522 Facts About Popes

1. The Pope Pius IX, claiming to be above national interests, refused to go to war with Austria, which totally reversed the up to now popular view of him in his native Italy.

2. Pope Francis does not support unbridled capitalism, Marxism, or Marxist versions of liberation theology.

3. In November 2015, Pope Francis met with that year's Nobel Peace Prize laureates from Tunisia.

4. Pope Paul VI became the first pope to visit five continents.

5. Paul VI was neither able nor permitted to do so and instead stayed in bed, his temperature rising.

6. Pope Benedict XVI recently overhauled the Vatican's media operations for the second time by ousting the longtime editor of the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, and naming a new director of editorial content for all Vatican media, Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli.

7. Benedict XVI served his final day as pope on February 28, 2013.

8. Pope Pius IX visited the hospitals to comfort the wounded and sick but he seemed to have lost both some of his liberal tastes and his confidence in the Romans, who had turned against him in 1848.

9. Pope Francis urged peace during his time in the religiously diverse city, known as the "Jerusalem of Europe".

10. Paul VI became pope of the Roman Catholic Church in 1963.

11. Pope Pius XII was criticised for his reception of Pavelic: an unattributed British Foreign Office memo on the subject described Pius as "the greatest moral coward of our age".

12. Pope Paul VI expressed a desire for peace during the Vietnam War.

13. Pope Paul VI travelled more widely than any of his predecessors, earning the nickname "the Pilgrim Pope".

14. Pope Pius XII could have lived another 20 years, had he spared himself.

15. Pope Pius IX improved the transportation system by building roads, viaducts, bridges and seaports.

16. Pope Paul VI praised Paul VI and his contributions in the service of unity.

17. On 25 August 2018, days after Pope Francis had issued an apology for abuses by clergy in the US.

18. The Pope Paul VI, admitting that celibacy was difficult, nevertheless upheld it by appeals to Scripture and tradition and declined to modify the law in any way.

19. In December 2014, Pope Francis declined to meet with the 14th Dalai Lama, the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

20. Pope Pius IX canonized a total of 52 saints during his pontificate.

21. Pope Paul VI became the first pope to visit six continents.

22. Pope Francis has landed in Abu Dhabi on the first papal trip ever to the Arabian Peninsula, the birthplace of Islam.

23. On 17 July 2009, Benedict XVI was hospitalized after falling and breaking his right wrist while on vacation in the Alps; his injuries were reported to be minor.

24. Pope Pius IX was adamant about his role as the highest teaching authority in the church.

25. Pope Francis worked for a few years in that capacity in the foods section at Hickethier-Bachmann Laboratory where his boss was Esther Ballestrino.

26. Pope Pius IX reigned for another eight years, during which he became further estranged from the Italian government and witnessed a general outbreak of anticlericalism in western Europe.

27. Pope Julius II sent Cardinal Reginald Pole as legate with powers that he could use at his discretion to help the restoration succeed.

28. Pope Francis has convened a meeting of South American bishops next year focusing on the plight of the church in the Amazon, a vast territory served by far too few priests.

29. Early in his papacy, Pope Julius II decided to revive the plan for replacing the dilpidated Constantianian basilica of St Peter's.

30. John Paul II was interred in the grottoes under the basilica, the Tomb of the Popes.

31. Pope John Paul II resided in the Belgian Pontifical College during this time, under presidency of Mgr Maximilien de Furstenberg.

32. Benedict XVI was viewed during the time of the Council as a reformer, cooperating with theologians like Hans Kung and Edward Schillebeeckx.

33. On 3 September 1965, Paul VI issued Mysterium fidei, on the mystery of the faith.

34. Pope Francis limited his time in Rome to "lightning visits".

35. Pope Francis was removed as rector by the Jesuit superior-general Peter Hans Kolvenbach because Bergoglio's policy of educating the young Jesuits in direct pastoral work and in popular religiosity was opposed to the worldwide trend in the Society of Jesus of emphasizing social justice based on sociological analysis, especially promoted by the Centro de Investigaciones y Accion Social.

36. Pope Pius XII blocked French attempts for an ecclesiastical separation of the Saar region, supported the appointment of a papal administrator for Danzig and aided the reintegration of priests expelled from Poland.

37. Benedict XVI travelled extensively during the first three years of his papacy.

38. Pope Paul VI opposed relativistic notions which would have given the Eucharist a symbolic character only.

39. Pope Francis was invited by Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan to take part in an interfaith conference.

40. The Pope Pius XII had to make a decree that Native Americans were "rational beings with souls" and not to be enslaved in 1537.

41. On 26 August 2016, Ollie Pope signed a two-year professional contract with Surrey.

42. The Pope had to make a decree that Native Americans were "rational beings with souls" and not to be enslaved in 1537.

43. Pope Benedict XVI had served there as a professor of theology before becoming Pope, and his lecture was entitled "Faith, Reason and the University—Memories and Reflections".

