etc.) with the people.

Pope St. Telesphorus (126–137)

Considered the eighth bishop of Rome after St. Peter, he was a hermit monk prior to assuming the papacy. He was pope during the reigns of Emperors Hadrian and Antonius Pius. The tradition of celebrating midnight Christmas Masses, the celebration of Easter on Sundays, the keeping of a seven-week Lent before Easter, and the singing of the Gloria are attributed to him. The town of Saint-Telesphore in the southwestern part of Canada’s Quebec province is named after him.

Pope St. Hyginus (138–142)

He decreed that all churches be consecrated. He is said to have died a martyr. He was the first pope to define the grades of the ecclesiastical hierarchy.

Pope St. Pius I (142–154)

He is considered a saint by both Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. He governed the church during the reigns of Emperors Antonius Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is also considered the ninth successor to St. Peter. He reigned during the height of the Valentinian belief which was opposed to Catholic thinking. Valentinianism was one of the major Gnostic Christian movements at that time.

Pope St. Anicetus (157–168)

Anicetus actively opposed Gnosticism and Marcionism. Marcionism, like Gnosticism, depicted the God of the Old Testament as a tyrant (demiurge). It was during his reign that the aged Polycarp of Smyrna, a disciple of John the Evangelist, visited Rome to discuss the celebration of Passover. They set the Crucifixion on the fourteenth day of Nisan, which coincides with Passover (Quartodecimanism). Thus, it began the Easter controversy, which was to last until the first council of Nicaea in 325. It was also during his reign that the first recorded celebration of the Holy Eucharist (Holy Mass) took place in Rome as described in St. Justin Martyr’s First Apology: "On a day called Sunday, everyone gathered, and memoirs of the apostles and writings of the prophets were read. The president verbally instructed and exhorted to the imitations of these good things. Then we all rose together and prayed. Bread, wine, and water were brought. The president prayed and distributed them to the people."

Pope St. Soter (167–174)

St. Soter’s feast day is April 22. During his papacy the Montanist movement was almost tearing the Christian Church apart. Founded by Montanus (AD 167) the movement was very similar to the modern Pentecostalism and the Charismatic Movement. Montanus and two female companions, Priscilla and Maximilla, spoke in ecstatic visions urging their followers to fast and pray. They claimed prophetic gifts from the prophets Quadratus and Ammia of Philadelphia (today, Alasehir in Turkey). The churches of Asia Minor pronounced the prophecies profane and excommunicated the movement.

Pope St. Eleutherius (174–189)

First pope to