The 100 Most Significant Events of the Last Thousand Years Reducing the millennium to a laundry list of highlights cannot pretend to be a definitive or…
(Encyclopedia) Pius XI, 1857–1939, pope (1922–39), an Italian named Achille Ratti, b. Desio, near Milan; successor of Benedict XV.
Pius's pontificate was marked by great diplomatic activity and by…
(Encyclopedia) Leo I, Saint (Saint Leo the Great), c.400–461, pope (440–61), an Italian; successor of St. Sixtus III. A Doctor of the Church, he was one of the greatest pontiffs of the early years of…
(Encyclopedia) Leo III, Saint, pope (795–816), a Roman; successor of Adrian I. He was attacked about the face and eyes by members of Adrian's family, who hoped to render him unfit for the papacy. Leo…
(Encyclopedia) Leo IV, Saint, d. 855, pope (847–55), a Roman; successor of Sergius II. He had seen the Saracen attack on Rome (846), and to prevent its recurrence he fortified the city and its…
(Encyclopedia) Leo IX, Saint, 1002–54, pope (1049–54), a German named Bruno of Toul, b. Alsace; successor of Damasus II. A relative of Holy Roman Emperor Henry III, he was educated at Toul and was…
(Encyclopedia) John XXIII, Saint, 1881–1963, pope (1958–63), an Italian (b. Sotto il Monte, near Bergamo) named Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; successor of Pius XII. He was of peasant stock. Educated at…
(Encyclopedia) Nicholas I, Saint, c.825–867, pope (858–67), a Roman; successor of Benedict III. He was a vigorous and politically active pope who arbitrated both temporal and religious disputes. His…
