Pick of the Popes - Part I Trivia Quiz

Answer: St. Peter

Relatively little is known for certain about the early Popes, but it is generally accepted that Peter became the leader of the Christian Church sometime around 30 AD and, like many prominent figures in early Christian history, was eventually martyred for his faith.

According to the Bible, Peter was a Galilean fisherman. His original name was probably Shimon bar Jonah but the name he was given by Jesus, "Peter", is an interesting play on words in both Greek (the language of many early Christian writings) and Aramaic (the language of ancient Israel): in both languages it is almost identical to the word for "rock". The words of Jesus about Peter being the "rock" upon which the Church would be built can be interpreted as both an instruction to Peter to become a foundation of the Christian faith, and an indication to those who followed later to regard Peter as the earthly leader of the faith.

St. Peter is the Patron Saint of many things, including fishermen, net makers, shipwrights, the Papacy and (with St. Paul the Apostle) the diocese of Las Vegas, Nevada.

(On a lighter note... Do you know the Sunday School song, "I will make you fishers of men"? As a mischievous youngster I used to sing "I will make you vicious old men" instead! Tsk, tsk!)

Answer: Innocent III (1198-1216)

Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) was a politically "muscular" pontiff: he was involved in the politics of the 4th Crusade, wanted to be solely responsible for appointing the Holy Roman Emperor, and convened the 4th Lateran Council. He was Pope during the reigns of English Kings Richard I and John, and excommunicated John in 1209 for refusing to accept his choice of Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury.

The name Lothario has come to mean "libertine" or "rake" - someone who behaves in a less than "innocent" manner. This association was not extant at the time of Innocent III's Papacy, but was only used after 1703 when a character named Lothario appeared in Rowe's play "Fair Penitent".

It is interesting to note that many of the "official" Papal names are associated with virtues: a case of presenting a positive image to the world, perhaps? Certainly, some of the earlier Popes were noted for their less than virtuous behaviour.

Answer: He died after a building collapsed around him

Pope John XXI had the Papal Palace at Viterbo extended, but the work was sub-standard and part of the building collapsed. Sources disagree on whether the roof caved in on top of him, or the floor of his sleeping chamber collapsed, but the end result of the constructional corner-cutting was the same: John XXI was seriously injured as he slept, and died about a week afterwards.

Does "poisoned, shot and drowned" sound familiar? If you chose that option, you were probably thinking of Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin, the so-called "Mad Monk" who influenced Nicholas II and Alexandra of Russia.

As far as I am aware, there haven't been any Popes who met their end in battle or by choking on a fish bone - but please let me know if I'm wrong!

Footnote: According to the chronicler Godfrey of Viterbo, Pope Lucius II (1144-45) was injured by a thrown stone when he marched on the Roman Capitol to confront a revolutionary republican faction, dying several days later. Not actually "killed in battle", but pretty close. Thanks to FT member PIcolano for jogging my memory on this one.

Answer: Celestine V (1294)

Picture the scene if you will: an Italian hillside, home to a saintly old man, the hermit Pietro Angelerio...

Following the death of Pope Nicholas IV in 1292, the Church was without a leader for two years while the cardinals wrangled over his successor. A message came from the hermit that Divine retribution would fall upon the Church if the cardinals did not decide quickly.

In a move that wouldn't be out of place in a movie script, the exasperated cardinals chose their new Pope: Pietro Angelerio, the holy hermit!

Unfortunately, Pope Celestine V (to give him his Regnal name) was a simple man whose newly-exalted position was too much after the quiet life to which he was accustomed. He was consecrated in August 1294 and resigned in December of the same year, but did manage to issue two decrees: the first, confirming an earlier Papal decree saying that cardinals must be shut in conclave to elect the Pope; the second, that it was permissible for the Pope to abdicate (he exercised that right immediately after reading out the decree, apparently).

Celestine V may have been a simple man, but those were astute moves! Alas, he never returned to his quiet hillside: his successor, afraid that Celestine might be persuaded to make a comeback, had him imprisoned in the castle of Fumone where he died (some say he was murdered) in 1296.

The reign of the dissolute Benedict IX was a bit like a Papal party game: he was in and out of the Chair of Peter three times. Strictly speaking, he didn't actually abdicate the second time as he was offered financial inducement to resign; this got his successor Gregory VI into hot water...

Gregory VI was instrumental in persuading Benedict IX to abdicate by paying him to do so. Technically, this was not allowed - Gregory was "buying" the Papacy; he was found guilty of simony and, although he had probably acted in the best interests of the Catholic Church, was obliged to resign. A case of acting first and thinking later...

Gregory XII resigned his legitimate claim on the Papacy to resolve the conflict brought about by the Western Schism. The result was an interregnum (no official Pope) of two years during which there were at least two Antipopes. Those were interesting times!

Answer: Rome was too full of political conflict and intrigues

Of course, this is a simplistic way of looking at the situation, as historical decisions can usually be attributed to more than one cause, but it is well documented that Rome had become a political hotbed and it was becoming difficult for the Papacy to operate effectively.

