- published: 22 Jan 2012
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- author: adminkarol
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Ankara
Ankara (Turkish pronunciation: [ˈan.ka.ɾa]; historically known as Angora) is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of 938 metres (3,077 ft), and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million.
Centrally located in Anatolia, Ankara is an important commercial and industrial city. It is the center of the Turkish Government, and houses all foreign embassies. It is an important crossroads of trade, strategically located at the centre of Turkey's highway and railway networks, and serves as the marketing centre for the surrounding agricultural area. The city was famous for its long-haired Angora goat and its prized wool (mohair), a unique breed of cat (Angora cat), Angora rabbits and their prized wool (Angora wool), pears, honey, and the region's muscat grapes.
The historical center of Ankara is situated upon a rocky hill, which rises 150 m (492 ft) above the plain on the left bank of the Ankara Çayı, a tributary of the Sakarya (Sangarius) river. The city is located at 39°52'30" North, 32°52' East (39°52′30″N 32°50′00″E / 39.875°N 32.8333°E / 39.875; 32.8333Coordinates: 39°52′30″N 32°50′00″E / 39.875°N 32.8333°E / 39.875; 32.8333), about 450 km (280 mi) to the southeast of Istanbul, the country's largest city. Although situated in one of the driest places of Turkey and surrounded mostly by steppe vegetation except for the forested areas on the southern periphery, Ankara can be considered a green city in terms of green areas per inhabitant, which is 72 m2 per head.
wn.com/Ankara -
Apostolic Palace
The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, which is located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Sacred Palace, the Papal Palace and the Palace of the Vatican. The Vatican itself refers to the building as the Palace of Sixtus V in honor of Pope Sixtus V.
The palace is more accurately a series of self-contained buildings within the well-recognised outer structure which is arranged around the Courtyard of Sixtus V (Cortile di Sisto V). It is located North-East of St Peter's Basilica and adjacent to the Bastion of Nicholas V and Palace of Gregory XIII.
Rather than a traditional palace (a residential building surrounded by support buildings) the Apostolic Palace houses both residential and support offices of various functions as well as administrative offices not focused on the life and functions of the Pope himself.
The building contains the Papal Apartments, various government offices of the Roman Catholic Church and the Holy See, private and public chapels, Vatican Museums and the Vatican library, including the Borgia Apartment now used to house artworks.
wn.com/Apostolic_Palace -
Armenia
Armenia
i/ɑrˈmiːniə/ (Armenian: Հայաստան Hayastan [hɑjɑsˈtɑn]), officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun, [hɑjɑstɑˈni hɑnɾɑpɛtuˈtʰjun]), is a landlocked, mountainous country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.
A former republic of the Soviet Union, Armenia is a unitary, multiparty, democratic nation-state with an ancient and historic cultural heritage. The Kingdom of Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its religion, in the early years of the 4th century (the traditional date is 301 AD). The modern Republic of Armenia recognizes the Armenian Apostolic Church, the world's oldest national church, as the country's primary religious establishment. Armenians have their own unique alphabet invented by Mesrob Mashtots in 406 AD.
wn.com/Armenia -
Assisi
Assisi (Italian pronunciation: [asˈsiːzi], from the Latin: Asisium) is a town and comune of Italy in the province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio.
It was the birthplace of St. Francis, who founded the Franciscan religious order in the town in 1208, and St. Clare (Chiara d'Offreducci), the founder of the Poor Sisters, which later became the Order of Poor Clares after her death. The 19th-century Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows was also born in Assisi.
Around 1000 BC a wave of immigrants settled in the upper Tiber valley as far as the Adriatic Sea, and also in the neighborhood of Assisi. These were the Umbrians, living in small fortified settlements on high ground. From 450 BC these settlements were gradually taken over by the Etruscans. The Romans took control of central Italy by the Battle of Sentinum in 295 BC. They built the flourishing municipium Asisium on a series of terraces on Monte Subasio. Roman remains can still be found in Assisi: city walls, the forum (now Piazza del Comune), a theatre, an amphitheatre and the Temple of Minerva (now transformed into the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva). In 1997, the remains of a Roman villa were also discovered containing several well preserved rooms with frescoes and mosaics in a condition rarely found outside sites such as Pompei.
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Black January
Black January (Azerbaijani: Qara Yanvar), also known as Black Saturday or the January Massacre, was a violent crackdown on the Azerbaijani independence movement in Baku on January 19–20, 1990, pursuant to a state of emergency during the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
In a resolution of January 22, 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR declared that the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of January 19, used to impose emergency rule in Baku and military deployment, constituted an act of aggression. Black January is seen as the rebirth of the Azerbaijan Republic. It was one of the occasions during the glasnost and perestroika era in which the USSR used force against dissidents.
In December 1989, Azerbaijanis living in regions bordering Iran ripped down border fences, demanding closer ties with ethnic Azerbaijanis living in Iran. The local authorities in Jalilabad surrendered to rioters, turning over administration to the Popular Front of Azerbaijan. This was followed by a non-violent turnover of the Lankaran administration to the Popular Front two weeks later.
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Bulgaria
Coordinates: 42°45′N 25°30′E / 42.75°N 25.5°E / 42.75; 25.5
Bulgariai/bʌlˈɡɛəriə/ (Bulgarian: България, IPA: [bɤ̞ɫˈɡarijɐ]), is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and the Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south and the Black Sea to the east. With a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi), Bulgaria is Europe's 14th-largest country. Its location has made it a historical crossroad for various civilisations and as such it is the home of some of the earliest metalworking, religious and other cultural artifacts in the world.
Prehistoric cultures began developing on Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period. Its ancient history was marked by the presence of the Thracians, and later by the Greeks and Romans. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian ethnicity and state dates back to the First Bulgarian Empire, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavic peoples during the Middle Ages. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five hundred years. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 resulted in the Third Bulgarian State, recognised in 1908. The following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both World Wars. In 1946 it became a Communist republic with a single-party system until 1989, when the Communist Party allowed multi-party elections. After 1990 Bulgaria transitioned to democracy and a market-based economy.
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Burma
Burma
i/ˈbɜrmə/ BUR-mə, also known as Myanmar i/ˌmjɑːnˈmɑr/ MYAHN--MAR, is a country in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is bordered by India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand. One-third of Burma's total perimeter of 1,930 kilometres (1,200 mi) forms an uninterrupted coastline along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. At 676,578 km2 (261,227 sq mi), it is the 40th largest country in the world and the second largest country in Southeast Asia. Burma is also the 24th most populous country in the world with over 60.28 million people.
Burma is home to some of the early civilizations of Southeast Asia including the Pyu and the Mon. In the 9th century, the Burmans of the Kingdom of Nanzhao, entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and, following the establishment of the Pagan Empire in the 1050s, the Burmese language and culture slowly became dominant in the country. During this period, Theravada Buddhism gradually became the predominant religion of the country. The Pagan Empire fell due to the Mongol invasions (1277–1301), and several warring states emerged. In the second half of the 16th century, the country was reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty which for a brief period was the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia. The early 19th century Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Burma as well as Manipur and Assam. The country was colonized by Britain following three Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824–1885).
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Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Its formal title is the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Christ at Canterbury.
Founded in 597, the cathedral was completely rebuilt 1070-77. The east end was greatly enlarged at the beginning of the twelfth century, and largely rebuilt in the Gothic style following a fire in 1174. The Norman nave and transepts survived until the late fourteenth century, when they were demolished to make way for the present structures.
The cathedral's first archbishop was Augustine of Canterbury, previously abbot of St. Andrew's Benedictine Abbey in Rome. He was sent by Pope Gregory the Great in 596 as a missionary to the Anglo-Saxons. Augustine founded the cathedral in 597 and dedicated it to Jesus Christ, the Holy Saviour.
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Chechnya
The Chechen Republic (
/ˈtʃɛtʃɨn/; Russian: Чече́нская Респу́блика, Chechenskaya Respublika; Chechen: Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika), commonly referred to as Chechnya (/ˈtʃɛtʃniə/; Russian: Чечня́, Chechnya; Chechen: Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria (English: Land of Minerals), is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny. Population: 1,268,989 (2010 Census).
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Chechen-Ingush ASSR was split into two: the Republic of Ingushetia and the Chechen Republic. The latter proclaimed the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which sought independence. Following the First Chechen War with Russia, Chechnya gained de facto independence as the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. Russian federal control was restored during the Second Chechen War. Since then there has been a systematic reconstruction and rebuilding process, though sporadic fighting continues in the mountains and southern regions of the republic.
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Częstochowa
Częstochowa [t͡ʂɛ̃stɔˈxɔva] (
listen) is a city in south Poland on the Warta River with 240,027 inhabitants (June 2009). It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (administrative division) since 1999, and was previously the capital of Częstochowa Voivodeship (1975–1998). However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not of Silesia, and before 1795 (see: Partitions of Poland), it belonged to the Kraków Voivodeship.
The town is known for the famous Pauline monastery of Jasna Góra, which is the home of the Black Madonna painting (Polish: Jasnogórski Cudowny obraz Najświętszej Maryi Panny Niepokalanie Poczętej), a shrine to the Virgin Mary. Every year, millions of pilgrims from all over the world come to Częstochowa to see it. The city was became home to the Frankism religion in the late 18th and 19th Century. There is also a Lusatian culture excavation site and museum in the city and ruins of a medieval castle in Olsztyn, approximately 25 kilometres (ca. 16 mi) from the city centre.
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Damascus
Damascus (Arabic: دِمَشق / ALA-LC: Dimashq; commonly known in Syria as al-Sham (Arabic: الشام / al-Shām), and as the City of Jasmine (Arabic: مدينة الياسمين / Madīnat al-Yāsmīn), is the capital and the second largest city of Syria. Both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major cultural and religious center of the Levant. The city has an estimated population of 1,711,000 (2009 est.).
Located in southwestern Syria, Damascus is the center of a large metropolitan area of 2.6 million people (2004). Geographically embedded on the eastern foothills of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range 80 kilometres (50 mi) inland from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean on a plateau 680 metres (2,230 ft) above sea-level, Damascus experiences a semi-arid climate due to the rain shadow effect. The Barada River flows through Damascus.
First settled in the 2nd millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad. Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. During Ottoman rule, the city decayed completely while maintaining a certain cultural prestige. Today, it is the seat of the central government and all of the government ministries. Damascus was chosen as the 2008 Arab Capital of Culture.
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El Puente del Papa
El puente del Papa (The Pope's Bridge) is a bridge located in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, across the usually dry Río Santa Catarina. It took its name when Pope John Paul II offered a Catholic mass over the bridge.
A flea market which is installed under the bridge on weekends has the same name.
Before the Pope John Paul II visited Monterrey, the bridge was called "Puente San Luisito" (St. Little Louis' Bridge), as it connected the "San Luisito" neighbourhood, (today, Independencia neighbourhood) with Monterrey Downtown, across the Santa Catarina River. The name of "Puente San Luisito" was the name of the bridge for over a century, and in just 20 years, it has been completely forgotten.
