Work contains history of popes from Saint Peter, the first Bishop of Rome to Pius IX, who was elected in 1846 "[while the preceding work was passing through the

The remarkable, and permanently influential, papal history known as the Liber pontificalis shaped perceptions and the memory of Rome, the popes, and the many-la

A History of the Popes tells the story of the oldest living institution in the Western world—the papacy. From its origins in Saint Peter, Jesus' chief discipl

John Julius Norwich examines the oldest continuing institution in the world, tracing the papal line down the centuries from St Peter (traditionally - but by no

Tracing the history of the papacy from ancient times to the present day, this illuminating study features detailed profiles of each pope, describing the events