At the time of the move, Avignon was part of the lands held as Papal States. The Roman Curia (the administrative branch of the Papacy) had already moved to Avignon in 1305; the Colonnas and Orsinis, politically powerful families both of whom had produced former Popes, were involved in much intriguing in Rome. Avignon represented a safer place from which to operate, while still being conveniently located.

As a slight aside, the "Papal seat" is a figurative reference to the Papacy or the place from which the Papacy operates. The "Chair of Peter" is another way of referring to the Papacy.

Answer: The election of Antipopes, dividing the Church

After the move back to Rome from Avignon initiated by Gregory IX in 1378, there was much doctrinal argument and political dissension in the Catholic Church.

The Avignon Papacy had become notorious for its rich lifestyle and corruption which many saw as incompatible with the traditional vows of poverty, chastity and obedience taken by the clerical orders. Heretical groups were springing up everywhere and were perceived as threatening the stability of the Catholic Church.

As soon as the legitimate Papacy moved back to Rome, Avignon became the seat of the "Antipopes", and at one point there were three rival Popes claiming the right to the Chair of Peter. Church and Christendom were in turmoil as leaders had to decide which Pope they would support.

The Western Schism is a term describing the split in the Church at this time. The Council of Constance convened in 1414, resolving the dire situation by persuading two of the Popes to resign in 1415, and excommunicating the third (who refused to resign).

The Council elected Pope Martin V in 1417, although there were still successors to the other Popes and some rulers refused to acknowledge his legitimacy. Official lists of Popes have the period 1415-17 as an Interregnum.

Answer: Tomas de Torquemada

Tomas de Torquemada (1420-1498) was born in Valladolid, Spain and entered the Dominican order, eventually becoming the confessor of Queen Isabella who used her influence with Sixtus IV to have Torquemada appointed Inquisitor General. History remembers the excesses of the Inquisition, but often fails to remember Torquemada's reforms which did much to eliminate bribery, favouritism and false accusation.

The fictional Cardinals Fang and Ximenez were members of the squad in the Monty Python "Spanish Inquisition" sketch; although there was another Cardinal Ximenez (Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros, also known as Ximenes de Cisneros, 1436-1517) who became Grand Inquisitor in 1507.

Cardinal Juan de Torquemada (1388-1468) was the uncle of Tomas de Torquemada, and was a noted ecclesiastical writer of his time.

Answer: Sistine Chapel

All of these structures have associations with Pope Sixtus IV ("Sistina", "Sistine" and "Sisto" all mean "of Sixtus"), but the one with the famous ceiling was the Sistine Chapel. Its construction lasted about eleven years (1473-84); Michaelangelo's work on the ceiling between 1508 and 1511 was commissioned later by Pope Julius II (1503-13).

Work on Ponte Sisto or the Sistine Bridge was started in 1473. It was the first bridge to be built in Rome since ancient times and was also designed by Pontelli.

Before he became Pope, the intellectual Sixtus IV studied at both the University of Pavia and the University of Padua, the latter noted at the time for being relatively uninfluenced by doctrinal thinking.

Via Sistina, a road, now called Borgo Sant' Angelo, was constructed to run between Castel Sant' Angelo and St Peter's Basilica, and was part of Sixtus' plan for the urban revision of Rome.

Answer: Lucrezia Borgia was Callixtus III's wife

The Borgia family was of Spanish origin. Alfonso de Borgia (1378-1458) became Pope Callixtus III in 1455 at the age of 76, and reigned until his death in 1458. He was regarded as weak and ineffectual, but his papal bull of 1455 gave Portugal permission to enslave non-Christians and is generally accepted as instrumental in starting the African Slave Trade.

Rodrigo di Lanzol-Borgia was the nephew of Callixtus III, and benefitted from the nepotism rife in the early Church. He assumed the name Alexander VI when he in turn became Pope in 1492, and his eleven year Papacy has become synonymous with bribery, corruption, intrigue, and murder.

The crimes and misdeeds of Alexander VI were many, and incompatible with the office of Pope, but were no worse than those of any other powerful Renaissance prince, although his general loose behaviour and secularisation of the Papacy often overshadow his great administrative ability and patronage of the arts.

Alexander VI had many mistresses, one of whom, Vannozza dei Cattani, was the mother of Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia.

Answer: The Pope was a Benedictine

Although we tend to think of the Head of the Catholic Church as someone from a religious or priestly background, this was not always the case: the appointment of many of the early Popes was often more to do with politics than religion.

Those Popes who have come from a priestly or monastic background may be identified by various initials after their name.

O.S.B. refers to the Order of Saint Benedict ("Ordo Sancti Benedicti" in Latin) and indicates that the Pope was a Benedictine monk.

Other sets of initials you might see include O.F.M. - the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans); O.P. - the Order of Preachers (Dominicans); or O.S.A. - the Order of St Augustine.