Coordinates: 25°39′49″N 100°18′58″W / 25.66361°N 100.31611°W / 25.66361; -100.31611
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El Salvador
El Salvadori/ɛl ˈsælvədɔr/ (Spanish: República de El Salvador, literally 'Republic of The Savior') is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country as well as Central America. El Salvador borders the Pacific Ocean on the west, and the countries of Guatemala to the north and Honduras to the east. Its easternmost region lies on the coast of the Gulf of Fonseca, opposite Nicaragua. As of 2009, El Salvador had a population of approximately 5,744,113 people, composed predominantly of Mestizos.
The colón was the official currency of El Salvador from 1892 to 2001, when it adopted the U.S. Dollar.
In 2010 El Salvador ranked in the top 10 among Latin American countries in terms of the Human Development Index and in the top 3 in Central America (behind Costa Rica and Panama), due in part to ongoing rapid industrialization. In addition, tropical forests and overall forest cover has expanded by nearly 20 percent from the year 1992 to 2010. Making it one of the few countries experiencing reforestation.
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European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union.
The Commission operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "commissioners" ). There is one member per member state, though members are bound to represent the interests of the EU as a whole rather than their home state. One of the 27 is the Commission President (currently José Manuel Durão Barroso) proposed by the European Council and elected by the European Parliament. The Council then appoints the other 26 members of the Commission in agreement with the nominated President, and then the 27 members as a single body are subject to a vote of approval by the European Parliament. The first Barroso Commission took office in late 2004 and its successor, under the same President, took office in 2010.
The term "Commission" is used either in the narrow sense of the 27-member College of Commissioners (or College) or to also include the administrative body of about 23,000 European civil servants who are split into departments called Directorates-General and Services. The internal working languages of the Commission are English, French and German. The Members of the Commission and their "cabinets" (immediate teams) are based in the Berlaymont building of Brussels.
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European Parliament
The European Parliament (abbreviated as Europarl or the EP) is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU). Together with the Council of the European Union (the Council) and the European Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world. The Parliament is currently composed of 754 Members of the European Parliament, who represent the second largest democratic electorate in the world (after the Parliament of India) and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world (375 million eligible voters in 2009).
It has been directly elected every five years by universal suffrage since 1979. However, turnout at European Parliament elections has fallen consecutively at each election since that date, and has been under 50% since 1999. Turnout in 2009 stood at 43% of all European voters, ranging from 90% in Luxembourg and Belgium (where compulsory voting is used) to 20% in Slovakia. Turnout was under 50% in 18 out of 27 member states.
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Gdańsk
Gdańsk ( /ɡəˈdænsk/ or /ɡəˈdɑːnsk/; Polish: [ˈɡdaɲsk]; German: Danzig, pronounced [ˈdantsɪç]) is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the center of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.
The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay (of the Baltic Sea), in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the Tricity (Trójmiasto), with a population of over 800,000. Gdańsk itself has a population of 455,830 (June 2010), making it the largest city in the Pomerania region of Northern Poland.
Gdańsk is Poland's principal seaport as well as the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is also historically the largest city of the Kashubian region. The city is close to the former late medieval/modern boundary between West Slavic and Germanic lands and it has a complex political history with periods of Polish rule, periods of German rule, and extensive self-rule, with two spells as a free city. It has been part of modern Poland since 1945.
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Gestapo
The Gestapo (German pronunciation: [ɡeˈstaːpo, ɡəˈʃtaːpo] ( listen); abbreviation of Geheime Staatspolizei, "Secret State Police") was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police (Chef der Deutschen Polizei). From September 1939 forward it was administered by the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA) ("Reich Main Security Office") and was considered a sister organization of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) ("Security Service") and also a suboffice of the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo) ("Security Police").
As part of the deal in which Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, Hermann Göring—future commander of the Luftwaffe and an influential Nazi Party official—was named Interior Minister of Prussia. This gave him command of the largest police force in Germany. Soon afterward, Göring detached the political and intelligence sections from the police and filled their ranks with Nazis. On 26 April 1933, Göring merged the two units as the Gestapo. He originally wanted to name it the Secret Police Office (German: Geheimes Polizeiamt), but discovered the German initials "GPA" would be too similar to the Soviet GPU.
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Israel
Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35
Israel, officially the State of Israel ( /ˈɪzriːəl/ or /ˈɪzreɪəl/; Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Medīnat Yisrā'el, IPA: [me̞diˈnät jisʁäˈʔe̞l] ( listen); Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل, Dawlat Isrāʼīl, IPA: [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwest, and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to the south, and it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel is defined as a Jewish and Democratic State in its Basic Laws and is the world's only Jewish-majority state.
Following the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 29 November 1947 recommending the adoption and implementation of the United Nations plan to partition Palestine, on 14 May 1948 David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel, a state independent from the British Mandate for Palestine. Neighboring Arab states invaded the next day in support of the Palestinian Arabs. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Portions of these territories, including east Jerusalem, have been annexed by Israel, but the border with the neighboring West Bank has not yet been permanently defined.[neutrality is disputed] Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have so far not resulted in peace.
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Jerusalem
Jerusalem ( /dʒəˈruːsələm/; Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushaláyim ; Arabic: القُدس al-Quds and/or أورشليم Ûrshalîm) is the capital of Israel, though not internationally recognized as such, and one of the oldest cities in the world. It is located in the Judean Mountains, between the Mediterranean Sea and the northern edge of the Dead Sea. If the area and population of East Jerusalem is included, it is Israel's largest city in both population and area, with a population of 801,000 residents over an area of 125.1 km2 (48.3 sq mi). Jerusalem is also a holy city to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times. The oldest part of the city was settled in the 4th millennium BCE. In 1538, walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent. Today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four quarters—known since the early 19th century as the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond its boundaries.
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Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan (i/ˌkɑːzəkˈstɑːn/ or /ˌkæzəkˈstæn/) (Kazakh: Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, pronounced [qɑzɑqstɑ́n]; Russian: Казахстан [kəzɐxˈstan]), officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Europe. The ninth largest country in the world by land area, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of 2,727,300 square kilometres (1,053,000 sq mi) is larger than Western Europe. It is neighbored clockwise from the north by Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and also borders on a significant part of the Caspian Sea. Although Kazakhstan does not share a border with Mongolia, its most easterly point is only 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Mongolia's western tip. The terrain of Kazakhstan ranges from flatlands, steppes, taigas, rock-canyons, hills, deltas, and snow-capped mountains to deserts. With 16.6 million people (2011 estimate) Kazakhstan has the 62nd largest population in the world, though its population density is less than 6 people per square kilometre (15 per sq. mi.). The capital was moved in 1998 from Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, to Astana.
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Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv (Ukrainian: Київ [ˈkɪjiw] ( listen); Russian: Киев) is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press.
Kiev is an important industrial, scientific, educational and cultural centre of Eastern Europe. It is home to many high-tech industries, higher education institutions and world-famous historical landmarks. The city has an extensive infrastructure and highly developed system of public transport, including the Kiev Metro.
The name Kiev is said to derive from the name of Kyi, one of four legendary founders of the city (brothers Kyi, Shchek, Khoryv, and sister Lybid). During its history, Kiev, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, passed through several stages of great prominence and relative obscurity. The city probably existed as a commercial centre as early as the 5th century. A Slavic settlement on the great trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople, Kiev was a tributary of the Khazars, until seized by the Varangians (Vikings) in the mid-9th century. Under Varangians rule, the city became a capital of the Rus', the first East Slavic state. Completely destroyed during the Mongol invasion in 1240, the city lost most of its influence for the centuries to come. It was a provincial capital of marginal importance in the outskirts of the territories controlled by its powerful neighbours; first the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, followed by Poland and Russia.
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Kraków
Kraków (Polish pronunciation: [ˈkrakuf] ( listen)) also Cracow, or Krakow (English /ˈkrækaʊ/), is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River (Polish: Wisła) in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life and is one of Poland's most important economic hubs. It was the capital of Poland from 1038 to 1569; the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1596; the Grand Duchy of Kraków from 1846 to 1918; and Kraków Voivodeship from the 14th century to 1999. It is now the capital of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship.
The city has grown from a Stone Age settlement to Poland's second most important city. It began as a hamlet on Wawel Hill and was already being reported as a busy trading centre of Slavonic Europe in 965. With the establishment of new universities and cultural venues at the emergence of the Second Polish Republic and throughout the 20th century, Kraków reaffirmed its role as a major national academic and artistic centre. The city has a population of approximately 760,000 whereas about 8 million people live within a 100 km radius of its main square.
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Luxembourg
Luxembourg (i/ˈlʌksəmbɜrɡ/ LUKS-əm-burg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg, French: Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, German: Großherzogtum Luxemburg, Dutch: Groothertogdom Luxemburg), is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland ("good country") in the south. Luxembourg has a population of over half a million people in an area of approximately 2,586 square kilometres (998 sq mi). A representative democracy with a constitutional monarch, it is ruled by a grand duke. It is now the world's only remaining sovereign grand duchy. The country has a highly developed economy, with the world's highest GDP (nominal) per capita according to the IMF. Its historic and strategic importance dates back to its founding as a Roman era fortress site and Frankish count's castle site in the Early Middle Ages. It was an important bastion along the Spanish Road when Spain was the principal European power influencing the whole western hemisphere and beyond in the 16th–17th centuries.
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Lviv
Lviv (Ukrainian: Львів L’viv, IPA: [lʲwiu̯] ( listen); Polish: Lwów, pronounced [lvuf]; Russian: Львов, L'vov; German: Lemberg and Yiddish Lemberg, לעמבערג; Latin: Leopolis; see also other names) is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically had also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center; as Poles and Jews comprised a demographic majority of the city for a period leading up to the outbreak of World War II, the Holocaust, and Polish population transfers (1944–1946) that followed. The historical heart of Lviv with its old buildings and cobblestone roads has survived World War II and ensuing Soviet presence largely unscathed. The city has many industries and institutions of higher education such as the Lviv University and the Lviv Polytechnic. Lviv is also a home to many world-class cultural institutions, including a philharmonic orchestra and the famous Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet. The historic city centre is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Lviv celebrated its 750th anniversary with a son et lumière in the city centre in September 2006.
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Managua
Managua (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈnaɣwa]) is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in 1852. Prior to its inception as the capital city, the title had alternated between the cities of León and Granada. The city has a population of about 2,200,000, composed predominantly of mestizos and whites. Managua is the second most populous city in Central America, after Guatemala City.
