Ten Residents of the Appartamento Pontificio Quiz

Answer: St. Linus

When St. Linus was born is uncertain. Several sources identify him with Linus, the associate of the Apostle Paul, mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:21. "The Oxford Dictionary of Popes" states St. Linus was the first bishop of Rome. His papacy began in 67 and ended in 79. Roman Catholics celebrate his feast on September 23, while members of the Eastern Orthodox Church commemorate him on June 7.

Answer: St. Evaristus

St. Evaristus was the fifth Pope. His predecessor was St. Clement I, the disciple of St. Peter. St. Evaristus' papacy began in 97. It is suggested that St. John, the "apostle whom Jesus loved" and author of the Revelation, died during the first years of St. Evaristus' term as Pope. Evaristus partitioned Rome into parishes, then called "titles" and assigned a priest for each one of them.

He died in 107, when Trajan was the Emperor of Rome.

Answer: St. Miltiades

St. Miltiades' background is debated. Some scholars say that he hailed from the Berbers of northern Africa, while others argue that he was a Roman. His election as Pope filled the vacancy his predecessor's, St. Eusebius', death had created. St. Miltiades also called in convention the Lateran Council late in 313, where he excommunicated Donatus and his followers.

His feast day is January 10.

Answer: Urban II

Pope Urban II was born as Otho de Lagery in 1042. He gained papal status in 1088. In 1095, Urban II delivered a sermon at the Council of Clermont, asking for a mass pilgrimage (later termed a crusade) at the Holy Places. During his papacy the Investitiure Controversy, where the Popes challenged the authority of the European monarchs and mostly of the Holy Roman Emperors, began. Urban II died on July 29, 1099.

Answer: Gregory IX

Gregory IX's birth name was Ugolino di Conti. When he was elected Pope in 1227, he immediately renewed tensions with the Holy Roman Empire, excommunicating Emperor Frederick II and later calling him "Antichrist". His primary goal was to vanquish what the Catholic Church considered heresy.

He formed the Inquisition as a body that had to deal with heretics, rather than holding the local bishops responsible for their punishment. It is stated anyway that Gregory IX did not approve of the usage of physical violence and torture as a method of penance. Gregory IX died in 1241.

Answer: Nicholas V

Nicholas V was born with the name Tommaso Parentucelli. From a young age, he came to know many leading humanists and exhibited interest in classical Greek letters. It was during his papacy, which began in 1447, when the spirit of the Renaissance was introduced.

He urged for the unification of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. He said that the Fall of Constantinople not only struck gravely at Christendom, it was also "a second death to Homer and Plato". He died in 1455.

Answer: Leo X

Leo X was born as Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici in 1475. He ascended in the papal throne on March 9, 1513. In 1517, he waged war against the city of Urbino in order to establish his nephew as the ruler of the city. He borrowed money from Henry VIII of England and, in return, he supported the anti-French coalition of England and Spain.

He was also an extravagant spender and hired several artists like Raphael to decorate the Vatican rooms. In a bull in 1521, he excommunicated Martin Luther. He also granted the Spanish Inquisition authority on Portugal.

He died in 1521.

Answer: Pius IX

Pius IX was born as Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti on May 13, 1792. He was elected Pope in 1846 and is the longest serving Pope in history. He issued the Syllabus of Errors, a document highly critical of modernism, socialism and many other liberalistic trends of the 19th century.

His relationships with foreign countries, such as the United States, are controversial. Pius IX was the author of a letter to Confederate President Jefferson Davis where he styled him as the "Honorable President of the Confederate States of America". CSA General Robert E. Lee called Pius "the only sovereign in Europe who recognized our Confederacy".

He also supported Maximilian I's attempt to establish himself in Mexico, due to the anti-Church policies of Benito Juarez. Pope Pius IX died on February 9, 1878.

Answer: Pius XII

Pius XII was born as Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli on March 2, 1876. His term as Pope began on March 2, 1939. His role in the Holocaust still remains controversial. Most scholars say that he had connections with the German Anti-Nazi Resistance.

In his edict, Summi Pontificatus, Pius XII condemned the Nazi invasion of Poland and criticized the main pillars of the Nazi ideology, such as racism, anti-Semitism, totalitarianism and persecution of the Catholic Church in the hands of the Germans. Pius XII employed various means for the aid of the victims of the Holocaust.

He is still held in high opinion by many Jews and was thanked by important Jewish people for his condemnation of the Nazi racist beliefs. Pope Pius XII died on October 9, 1958.

Answer: John Paul II

Pope John Paul II was born as Karol Jozef Wojtyla on May 18, 1920. He was Polish by nationality and the first non-Italian Pope since 1523. He was elected Pope in 1978. Pope John Paul II did many things to improve relations of the Catholic Church with the other Christian denominations.

His personal goal was to unite all the Abrahamic religions in an armada. John Paul II is recognized as a great contributor to the end of the Communist yoke over Eastern Europe. He is the Pope who made the most canonizations and beatifications during his reign.

He was an outspoken opponent of the death penalty and of the Apartheid in South Africa. Pope John Paul II condemned organized crime and the Mafia. He also made several apologies, including one about the Holocaust. Pope John Paul II died on April 2, 2005.

He was canonized by Pope Francis on April 27, 2014.