With the election of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, there have been 265 popes in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. The pope is the spiritual leader of Roman Catholicism and the visible head of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the successor to St. Peter, the first among the apostles and the first pope of Rome. Taken together, the following articles provide a comprehensive list of all the popes of the Roman Catholic Church, divided up by historical era, as well as the years that they reigned. Biographies of the popes will be linked off of each article; check back often to see which biographies have been added.
- Popes of the Age of Persecution
From St. Peter (32-67) to St. Miltiades (311-14)
- Popes of the Age of Empire
From St. Sylvester I (314-35) to Pelagius II (579-90)
- Popes of the Early Middle Ages
From St. Gregory the Great (590-604) to Alexander II (1061-73)
- Popes of the Age of Crusades and Councils
From St. Gregory VII (1073-85) to St. Celestine V (1294)
- Popes of the Avignon Papacy and the Great Schism
From Boniface VIII (1294-1303) to Gregory XII (1406-15)
- Popes of the Renaissance and Reformation
From Martin V (1417-31) to Pius IV (1559-65)
- Popes of the Age of Revolution
From St. Pius V (1566-72) to Pius VII (1800-23)
- Popes of the Modern Age
From Leo XII (1823-29) to Benedict XVI (2005—)