Founded in 1819, the city was given the name: Leal Villa de Santiago de Managua. Its original purpose was to serve as a rural fishing village. Efforts to make Managua the capital of Nicaragua began in 1824, after the Central American nations formally attained their independence from Spain. Managua's location between the rival cities of León and Granada made it a logical and ideal compromise site. Modern-day Managua was built in the 1850s on the site of an indigenous community. The city occupies an area on a fault. Seismologists predict that Managua will continue to experience a severe earthquake every 50 years or less. The city's economy is based mainly on trade and industry. Managua is Nicaragua's chief trading center for coffee, cotton, other crops and industry. It serves as an important industrial, commercial, political and cultural center. Its chief products include beer, coffee, matches, textiles, and shoes. Today, Managua is Nicaragua's main political, social, cultural, educational and economic hub. The city is served by the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport, the country's primary international airport and regional Brasiles Airport and Punta Huete, military airport, recently renewed.
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Manila
Manila (English: /məˈnɪlə/; Tagalog: Maynila, [majˈnilaʔ]) is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities (along with the smaller municipality of Pateros) that comprise Metro Manila.
Manila is located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north; Quezon City to the northeast; San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east; Makati to the southeast, and Pasay to the south.
Manila has a total population of more than 1,652,171 according to the 2010 census. Manila is the second most populous city in the Philippines, behind its neighbor, Quezon City. The populace inhabit an area of only 38.55 square kilometers, making Manila the most densely populated city in the world.Metro Manila is the most populous metropolitan area in the Philippines and the 11th in the world with an estimated population of 16,300,000. The greater urban area is the fifth-most populous in the world and has an estimated metropolitan population of 20,654,307 people.
The city is divided into six legislative districts and consists of sixteen geographical districts: Binondo, Ermita, Intramuros, Malate, Paco, Pandacan, Port Area, Quiapo, Sampaloc, San Andres, San Miguel, San Nicolas, Santa Ana, Santa Cruz, Santa Mesa and Tondo. Bustling commerce and some of the most historically and culturally significant iconic landmarks in the country, as well as the seat of the executive and judicial branches of the government are to be found in the city; and it is also home to many scientific and educational institutions, numerous sport facilities, a variety of other culturally and historically significant venues. As a primary transportation hub and with the larger capital region bearing its name, there is very little of a general nature to be found in cities anywhere that Manila is lacking.
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Milan
Milan (Italian: Milano [miˈlaːno] ( listen); Lombard: [miˈlan]; Latin: Mediolanum) is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital of Lombardy as well as of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area is the 5th largest in EU and the largest in Italy with an estimated population of approximately 5 million. The growth of many suburbs and satellite settlements around the city proper, following the Italian economic miracle of 1950s–60s and massive commuting flows, suggest that socioeconomic linkages have expanded well beyond the boundaries of its administrative limits and its agglomeration, creating a region of approximately 9,3 million people. It has been suggested that the Milan metropolitan area is part of the so-called Blue Banana, the area of Europe with the highest population and industrial density. Its health care and education system is considered one of the best of Europe.
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Nazi Germany
The Third Reich, also Nazi Germany, is the common name for Germany when it was a totalitarian state ruled by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). On 30 January 1933 Hitler became chancellor of Germany, quickly eliminating all opposition to rule as sole leader. The state idolized Hitler as its Führer ("leader"), centralizing all power in his hands. Historians have emphasized the hypnotic effect of his rhetoric on large audiences, and of his eyes in small groups. Kessel writes, "Overwhelmingly...Germans speak with mystification of Hitler's 'hypnotic' appeal..." Under the "leader principle", the Führer's word was above all other laws. Top officials reported to Hitler and followed his policies, but they had considerable autonomy. The government was not a coordinated, cooperating body, but rather a collection of factions struggling to amass power and curry favor with the Führer. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazi government restored prosperity and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending and a mixed economy of free-market and central-planning practices. Extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of the Autobahns. The return to prosperity gave the regime enormous popularity; the suppression of all opposition made Hitler's rule mostly unchallenged.
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Nicaragua
Nicaragua (i/ˌnɪkəˈrɑːɡwə/ nik-ə-RAH-gwə), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaragua [reˈpuβlika ðe nikaˈɾaɣwa] ( listen)), is the largest country in the Central American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The country's physical geography divides it into three major zones: Pacific lowlands; wet, cooler central highlands; and the Caribbean lowlands. On the Pacific side of the country are the two largest fresh water lakes in Central America—Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua. Surrounding these lakes and extending to their northwest along the rift valley of the Gulf of Fonseca are fertile lowland plains, with soil highly enriched by ash from nearby volcanoes of the central highlands. Nicaragua's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contribute to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot.
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Nidaros Cathedral
Nidaros Cathedral (Norwegian: Nidarosdomen / Nidaros Domkirke) is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is the traditional location for the consecration of the King of Norway. King Harald was consecrated at Nidaros Cathedral on June 23, 1991.
It was the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nidaros from its establishment in 1152 until its abolition in 1537. Since the Reformation, it has been the cathedral of the Lutheran bishops of Trondheim (or Nidaros) in the Diocese of Nidaros. The architectural style of the cathedral is Romanesque and Gothic. Historically it was an important destination for pilgrims coming from all of Northern Europe. It is the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world.
Along with Vår Frue Church, the cathedral is part of the Nidaros og Vår Frue parish in the Nidaros deanery in the Diocese of Nidaros.
Work on the cathedral started in 1070 and was finished sometime around 1300. The cathedral was badly damaged by fires in 1327 and again in 1531. The nave west of the transept was destroyed and was not rebuilt until the restoration in early 1900s. In 1708 it burned down completely except for the stone walls. It was struck by lightning in 1719, and was again ravaged by fire. Major rebuilding and restoration of the cathedral started in 1869, initially led by architect Heinrich Ernst Schirmer, and nearly completed by Christian Christie. It was officially completed in 2001. Maintenance of the cathedral is an ongoing process.
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Niegowić
Niegowić [ɲeˈɡɔvit͡ɕ] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Gdów, within Wieliczka County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 13 kilometres (8 mi) south-east of Wieliczka and 25 km (16 mi) south-east of the regional capital Kraków.
Niegowić was the place of the first appointment of Karol Wojtyła, the future Pope John Paul II, as parish priest. He served there from July 1948 to August 1949, before the then-Cardinal Archbishop, Prince Adam Sapieha (who had ordained Wojtyla a priest in 1946 on an accelerated schedule, sending him to work on a doctorate in theology in Rome before beginning parish work), assigned him to work at St. Florian's Church in Krakow (where he began his work with university students as a chaplain to attendees of the Jagiellonian University and the Krakow Polytechnic Institute). While he was at the parish, the then-pastor celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his presbyteral ordination. It was Father Wojtyla who suggested that as a present, the parish arrange to build a new church, which was eventually done- the first built at his suggestion.
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Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize (Norwegian and Swedish: Nobels fredspris) is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature. It is awarded to those who have "done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."
Per Alfred Nobel's will, the recipient is selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, a 5-member committee appointed by the Parliament of Norway. Since 1990, the prize is awarded in Oslo City Hall on 10 December each year. The prize was formerly awarded in the Atrium of the University of Oslo Faculty of Law (1947–89), the Norwegian Nobel Institute (1905–46) and the Parliament (1901–04).
According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who "shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."
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Papal States
The Papal State(s), the State(s) of the Church, the Pontifical States, the Ecclesiastical States, or the Roman States (Italian: Stato Pontificio, also Stato della Chiesa, Stati della Chiesa, Stati Pontifici, and Stato Ecclesiastico; Latin: Status Pontificius, also Dicio Pontificia) were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia (after which the Papal States, in less territorially extensive form, continued to exist until 1870).
The Papal States comprised territories under direct sovereign rule of the papacy, and at its height it covered most of the modern Italian regions of Romagna, Marche, Umbria and Lazio. This governing power is commonly called the temporal power of the Pope, as opposed to his ecclesiastical primacy.
The plural Papal States is usually preferred; the singular Papal State (equally correct since it was not a mere personal union) tends to be used (normally with lower-case letters) for the modern State of Vatican City, an enclave within Italy's national capital, Rome. The Vatican City was founded in 1929, again allowing the Holy See the political benefits of territorial sovereignty.
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Romania
Romania (i/roʊˈmeɪniə/ roh-MAY-nee-ə; dated: Roumania; or Rumania;Romanian: România [romɨˈni.a] ( listen)) is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Romania shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and Moldova to the northeast and east, and Bulgaria to the south.
At 238,400 square kilometers (92,000 sq mi), Romania is the ninth largest country of the European Union by area, and has the seventh largest population of the European Union with over 19 million people. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest, the tenth largest city in the EU with about two million people.
The Kingdom of Romania emerged when the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia were united under Prince Alexander Ioan Cuza in 1859. Independence from the Ottoman Empire was declared on 9 May 1877, and was internationally recognized the following year. At the end of World War I, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with the Kingdom of Romania. Greater Romania emerged into an era of progression and prosperity that would continue until World War II. By the end of the War, many north-eastern areas of Romania's territories were occupied by the Soviet Union, and Romania forcibly became a socialist republic and a member of the Warsaw Pact.
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Roskilde Cathedral
Roskilde Cathedral (Danish: Roskilde Domkirke), in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand (Sjælland) in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Denmark. The first Gothic cathedral to be built of brick, it encouraged the spread of the Brick Gothic style throughout Northern Europe. Constructed during the 12th and 13th centuries, the cathedral incorporates both Gothic and Romanesque architectural features in its design. Until the 20th century, it was Zealand's only cathedral. Its twin spires dominate the skyline of the town.
The cathedral has been the main burial site for Danish monarchs since the 15th century. As such, it has been significantly extended and altered over the centuries to accommodate a considerable number of burial chapels. Following the Danish Reformation in 1536, the bishop's residence was moved to Copenhagen while the title was changed to Bishop of Zealand. Coronations normally took place in Copenhagen's Church of Our Lady or in the chapel of Frederiksborg Palace.
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San Antonio
San Antonio ( /ˌsænænˈtoʊni.oʊ/) is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.3 million. It was the fastest growing of the top 10 largest cities in the United States from 2000-2010, and the second from 1990-2000. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. San Antonio has characteristics of other western urban centers in which there are sparsely populated areas and a low density rate outside of the city limits. The city is one of the two principal municipalities of the San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan area, the other being New Braunfels. Commonly referred to as Greater San Antonio, the metropolitan area has a population of 2.2 million based on the 2011 U.S. Census estimate, making it the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the United States and third-largest in the state of Texas.
The city was named for San Antonio de Padua, whose feast day is on June 13, when a Spanish expedition stopped in the area in 1691. Famous for Spanish missions, the Alamo, the River Walk, the Tower of the Americas, the Alamo Bowl, Marriage Island and host to SeaWorld and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks, the city is visited by approximately 26 million tourists per year according to the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau. The city is home to the four-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs and the annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, one of the largest in the country.
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South Yemen
The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen — also referred to as South Yemen, Democratic Yemen or Yemen (Aden) — was a single-party socialist state in the present-day southern and eastern Provinces of Yemen. It united with the Yemen Arab Republic, commonly known as North Yemen, on May 22, 1990, to form the current Republic of Yemen.
