Pope Adrian IV (Nicholas Breakspear, 1154–1159) was the only native English-speaking pope. In modern times, most popes since Pius XII have had proficiency in English, with John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and the recently elected American-born Pope Leo XIV known to be fluent or proficient.
Amazing to think that the two popes who have had English as a first language - Adrian IV (1154-1159) and Leo XIV - would be pretty much unable to speak to each other given how much the language has evolved in the time between them.
Alexander VI-who reigned 1492-1503- had 3 sons and a famous daughter Lucrezia with whom he had an incestuous relationship. He created 12 new cardinals, among them his own 18-yr old son Cesare, & Alessandro Farnese (later Pope Paul III), the brother of one of the Pope's mistresses, the beautiful Giulia Farnese.
The original account described an English woman named Joan, who through her brilliance rose to become none other than Pope John VIII. Then, in a shocking turn of events, she fell pregnant and gave birth to a son during a procession, before meeting a sinister end…
Nicholas Breakspear, who became Pope Adrian IV on December 4, 1154, is notable for being the first and only Englishman to hold the papacy in the Roman Catholic Church. Born in Hertfordshire around 1100, he dedicated himself to the clergy and eventually became the abbot of a monastery in France.
The pope is awarded a lavish salary of €30,000 (about $33,800) per month, or about $405,600 yearly, according to Daniel Rober, a professor of Catholic studies at Sacred Heart University.
The theology and liturgy of the Church of England became markedly Protestant during the reign of Henry's son Edward VI ( r. 1547–1553) largely along lines laid down by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. Under Mary I ( r. 1553–1558), Roman Catholicism was briefly restored.
He pointed out that Vicarius Filii Dei (Vicar of the Son of God), which was one of the pope's titles, had a numerical value of 666. His treatise Antichristus Romanus (The Roman Antichrist) appeared first in 1600.
The late Pope John Paul II was truly a linguistic master. The canonized saint was able to converse in multiple languages including his mother tongue, Polish, as well as Portuguese, Italian, French, Spanish, German, and English. He was also able to master Latin, and the written use of biblical Hebrew.
On 4th December 1154 Nicholas Breakspear was elected as Pope Adrian IV, the only Englishman to have served on the papal throne. He was born around 1100 in Bedmond, in the parish of Abbots Langley in Hertfordshire.
He's often seen wearing Rolex watches, specifically the Day-Date ref. 18038 with a yellow gold case and a sunburst blue dial, often paired with an aftermarket steel elastic strap. He also rocks a two-tone Datejust. These, as well as his fancy Patek Philippe pocket watch, are believed to be gifts.)
Pope Francis did not have any children given his vow of celibacy. However, he was very fond of children and even authored a children's book titled "Dear Pope Francis," in which he answered questions from children around the world.
In November 2017, Pope Francis was gifted a custom Lamborghini Huracán by the luxury car manufacturer. The car was specially designed with white and yellow—the colors of the Vatican flag—and featured gold detailing.
France is the most common non-Italian papal country of origin. Seventeen popes were born in present-day France, all in the second half of the medieval era. The indicated seven popes of the Avignon Papacy were all from France.
How old was Mary when God impregnated her with Jesus?
Scholars believe Mary would have been somewhere between 12-16 years old when she had Jesus (Ibid.). Given the biblical account and the Jewish cultural practices in Mary's day, the most plausible age Mary would have been when she had Jesus was most likely 15 or 16 years old.
i really believe that was the set up to a lot of what we saw post Vatican II, these sisters didn't really have a good experience with the essential elements of religious life, community life, the charism of their order, and potentially didn't even get much formation.
