ALL POSTS TAGGED: POPE



Pius IX was the Holy Father of the Catholic Church longer than any other pope, from 1846 to 1878. It was a difficult time to be the leader of the Church because of political conflicts between nations and religious arguments about the Church’s place in the world. No matter what kinds of problems the pope and the Church faced, Pius IX always turned to God for help and direction.


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TAGS: France, Italy, Pope, Saint

Pope Leo IX was the first pope who worked for reform in the Church. He was born in 1002 and given the name Bruno at Baptism. He was educated at a school for the children of Germany’s royal families and taught by the bishop of his diocese. As a priest, Father Bruno served at the cathedral before being named bishop of Toul.


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In the year 1020, a boy named Hildebrand Bonizi was born in Tuscany, Italy. He was educated for the priesthood in Rome and was chosen by Pope Gregory VI to be his personal chaplain. After the pope died, Hildebrand entered a monastery to pray and study.


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Giuseppe Sarto was born in 1835 to a poor but faithful family in Italy. He never understood the importance that was placed on money. He was very content with what he already had and didn’t want anything more. Giuseppe placed great value on his relationship with God. He held the belief that as long as he had his faith and the love of God, he had everything that he needed.


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Gregory (c. 540-604) was born into a prominent family. He studied law and by age 30 was mayor of Rome. He entered the Benedictine monastery, hoping to live a simple life and distributing his wealth to the poor and to monasteries.
 


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TAGS: Italy, Pope, Venerable

Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli was born in Rome, Italy, in 1876. His father hoped that Eugenio would follow in his footsteps as a canon lawyer. As Eugenio studied the legal system of the Catholic Church, he decided that he wanted to become a priest. He was ordained in 1899.


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From her very beginning, the Church has had leaders who have helped us in our search for God. Pope John XXIII was one of those leaders. Pope John XXIII was pope from 1958 until he died in 1963.


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Many people who knew young Karol Wojtyla in Poland thought he might someday be an actor or a writer. Instead, he became pope. Karol Józef Wojtyła was born in the town of Wadowice in Poland in 1920. He was the youngest of three children, and his mother died when he was only nine. When he graduated from high school and went to college, he studied drama. But as World War II approached, the university was closed, and Karol went to work in a quarry and then a factory to earn money and avoid being sent to Germany to serve in the army.


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Only two popes in history have been given the title “the Great.” Pope Leo is one of them. Leo was born in Tuscany in Italy around the year 400 and served as an advisor and diplomat for two popes. He was still a deacon when he was elected pope. Pope Leo was the first pope to call himself the successor to St. Peter.


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TAGS: Italy, Pope, Saint

Born in Rome toward the end of the third century, Pope Sylvester was the leader of the Catholic Church at a great turning point in the Church’s history. For the first time in nearly 300 years, Christians were freed from the threat of persecution. The powerful emperor, Constantine, had given Christians the right to practice their faith openly. Constantine even made Sunday a weekly holiday.


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