In 1838, Sultan Muhsin bin Fadl of the nearby state of Lahej ceded 194 km² (75 sq. miles) including Aden to the British. On 19 January 1839, the British East India Company landed Royal Marines at Aden to occupy the territory and stop attacks by pirates against British shipping to India. It then became an important trading hub between British India and the Red Sea, and following the opening of the Suez canal in 1869, it became a coaling station for ships en route to India. Aden was ruled as part of British India until 1937, when the city of Aden became the Colony of Aden. The Aden hinterland and Hadhramaut to the east formed the remainder of what would become South Yemen and was not administered directly by Aden but were tied to Britain by treaties of protection with local rulers of traditional polities that, together, became known as the Aden Protectorate. Economic development was largely centred in Aden, and while the city flourished, the states of the Aden Protectorate stagnated.
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Soviet Union
The Soviet Union (Russian: Советский Союз, tr. Sovetsky Soyuz), officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR; Russian: Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик, tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik; IPA: [sɐˈjus sɐˈvʲetskʲɪx sətsɨəlʲɪˈstʲitɕɪskʲɪx rʲɪsˈpublʲɪk] ( listen); abbreviated СССР, SSSR), was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.
The Soviet Union was a single-party state ruled by the Communist Party from its foundation until 1990. A union of 15 subnational Soviet republics, the Soviet state was structured under a highly centralized government and economy.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 caused the downfall of the Russian Empire. Following the Russian Revolution, there was a struggle for power between the Bolshevik party, led by Vladimir Lenin, and the anti-communist White movement. In December 1922, the Bolsheviks won the civil war, and the Soviet Union was formed with the merger of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.
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Tank Man
Tank Man, or the Unknown Rebel, is the nickname of an anonymous man who stood in front of a column of Chinese Type 59 tanks the morning after the Chinese military forcibly removed protestors from in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. The man achieved widespread international recognition due to the videotape and photographs taken of the incident. Despite his anonymity, he is commonly (though not necessarily correctly) referred to in Chinese as Wang Weilin (王維林), as dubbed by a Sunday Express article.
The incident took place near Tiananmen on Chang'an Avenue, which runs east-west along the south end of the Forbidden City in Beijing, on June 5, 1989, one day after the Chinese government's violent crackdown on the Tiananmen protests. The man placed himself alone in the middle of the street as the tanks approached, directly in the path of the armored vehicles (39°54′23.5″N 116°23′59.8″E / 39.906528°N 116.399944°E / 39.906528; 116.399944). He held two shopping bags, one in each hand. As the tanks came to a stop, the man gestured towards the tanks with his bags. In response, the lead tank attempted to drive around the man, but the man repeatedly stepped into the path of the tank in a show of nonviolent action. After repeatedly attempting to go around rather than crush the man, the lead tank stopped its engines, and the armored vehicles behind it seemed to follow suit. There was a short pause with the man and the tanks having reached a quiet, still impasse.
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The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered on Biscayne Bay in the Omni district of Downtown Miami, Florida, United States. Founded in 1903, it is the largest newspaper in South Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County and Monroe County, and circulates throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
The newspaper employs over 800 people in Miami and across several bureaus, including Bogotá, Managua, Tallahassee, Vero Beach, Key West, and shared space in McClatchy's Washington bureau. Its newsroom staff of about 450 includes 144 reporters, 69 editors, 69 copy editors, 29 photographers, five graphic artists (not including page designers), 11 columnists, six critics, 48 editorial specialists, and 18 news assistants. In June 2009, The Miami Herald announced widespread layoffs in June 2008, with plans to cut 250 full-time jobs—17 percent of the newspaper's workforce.
The newspaper has been awarded 20 Pulitzer Prizes since beginning publication in 1903. Well-known columnists are Pulitzer-winning political commentator Leonard Pitts, Jr., humorist Dave Barry and novelist Carl Hiaasen. Other columnists include Fred Grimm and Edwin Pope. David Landsberg is the publisher, and Aminda Marqués Gonzalez is the executive editor.
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Turkey
Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between East Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.
Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The vast majority of the population are Muslims. The country's official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who constitute 18% of the population.
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Ukraine
Ukraine (i/juːˈkreɪn/ yew-KRAYN; Ukrainian: Україна, transliterated: Ukrayina, [ukrɑˈjinɑ]; Russian: Украина; Crimean Tatar: Ukraina) is a country in Central and Eastern Europe. Ukraine borders the Russian Federation to the east and northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast, respectively. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after the Russian Federation.
According to a popular and well established theory, the medieval state of Kievan Rus was established by the Varangians in the 9th century as the first historically recorded East Slavic state which emerged as a powerful nation in the Middle Ages until it disintegrated in the 12th century. By the middle of the 14th century, Ukrainian territories were under the rule of three external powers—the Golden Horde, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Kingdom of Poland. After the Great Northern War (1700–1721) Ukraine was divided between a number of regional powers and, by the 19th century, the largest part of Ukraine was integrated into the Russian Empire with the rest under Austro-Hungarian control. A chaotic period of incessant warfare ensued, with several internationally recognized attempts at independence from 1917 to 1921, following World War I and the Russian Civil War. Ukraine emerged from its own civil war, and on December 30, 1922 Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic became one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union. The Ukrainian SSR's territory was enlarged westward during the civil war shortly before, and after World War II, and further south in 1954 with the Crimea transfer. In 1945, the Ukrainian SSR became one of the founding members of the United Nations.
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Umayyad Mosque
The Umayyad Mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus (Arabic: جامع بني أمية الكبير, transliteration Ğām' Banī 'Umayya al-Kabīr) or formerly the Basilica of Saint John the Baptist (Greek: Βασιλική του Αγίου Ιωάννη του Βαπτιστή, transliteration Vasilikí tou Agíou Ioánni tou Vaptistí), located in the old city of Damascus, is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world. It is considered the fourth-holiest place in Islam.
After the Arab conquest of Damascus in 634, the mosque was built on the site of a Christian basilica dedicated to John the Baptist (Yahya). The mosque holds a shrine which today may still contain the head of John the Baptist, honored as a prophet by both Christians and Muslims alike, and the place where Isa (Jesus) will return at the End of Days. The tomb of Saladin stands in a small garden adjoining the north wall of the mosque.
Damascus was the capital of the Aramaean state Aram-Damascus during the Iron Age. The Arameans of western Syria followed the cult of Hadad-Ramman, the god of thunderstorms and rain, and erected a temple dedicated to him at the site of the present-day Umayyad Mosque. It is not known exactly how the temple looked, but it is believed to have followed the traditional Semitic-Canaanite architectural form, resembling the Temple of Jerusalem. The site likely consisted of a walled courtyard, a small chamber for worship, and a tower-like structure typically symbolizing the "high place" of storm gods, in this case Hadad. One stone remains from the Aramaean temple, dated to the rule of King Hazael, has survived and is currently on display in the National Museum of Damascus.
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Uppsala Cathedral
Uppsala Cathedral (Swedish: Uppsala domkyrka) is a cathedral located centrally in the city of Uppsala, Sweden. It dates back to the late 13th century and at a height of 118.7 m is the tallest church building in Scandinavia. Originally built under Roman Catholicism and used for coronations of the Swedish monarch, since the Protestant Reformation, it has been controlled by the Lutheran Church of Sweden. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Uppsala, the primate of Sweden.
The construction of the cathedral be the archbishopric was moved from Old Uppsala (Swedish: Gamla Uppsala). It took more than a century to complete. When inaugurated in 1435 under archbishop Olaus Laurentii, the cathedral was not completely finished. It was dedicated to Saint Lawrence, highly cherished in all of Sweden at that time; Saint Eric, the patron of Sweden (though never canonised by the Roman Catholic Church); and Saint Olaf, the patron of Norway. It was completed within the following decades.
Between 1885-1893, the architect Helgo Zettervall (1831-1907) oversaw a second restoration, intending for the cathedral a French Gothic revival appearance, which was popular in the late 19th century. The original, medieval style was Baltic International Gothic, characterised by relatively robust brick walls. He replaced the small Baroque towers with tall (French-inspired) spires, including a third, smaller tower on the transept crossing in the same style. Zettervall also so significantly altered large portions of the medieval outer brick walls as to give it a slimmer appearance. He removed the white-washed "blind windows" which had been similar to those on parts of the nearby Holy Trinity Church (Swedish: Helga trefaldighets kyrka).
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Vatican City
Vatican Cityi/ˈvætɨkən ˈsɪti/, or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano (pronounced [ˈstaːto della t͡ʃitˈta del vatiˈkaːno]), is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of just over 800. This makes Vatican City the smallest independent state in the world by both area and population.
Vatican City State was established in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri, on behalf of Pope Pius XI and by Prime Minister and Head of Government Benito Mussolini on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. Vatican City State is distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity and is the main episcopal see of 1.2 billion Latin and Eastern Catholic adherents around the globe. Ordinances of Vatican City are published in Italian; official documents of the Holy See are issued mainly in Latin. The two entities have distinct passports: the Holy See, not being a country, issues only diplomatic and service passports, whereas Vatican City State issues normal passports. In each case very few passports are issued.
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Vågå
Vågå (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈʋoːɡoː]) is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vågåmo.
The parish of Vaage was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The areas of Sel and Heidal were separated from the municipality of Vågå to become separate municipalities of their own on 1 January 1908.
Two origins have been suggested for the name Vågå:
Prior to 1918, the name was written "Vaage". In 1918, it was changed to "Vaagaa" and in 1921 the spelling was again changed to "Vågå". The letter å is a long vowel similar to "oh" or "aw", like in the American pronunciation of "cold" or "oar."
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 23 August 1985. The arms show a gold reindeer on a red background. They are based on a character in Henrik Ibsen's book Peer Gynt, who rides on a reindeer bull over the Besseggen mountains. Ibsen got the idea for this book from a local story.
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Wadowice
Wadowice [vadɔˈvit͡sɛ] is a city in southern Poland, 50 km from Kraków with 19,200 inhabitants (2006), situated on the Skawa river, confluence of Vistula, in the eastern part of Silesian Foothills (Pogórze Śląskie). Wadowice is best known for being the birthplace of Pope John Paul II.
The first permanent settlement in the area of today's Wadowice was founded in late 10th century or early 11th century. According to a local legend, the town was founded by certain ‘Wad’ or ‘Wład’, a short form for the Slavic name of Ladislaus (Polish: ‘Władysław’). The town was first mentioned as Wadowicze in St. Peter penny register in years 1325–1327. In 1327 it is also mentioned (under the same name) in a fief registry sent from prince John I Scholastyk of Oświęcim to Bohemian king John I, Count of Luxemburg. At this time it was a trading settlement belonging to the Dukes of Silesia of the Piast Dynasty, and according to some historians it was already a municipality. In 1430 a great fire destroyed the town. It was soon rebuilt and granted city rights, along with a city charter and a self-government, based on the then-popular Kulm law. The privileges, granted by Prince Kazimierz I of Oświęcim led to a period of fast reconstruction and growth.