44. Pope Francis released a video message last week ahead of his visit.

45. Pope Francis met for the first time the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, when he visited the Vatican, on 14 June 2013.

46. Pope Paul VI was only lightly stabbed by Benjamin Mendoza y Amor Flores, who was subdued by the pope's personal bodyguard and travel organiser, Monsignor Paul Marcinkus.

47. Paul VI was consecrated bishop in Saint Peter's Basilica by Cardinal Eugene Tisserant, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, since Pius XII was forced to stay in bed due to his severe illness.

48. Paul VI canonised saints such as Nikola Tavelic and the Ugandan Martyrs (1964).

49. Pope Pius XII wrote of a persecuted Church and a time requiring "charity" for victims who had a "right" to compassion.

50. In 1995, Pope John Paul II held a meeting with 21 Jains, a sect that broke away from mainstream Hinduism in 600 BC, organised by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

51. Paul VI wished to participate fully in it, to share his sufferings in his own heart and soul.

52. Pope Julius II often treated subordinates and people who worked for him very badly.

53. Pope Francis is travelling to Abu Dhabi to participate in a conference on interreligious dialogue sponsored by the Emirates-based Muslim Council of Elders, an initiative that seeks to counter religious fanaticism by promoting a moderate brand of Islam.

54. Paul VI admonished but did not punish those with other views.

55. Pope Pius IX died on 7 February 1878, aged 85, concluding the longest pontificate in papal history, after that of St Peter whom tradition holds had reigned for 37 years.

56. Pope Francis waved at an enthusiastic crowd carrying Vatican flags and banners as he drove into Zayed Sports City Stadium, where an altar with a large cross was set up for the unprecedented open-air service in a country where worship is normally allowed only inside churches.

57. Pope John Paul II praised Mohandas Gandhi for his "unshakeable faith in God", assured the Jains that the Catholic Church will continue to engage in dialogue with their religion and spoke of the common need to aid the poor.

58. At the time of his resignation, Pope Benedict XVI had completed a draft of a fourth encyclical entitled Lumen Fidei.

59. Pope Francis presided over the third consistory of his papacy on 19 November 2016, elevating 17 new cardinals.

60. On 11 February 2013, Benedict XVI unexpectedly announced his resignation in a speech in Latin before the cardinals, citing a "lack of strength of mind and body" due to his advanced age.

61. Pope Paul VI used his authority to ensure that the liturgical reforms of Pius XII were carried out at the local level and employed innovative methods to reach the people of Milan.

62. Benedict XVI declared that he would continue to serve the church "through a life dedicated to prayer".

63. On 11 February 2013, Pope Benedict XVI unexpectedly announced his resignation in a speech in Latin before the cardinals, citing a "lack of strength of mind and body" due to his advanced age.

64. Pope Francis is reaching out to the margins of the Church by remembering these fellow Catholics who find themselves in a world very different from their native lands.

65. In January 2017, Pope Francis demanded the resignation of Matthew Festing, the 79th Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

66. Pope Francis was speaking before embarking on a historic three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates, the first by a pope to the Arabian peninsula.

67. Pope Francis is the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State.

68. In September 2013, Pope Francis March approved the excommunication of Australian priest Greg Reynolds, the first during Francis's papacy.

69. Pope Pius IX would have to grant it as ruler of ten million Catholic subjects who would desire to see the head of their Church protected.

70. Benedict XVI acknowledged the Lutheran church, saying that he has had friends in that denomination.

71. On 31 March 2013 Pope Francis used his first Easter homily to make a plea for peace throughout the world, specifically mentioning the Middle East, Africa, and North and South Korea.

72. The Pope will be back at the Vatican on Monday morning.

73. Pope Francis canonized Maria Elisabeth Hesselblad and Stanislaus Papczynski on 5 June 2016 and then canonized Teresa of Calcutta on 4 September; he canonized seven additional saints on 16 October.

74. Paul VI described himself as a humble servant for a suffering humanity and demanded significant changes from the rich in North America and Europe in favour of the poor in the Third World.

75. Pope Pius XII warned the Allies of the planned German invasion of the Low Countries in 1940.

76. Paul VI appointed him simultaneously to several Vatican congregations which resulted in many visits by Montini to Rome in the coming years.

77. Pope Pius XII is effectively ruling that traditionalists can freely celebrate the old rite liturgies, but they cannot reject Vatican II: one of the major criticisms the Lefebvrists have if the council is its teaching on religious freedom.

78. The Pope had to make a decree that Native Americans were "rational beings with souls" and not to be enslaved in 1537.

79. Pope Francis can help solve mystery of girl's disappearance, brother says.

80. On 6 September 2006, the Pope Benedict XVI began wearing the red cappello romano, a wide-brimmed hat for outdoor use.

81. Pope John Paul II served as Pope and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 to 2005.

82. Pope John Paul II achieved far more in terms of transforming relations with both the Jewish people and the State of Israel than any other figure in the history of the Catholic Church.

