Ever since Pope John XXIII was elected in 1958, the successors of St. Peter have established a pattern: pope as disruptor, ...

For those (arch)dioceses that do not mark today as the Ascension, the liturgical calendar allows celebration of the optional ...

Leo XIII – February 20, 1878 - July 20, 1903: Born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci in Italy, he directed the Catholic Church for 25 years, dying at 93 in Rome. He was regarded as, somewhat, ...

“I want one exactly like John,” the woman declared, referring to Pope John XXIII, who had died recently. “He needn’t be exactly the same,” the priest countered. “The important thing is ...

Newly elected as pope, Robert Prevost has chosen Leo XIV as his papal name. No pope has been named Leo since the early 1900s. The most recent, Pope Leo XIII, served as supreme pontiff from 1878 to ...

Pope John XXIII (1958 to 1963) was known as a gregarious, smiling man, often referred to as "The Good Pope". He helped work behind the scenes to de-escalate the Cuban Missile Crisis and called the ...

Arnie Sachs – CNP How many Johns there have been, however, is a bit confusing given the existence of Pope John XXIII despite the name only appearing 21 times in the official papal registry.

The last pope to choose that name was Italian Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, elected Pope John XXIII, in 1958. Roncalli was proclaimed a saint by Pope Francis in 2014. Other frequently used names ...

most recently in 1958 by Pope John XXIII. John can refer to St. John the Apostle, one of Jesus' 12 apostles and the author of one of the Gospels, or St. John the Baptist, the prophet who baptized ...

which was called by Pope John XXIII because he thought the church needed "updating." A new or long-unused name, like Leo, can hint at a fresh direction — or a revival of an older papal legacy.