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Warsaw
Warsaw (Polish: Warszawa [varˈʂava] ( listen); see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly 260 kilometres (160 mi) from the Baltic Sea and 300 kilometres (190 mi) from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most populous city proper in the European Union. The area of the city covers 516.9 square kilometres (199.6 sq mi), while the city's agglomeration covers 6,100.43 square kilometres (2,355.39 sq mi).
Warsaw is an Alpha- global city, a major international tourist destination and an important economic hub in Central Europe. It is also known as the "phoenix city" because it has survived many wars throughout its history. Most notably, the city had to be painstakingly rebuilt after the extensive damage it suffered from World War II, during which 80% of its buildings were destroyed. On 9 November 1940 the city was awarded Poland's highest military decoration for heroism, the Virtuti Militari, for the Siege of Warsaw (1939).
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Warsaw Uprising
Coordinates: 52°13′48″N 21°00′39″E / 52.23°N 21.01083°E / 52.23; 21.01083
The Warsaw Uprising (Polish: powstanie warszawskie) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army (Polish: Armia Krajowa), to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces. Controversially, the Soviet advance stopped short, enabling the Germans to regroup and literally demolish the city in crushing the Polish resistance, which fought for 63 days with little outside support.
The uprising began on 1 August 1944, as part of a nationwide plan, Operation Tempest, when the Soviet Army approached Warsaw. The main Polish objectives were to drive the German occupiers from the city and help with the larger fight against Germany and the Axis powers. Secondary political objectives were to liberate Warsaw before the Soviets, to underscore Polish sovereignty by empowering the Polish Underground State before the Soviet-backed Polish Committee of National Liberation could assume control. Also, short-term causes included the threat of a German round-up of able-bodied Poles, and Moscow radio calling for the Uprising to begin.
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Western Wall
The Western Wall, Wailing Wall or Kotel (Hebrew: הַכֹּתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי (help·info), translit.: HaKotel HaMa'aravi; Ashkenazic pronunciation: Kosel; Arabic: حائط البراق, translit.: Ḥā'iṭ Al-Burāq, translat.: The Buraq Wall) is located in the Old City of Jerusalem at the foot of the western side of the Temple Mount. It is a remnant of the ancient wall that surrounded the Jewish Temple's courtyard, and is arguably the most sacred site recognized by the Jewish faith outside of the Temple Mount itself. Just over half the wall, including its 17 courses located below street level, dates from the end of the Second Temple period, commonly believed to have been constructed around 19 BCE by Herod the Great, but recent excavations indicate that the works were not finished during Herod's lifetime. The remaining layers were added from the 7th century onwards. The Western Wall refers not only to the exposed section facing a large plaza in the Jewish Quarter, but also to the sections concealed behind structures running along the whole length of the Temple Mount, such as the Little Western Wall–a 25 ft (8 m) section in the Muslim Quarter.
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White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical style. It has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801, he (with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe) expanded the building outward, creating two colonnades that were meant to conceal stables and storage.
In 1814, during the War of 1812, the mansion was set ablaze by the British Army in the Burning of Washington, destroying the interior and charring much of the exterior. Reconstruction began almost immediately, and President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed house in October 1817. Construction continued with the addition of the South Portico in 1824 and the North in 1829. Because of crowding within the executive mansion itself, President Theodore Roosevelt had all work offices relocated to the newly constructed West Wing in 1901. Eight years later, President William Howard Taft expanded the West Wing and created the first Oval Office which was eventually moved as the section was expanded. The third-floor attic was converted to living quarters in 1927 by augmenting the existing hip roof with long shed dormers. A newly constructed East Wing was used as a reception area for social events; Jefferson's colonnades connected the new wings. East Wing alterations were completed in 1946, creating additional office space. By 1948, the house's load-bearing exterior walls and internal wood beams were found to be close to failure. Under Harry S. Truman, the interior rooms were completely dismantled and a new internal load-bearing steel frame constructed inside the walls. Once this work was completed, the interior rooms were rebuilt.
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World Youth Day 1995
World Youth Day 1995 was a Catholic youth festival that took place from January 10–15, 1995 in Manila, Philippines. It was the first time for an Asian country to host the event. Pope John Paul II presided over the event, marking his second trip to the country as a pope, the first was in 1981.
Youth pilgrims gathered from different parts of the world to worship together, learn of each other's cultures, and to talk amongst one another as "brothers and sisters." The event was celebrated with different activities including a "Barrio Fiesta," where assigned groups would gather to socialize and have fun. Masses were celebrated every day in almost every Catholic Church in the Philippines.
The closing Mass, held at Luneta Park, was estimated to have been attended by more than 5 million people; current world record for the largest Papal gathering in Roman Catholic history. Some have even suggested it may have been the largest Christian gathering ever, although this is not certain. The official theme song of this event is "Tell the World of His Love," composed by renowned Filipina songwriter Trina Belamide .
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World Youth Day 2005
The 20th World Youth Day 2005 (German: XX. Weltjugendtag Köln) was a Catholic youth festival that started on August 16 and continued until August 21, 2005 in Cologne, Germany. It was the first World Youth Day and foreign trip of Pope Benedict XVI, who joined the festival on August 18. This meeting was decided by the previous pope, John Paul II, during the Toronto World Youth Day of 2002. The theme was "We have come to worship Him" (from Matthew 2:2).
About 400,000 young people from 200 countries attended during the week, and more than 1,000,000 came for the weekend. They were joined by about 600 bishops and cardinals, as well as by 6,600 reporters.
Originally, Pope John Paul II was to attend the World Youth Day in Cologne. After he died earlier in 2005, it was instead his successor Pope Benedict XVI's first apostolic journey. Most pilgrims to the World Youth Day made their plans to come while John Paul II was still Pope, and had hoped to see him. Before Pope Benedict XVI led the central mass, he met with several politicians and others.
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Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem (Hebrew: יד ושם ("Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority") is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament.
The origin of the name is from a Biblical verse: "And to them will I give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name (Yad Vashem) that shall not be cut off".
Located in the western region of Mount Herzl on the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem, Yad Vashem is a 180-dunam (180,000 m2) complex containing the Holocaust History Museum; memorial sites, such as the Children's Memorial and the Hall of Remembrance; The Museum of Holocaust Art; sculptures, outdoor commemorative sites such as the Valley of the Communities, a synagogue, archives, a research institute, library, publishing house and an educational center, The International School for Holocaust Studies. Yad Vashem honors non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust, at personal risk, as the "Righteous among the Nations".
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Þingvellir
Þingvellir (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈθiŋkˌvɛtlɪr̥], Thing Fields) is a place in Bláskógabyggð in southwestern Iceland, near the peninsula of Reykjanes and the Hengill volcanic area. Þingvellir is a site of historical, cultural, and geological importance and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland. It is the site of a rift valley that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It is also home to Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland.[citation needed]
Parliament or Alþingi was established at Þingvellir in 930 and remained there until 1789.Þingvellir National Park was founded in 1930 to protect the remains of the parliament site and was later expanded to protect natural phenomena in the surrounding area. Þingvellir National Park was the first national park in Iceland and was decreed "a protected national shrine for all Icelanders, the perpetual property of the Icelandic nation under the preservation of parliament, never to be sold or mortgaged."
According to Landnámabók, the settlement of Iceland began in AD 874 when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfur Arnarson became the first permanent Norwegian settler on the island. Over the next centuries, people of Norse and Celtic origin settled in Iceland. Early on, district assemblies were formed, but as the population grew there was a need for a general assembly. The descendants of Ingólfur Arnarson who dominated the region of southwest Iceland had become the most powerful family in the country, and other chieftains felt a need for a general assembly to limit their power.
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14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama (religious name: Tenzin Gyatso, shortened from Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, born Lhamo Dondrub, 6 July 1935) is the 14th and current Dalai Lama, as well as the longest lived incumbent. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, and is also well known for his lifelong advocacy for Tibetans inside and outside Tibet. Tibetans traditionally believe him to be the reincarnation of his predecessors and a manifestation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion.
The Dalai Lama was born in Taktser, Qinghai (also known to Tibetans as Amdo), and was selected as the rebirth of the 13th Dalai Lama two years later, although he was only formally recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama on 17 November 1950, at the age of 15. He inherited control over a government controlling an area roughly corresponding to the Tibet Autonomous Region just as the nascent People's Republic of China wished to assert central control over it. There is a dispute over whether the respective governments reached an agreement for a joint Chinese-Tibetan administration.
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Abraham
Abraham (Hebrew: אַבְרָהָם (help·info), Modern: Avraham, Tiberian: ʼAḇrāhām, Ashkenazi Avrohom or Avruhom, Arabic: إبراهيم Ibrāhīm, Ge'ez: አብርሃም ʼAbrəham, Greek: Aβραάμ, Russian: Авраам), whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. According to both the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, through his sons Ishmael and Isaac, Abraham is the forefather of many tribes, namely the Ishmaelites, Israelites, Midianites and Edomites. Abraham was a descendant of Noah's son, Shem. Christians believe that Jesus was a descendant of Abraham through Isaac, and Muslims believe that Muhammad was a descendant of Abraham through Ishmael. Abraham is notable for his advocation and promotion of monotheism.
The Book of Genesis narrative that records the life of Abraham presents his role as one that could only be fulfilled through a monotheistic covenant established between him and God. The Qur'an has stories about Abraham and his offspring that are similar to the Bible's. In Islam, Abraham is recognised as a prophet, patriarch and messenger, archetype of the perfect Muslim, and reformer of the Kaaba.
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Adam Malik
Adam Malik Batubara (22 July 1917 – 5 September 1984) was Indonesia's third vice president, a senior diplomat, and one of the pioneers of Indonesian journalism.
Malik was born in Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra, Dutch East Indies to Abdul Malik Batubara and Salamah Lubis. He is from a Batak Muslim family of Batubara clan. After completing Junior High School, he received his first job as a shopkeeper, filling in time by reading books and increasing his knowledge.
Malik quickly developed an interest in politics and aged just 17, became the Chairman of the Pematang Siantar branch of Partindo (Indonesia Party). In this position, Malik campaigned for the Dutch Colonial Government to grant independence to Indonesia. As a result of this, Malik was put in prison for disobeying the Colonial Government's ban on political assemblies. Once he was freed, Malik left Pematang Siantar for Jakarta.
After leaving hometown, Malik pursued a job as a journalist. He wrote for Partindo's Party Magazine and Pelita Andalas Newspaper. In 1937, along with like-minded colleagues, Malik formed ANTARA. ANTARA would develop to become Indonesia's national news agency.