83. Pope John Paul II was a Pole, but beyond the regime's reach.

84. Pope Francis arrived in the capital Abu Dhabi to take part in a conference on inter-religious dialogue.

85. In 2016, Pope Francis met with Ahmed el-Tayeb at the Vatican, the first meeting since 2000 between the Grand Imam of al-Azhar and the leader of the world's Catholics.

86. Pope Paul VI extended this requirement to all cardinals in Ingravescentem aetatem on 21 November 1970, with the further provision that cardinals would relinquish their offices in the Roman Curia upon reaching their 80th birthday.

87. Pope Pius IX threw himself at the feet of Pius VII, who elevated him and supported his continued theological studies.

88. Pope Paul VI attended the Cesare Arici school, run by the Jesuits, and in 1916 received a diploma from the Arnaldo da Brescia public school in Brescia.

89. Pope Paul VI was the last pope to date to be crowned on June 30, 1963; his successor Pope John Paul I substituted an inauguration for the papal coronation.

90. The Pope had to make a decree that Native Americans were "rational beings with souls" and not to be enslaved in 1537.

91. Pope Pius IX approved on 7 February 1847 the unanimous request of American bishops that the Immaculate Conception be invoked as the Patroness of the United States of America.

92. Pope Pius IX fought against what he perceived to be anti-Catholic philosophies in countries like Italy, Germany and France.

93. In June 2007, Benedict XVI made a personal pilgrimage and pastoral visit to Assisi, the birthplace of St Francis.

94. The Pope was understood to have the power to draw on the Treasury of Merit built up by the saints and by Christ, so that he could grant indulgences, reducing one's time in purgatory.

95. The Pope had to make a decree that Native Americans were "rational beings with souls" and not to be enslaved in 1537.

96. Paul VI guided the three remaining sessions of the Second Vatican Council, often developing points he had first espoused as cardinal archbishop of Milan.

97. Pope Pius IX had blessed Maximilian and his wife Charlotte of Belgium before they set off for Mexico to begin their reign.

98. Pope Benedict XVI called on Catholic communities and organizations to offer them concrete help.

99. Pope Francis spoke out against "Gender Theory", that is the concept that gender identity is not definite and can change, being taught in schools.

100. In 2007 Pope Benedict XVI approved the decisions of the International Theological Commission, an advisory panel to the Vatican, that the traditional teaching of limbo was "unduly restrictive" and that unbaptized infants could be saved.

101. Pope John Paul II was an outspoken opponent of apartheid in South Africa.

102. Pope Pius XII's remains were to be buried in the crypt of Saint Peter's Basilica on the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima, 13 October 1958.

103. Pope Pius XII accepted the rhythm method as a moral form of family planning, although only in limited circumstances, within the context of family.

104. Pope Pius IX promoted the foundations of Catholic Universities in Belgium and France and supported Catholic associations, with the aim of explaining the faith to non-Catholics.

105. Pope Francis thinks capitalism is a sin, documentary filmmaker Michael Moore said while speaking with television host Seth Meyers on Thursday.

106. In terms of Christology, the Oriental Coptic Orthodox Pope understanding is that Christ is "One Nature—the Logos Incarnate", of the full humanity and full divinity.

107. On June 6, 2015, Pope Francis visited Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

108. Pope Pius IX was appalled by the Convention, claiming it left the wolves to guard the sheep.

109. The Pope Benedict XVI met with the Maltese youth at the Valletta Waterfront, where an estimated 10,000 young people turned up to greet him.

110. Paul VI supported the new-found harmony and co-operation with Protestants on so many levels.

111. Pope John Paul II specifically named the Kurds, a people who were fighting a civil war against Saddam Hussein's troops in Iraq, as one such people, and referred to the war as a "darkness menacing the earth".

112. The Pope had to make a decree that Native Americans were "rational beings with souls" and not to be enslaved in 1537.

113. Paul VI appealed to "all people of good will" and discussed necessary dialogues within the Church and between the Churches and with atheism.

114. Pope Paul VI became the first reigning pontiff to visit the Western hemisphere when he addressed the United Nations in New York City in October 1965.

115. Pope Pius XII was responsible for giving the appellative title, The Catholic University of the Philippines to the then Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas.

116. Pope Francis took public transportation and cooked his own meals.

117. Pope Francis was named provincial superior of the Society of Jesus in Argentina on 31 July 1973 and served until 1979.

118. Pope John Paul II died in his private apartment at 21:37 CEST of heart failure from profound hypotension and complete circulatory collapse from septic shock, 46 days before his 85th birthday.

119. Paul VI repeats his demands expressed in Bombay in 1964 for a large-scale World Development Organization, as a matter of international justice and peace.

120. Pope John Paul II spent two weeks there recovering from a severe concussion and a shoulder injury.

121. The Pope Francis visited the 950 year old Lund Cathedral, located in Sweden's southernmost and originally Danish province of Scania.

122. The Pope possesses a summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, situated on the site of the ancient city of Alba Longa.

123. Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged the Lutheran church, saying that he has had friends in that denomination.

