Things Catholic

An in-depth catechetical analysis of Pope Pius X’s encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis: The Doctrine of the Modernists Objectives: This is a theologically dense and profound encyclical. This document CANNOT be grasped in one glance. I have attempted to break down…

St. Pius X (1903-1914)     259th Pope He wanted to first spread Eucharistic devotions among the faithful. At this time reception of Communion was received only around Easter He began a campaign to revive frequent or daily communion He…

Pius VII (1800-1823)      253rd Pope Napolean was anxious to reconcile his country with the Church Catholicism was later recognized as the religion of the state in France He started to reorganize the shattered Church in Europe. This task…

Clement XI (1700-1721)     245th Pope He was renowned for his piety and wit He reformed prison administration, pioneered public works, and distributed vast amounts of charity He declared the feast of the Conception of the Virgin as a…

Leo XI (1605)     234th Pope He was a very generous person He led an ascetical life     Paul V (1605-1621)     235th Pope His first act was to send all prelates and cardinals to their dioceses…

Pius III (1503)     217th Pope His ill health forced him to celebrate Mass while sitting           Julius II (1503-1513)     218th Pope Though not too pastoral, he was an energetic pope He led…

  Innocent VII (1404-1406)     206th Pope He had taken an oath to end the schism in any way possible He was a man of great culture but of weak character He failed to resolve the schism He enlarged…

Blessed Benedict XI (1303-1304)     196th Pope He became a Dominican He was respected for his holiness         Clement V (1305-1314)   197th Pope The papal tiara was lost He settled in Avignon, beginning the “Babylonian captivity”…

Honorius III (1216-1227)     179th Pope This was the first time that cardinals compromised in choosing a pope He sought to achieve moral reformation of the Church He sought to carry out a Crusade He encourages evangelization of Prussia…

St. Gelasius II (1118-1119)    163rd Pope He was captured, dragged, and thrown into a dungeon. He forgave his captor         Callixtus (1119-1124)    164th Pope He spent much of his time suppressing lay investiture Lay investiture…

John XVII (1003)    142nd Pope He was a lay person elected by a powerful political faction             John XVIII (1003-1009)    143rd Pope He was elected through the actions of a powerful political faction…

Benedict IV (900-903)   119th Pope He succeeded in maintain the integrity of the papacy He constantly sought out the way of justice       Leo V (903)   120th Pope He was known for his holiness He was…

Stephen V (816-817)   99th Pope He was renowned for his generosity to the poor He was the first to administer the oath of allegiance to the emperor       St. Paschal I (817-824)  100th Pope He commissioned the…

John VI (701-705)  86th Pope The Lombards marched on Rome He defended the Church against the emperor He ransomed many slaves     John VII (705-707)  87th Pope He renovated and built churches The Lombards returned papal states in northern…

Sabinian (604-606) 66th Pope The Lombards went on the warpath again He replaced many of Pope Gregory’s monks with secular monks He regulated the ringing of the bells for meditation and prayer He decreed that sanctuary lamps be always kept…

St. Hormisdas (514-523)  53rd Pope He was a widower before he went into major orders His son Silverius would later some day be pope The Acacian schism at long last ended The eastern bishops accepted the council of Chalcedon and…

St. Innocent I (401-417) 41st Pope Two weak emperors ruled the empire He consolidated papal supervision of the Church He issued decrees promoting celibacy and combating adultery Alaric, king of the Visigoths entered Italy and the emperor fled to Ravenna…

St. Marcellus I (308-309) 31st Pope The persecutions were so great that there was no pope for four years He was very strict against those Christians who had been guilty of weakness and idolatry during the persecutions For refusing to…

St. Zephyrinus (199-217) 16th Pope He consolidated the pontifical supremacy over the bishops He renewed the discipline of the Church toward adultery and immorality Masses were said on top of the tombs.  This started the practice of placing saints’s relics…

St. Evaristus (97-105) 6th Pope He founded the first seven diaconates, considered to be the origin of the College of Cardinals He ordered that Christian marriage vows must be pronounced and blessed before a priest       St. Alexander…

The History of the Papacy St. Peter (32-67) 1st Pope He instituted the recitation of the Our Father He was crucified upside down. Jn. 21:18 (“you will stretch your hands”) His tomb is underneath present day St. Peter’s Cathedral The…

Background Information: Caesarea Phillipi Caesarea Phillippi:  This region is in the northeast section of Israel called the Golan Heights. This region was about 20 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. In Israel all of the important temples, synagogues, and…