With the recent election of Pope Francis, it’s a fitting time to look back on the history of popes in the Catholic Church. There have been 266 popes through the centuries. Get to know them!
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![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="10728" width="640" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="9355" width="640" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="11737" width="640" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
With the recent election of Pope Francis, it’s a fitting time to look back on the history of popes in the Catholic Church. There have been 266 popes through the centuries. Get to know them!
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="9362" width="640" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="9097" width="640" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="6195" width="640" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="8139" width="640" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)