Do all popes go to heaven?

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Yes, it is entirely possible that Popes would go to Hell or purgatory.

There have been multiple reported private revelations of Popes in purgatory asking for prayers. As always, we are not bound to believe private revelations. Although we are not supposed to discuss unapproved private revelations on here, I will share one because it was to a saint and was featured on ChurchPop.

 
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Hoosier-Daddy said:
If it weren’t possible then ALL popes would have the title of saint. And many of them dont! That doesnt mean that they aren’t in heaven though.
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Some of them did not act exactly saintly during their lives or their term as Pope, so it would be reasonable to think they may have needed some Purgatory time before going to Heaven. Or even that some did not make it to Heaven. But we have no way of knowing for sure.

I have prayed for certain un-sainted and not on the path to sainthood Popes who I like or felt sorry for.
 
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Yeah didn’t Dante have Boniface VIII, Nicholas III, Celestine V And Clement V in hell for simony, fraud, cowardice among other things. Not to mention clergy and cardinals guilty of avarice.
 
At the end of the day they were only human too. I suppose it’s possible for them just like it is possible for any of us. I think purgatory is a strong possibility, that is where majority of people go. I also, feel like Popes are held to a higher standard, so more is expected out of them. There is no way to know for sure.
 
Padres1969 said:
Yeah didn’t Dante have Boniface VIII, Nicholas III, Celestine V And Clement V in hell for simony, fraud, cowardice among other things. Not to mention clergy and cardinals guilty of avarice.
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Dante basically put people he didn’t like or disagreed with in Hell. He’s not an authority on who actually went.
I seem to recall Michelangelo also painted a few people he didn’t like as souls in Hell in his paintings.
 
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Though I wouldn’t take the Divine Comedy as a means of determining which Popes are in Hell or not…
 
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No of course. But there are quite a few popes from that era 1100-1600 that it doesn’t necessarily strike as surprising to see considered to have gone to hell. Of course only God and those on the other side know for sure. But being part of the clergy or church hierarchy is by no means a guarantee of holiness or heaven.
 
If they die in friendship with God, they go to heaven. Some will go through purgatory, others will not, just like the rest of us who die in friendship with Christ.

Some popes may reject God and die in a state of mortal sin. We simply do not know who.
 
TheLittleLady said:
That is a fictional work.
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Yes, but Pope Alexander VI (the Borgia Pope in the show) was a real Pope and was a Borgia. Most of the things he does in the show are (1) real, (2) were well-known accusations, or (3) very well within his character, thus possible.

So while it’s a fictionalized dramatization, a lot of it is based on facts know about him and/or about the time (with plenty of artistic liberties).
 
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I’d suggest reading Chamberlain’s “The Bad Popes” for a more historical pov
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Dante basically put people he didn’t like or disagreed with in Hell.
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That may not be 100% accurate.

Ironically, I just attended a lecture on Dante last night by a former Seminary professor who taught Dante to future priests.

Virgil was one of Dante’s favorite people of history and a model for him. Dante even picks Virgil to be his guide through hell and to lead him up to Purgatory. Though Dante has him in Hell. He also has many of the great philosophers in history (whom he greatly admired) in hell too.

He also placed the woman he loved in Purgatory.

So while that was an accusation, that he put his enemies in hell, it might not actually be a completely fair one. There were also a few enemies (though I can’t remember which ones the professor said last night) that Dante put in Purgatory and Heaven.

God bless
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
He put some people he admired in the higher levels of Hell, but he put quite a few of his enemies in Hell at pretty low levels.

Placement Of People Dante Hated In Hell
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Yes, I’m not saying that he didn’t. What I’m saying is that it might not be fair to say that was his sole reason/motivation. But again, I’m not coming up with this on my own… I’m getting this from a Seminary Professor who taught Dante to future priests until 2017.
 
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I’ll take your word for it, but given that Dante, as we have stated numerous times, was a fiction writer, we’re a bit off topic for this thread.
 
I know the Divine Comedy backwards and forwards. There are popes and clergy in hell, purgatory, and heaven. Dante’s extended in-law family members are in hell, purgatory, and heaven. Kings and Queens, emperors and commoners are in hell, purgatory, and heaven. Dante warns repeatedly that it is not the office or title one holds but one’s personal conduct before God that matters. That’s what we are to take away from the Comedy.

The Church never declares someone is in either hell or purgatory–she does NOT know. She does have the authority to declare that someone is in heaven; e.g. saints. So the answer to the OPs question is: we don’t know.
 
I guess you didn’t see the Spiderman movie otherwise you would see the joke!
Uncle Ben in Spiderman said “With great power comes great responsibility”
 
Rudolph said:
Is it possible that a pope has went to hell or purgatory?
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We don’t know where all the popes have gone, but it’s certainly possible that not all go to heaven or even to purgatory. Catholics don’t think a pope is always destined to be a saint.
 
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