124. In 1939, the Pope Pius XII employed a Jewish cartographer, Roberto Almagia, to work on old maps in the Vatican library.

125. Pope Francis calls for better access to clean drinking water.

126. In 2005, the Pope Benedict XVI listed several ways to combat the spread of HIV, including chastity, fidelity in marriage and anti-poverty efforts; he rejected the use of condoms.

127. Pope Benedict XVI was viewed during the time of the Council as a reformer, cooperating with theologians like Hans Kung and Edward Schillebeeckx.

128. Paul VI became the first pope to visit five continents.

129. Pope Paul VI attempted to present the Marian teachings of the Church in view of her new ecumenical orientation.

130. Pope John Paul II arrived at Niegowic at harvest time, where his first action was to kneel and kiss the ground.

131. Pope Pius XII canonized numerous people, including Pope Pius X—"both were determined to stamp out, as far as possible, all traces of dangerous heterodoxy"—and Maria Goretti.

132. On 24 May 2017, Pope Francis met with US President Donald Trump in Vatican City, where they discussed the contributions of Catholics to the United States and to the world.

133. Pope Julius II became an open partisan of the French and Venice, and accepted their goal, the destruction of the Sforza hold on Milan.

134. Pope Benedict XVI declared that he would continue to serve the church "through a life dedicated to prayer".

135. In September 2001, John Paul II went on a three-day pilgrimage to Armenia to take part in an ecumenical celebration with Karekin II in the newly consecrated St Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral in Yerevan.

136. Paul VI opened the third period on 14 September 1964, telling the Council Fathers that he viewed the text about the Church as the most important document to come out from the Council.

137. On February 3, 2019, Pope Francis was the first pontiff to visit the Arabian Peninsula on a trip trying to improve relations with Muslims and to encourage Catholic immigrants in the region.

138. At the time of his resignation, Benedict XVI had completed a draft of a fourth encyclical entitled Lumen Fidei.

139. Pope Francis condemned the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

140. Pope Julius II was a great patron of art, and Raphael, Michelangelo, and Bramante enjoyed his favor.

141. Pope Francis attended the meeting, where he spoke in favor of Buddhists and Catholics working together to address social problems.

142. Pope Paul VI is most remembered for his focus on unity of mankind and world peace.

143. On 18 September 1942, Pope Pius XII received a letter from Monsignor Montini, saying, "the massacres of the Jews reach frightening proportions and forms".

144. Pope Francis recognized seven saints on 14 October 2018, chief among them, his predecessor Pope Paul VI and Oscar Romero.

145. On February 3, 2019, Pope Francis March was the first pontiff to visit the Arabian Peninsula on a trip trying to improve relations with Muslims and to encourage Catholic immigrants in the region.

146. Early in his pontificate Benedict XVI predicted a short reign, which led to concerns about his health.

147. Pope Francis made that appointment official in a news release Thursday.

148. Pope Pius IX refused to leave Vatican City, declaring himself a "prisoner of the Vatican".

149. Pope Francis has made dialogue with Islam one of the cornerstones of his papacy.

150. Pope Francis makes a historic visit to the UAE on Sunday.

151. Pope Francis has asserted in the first-ever papal visit to the Arabian Peninsula that religious leaders have a duty to reject all war and commit themselves to dialogue.

152. The Pope led by eight points with four matches to go after the Greyhounds' Troy Gable secured a pin in 5:07.

153. Paul VI made efforts to enlarge upon the Vatican Council's new spirit toward Jews.

154. In June 1979, Pope John Paul II travelled to Poland, where ecstatic crowds constantly surrounded him.

155. Benedict XVI attended the consistory for new cardinals in February 2015, greeting Pope Francis at the beginning of the celebration.

156. Pope Pius XII was concerned too about the potential spread of Communism in Western Europe and the Americas.

157. The Pope is commonly called the Supreme Pontiff or the Sovereign Pontiff.

158. The Pope will fly there by helicopter to meet with 200 youth.

159. Pope Francis confirmed his predecessor John Paul I to be Venerable on 8 November 2017.

160. Pope Francis has addressed the subject of the ordination of women a number of times.

161. Pope John Paul II died in his private apartment at 21:37 CEST of heart failure from profound hypotension and complete circulatory collapse from septic shock, 46 days before his 85th birthday.

162. At his coronation Paul VI wore a tiara that was a gift from the Archdiocese of Milan.

163. The Pope had to make a decree that Native Americans were "rational beings with souls" and not to be enslaved in 1537.

164. Pope Benedict XVI promoted various UN events, such as World Refugee Day, on which he offered up special prayers for refugees and called for the international community to do more to secure refugees' human rights.

165. On 8 December 2017, Pope Francis March signed a new apostolic constitution on ecclesiastical universities and faculties Veritatis gaudium, published 29 January 2018.

166. The Pope Julius II lavished on him six bishoprics in France and three in Italy along with an abundance of wealthy abbeys and benefices.

