Popes facts

Yes, it was Adrian IV. Nicholas Breakspeare, better known as Adrian IV (b. Approx. 1100 in the Abbots Langley) was the pope in the period from December 4, 1154 to September 1, 1159, the only Englishman on the Chair of Peter. He was the son of a monk Robert of St. Albans. Nicholas began his schooling at St Albans, but soon moved to France, where he joined the Congregation of Canons Regular of St. Rufus.

Linus. The first Pope was St. Peter. His successor was Linus, whose pontificate lasted from 64 to 76.

To the city and the world. “Urbi et Orbi” means literally “To the city (meaning Rome) and the circle (meaning the world outside)”.

266. The chronological list of popes is published every year in the Annuario Pontificio by the Roman Curia. There are no consecutive numbers to the popes, stating that it is impossible to decide which side represented the legitimate succession among mid-11th-century popes.

Pope Gregory XIII. Gregory XIII was pope during the period from 13 May 1572 until 10 April 1585. The Gregorian calendar, also called the Western Calendar, was introduced by him in 1582 with the Bull Inter Gravissimas. The Gregorian calendar basically a refinement of the Julian calendar. The Gregorian reform modified the Julian calendar's scheme of leap years, changing the mean length of the calendar year from 365.25 days to 365.2425 days.

By handshake. There may be only one active pope. Not so. There is a Coptic pope.

John. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the first Pope to choose the name Francis, but here is a list of the top ten most popular pontiff names: John - 21 Benedict - 17 Gregory - 16

Chemist. Pope Francis attended the technical secondary school Escuela Técnica Industrial N° 27 Hipólito Yrigoyen, and graduated with a chemical technician's diploma. He worked for a few years in that capacity in the foods section at Hickethier-Bachmann Laboratory. Before joining the Jesuits, Bergoglio worked as a bar bouncer and as a janitor sweeping floors, and he also ran tests in a chemical laboratory.