The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-04-19
NTMBER OF THE POPEs.
As Now Reckoned Plus Y is the Two
Hundred and Eifty-E Eighth

Hundred and Elfty-Eighfh-
The official @.Gersrchia CattoHca. F.
which has only just been published f5r
1903. contains one noteworthy change
Hitherto the lists o. the Roman pom
tiffs from the time of ST. Peter down
TO our own times have given the NUM-
Der of pontiffs as 254. including St Pc
ter himself and Plus Y. It was known
that among these some were certainly
not genuine popes. but intruders who
occupied the papal chair for Few
stormy months. etc The famous his
torian. Mgr Duchesne. who has been
working the subject Tor many years
recently published the results of his
investiga tions, and the GeTarchia In
cOrporates some Of these results in its
latest issue.
Ten popes are eliminated from the
list. The first of these is Anacietus,
who has been Identified with Pope Gle
tus.- the second successor of St Peter
The second is St. Felix H. who acted
as bishop of Rome during the exile OF
Pope Liberius in the middle of the
fourth century. After the return Of
Liberius St. Felix retired and was
martyred shortly afterward- Pope
Christouher was am anti-pOpe who o.
cupied the see OF Rome by violence six
months after having dethrOned AMI
Imprisoned the real pope, Leo n, IN
sos He was forced 10 abdicate AMI
died in a monastery.
more remarkable He was supposed
to have been pope for q few months
during the year s43 as a matter of
fact he never existed Boniface VII.
who used TO be on the list reigning
for seven months. in yS4-9S5. did exist
and was elected three times, but all
three elections were invalid. and he
was 8 much q usuToer after the last
of them as after the first. John XVI
was believed TO have been pope for
four months during 996, but he was
am anu-pOpe and was never cOnsecrat-
ed The -ast-named four personages-
it viii be seen. belonged to the tenth
century, which was the most mbroiI-
ed and continues to be the most OBJ
scure in the history of the papacy.
This sorely tried century closed with
another antelope. John XVI. who US
urTed the papal chair from ApriI 9q7
10 February. s9S- John XIX has been
identified with John XVIII. who began
the eleventh century About the mid
die OF the same century one of the
counts of Tusculum usuroed the aDos-
tolic see during nine months but mad
tne grace 10 retire Finally Alexander
ana John XIII We're antf-DoDes of
lHe great western schism al the begin
nlng Of the fifteenth century
On the other hand however. Eve
popeS nave been added to the Official
list Leo VII owing TO the confusion
of the history OF the tenth centurvyvas
commonly regarded as an anti-pope.
1t is now recognized that he was a
legitimate pope, who reigned for a
short time between John XII and Ben
edict Y. But the most extraordinary
fact brought out by the latest studies
ceuters round the figure Of Benedict
TX The story of the eleventh century
during which he lived. is almost as
confused as that of the preceding one.
but there can be little doubt that Ben
edict IN was "A bad pOpe-One Of the
very few whom God has permitted to
be q successor to St. Peter. just as he
permitted Judas among the apostIeS
Indeed. il is clear that this Benedict
was the worst of all the poDes He
was first elected in 10S3 and reigned
until 1044. when he resigned and was
succeeded by Sylvester III
Sylvester addicted after a. pOntiflcate
of two years and eight months, and
Benedict ~ was again elected. He
abdicated gain after less than three
months. and was succeeded by Gregory
VI. Gregory it would appear. also
for the third time but after a reign
of seven or eight months he retired
definitely and died some time after
ward at the famous abbey of Grotafer-
rata the ninth centenary OF which we
are celebrating this year Thus Bene-
dict ~ figures three times in the new
list Of popes-
The official list refrains from giving
exact figures for the duration Of the
reigns Of the early popes, as there are
not sufficient data to justify il. The