167. In December 2014, Pope Francis March declined to meet with the 14th Dalai Lama, the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

168. On 6 June 2015, Pope Francis visited Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

169. In October 2014, Pope Francis March met for the first time with a delegation of the Old Catholic Church's Bishops' Conference of the Union of Utrecht, led by the Archbishop of Utrecht and President of the International Old Catholic Bishops Conference Joris Vercammen.

170. Pope Francis has convened a meeting of South American bishops next year focusing on the plight of the church in the Amazon, a vast territory served by few priests.

171. Pope Pius XII reaffirmed previous accounts of Pius having been a saviour of thousands of Europe's Jews.

172. Pope Pius XII still addressed lay people and groups about a wide range of topics.

173. Benedict XVI is the first pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415, and the first to do so on his own initiative since Celestine V in 1294.

174. Pope Pius XII is reported to have broken down and wept uncontrollably.

175. Pope Paul VI became the first reigning pontiff to visit the Western hemisphere when he addressed the United Nations in New York City in October 1965.

176. Pope Benedict XVI was succeeded by Pope Francis on 13 March 2013, and he moved into the newly renovated monastery Mater Ecclesiae for his retirement on 2 May 2013.

177. Paul VI was a good friend of the Anglican Church, which he described as "our beloved sister Church".

178. In 1980, John Paul II issued a Pastoral Provision allowing married former Episcopal priests to become Catholic priests, and for the acceptance of former Episcopal Church parishes into the Catholic Church.

179. Pope Francis published his second one, entitled, on 18 June 2015, concerning care for the planet.

180. Pope Julius II was generally absorbed in deep and silent thought.

181. Pope Benedict XVI is one of the most important figures of the 20th and early 21st centuries.

182. Pope John Paul II became the first pope known to have made an official papal visit to a synagogue, when he visited the Great Synagogue of Rome on 13 April 1986.

183. The Pope had to make a decree that Native Americans were "rational beings with souls" and not to be enslaved in 1537.

184. Pope Paul VI repeats his demands expressed in Bombay in 1964 for a large-scale World Development Organization, as a matter of international justice and peace.

185. In 1995, Pope John Paul II held a meeting with 21 Jains, a sect that broke away from mainstream Hinduism in 600 BC, organised by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

186. Pope Francis appointed a commission to advise him about reform of the Bank, and the finance consulting firm Promontory Financial Group was assigned to carry out a comprehensive investigation of all customer contacts of the bank on these facts.

187. In 1968, in the encyclical Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI reaffirmed the church's long-standing ban on contraception.

188. Benedict XVI is known to be deeply interested in classical music, and is an accomplished pianist.

189. Pope Francis March visited Ireland in 2018, in what was the first papal tour of the country since John Paul II's historic trip in 1979.

190. Pope Francis met a host of Cabinet ministers in a greeting line, as well as local Catholic and Muslim officials.

191. Pope Julius II was a friend and patron of Bramante and Raphael, and a patron of Michelangelo.

192. Pope Paul VI opened the final session of the council, concelebrating with bishops from countries where the Church was persecuted.

193. Paul VI decided to continue Vatican II, and brought it to completion in 1965.

194. The Pope Pius XII questions whether such efforts of love and sacrifice could nevertheless furnish reasons for lamentation, for pusillanimity, or for the weakening of apostolic courage and zeal.

195. Paul VI was the first Pope to meet the most important Orthodox leader.

196. Pope Francis was a member of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Congregation for the Clergy, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, the Pontifical Council for the Family and the Commission for Latin America.

197. The Pope had to make a decree that Native Americans were "rational beings with souls" and not to be enslaved in 1537.

198. Pope Francis is the first pontiff to visit the Arabian peninsula, which is the birthplace of Islam, during a three-day visit to Abu Dabi.

199. The Pope John Paul II spoke to leaders of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations, pleading for "open, tolerant and honest dialogue".

200. In September 2013, Pope Francis approved the excommunication of Australian priest Greg Reynolds, the first during Francis's papacy.

201. Pope Pius IX initially worked as the rector of the Tata Giovanni Institute in Rome.

202. Pope Pius IX was the ninth child born in Senigallia into the noble family of Girolamo dei conti Ferretti, and was baptized on the same day of his birth with the name of Giovanni Maria Giambattista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro.

203. Paul VI was the first pope since the ninth century to visit the East, labelling the Eastern Churches as sister Churches.

204. Pope Paul VI's positions on birth control, promulgated famously in the 1968 encyclical Humanae vitae, were often contested, especially in Western Europe and North America.

205. Pope Francis calls for prayers to spread the language of love against weapons.

206. In June 1979, Pope John Paul II travelled to Poland, where ecstatic crowds constantly surrounded him.

207. Paul VI opposed relativistic notions which would have given the Eucharist a symbolic character only.

208. Pope Julius II used his influence to reconcile two powerful Roman families, the Orsini and Colonna.

209. Pope Francis visited Ireland in 2018, in what was the first papal tour of the country since John Paul II's historic trip in 1979.

