Portal:Christianity/Selected article/September 2008

The list of popes records those who have served as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. In this capacity, the Pope acts as the Bishop of Rome, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, and head of state of Vatican City.

There is no official list of popes of the Roman Catholic Church, although the Annuario Pontificio, published every year by the Vatican, contains a list that is generally considered to be the most authoritative. Its list is the one used in Wikipedia. The Annuario Pontificio list gives the current pope, Benedict XVI as the 265th pope; Saint Peter is listed as the first.

Several changes have been made in the list during the 20th century. Antipope Christopher was considered legitimate for a long time. Pope-elect Stephen was considered legitimate under the name Stephen II until the 1961 edition and erased then. Although these changes are no longer controversial, a number of modern lists still include this "first Pope Stephen II". It is probable that this is because they are based on the 1913 edition of the Catholic Encyclopaedia, which is in the public domain.