Lineage of popes

[Thorns]

Is there such a timeline that is available where we can see all the popes the Catholic Church has had going all the way back to Peter?

 

[Genesis315]

Here you go, with bios of each (although the bios are from the 1914 Catholic Encyclopedia, so they don’t have bios of the Popes after that):

oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=List_of_Popes

 

[Thorns]

Very interesting, thanks!

 

[glendab]

Usually there is such a listing in either the front or back pages of most Catholic Bibles. Check yours out. You probably already have a list in yours.

Glenda

 

[Nacho45]

I am taking a Church History class through a Protestant university and wouldn’t you know it, it’s a surprise, but Peter is left off their list. I wonder why.

 

[JohnR77]

but Peter is left off their list. I wonder why.

Some define
Pope - a successor of St. Peter.

Personally, I don’t care for that definition. I would prefer something like:
Pope - from the term Papa meaning “Father”, used in the early church for bishops, but now reserved for the vicars of Christ, Peter and his successors.

 

[DavidFilmer]

I would add that there is no such thing as Papal “succession.” If we could not produce an absolutely reliable lineage of Popes (and, in fact, we cannot), it would not matter.

Popes don’t appoint their successors, so there is no such thing as Papal succession. There IS such a thing as Apostolic Succession of Bishops, but not Papal succession.

The Papacy is similar in this regard to the US Presidency. Nobody needs to know who Abraham Lincoln was (or whom he succeeded, or who succeeded him) to elect a new President. The United States can elect a President irregardless of its knowledge of historic Presidents.