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Adam Stefan Sapieha
Prince Adam Stefan Stanisław Bonifacy Józef Sapieha (Polish pronunciation: [ˈadam ˈstɛfan saˈpjɛxa]; 14 May 1867 – 23 July 1951) was a Polish cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Kraków. Between 1922–1923 he was a senator of the Second Rzeczpospolita. In 1946, Pope Pius XII created him Cardinal.
Sapieha was born in 1867 in the Castle of Krasiczyn. His family originated from Lithuania were members of the Polish nobility. He was the youngest of the seven children of Prince Adam Stanisław Sapieha-Kodenski and Princess Jadwiga Klementyna Sanguszko-Lubartowicza.
After graduating from gymnasium in Lwow in 1886, he enrolled in the Law Department at the University of Vienna, starting simultaneously law studies at Institut Catholique in Lille. In 1887 on the basis of his certificate from The University of Vienna Sapieha continued studies at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. After two years he passed the examination and returned to Vienna for further studies, where he remained until 1890, obtaining the certificate of completion. In the same year he began theological studies at the University of Innsbruck, and in 1892 signed up for the third year of seminary studies in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv.
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Adolfo Suárez
Adolfo Suárez y González, 1st Duke of Suárez, Grandee of Spain, KOGF (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈðolfo ˈswaɾeθ]; born 25 September 1932) is a Spanish lawyer and politician. Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected prime minister after the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, and the key figure in the country's transition to democracy.
He is a son of Hipólito Suárez Guerra and Herminia González Prados (Ávila, 1910 – 18 July 2006), and the brother of Doña María del Carmen Suárez González, who is married to Aurelio Delgado Martín
Suárez studied Law at Salamanca University, and held several government posts during the late Francoist regime.
He became the Minister Secretary General of the National Movement (Movimiento Nacional), a body that served as sole political party, for 18 years, a period that extended beyond the death of Franco in November 1975. At a rally just a month before Franco's death, Suárez was queried by the aging Caudillo on the political future of Spain and told him frankly that the Movement would not likely long survive Franco and that democratization was inevitable. Suárez was appointed as the 138th Prime Minister of Spain by the Spanish King Juan Carlos on 4 July 1976, a move opposed by leftists and some centrists given his Francoist history. As a nationalist, he was chosen by the monarch to lead the country towards a democratic, parliamentary monarchy without annoying the powerful conservative factions (especially the military) in the country. Surprising many observers and political opponents, Suárez introduced Political Reform in 1976 as a first, decisive step in the Transition (La Transición) to democracy.
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Agostinho Neto
António Agostinho Neto (September 17, 1922 – September 10, 1979) served as the first President of Angola (1975–1979), leading the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in the war for independence and the civil war. His birthday is celebrated as National Heroes Day, a public holiday in Angola.
Born at Ícolo e Bengo, in Bengo Province, Angola, in 1922, Neto attended high school in the capital city, Luanda; his father, also called Agostinho Neto, was a Methodist pastor. The younger Neto left Angola for Portugal, and studied medicine at the universities of Coimbra and Lisbon. He combined his academic life with covert political activity of a revolutionary sort; and PIDE, the security police force of the Estado Novo regime headed by Portuguese Prime Minister Salazar, arrested him in 1951 for his separatist activism. Seven years later he was released from prison, and he finished his studies, marrying a white 23-years-old Portuguese woman who was born in Trás-os-Montes, Maria Eugénia da Silva, the same day he graduated. He returned to Angola in 1959.
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Ahmad Shah Massoud
Ahmad Shah Massoud (احمد شاه مسعود Aḥmad Šāh Mas'ūd; September 2, 1953 – September 9, 2001) was a political and military leader in Afghanistan. He was a central figure, known as the "Lion of Panjshir", in the resistance against the Soviet occupation between 1979 and 1989, fought against the alliance of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in the early 1990s, and led resistance against the Taliban regime between 1996 and 2001. Massoud was assassinated on September 9, 2001, two days before the attacks of September 11.
Massoud was an Afghan-Tajik Sunni Muslim born in the Panjshir in northern Afghanistan. He studied engineering at Kabul University in the 1970s, where he became involved with Muslim anti-communist movements around Burhanuddin Rabbani. He led an uprising against the Soviet-backed communist government in his native Panjshir in 1979. His role in the following period of armed resistance against the Soviet occupation forces earned him the nickname of "Lion of Panjshir" (شیر پنجشیر). Following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan the Wall Street Journal named Massoud "the Afghan who won the Cold War". In 1992, he was appointed minister of defense in the government of the newly established Islamic State of Afghanistan by the peace and power-sharing agreement Peshawar Accords. He led the Islamic State's defense against attacks by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's alliance of militias which were backed by Pakistan. Following the rise of the Taliban in 1996, Massoud, who rejected the Taliban's and Al-Qaeda's extremist interpretation of Islam, returned to the role of an armed opposition leader, serving as the military and political leader of the multiethnic United Islamic Front (also known in the West as Northern Alliance). In 1997, he helped end the civil war in neighboring Tajikistan urging parties to accept a United Nations peace plan.
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Alain Poher
Alain Émile Louis Marie Poher (French: [alɛ̃ pɔɛʁ]; 17 April 1909 – 9 December 1996) was a French centrist politician, affiliated first with the Popular Republican Movement and later with the Democratic Centre. He served as a Senator for Val-de-Marne from 1946 to 1995. He was President of the Senate from 3 October 1968 to 1 October 1992 and, in that capacity, served twice as the country's interim president. Candidate in the 1969 presidential election, he was defeated by Georges Pompidou in the second round.
Poher was born in Ablon-sur-Seine, Val-de-Marne.
He graduated from the Lycée Louis-le-Grand and the Lycée Saint-Louis in Paris and later studied law. On 19 August 1938 he married Henriette Tugler, with whom he had one daughter, Marie-Agnès.
His political career began in 1938, when he became a junior executive officer in the Ministry of Finance.
Later he served on several positions before entering Senate:
A longtime ally and political protege of Schumann, Poher was elected to the Senate in 1952, where he remained for over 40 years (until 1995). As Senator he continued to serve in some governments and his home town mayor. Like Schuman, he was known for strongly pro-European integration positions, having served as President of the European Parliament (1968–1969).
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Alcide De Gasperi
Alcide De Gasperi (Italian pronunciation: [alˈtʃiːde de ˈɡasperi]; April 3, 1881 – August 19, 1954) was an Italian statesman and politician and founder of the Christian Democratic Party. From 1945 to 1953 he was the prime minister of eight successive coalition governments. His eight-year rule remains a landmark of political longevity for a leader in modern Italian politics. A conservative Catholic, he was one of the Founding fathers of the European Union, along with the Frenchman Robert Schuman and the German Konrad Adenauer.
De Gasperi was born in Pieve Tesino in Tyrol, which at that time belonged to Austria-Hungary, now part of the Trentino in Italy. His father was a local police officer of limited financial means. From 1896 De Gasperi was active in the Social Christian movement. In 1900 he joined the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy in Vienna, where he played an important role in the inception of the Christian student movement. He was very much inspired by the Rerum Novarum encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1891. In 1904 he took an active part in the student demonstrations in favour of an Italian-language university. Imprisoned with other protesters during the inauguration of the Italian juridical faculty in Innsbruck, he was released after twenty days. In 1905, De Gasperi obtained a degree in philology.
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Aldo Moro
Aldo Moro (Italian pronunciation: [ˈaldo ˈmɔːro]; September 23, 1916 – May 9, 1978) was an Italian politician and the 39th Prime Minister of Italy, from 1963 to 1968, and then from 1974 to 1976. He was one of Italy's longest-serving post-war Prime Ministers, holding power for a combined total of more than six years.
A leader of Democrazia Cristiana (Christian Democracy, DC), Moro was considered an intellectual and a patient mediator, especially in the internal life of his party. He was kidnapped on March 16, 1978, by the left-wing Red Brigades (BR), and killed after 55 days of captivity.
Moro was born in Maglie, in the province of Lecce (Puglia), into a family from Ugento. At 4, he moved with his family to Milan, but they soon moved back to Puglia, where he gained a classical high school degree at Archita lyceum in Taranto. Till 1939 he studied Law at the University of Bari, an institution where he was later to hold the post of ordinary professor of philosophy of Law and Colonial Policy (1941) and of Criminal Law (1942).
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Alexander Dubček
Alexander Dubček (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈalɛksandɛr ˈduptʃɛk]; 27 November 1921 – 7 November 1992) was a Slovak politician and briefly leader of Czechoslovakia (1968–1969), famous for his attempt to reform the communist regime during the Prague Spring. Later, after the overthrow of the government in 1989, he was Chairman of the federal Czecho-Slovak parliament.
Dubček was born in Uhrovec, Czechoslovakia (Slovakia), and raised in the Kyrgyz SSR of the Soviet Union (now Kyrgyzstan) as a member of the Esperantist industrial cooperative Interhelpo. His father, Štefan, moved from Chicago to Czechoslovakia after World War I, when he refused to serve in the military for his pacifism. Alexander Dubček was conceived in Chicago, but born after the family relocated to Czechoslovakia. When Alexander Dubček was three, the family moved to the Soviet Union, in part to help build socialism and in part because jobs were scarce in Czechoslovakia. In 1938 the family returned to Czechoslovakia.
During the Second World War, Alexander Dubček joined the underground resistance against the wartime pro-German Slovak state headed by Jozef Tiso. In August 1944, Dubček fought in the Slovak National Uprising and was wounded. His brother, Július, was killed.
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Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon (20/21 July 356 – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great (Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας, Aléxandros ho Mégas from the Greek αλέξω alexo "to defend, help" + ανήρ aner "man"), was a king of Macedon, a state in northern ancient Greece. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas. He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of history's most successful commanders.
Alexander succeeded his father, Philip II of Macedon, to the throne in 336 BC after Philip was assassinated. Upon Philip's death, Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He was awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his father's military expansion plans. In 334 BC, he invaded Persian-ruled Asia Minor and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably the battles of Issus and Gaugamela. He subsequently overthrew the Persian King Darius III and conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire. At that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River.
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Alexei Kosygin
Alexei Nikolayevich Kosygin (Russian: Алексе́й Никола́евич Косы́гин, tr. Aleksej Nikolajevič Kosygin; IPA: [ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ kɐˈsɨgʲɪn]; (21 February [O.S. 5 March] 1904 – 18 December 1980) was a Soviet-Russian statesman during the Cold War. Kosygin was born in the city of St. Petersburg in 1904 to a Russian working class family. He was conscripted into the labor army during the Russian Civil War, and after the Red Army's demobilisation in 1921, he worked in Siberia as an industrial manager. Kosygin returned to Leningrad in the early 1930s and worked his way up the Soviet hierarchy. During the Great Patriotic War (World War II), Kosygin was a member of the State Defence Committee and was tasked with moving Soviet industry out of territories soon to be overrun by the German military. He served as Minister of Finance for a year before becoming Minister of Light Industry and later, the Minister of Light and Food Industry. One year before his death in 1953, Stalin removed Kosygin from the Politburo, intentionally weakening his position within the Soviet hierarchy.