210. Pope Francis celebrated an ecumenical liturgy together with the president of the Lutheran World Federation Bishop Dr Munib Younan.

211. Benedict XVI attended the elementary school in Aschau am Inn, which was renamed in his honour in 2009.

212. Pope Benedict XVI was the oldest person to be elected pope since 1730.

213. Pope Pius XII took a firm stand against pastoral experiments, such as "worker-priests", who worked full-time in factories and joined political parties and unions.

214. Pope Paul VI admonished but did not punish those with other views.

215. Pope Pius IX was the longest-reigning elected pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving for over 31 years.

216. The Pope approved further equipollent canonizations on 3 April 2014 for the Jesuit Jose de Anchieta as well as the Ursuline nun Marie of the Incarnation and bishop Francois de Laval.

217. On October 21, 1881, Francis March was elected into the American Antiquarian Society.

218. Benedict XVI served as Vice President of the University of Regensburg from 1976 to 1977.

219. Pope Paul VI discussed business from his bed about 48 hours after the operation with Cardinal Amleto Cicognani and at that point was off intravenous feeding in favour of orange juice and hot broth.

220. Coptic Orthodox Pope is believed to be guided by the hand of God.

221. Benedict XVI stayed there until refurbishment was completed on his retirement home, the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican Gardens near St Peter's, formerly home to 12 nuns, where he moved on 2 May 2013.

222. In May 2013, Francis March unexpectedly participated in Italy's pro-life march in Rome, asking its participants to protect human life "from the moment of conception".

223. Pope John Paul II campaigned for world debt forgiveness and social justice.

224. Pope Pius IX intervened decisively to alter the procedure of the council on February 20, 1870, and again on April 29.

225. Pope Paul VI became the first pope to visit six continents.

226. Pope Francis maintains the traditional views of the Church regarding abortion, marriage, ordination of women, and clerical celibacy.

227. Benedict XVI had served there as a professor of theology before becoming Pope, and his lecture was entitled "Faith, Reason and the University—Memories and Reflections".

228. Benedict XVI was originally a liberal theologian, but adopted conservative views after 1968.

229. Pope Julius II left a spy at the Urbino Palace, possibly Galeotto Franciotti della Rovere, Cardinal San Pietro, to watch the Mantua stables in total secret; the secular progress of the Papal Curia was growing in authority and significance.

230. Pope Francis was known to be devoted to St Therese of Lisieux, and he enclosed a small picture of her in the letters he wrote, calling her "a great missionary saint".

231. Pope Benedict XVI continued the tradition of his predecessor John Paul II and baptised several infants in the Sistine Chapel at the beginning of each year, in his pastoral role as Bishop of Rome.

232. Pope Francis issued another titled Maiorem hac dilectionem which created a new path towards canonization for certain causes.

233. The French believed Pope Julius II had engineered the revolt in order to force their withdrawal from Italy, and the French king, Louis XII, dispatched an army to smash the insurrection.

234. Pope Francis March established the World Day of the Poor in his Apostolic Letter, Misericordia et Misera, issued on 20 November 2016 to celebrate the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.

235. Paul VI was concerned but not surprised by the negative reaction in Western Europe and the United States.

236. Pope Benedict XVI might himself have drunk a small beer at the most.

237. Pope Francis said the confessional should be used to motivate people to better themselves.

238. In October 2014, Pope Francis met for the first time with a delegation of the Old Catholic Church's Bishops' Conference of the Union of Utrecht, led by the Archbishop of Utrecht and President of the International Old Catholic Bishops Conference Joris Vercammen.

239. Pope Francis chose as his episcopal motto Miserando atque eligendo.

240. Pope Francis traveled to Israel in May 2014 and met with Peres at the presidential residence.

241. Pope Pius IX decided to move his residence from the Quirinal Palace inside Rome to the Vatican, where popes have lived ever since.

242. Coptic Orthodox Pope is known as "The Apostolic", meaning that he reached the level of the Holy Apostles.

243. Pope John Paul II was hospitalised with breathing problems caused by a bout of influenza on 1 February 2005.

244. Pope Pius XII was consecrated as a bishop on 13 May 1917, the very first day of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima.

245. Pope Francis presided over a fourth consistory for the elevation of 5 new cardinals on the afternoon of 28 June 2017.

246. Pope Pius IX was elected without political influences from outside and in the best years of his life.

247. Paul VI attempted to present the Marian teachings of the Church in view of her new ecumenical orientation.

248. Pope Julius II relied upon Guidobaldo's help to raise his nephew and heir Francesco Maria della Rovere; the intricate web of nepotism helped secure the Italian Papacy.

249. Pope Paul VI showed his belief in and full accord with this concept in a number of ways.

250. The Pope had to make a decree that Native Americans were "rational beings with souls" and not to be enslaved in 1537.

251. At his coronation Pope Paul VI wore a tiara that was a gift from the Archdiocese of Milan.

252. Pope Francis chose Francis as his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi.

253. On Christmas Eve, Pope Julius II ordered Paris to summon the College of Cardinals and the Sacristan of the Apostolic Palace, quia erat sic infirmus, quod non speraret posse diu supravivere.

