I30-99
The Apostolic Age
From the fisherman Peter to the first successors: the papacy before anyone called it that.
Popes No. 1-44 of 4 profiles written
The Eras of the Papacy
Two thousand years in fifteen chapters. Each era has its own essay, its world events, and the popes who held the office through it.
II99-311
The Age of Persecution
Two centuries underground: bishops of Rome elected to an office that could be a death sentence.
Popes No. 5-310 of 27 profiles written
III311-483
The Imperial Church
Constantine changes everything: the persecuted sect becomes the empire's church, and Rome's bishop becomes a public figure.
Popes No. 32-470 of 16 profiles written
IV483-752
The Byzantine Papacy
Popes under Constantinople's shadow: elected in Rome, confirmed by an emperor a thousand miles east.
Popes No. 48-910 of 44 profiles written
V752-903
The Carolingian Papacy
The Frankish bargain: popes crown emperors, emperors defend popes, and the Papal States are born.
Popes No. 92-1170 of 26 profiles written
VI903-1046
The Iron Century
The papacy's darkest stretch: Roman clans install, depose, and occasionally murder the popes they own.
Popes No. 118-1500 of 30 profiles written
VII1046-1198
Reform and Investiture
The papacy breaks free: celibacy enforced, elections sealed in conclave, and an emperor kneeling in the snow.
Popes No. 149-1750 of 26 profiles written
VIII1198-1305
The Papal Monarchy
The papacy at its medieval zenith: Innocent III judges kings, and Boniface VIII discovers the limits.
Popes No. 176-1940 of 19 profiles written
IX1305-1378
The Avignon Papacy
Seven French popes beside the Rhone: the Babylonian captivity that emptied Rome and filled the papal treasury.
Popes No. 195-2010 of 7 profiles written
X1378-1447
The Western Schism
Two popes, then three: forty years in which Europe genuinely could not tell who held the keys.
Popes No. 202-2070 of 6 profiles written
XI1447-1513
The Renaissance Papacy
Patrons, princes, and Borgias: the papacy rebuilds Rome in splendor while its spiritual credit runs down.
Popes No. 208-2169 of 9 profiles written
XII1513-1605
Reformation and Counter-Reformation
The century the church broke and rebuilt itself: from Leo X's Rome to the disciplined papacy of Trent.
Popes No. 217-23115 of 15 profiles written
XIII1605-1799
Baroque and Enlightenment
From Bernini's colonnade to Napoleon's shadow: two centuries of splendor and shrinking leverage.
Popes No. 232-2500 of 19 profiles written
XIV1799-1958
The Age of Revolution
The papacy loses its state and finds its voice: from Napoleon's prisoner to prisoner of the Vatican to moral superpower.
Popes No. 251-26010 of 10 profiles written
XV1958-present
The Global Papacy
From the Second Vatican Council to the first American pope: the office goes worldwide in person and in reach.
Popes No. 261-2677 of 7 profiles written