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Aloysius Stepinac
Aloysius Viktor Stepinac (Croatian: Alojzije Viktor Stepinac, 8 May 1898 –10 February 1960), also known as Blessed Aloysius Stepinac, was a Croatian Catholic cardinal and Archbishop of Zagreb from 1937 to 1960. In 1998 he was declared a martyr and beatified by Pope John Paul II.
Stepinac was ordained on October 26, 1930 by archbishop Giuseppe Palica, and in 1931 he became a parish curate in Zagreb. He established the archdiocesan branch of Caritas in 1931, and was appointed coadjutor to the see of Zagreb in 1934. When Archbishop Anton Bauer died on December 7, 1937, Stepinac succeeded him as the Archbishop of Zagreb. During World War II, on 6 April 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded by Nazi Germany, who established the Ustaše-led Independent State of Croatia (Croatian: Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH). As archbishop of the puppet state's capital, Stepinac had close associations with the Ustaše leaders during the Nazi occupation, had issued proclamations celebrating the NDH, and welcomed the Ustaše leaders. Stepinac also objected to the persecution of Jews and Nazi laws, helped Jews and others to escape and criticized Ustaše atrocities in front of Zagreb Cathedral in 1943.
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Anatoly Dobrynin
Anatoly Fyodorovich Dobrynin (Russian: Анатолий Фёдорович Добрынин, November 16, 1919 – April 6, 2010) was a Russian statesman and a former Soviet diplomat and politician. He was Soviet Ambassador to the United States, serving from 1962 to 1986 and most notably during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He was appointed by Nikita Khrushchev.
Dobrynin was born in the village of Krasnaya Gorka, near Mozhaisk in the Moscow Oblast. His father was a locksmith. He attended the Moscow Aviation Institute and after graduation went to work for the Yakovlev Design Bureau. He entered the Higher Diplomatic School in 1944 and graduated with distinction.
Dobrynin joined the Soviet Diplomatic Service working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Training Division. He later joined the Secretariat of the ministry working for Molotov, Shepilov, Gromyko and Zorin. He was appointed Deputy Secretary-General at the United Nations in 1957 and returned to Moscow as head of the Soviet Foreign Ministry's North America Department in 1959. Dobrynin was appointed Soviet Ambassador to the USA in 1962.
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Andrea Riccardi
Andrea Riccardi (born 1950 in Rome) is the founder of the Community of Sant'Egidio and Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Rome III in Rome, Italy. Since November 16, 2011, he serves as Minister for International Cooperation without portfolio in the Monti Cabinet.
Andrea Riccardi is also a member of the Fondation Chirac's honour committee, ever since the foundation was launched in 2008 by former French president Jacques Chirac in order to promote world peace. He also participated as jury member in 2009 for the Prize for Conflict Prevention awarded every year by this foundation.
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Andrei Gromyko
Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko (Russian: Андре́й Андре́евич Громы́ко; Belarusian Андрэ́й Андрэ́евіч Грамы́ка; 18 July [O.S. 5 July] 1909 – 2 July 1989) was a Soviet statesman during the Cold War. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1957–1985) and as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (1985–1987). Gromyko was responsible for many top decisions on Soviet foreign policy until he retired in 1987. In the West he was given the nickname Mr. Nyet ("Mr. No").
Gromyko's political career started in 1939 with his employment at the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (later renamed Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1946). In 1943 Gromyko became the Soviet ambassador to the United States, leaving in 1946 to become the Soviet Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Upon his return to the Soviet Union he became a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and later the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. He went on to become the Soviet ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1952.
Gromyko played a direct role in the Cuban Missile Crisis in his role as the Soviet Foreign Minister. Gromyko helped negotiate arms limitations treaties such as the ABM Treaty, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and SALT I and II among others. Under Leonid Brezhnev's leadership Gromyko helped build the policy of détente between the US and the USSR. He supported Mikhail Gorbachev's candidacy for General Secretary in 1985. Gromyko lost his office as foreign minister when Gorbachev became General Secretary, and was instead appointed to the largely ceremonial office of head of state. Gromyko retired from political life in 1988 and died the following year on 2 July 1989 in Moscow.
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Andrew Card
Andrew Hill Card, Jr. (born May 10, 1947) is a Republican American politician, former United States Cabinet member, and head of President George W. Bush's White House Iraq Group. Card served as U.S. Secretary of Transportation under President George H. W. Bush and the White House Chief of Staff under George W. Bush. He announced his resignation as Chief of Staff March 28, 2006, effective April 14, 2006. Card is currently the Dean of The Bush School of Government and Public Service, at Texas A&M University.
Card was born in Brockton, Massachusetts, the son of Joyce (née Whitaker) and Andrew Hill Card, Sr. He was active in the Boy Scouts of America's Old Colony Council and earned the rank of Life Scout. Later, he graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. He also attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Card served in the United States Merchant Marine from 1966 to 1967.
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Andrew Grove
Andrew Stephen ("Andy") Grove (born 2 Sept 1936), is a Hungarian-born American businessman, engineer, and author. He is a science pioneer in the semiconductor industry. He escaped from Communist-controlled Hungary at the age of 20 and moved to the U.S., where he finished his education. He later became CEO of Intel Corporation and helped transform the company into the world's largest manufacturer of semiconductors.
In 1968, along with colleagues Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, Grove co-founded Intel after the three left Fairchild Semiconductor. He became the start-up company's chief operating officer (COO), where he directed all management functions, and in 1987 became its chief executive officer (CEO). During his tenure as CEO, Grove oversaw an increase in Intel's stock value by 2,400%, making it one of the world's most valuable companies. With Grove managing development and promotion of Intel's microprocessors, they would, in the 1980s, be used to power all IBM PCs as well as those of IBM's competitors.
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Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel, German: [aŋˈɡeːla doʁoˈteːa ˈmɛʁkl̩] ( listen); née Kasner (born 17 July 1954) is the Chancellor of Germany and Chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Merkel is the first female Chancellor of Germany.
A physical chemist by professional background, Merkel entered politics in the wake of the Revolutions of 1989 and briefly served as the deputy spokesperson for Lothar de Maizière's democratically elected East German government prior to the German reunification. Following reunification in 1990, she was elected to the Bundestag, where she has represented the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern since. She served as Federal Minister for Women and Youth 1991–1994 and as Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety 1994–1998 in Helmut Kohl's fourth and fifth cabinets. She was Secretary General of the CDU 1998–2000, and was elected chairperson in 2000. From 2002 to 2005, she was also chair of the CDU/CSU parliamentary coalition.
After her election as Chancellor following the 2005 federal election, she led a grand coalition consisting of her own CDU party, its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), until 2009. In the 2009 federal election, the CDU obtained the largest share of the votes, and formed a coalition government with the CSU and the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP).
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Angelo Sodano
Angelo Sodano (born 23 November 1927) is an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the current Dean of the College of Cardinals and former Cardinal Secretary of State, having held that post from 1990 to 2006, under both popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. On 27 April 2005, he was elected to succeed Benedict XVI as Dean of the College of Cardinals by his fellow Cardinal Bishops. Sodano was the first person since 1828 to serve simultaneously as Dean and Secretary of State.
On 22 June 2006, Benedict XVI accepted Sodano's resignation as Secretary of State, effective on 15 September 2006. He was succeeded by Tarcisio Bertone, then Archbishop of Genoa.
The second of six children, Angelo Sodano was born in Isola d'Asti, Piedmont, to Giovanni and Delfina Sodano. His father was a Christian Democrat deputy in the Italian Parliament for three terms from 1948 until 1963. After studying philosophy and theology at the seminary of Asti, Sodano was ordained a priest by Bishop Umberto Rossi on 23 September 1950, and then did pastoral work and taught dogmatic theology at the Asti seminary.
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Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957. He was also Foreign Secretary for three periods between 1935 and 1955, including during the Second World War. He is best known for his outspoken opposition to appeasement in the 1930s, his diplomatic leadership in the 1940s and 1950s, and the failure of his Middle East policy in 1956 that ended his premiership.
Eden's worldwide reputation as an opponent of appeasement, a "Man of Peace", and a skilled diplomat was overshadowed in the second year of his premiership when the United States refused to support the Anglo-French military response to the Suez Crisis, which critics across party lines regarded as an historic setback for British foreign policy, signalling the end of British predominance in the Middle East. Most historians argue that he made a series of blunders, especially not realizing the depth of opposition to military action by the US. Most historians say that Eden completely dominated the British decision-making process in the Suez crisis. However, Jonathan Pearson argues in Sir Anthony Eden and the Suez Crisis: Reluctant Gamble (2002) that Eden was more reluctant and less bellicose than most historians say.
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Antonio Segni
Antonio Segni (Italian pronunciation: [anˈtɔːnjo ˈseɲɲi]; 2 February 1891 – 1 December 1972) was an Italian politician who was the 35th Prime Minister of Italy (1955–1957, 1959–1960), and the fourth President of the Italian Republic from 1962 to 1964. Adhering to the centrist Christian Democratic party (Italian: Democrazia Cristiana – DC), he was the first Sardinian ever to become Prime Minister of Italy.
The son of a Sardinian landowning family, born in Sassari, Sardinia, he studied to become a lawyer with a degree in agricultural and commercial law. Segni joined the Italian People's Party (Italian: Partito Popolare Italiano) – the predecessor of the Christian Democratic Party – in 1919. In 1924 he was a member of the party’s national council, until all political organizations were dissolved by Benito Mussolini two years later in 1926. For the next 17 years Segni taught Agrarian Law for at the Universities of Pavia, Perugia, and Cagliari; he was also rector of Sassari University.
In 1943 Segni was one of the organizers of the new Christian Democratic Party in Sardinia. He held ministerial positions in many Christian Democrat governments from 1944 onward, despite his frail physique. Time Magazine once quoted a friend: "He is like the Colosseum; he looks like a ruin but he'll be around for a long time." In 1946, he was elected to the Constituent Assembly after World War II and then to parliament in 1948.
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António de Spínola
António Sebastião Ribeiro de Spínola, GCTE, ComA (generally referred to as António de Spínola, though this particular surname never had a particle) (Santo André, Estremoz, April 11, 1910 – Lisbon, August 13, 1996) was a Portuguese soldier, conservative politician and author, who was important in the transition to democracy following the Portuguese Carnation Revolution.
He was a son of António Sebastião Spínola and first wife Maria Gabriela Alves Ribeiro, both natives of Madeira.
Spínola entered the Colégio Militar in 1920, beginning what would be a very successful military career. By 1928, Spínola was at Portugal's Military Academy, where he stood out as a young and promising cavalry officer.
In Anjos, Lisbon, by August 1932, he married Maria Helena Martin Monteiro de Barros (14 January 1913 - 23 May 2002), daughter of João de Azevedo Monteiro de Barros and his German wife Gertrud Elisabete Martin.