254. The Pope Pius XII declared determination to work to hasten the return of peace and trust in prayers for justice, love and mercy, to prevail against the scourge of war.

255. The Pope plans to push out "requests for prayers for the Church's mission" in that "Pray with the Pope" section.

256. Pope Francis has arrived at the presidential palace to officially start his historic visit to the United Arab Emirates as canons boomed and a military aircraft flew over trailing the yellow and white smoke of the Holy See flag.

257. Coptic Orthodox Pope was already called by the Alexandrine clergy and by all the Egyptian bishops papas, since the middle of the 3rd century.

258. Pope Pius IX recognized that much had to be done and instituted a reform commission in 1851.

259. Pope Francis has lamented current anti-Semitic attitudes as he greeted visiting rabbis from the World Congr.

260. Paul VI was perfectly prepared to be the leader during this time.

261. Pope Francis took the final fourth vow in the Society of Jesus on 22 April 1973.

262. John Paul II was criticised for his support of the Opus Dei prelature and the 2002 canonisation of its founder, Josemaria Escriva, whom he called "the saint of ordinary life".

263. Pope Francis told La Civilta Cattolica that the church does not need to speak constantly of the issues of abortion, artificial contraception, and homosexuality.

264. Pope Francis held his papal inauguration on 19 March 2013 in St Peter's Square in the Vatican.

265. Pope Francis starts a three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, the first for a leader of the Roman Catholic Church in the Arabian Peninsula.

266. On 6 June 2015, Pope Francis March visited Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

267. Benedict XVI was succeeded by Pope Francis on 13 March 2013, and he moved into the newly renovated monastery Mater Ecclesiae for his retirement on 2 May 2013.

268. Pope Paul VI was the first pope in history to make apostolic journeys to other continents and visited six continents.

269. Pope Paul VI was consecrated bishop in Saint Peter's Basilica by Cardinal Eugene Tisserant, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, since Pius XII was forced to stay in bed due to his severe illness.

270. Pope Benedict XVI planned on 5 March 2008, to meet with Muslim scholars and religious leaders autumn 2008 at a Catholic-Muslim seminar in Rome.

271. Pope Benedict XVI was head of the Catholic Church and as sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2005 until his resignation in 2013.

272. Pope Paul VI rejected notions to instigate revolution and force in changing economic conditions.

273. Paul VI set up a special secretariat for nonbelievers, stressing the need of understanding and endeavouring to solve the problems posed by atheism.

274. Pope Francis maintained that, in those cases, priests should not refuse to baptize those children.

275. Pope Francis played a key role in the talks toward restoring full diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba.

276. Paul VI visited the Orthodox Patriarchs of Jerusalem and Constantinople in 1964 and 1967.

277. Pope Paul VI reminded the Council Fathers that many bishops from the east could not attend because the governments in the East did not permit their journeys.

278. Pope Francis attended the technical secondary school Escuela Tecnica Industrial N° 27 Hipolito Yrigoyen, named after a past President of Argentina, and graduated with a chemical technician's diploma.

279. Pope Francis kicked off his historic visit to the United Arab Emirates on Monday, arriving at Abu Dhabi's lavish presidential palace in his trademark understated Kia Soul hatchback.

280. Pope Pius XII finally gave a reason for his consistent refusals to make a public statement in December 1942.

281. Coptic Orthodox Pope was exiled five times before his final victory over them.

282. Pope Francis established the World Day of the Poor in his Apostolic Letter, Misericordia et Misera, issued on 20 November 2016 to celebrate the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.

283. Pope Benedict XVI attended the elementary school in Aschau am Inn, which was renamed in his honour in 2009.

284. Pope Paul VI clearly suffered from the responses within the Church to Humanae vitae.

285. The Pope had to make a decree that Native Americans were "rational beings with souls" and not to be enslaved in 1537.

286. Pope Julius II began preparing new alliances to drive them from Italy.

287. Pope Francis has condemned the conflict, in which the UAE is involved as part of a Saudi-led coalition.

288. Coptic Orthodox Pope was formally enthroned on November 18, 2012.

289. Pope John Paul II's served as his host when he visited New England in 1976 and photos show them together on skiing and camping trips.

290. The Pope plans to push out "requests for prayers for the Church's mission" in that "Pray with the Pope" section.

291. The Pope was waived from the 53-man roster ahead of the Chargers divisional-round loss to the Patriots.

292. Pope Francis led the Argentine Church during the December 2001 riots in Argentina.

293. Pope Benedict XVI is one of the most important figures of the 20th and early 21st centuries.

294. Pope John Paul II agreed to serve as Auxiliary Bishop to Krakow's Archbishop Eugeniusz Baziak, and he received episcopal consecration on 28 September 1958.

