From Leon I to Benedict XVI, Reforms, challenges and inheritances
Léon I dit le Grand (440-461)
In full decay of the Roman Empire, this cultivated Roman obtains from Attila that he spares Rome. Then he convinced Gensrics, king of the Vandals, not to plunder certain basilicas, in 455. He was one of the first bishops of Rome to assert the primacy of his church on the others.
In 451, participating in the Council of Chalcedon, he proclaimed the double nature of Christ – Man and God. He was recognized as a saint and doctor of the church in 1751.
Grégoire I dit le Grand (590-604)
While he only aspires to a monastic life, he is elected pope against his will. Brilliant intellectual, he wrote the biography of Saint Benoît, contributing to the rise of Western monasticism, and texts renowned for their wisdom.
Only Pope, with Leon I, to be called “The Great”, we sometimes wrongly attribute the invention of “Gregorian” song. He is considered to be Saint and Father of the Church for fifty years after his death.
Léon IX (1049-1054)
Large traveler, he traveled the West from southern Italy to Germany, from France to Slovakia, to fight against the traffic of ecclesiastical charges the simmonie and the marriage of clerics.
It sets the milestones of the great Gregorian reform which will run until the 13th century and will make it possible to establish the spiritual and legal primacy of the Church of Rome. He was canonized in 1087 by Pope Victor III.
Grégoire VII (1073-1085)
He imposes the appointment of the pope and the bishops by the church itself, while this prerogative returned to the lords of time. To achieve this, it develops the temporal power of the Church. The German emperor, Henri IV, does not accept it.
Excommunicated, he obtained the pope’s forgiveness in the city of Canossa, Italy. “Going to Canossa” means, today, humiliates himself in front of his enemy. Grégoire will be declared Saint in 1606 by Pope Paul V.
Innocent III (1198-1216)
Having understood that the ideal of begging orders (religious order living in charity) was counterweight to the richness of the Church, innocent III recognizes and encourages them.
He led the most important council of the Middle Ages, the fourth Lateran council, and launched a ruthless war against the Cathars in the south of France. He is considered to be the founder of pontifical states.
Martin V (1417-1431)
He is definitely the pope chosen to put an end to the coexistence of three different popes, at the end of the great West schism. He also puts an end to persecution against the Jews by granting them the same rights as to Christians.
And warn that he will excommunicate anyone who would force a Jew, a common practice of the time. It restores Rome in its economic, artistic and cultural role.
Pie V (1566-1572)
The white habit of the popes is him. Dominican, he keeps the white dress of his order (even if he carries over the red camail). His successors adopted its use. Former inquisitor, he leads an ascetic life in Rome. He deeply reforms the liturgy.
His “Mass of Saint Pius V” was in use until the 20th century before being largely modernized again by Paul VI. He was canonized on May 22, 1712 by Clément XI.
Sixte V (1585-1590)
Pope Builder, he transforms the face of Rome by making the dome of the Saint-Pierre basilica complete, by installing the Vatican obelisk on the eponymous square, starting the construction of the Latran Palace, or by enlarging the Palais du Quirinal and the Vatican Library. Large urban planner, we sometimes compare him to Baron Haussman who transformed Paris in the 19th century.
Benoît XIV (1740-1758)
This enlightened pope, in love with sciences and inspired by his century of the Enlightenment, seeks to appease religious quarrels of his time. He recognizes the authors censored by the Church the right to defend himself and is interested in interreligious relations.
He writes the first encyclical, in the modern sense of the term, that is to say a “circular” which he uses as the privileged means of addressing the bishops.
Pie VII (1800-1823)
Open to the values of its time, this Benedictine monk believes that Christianity and democracy can be compatible. At the troubled time of the consulate, he underwent French conquests in Italy and was imprisoned by Napoleon because of his independence of mind.
In 1814, he restored the company of Jesus, suppressed in 1773 by Pope Clément XIV under pressure from the powers of his time.
Benoît XV (1914-1922)
Elected a month after the start of the Great War, Benoît XV will immediately open for peace. In vain: he declares the neutrality of the Holy See, thus refraining from denouncing the abuses of the belligerents.
Criticized by all, he cannot achieve secret negotiations undertaken for a compromise peace. And yet, in visionary, he warned, in 1915, that too many humiliations would serve as a bed for the revenge of the defeated nations.
Jean XXIII (1958-1963)
Nicknamed the “good pope” by the Italians, sanctified by François, he remains in memories like the one who summoned Vatican Council II, in 1962. This was to bring the church into the 20th century by its opening to the world and other religions, its modernization of the liturgy, the involvement of the laity … sick, he will not see the end. It was his successor, Paul VI, who will conclude the council in 1965, in the same spirit.
Paul VI (1963-1978)
Paul VI, born Giovanni Battista Montini in 1897, was a pope from 1963 to 1978. Successor to John XXIII, he continued the Vatican Council II and modernized the papacy by strong gestures such as the abandonment of the tiara and international trips.
His encyclical Populorum Progressio marks his social commitment, but Humanae Vitae causes a crisis. Canonized in 2018, it is a major source of inspiration for Pope Francis.
Ségolène Ginter d’Agrain
Jean Paul I (1978)
Nicknamed “Pope of the Smile”, Jean-Paul I, was born Albino Luciani in 1912 in the Italian dolomites. He was pope for only 33 days, from August 26 to September 28, 1978, one of the shortest pontiffs in history.
Bishop then Patriarch of Venice, he was known for his simplicity, humility and proximity to the faithful. First pope to choose a double name in homage to John XXIII and Paul VI, he wanted to embody a more accessible and pastoral church. He was beatified by Pope Francis in 2022.
Ségolène Ginter d’Agrain
John Paul II (1978-2005)
He has been the first non-Italian pope for over 450 years. John Paul II, born Karol Wojtyła in 1920 in Poland, was elected Pope in 1978. Philosopher, poet, sportsman, he deeply marked the Church and the world by his charisma, his defense of human rights and his opposition to communism.
Large traveler, he visits more than 130 countries, encourages interreligious dialogue and plays a key role in the fall of the Soviet block. His long pontificate (1978-2005) is also marked by a firm theology on morality, the universality of the Church and the dignity of the human person. It is canonized in 2014.
Ségolène Ginter d’Agrain
Benoît XVI (2005-2013)
Joseph Ratzinger, who became Benoît XVI, was a brilliant theologian and a close collaborator of John Paul II, before being elected Pope in 2005. Vatican defender II, he tried to reconcile faith and reason, while facing the internal crises of the Church.
His pontificate, marked by a sober and intellectual style, was enamelled with controversy and scandals. In 2013, exhausted, he created the event by becoming the first pope to resign for six centuries. He died in 2022, at the age of 95, in the discretion of a retreat to the Vatican.
Ségolène Ginter d’Agrain
