Apostolic succession · Popes
From Peter to Leo XIV
Follow the Holy See’s chronological list of pontificates. This shows succession in the office of Bishop of Rome; it does not mean that each pope personally ordained the next. Apostolic succession also concerns the bishops and the transmission of apostolic teaching and ministry.
How to read dates and numbering
Early dates can be uncertain. Blank dates remain unspecified; alternatives and grouped dates are preserved from the official table. Roman numerals denote months. Some beginning-date cells group election and other accession ceremonies, so these are source date labels rather than standardized tenure boundaries. Vacancies and disputed historical circumstances are not filled with invented entries.
Numbers identify listed pontificates, not unique individuals: Benedict IX appears for separate periods. This is a documented chronology, not a claim of a surviving consecration record linking every name back to Peter.
Source checked 2026-11-02. Holy See’s official list ↗ · Latest listed pontiff
267 matching pontificates · Page 1 of 11
-
1 · Century 1
Peter
- Beginning (source dates)
- Not specified
- End
- 64 or 67
- Birthplace (source label)
- Bethsaida of Galilee
-
2 · Century 1
Linus
- Beginning (source dates)
- 68
- End
- 79
- Birthplace (source label)
- Tuscia
-
3 · Century 1
Anacletus or Cletus
- Beginning (source dates)
- 80
- End
- 92
- Birthplace (source label)
- Rome
-
4 · Century 1
Clement
- Beginning (source dates)
- 92
- End
- 99
- Birthplace (source label)
- Rome
-
5 · Century 1
Evaristus
- Beginning (source dates)
- 99 or 96
- End
- 108
- Birthplace (source label)
- Greece
-
6 · Century 2
Alexander I
- Beginning (source dates)
- 108 or 109
- End
- 116 or 119
- Birthplace (source label)
- Rome
-
7 · Century 2
Sixtus I
- Beginning (source dates)
- 117 or 119
- End
- 126 or 128
- Birthplace (source label)
- Rome
-
8 · Century 2
Telesphorus
- Beginning (source dates)
- 127 or 128
- End
- 137 or 138
- Birthplace (source label)
- Greece
-
9 · Century 2
Hyginus
- Beginning (source dates)
- 138
- End
- 142 or 149
- Birthplace (source label)
- Greece
-
10 · Century 2
Pius I
- Beginning (source dates)
- 142 or 146
- End
- 157 or 161
- Birthplace (source label)
- Aquileia
-
11 · Century 2
Anicetus
- Beginning (source dates)
- 150 or 157
- End
- 153 or 168
- Birthplace (source label)
- Emesa (Syria)
-
12 · Century 2
Soterus
- Beginning (source dates)
- 162 or 168
- End
- 170 or 177
- Birthplace (source label)
- Fondi
-
13 · Century 2
Eleutherius
- Beginning (source dates)
- 171 or 177
- End
- 185 or 193
- Birthplace (source label)
- Nicopolis (Epirus)
-
14 · Century 2
Victor I
- Beginning (source dates)
- 186 or 189
- End
- 197 or 201
- Birthplace (source label)
- Africa
-
15 · Century 2
Zephyrinus
- Beginning (source dates)
- 198
- End
- 217 or 218
- Birthplace (source label)
- Rome
-
16 · Century 3
Callistus I
- Beginning (source dates)
- 218
- End
- 222
-
17 · Century 3
Urban I
- Beginning (source dates)
- 222
- End
- 230
- Birthplace (source label)
- Rome
-
18 · Century 3
Pontianus
- Beginning (source dates)
- 21.VII.230
- End
- 28.IX.235
- Birthplace (source label)
- Rome
-
19 · Century 3
Anterus
- Beginning (source dates)
- 21.XI.235
- End
- 3.I.236
- Birthplace (source label)
- Greece
-
20 · Century 3
Fabian
- Beginning (source dates)
- ... 236
- End
- 20.I.250
- Birthplace (source label)
- Rome
-
21 · Century 3
Cornelius
- Beginning (source dates)
- 6 or 13.III.251
- End
- ... VI.253
- Birthplace (source label)
- Rome
-
22 · Century 3
Lucius I
- Beginning (source dates)
- ... VI or VII.253
- End
- 5.III.254
- Birthplace (source label)
- Rome
-
23 · Century 3
Stephen I
- Beginning (source dates)
- 12.III.254
- End
- 2.VIII.257
- Birthplace (source label)
- Rome
-
24 · Century 3
Sixtus II
- Beginning (source dates)
- 30.VIII.257
- End
- 6.VIII.258
- Birthplace (source label)
- Greece
-
25 · Century 3
Dionysius
- Beginning (source dates)
- 22.VII.259
- End
- 26.XII.268
- Birthplace (source label)
- Unknown