Early Popes and Catholic History Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. St. Peter, the first pope, was martyred by the Romans. How was he killed?

Answer: Crucified on a cross upside down

Pope St Peter was appointed by Christ. He was the first pope and ruled about 33 AD to 67 AD. St Peter's Basilica in Rome is named for him. At that time, Roman Emperor Nero persecuted the Christians, having them put to death. (Nero even had his own mother murdered for her lack of loyalty.) It is said that when the Romans sentenced St Peter to be crucified, Peter felt unworthy to die in the same manner as Christ, so the Romans crucified him upside down.

2. Pope St. Miltiades of Africa was the first pope to serve free of Roman persecution after Constantine released what document, in 313 AD?

Answer: Edict of Milan

Emperor (Saint) Constantine I, and Licinius of the Balkans met in Milan and gave the Christians legal status. Constantine also directed the building of The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, at the site where it was believed Christ was buried. However, Constantine was not actually baptized until he was on his death bed in 337 AD.

3. Pope Saint Leo I is said to have convinced an invader to stop his attack upon Italy and withdraw in 452 AD. Who was this invader?

Answer: Attila the Hun

It is not known what the pope's emissaries said or offered Attila the Hun that persuaded him to stop his invasion before reaching Rome. Pope St Leo (Leo the Great) was noted for the "Tome of Leo", writings that try to define the nature of Christ, and what Christianity is.

4. In 516 AD Pope Hormisdas brought about the reunion of the Eastern Church of Rome, and the Western Church of Constantinople. This ended what religious divide?

Answer: Acacian Schism

In 484 AD, Pope Felix III and Acacius, Patriarch of Constantinople, had a disagreement that resulted in this schism. Pope Hormisdas negotiated a reunion of the churches. Pope Hormisdas' son, Pope St Silverius (yes, Pope Silverius was the son of Pope Hormisdas) welcomed Byzantine general Belisarius to Rome. This later led to controversy that resulted in Pope Silverius being exiled from Rome.
Throughout the history of the Eastern and Western churches there would be many schisms (separations).

5. Marozia of the Theophylact family had a son with Pope Sergius III (though some dispute that). She later plotted to have Pope John X killed so that her son, Pope John XI, could come into power in 931 AD. This period of political corruption was known as the Saeculum Obscurum. What does Saeculum Obscurum mean?

Answer: The Dark Age

Pope Sergius III was also accused of being behind the murders of Pope Leo V and Anti-Pope Christopher. The important families of Italy feuded for power, including control of the papal seat. The Theophylact family had influence over the papacy until 964 AD with the death of Pope John XII (a member of the family of Theophylact). Pope John XII was removed from power by Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Otto I, and later found murdered.

6. In 1095 AD, Pope Urban II received a request from the Byzantine emperor to help fight the Muslim Turks. Pope Urban II gathered support to send a force to capture the Holy Lands and free the Western church. What is this military adventure now called?

Answer: The First Crusade

This First Crusade would succeed in capturing Jerusalem in 1099; however, Jerusalem would be lost in later crusades. There were a total of nine crusades.

7. Pope Honorius II founded a military order in 1128 AD for the protection of Christian pilgrims. What was this order called?

Answer: Knights Templar

"The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon", also known as the Knights Templar, was a powerful and rich military order that participated in the crusades. In 1307 AD, King Philip IV of France had the Templars arrested and many killed. He then took possession of much of their wealth.

8. In 1477 AD Ferdinand II of Aragon requested of Pope Sixtus IV that he start the practice of questioning and persecuting those who questioned Church Orthodoxy, particularly Jewish and Muslim converts to Christianity. What was this practice called?

Answer: Spanish Inquisition

There had been several inquisitions in Europe, starting in France in 1184 AD. Pope Sixtus IV authorized the Spanish Inquisition, which replaced the Medieval Inquisition. It was King Ferdinand II who actually established and ran the Inquisition, having been granted authority to do so by Pope Sixtus IV. In 1483 Tomaz de Torquemada was named Grand Inquisitor, and expanded the original single court of investigation into a national network.

Pope Sixtus (also referred to as Sistus) IV authorized the building of the Sistine Chapel. He also approved the taking of Africans into slavery (which was already in practice since Pope Nicholas V) and he was infamous for the extent of the nepotism he displayed while in office.

9. Starting in 1032 AD, Pope Benedict IX served as pope at three separate times. Why did he leave as pope and return?

Answer: He was removed as unfit, but returned by military force

The Catholic Encyclopedia calls Pope Benedict IX "a disgrace to the Chair of Peter", and far worse things were said of him. He was exiled from Rome, but returned with the military support of Emperor Conrad II of the Holy Roman Empire. He was later thrown out again and returned with military support. Third time, a priest bribed Pope Benedict IX to step down, which he did.

After Conrad II's death, Pope Benedict IX did not have the support to keep power. In 1046 Pope Benedict IX was excommunicated. The complete story is full of sex, treason, and murder - too long to tell it all here.

10. About 1348 AD, Pope Clement VI granted remission of sins to all who died in a particular disaster. How did these Catholics die?

Answer: The Black Plague

Between 1347 and 1350, the Black Plaque killed about half the population of Europe. The pope stayed in Italy to tend to the ill. He never contracted the plague himself. Some Europeans blamed and attacked Jews, who they accused of starting the plague, but the pope defended the Jews in two papal bulls, and called blaming the Jews a lie from the devil.

Source: Author PhillyRex

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

In early Catholic history the pope was often more than a religious leader. He was sometimes a political figure of power. Some popes were saints and some were not so saintly. Documents of very early Christian history are often vague or lacking detail.

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