Author Topic: Is there an official number of Popes? (Read 3125 times)

TradCatholic39452 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 18, 2012, 08:45:02 PM »

Quote from: Raoul76

I saw a list of Popes the other day, it's striking that the first forty or so Popes or almost all saints and then after that it's a thin trickle of saint-Popes.

The first three centuries of Popes were almost invariably martyed.

Thorn · « **Reply #11 on:** February 18, 2012, 10:47:22 PM »

Good Grief! Sometimes you just can't win no matter how clear you pose a question!

To avoid an argument or debate, TradCatholic, simply requested a list of popes that would end with Pope Pius X. Emerentiana pipes up & accuses him of posting a snide remark because of that. Then to add to it, after TKGS posts a list ending with Pope Pius X, Emerentiana again shows her lack of reading skills & 'corrects' TKGS for giving an incomplete list!!!! I sometimes feel sorry for people who post for what they have to put up with. I haven't seen an apology yet either.

Thorn · « **Reply #12 on:** February 18, 2012, 10:49:56 PM »

Oh yes. AND with big, bold letters PLUS an angry face!!!

Retablo · « **Reply #13 on:** February 18, 2012, 11:11:20 PM »

Quote from: SpiritusSanctus

Quote from: Busillis
Not to be disrespectful, because that's not my intention, but reading over these names wouldn't it be funny if we had a Pope Billy I or a Pope Keith I?

No, because those aren't holy names. A "Pope Billy" or "Pope Keith" would be blasphemous.

But there was a "Pope Hilarius". :wink:

I don't know what's so unholy about the names "Billy" ("William") or "Keith". A Pope William or a Pope Keith would certainly be no stranger than a Pope Lando or a Pope Simplicius or a Pope Conon.

I'm always intrigued by papal names. I am fascinated that of the names of the four Evangelists, only Mark and John were held by popes, and Mark only once (probably his actual name). Zero Matthews, zero Lukes and twenty-three Johns. Fascinating. While Matthew and Luke are inexplicably shunned, rather odd names like "Urban" and "Innocent" enjoy a certain popularity.

Amongst my favorites are "Celestine", "Clement", "Paschal", "Leo", and "Stephen". I do like "Benedict", too, but we've had sixteen of them now. I hope the next pope will choose a worthy name that either hasn't been done to death or hasn't been heard in a long time (no, not "Peter"). I was so glad when we finally got away from "John", "Paul", and "John Paul" (for a while it seemed like no pope could be named anything else!).

I wouldn't mind a "Leo XIV" or a "Stephen XI" or a "Celestine VI"...or even a "Matthew I".

TradCatholic39452 · « **Reply #14 on:** February 20, 2012, 10:58:59 PM »

Quote from: Cupertino

A Catholic Dictionary has a list of the popes. It was first published in 1931, and I have the 1954 edition. Here are a few parenthetical notes attached to three of the popes in the list:

Quote
"was almost certainly an antipope"

"was practically certainly antipope"

"is now regarded as a usurper"

This is what I thought : That there is no official number of Popes and we can disagree about wether some person in the past was or was not a Pope (although the list is quite short).

But I keep finding references to "official" lists of the Vatican but cannot find any "official" list.