295. Pope Julius II hired Michelangelo to design and execute a tomb for the Pontiff and to decorate the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

296. Pope John Paul II was the first Catholic pope to visit and pray in an Islamic mosque, in Damascus, Syria, in 2001.

297. Pope Francis considers that, although the first witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus were women, their significance was ignored because in Jewish law, only males are credible witnesses.

298. Pope Francis March held his papal inauguration on 19 March 2013 in St Peter's Square in the Vatican.

299. Pope Paul VI wished to participate fully in it, to share his sufferings in his own heart and soul.

300. Pope Benedict XVI was head of the Catholic Church and as sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2005 until his resignation in 2013.

301. The Pope was originally chosen by those senior clergymen resident in and near Rome.

302. Pope Pius XII employed the new technology of radio and a series of Christmas messages to preach against selfish nationalism and the evils of modern warfare and offer sympathy to the victims of the war.

303. Pope Francis is the first pope since Pope Pius X to live outside the papal apartments.

304. Pope Benedict XVI took up this theme in his first encyclical Deus caritas est.

305. Pope Paul VI wished to enter fully into the history of his own afflicted time: with a deep understanding, that he was himself a part of that history.

306. In 1968 Paul VI went against the advice of the majority of his chosen counselors on the subject and in his letter Humanae vitae upheld the tradition of his predecessors, who had condemned what they called "artificial" birth control.

307. Pope Benedict XVI chose to remove the title at a time when discussions with the Orthodox churches have centered on the issue of papal primacy.

308. The Pope had to make a decree that Native Americans were "rational beings with souls" and not to be enslaved in 1537.

309. Pope Pius IX was a bit shy, but he valued initiative within the church and created several new titles, rewards, and orders to elevate those who in his view deserved merit.

310. Pope Julius II had seemingly restored fortuna or control by exercising his manly vertu, just as Machiavelli wrote.

311. Pope Francis explored the Catholic commandment against "bearing false witness" during his Wednesday general audience.

312. The Pope had to make a decree that Native Americans were "rational beings with souls" and not to be enslaved in 1537.

313. In December 1989, John Paul II met with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at the Vatican and each expressed his respect and admiration for the other.

314. Pope Francis thanked brave people bringing aid to those driven from their homes.

315. Pope Julius II was a popular painting subject for this artist as well as his students.

316. Pope Francis was reelected to another three-year term on 11 November 2008.

317. The Pope Paul VI chose the theme of evangelism for the synod of bishops in 1974.

318. Pope Benedict XVI re-introduced several papal garments which had fallen into disuse.

319. Pope Paul VI enjoyed meetings with intellectuals, artists and writers.

320. In 2016, Pope Francis March met with Ahmed el-Tayeb at the Vatican, the first meeting since 2000 between the Grand Imam of al-Azhar and the leader of the world's Catholics.

321. The Pope had to make a decree that Native Americans were "rational beings with souls" and not to be enslaved in 1537.

322. Pope Francis implored those involved in the conflict to find a peaceful solution.

323. On 31 October 2016, Pope Francis March commemorated the 499th anniversary of the Reformation with Lutherans in Sweden.

324. John Paul II was rushed into the Vatican complex and then to the Gemelli Hospital.

325. Pope Francis made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1973, shortly after being named provincial superior, but his stay was shortened by the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War.

326. Pope Julius II encouraged trade with the sizeable Turkish community at these ports.

327. Pope Paul VI appointed him simultaneously to several Vatican congregations which resulted in many visits by Montini to Rome in the coming years.

328. Paul VI abolished the Palatine Guard and the Noble Guard, leaving the Swiss Guard as the sole military order of the Vatican.

329. Pope Pius XII was one of only two men known to have served as Camerlengo immediately prior to being elected as pope.

330. John Paul II wrote extensively about workers and the social doctrine of the Church, which he discussed in three encyclicals: Laborem exercens, Sollicitudo rei socialis, and Centesimus annus.

331. In 2007 Benedict XVI approved the decisions of the International Theological Commission, an advisory panel to the Vatican, that the traditional teaching of limbo was "unduly restrictive" and that unbaptized infants could be saved.

332. Pope Francis stressed there are "little steps" needed diplomatically in Venezuela first to "start the possibility of dialogue" before mediation.

333. Pope Julius II wanted to remind everyone of his legislation on papal conclaves, in particular against Simony, and to fix his regulations firmly in canon law so that they could not be dispensed or ignored.

334. On 18 June 2015, Pope Francis issued a papal encyclical called Laudato si' on climate change, care for the environment, and sustainable development.

335. Pope Francis prays before the tombs of unborn babies in a Roman cemetery.

336. Pope Pius XII met with Soviet representatives including Foreign Minister Georgi Chicherin, who rejected any kind of religious education, the ordination of priests and bishops, but offered agreements without the points vital to the Vatican.

337. The Pope has placed its future work under a new unit in the Congregation of the Faith.

338. Benedict XVI planned on 5 March 2008, to meet with Muslim scholars and religious leaders autumn 2008 at a Catholic-Muslim seminar in Rome.