In 1939, he became adjunct-de-camp of the Guarda Nacional Republicana (English: Republican National Guard). In 1941 he travelled to the German-Russian Front, as an observer, to monitor Wehrmacht movements during the encirclement of Leningrad (the Portuguese volunteers had been incorporated into the Blue Division).
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Anwar Sadat
Anwar El Sadat (Arabic: محمد أنور السادات Anwar as-Sādāt, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [mæˈħæmmæd ˈʔɑnwɑɾˤ essæˈdæːt]; 25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981. In his eleven years as president he changed Egypt's direction, departing from some of the economic and political principles of Nasserism by re-instituting the multi-party system, and launching the Infitah economic policy.
He was a senior member of the Free Officers group that overthrew the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and a close confidant of President Gamal Abdul Nasser, whom he succeeded as President in 1970. As president he led Egypt in the October War of 1973 to re-acquire Egyptian territory lost to Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, making him a hero in Egypt and, for a time, the wider Arab World. Afterwards he engaged in negotiations with Israel, culminating in the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty. This won him the Nobel Peace Prize but also made him unpopular among some Arabs, resulting in a temporary suspension of Egypt's membership in the Arab League, and eventually his assassination.
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Aníbal Cavaco Silva
Aníbal António Cavaco Silva, GCC (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐˈniβɐɫ kɐˈvaku ˈsiɫvɐ]; born 15 July 1939), is the President of Portugal. He won the Portuguese presidential election on 22 January 2006 and was re-elected on 23 January 2011, for a second five-year term. Cavaco Silva was sworn in on 9 March 2006.
He was previously Prime Minister of Portugal from 6 November 1985 to 28 October 1995. His tenure of ten years was the longest of any Prime Minister since Salazar, and he was the first Portuguese Prime Minister to have won an absolute parliamentary majority under the current constitutional system (which was established after the country's redemocratization following the Carnation Revolution).
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Archbishop of Kraków
The Archbishop of Kraków is the head of the archdiocese of Kraków. A bishop of Kraków first came into existence when the diocese was created in 1000; it was promoted to an archdiocese on October 28, 1925. Due to Kraków's role as Poland's political, cultural and spiritual center, the bishops and archbishops of Kraków were often very influential in the city, country and abroad. From 1443 to 1791, bishops of Kraków were simultaneously Dukes of Siewierz, although it was only Adam Stefan Sapieha who officially abandoned the title.
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Assumption of Mary
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, informally known as The Assumption, according to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of Anglicanism, was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches as dogma that the Virgin Mary "having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory." This doctrine was dogmatically and infallibly defined by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950, in his Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus. While Catholic dogma leaves open the question of Mary's death before rising to Heaven, the Eastern Orthodox tradition of the Dormition of the Theotokos teaches that Mary died and then rose to Heaven. In the churches which observe it, the Assumption is a major feast day, commonly celebrated on August 15. In many countries it is a Catholic Holy Day of Obligation.
In his August 15, 2004, homily given at Lourdes, Pope John Paul II quoted John 14:3 as one of the scriptural bases for understanding the dogma of the Assumption of Mary. In this verse, Jesus tells his disciples at the Last Supper, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also." According to Catholic theology, Mary is the pledge of the fulfillment of Christ's promise.
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Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet (Spanish pronunciation: [auˈɣusto pinoˈtʃet]), (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973. He was the commander-in-chief of the Chilean army from 1973 to 1998, president of the Government Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981 and President of the Republic from 1974 until transferring power to a democratically elected president in 1990.
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Babrak Karmal
Babrak Karmal (born Sultan Hashem; 6 January 1929 – 1 or 3 December 1996) was an Afghan politician and statesman during the Cold War. Karmal was born in Kamari and educated at Kabul University, after which he started his career as a bureaucrat. Before, during and after his career as a bureaucrat Karmal was a leading member of the Afghan movement. He was introduced to Marxism by Mir Akbar Khyber during his imprisonment for activities deemed too radical by the government. When the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) was formed, Karmal became one of its leading members, and eventually became the leader of the Parcham faction. When the PDPA split in 1967, the Parcham-faction established a Parcham PDPA, while their ideological nemesis, the Khalqs, established a Khalqist PDPA. Under Karmal's leadership, the Parchamite PDPA participated in Mohammad Daoud Khan's rise to power, and his subsequent regime. While relations were good at the beginning, Daoud began a major purge of leftist influence in the mid-1970s. This in turn led to the refoundation of the PDPA in 1977. The PDPA took power in the 1978 Saur Revolution.
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Beatification
Beatification (from Latin beatus, blessed) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name (intercession of saints). Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process. A person who is beatified is given the title "Blessed."
In earlier ages this honor was entirely local and passed from one diocese to another with the authorization of their bishops. This is clear from the fact that early Christian cemeteries contain paintings only of local martyrs. Some beatifications by bishops in the Middle Ages were almost scandalous by modern standards. For instance, Charlemagne was beatified by a court bishop soon after his death. He was never canonized, and his veneration has been mostly suppressed, though permission is given to celebrate Mass in his honor in the cities of Aachen and Osnabrück, but without using the title of "Blessed."[citation needed]
Since the Catholic Church reform of 1983, one miracle must be proven to have taken place through the intercession of the person to be beatified, though the medical investigations of the Church are privately conducted and therefore subject to speculation about their methods.
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Benedict of Nursia
Saint Benedict of Nursia (Italian: San Benedetto da Norcia) (c.480–543) is a Christian saint, honored by the Roman Catholic Church as the patron saint of Europe and students.
Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco, about 40 miles (64 km) to the east of Rome, before moving to Monte Cassino in the mountains of southern Italy. There is no evidence that he intended to found a religious order[citation needed]. The Order of St Benedict is of later origin and, moreover, not an "order" as commonly understood but merely a confederation of autonomous congregations.
Benedict's main achievement is his "Rule", containing precepts for his monks. It is heavily influenced by the writings of John Cassian, and shows strong affinity with the Rule of the Master. But it also has a unique spirit of balance, moderation and reasonableness (ἐπιείκεια, epieikeia), and this persuaded most religious communities founded throughout the Middle Ages to adopt it. As a result, the Rule of Benedict became one of the most influential religious rules in Western Christendom. For this reason, Benedict is often called the founder of western Christian monasticism.
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Benjamin Blech
Benjamin Blech, born in Zurich in 1933, is an Orthodox rabbi who now lives in New York City.
Rabbi Blech has been a Professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University since 1966, and was the Rabbi of Young Israel of Oceanside for 37 years. In addition to his work in the rabbinate, Rabbi Blech has written many books on Judaism and the Jewish people and speaks on Jewish topics to communities around the world.
Rabbi Blech received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yeshiva University, a Master of Arts degree in psychology from Columbia University, and rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.
In January 2005, Rabbi Blech, along with Rabbis Barry Dov Schwartz and Jack Bemporad, became the first rabbis in history known to confer a blessing on a Pope, when they were invited by the Vatican to visit and bless Pope John Paul II at Clementine Hall in the Apostolic Palace.
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Bernard Francis Law
Bernard Francis Law (born November 4, 1931) is an American Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the Archbishop emeritus of Boston, member of the Roman Curia, archpriest emeritus of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, and titular Cardinal Priest of Santa Susanna, the American Catholic church in Rome.
He resigned as archbishop of Boston on December 13, 2002, in response to the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal after Church documents were revealed which suggested he had covered up sexual abuse committed by priests in his archdiocese.
Pope John Paul II in 2004 appointed him Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome. Law resigned from this position in November 2011.
Law, an only child, was born in Torreón, Mexico on November 4, 1931. His father was a US Army pilot in World War I, and had moved to Torreón to run an airline. His mother, Helen, was a convert to Roman Catholicism from Presbyterianism.
He attended schools in New York, Florida, Georgia, and Barranquilla (Colombia), and graduated from Charlotte Amalie High School in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
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Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist (1090 – August 20, 1153) was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order.
After the death of his mother, Bernard sought admission into the Cistercian order. Three years later, he was sent to found a new abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val d'Absinthe, about 15 km southeast of Bar-sur-Aube. According to tradition, Bernard founded the monastery on 25 June 1115, naming it Claire Vallée, which evolved into Clairvaux. There Bernard would preach an immediate faith, in which the intercessor was the Virgin Mary.[citation needed] In the year 1128, Bernard assisted at the Council of Troyes, at which he traced the outlines of the Rule of the Knights Templar, who soon became the ideal of Christian nobility.
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Bettino Craxi
Benedetto "Bettino" Craxi (pronounced [betˈtiːno ˈkraksi]) (24 February 1934 – 19 January 2000) was an Italian politician, head of the Italian Socialist Party from 1976 to 1993, the first socialist President of the Council of Ministers of Italy from 1983 to 1987.
Craxi led the 2nd longest-lived government of Italy during the republican era (after the 2nd Silvio Berlusconi cabinet), and had strong influence in Italian politics throughout the eighties; for some time, he was a close ally of two key figures of Christian Democracy, Giulio Andreotti and Arnaldo Forlani, in a loose cross-party alliance often dubbed CAF (from the first letter of the surname Craxi-Andreotti-Forlani). Craxi had a firm grasp on a party previously troubled by factionalism, and tried to distance it from the communists and to bring it closer to Christian Democrats and other parties; his objective was to create an Italian version of European reformist socialist parties, like the German SPD or the French Socialist Party. The Italian Socialist Party reached its post-war apex when it increased its share of votes in the general election of 1987. However, the Italian Socialist Party never outgrew the much larger Italian Communist Party, whose highly charismatic leader, Enrico Berlinguer, was a fierce adversary of Craxi's policies throughout the years.
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Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III; August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation. Clinton has been described as a New Democrat. Many of his policies have been attributed to a centrist Third Way philosophy of governance.
Born and raised in Arkansas, Clinton became both a student leader and a skilled musician. He is an alumnus of Georgetown University where he was Phi Beta Kappa and earned a Rhodes Scholarship to attend the University of Oxford. He is married to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has served as the United States Secretary of State since 2009 and was a Senator from New York from 2001 to 2009. Both Clintons received law degrees from Yale Law School, where they met and began dating. As Governor of Arkansas, Clinton overhauled the state's education system, and served as Chair of the National Governors Association.
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Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE, (born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his compositions "Rat Trap" and "I Don't Like Mondays". He co-wrote "Do They Know It's Christmas?", one of the best-selling singles of all time. He starred as Pink in Pink Floyd's 1982 film Pink Floyd The Wall.
Geldof is widely recognised for his activism, especially anti-poverty efforts concerning Africa. In 1984 he and Midge Ure founded the charity supergroup Band Aid to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. They went on to organise the charity super-concert Live Aid the following year and the Live 8 concerts in 2005. Geldof currently serves as an adviser to the ONE Campaign, founded by fellow Irish humanitarian Bono. A single father, Geldof has also been outspoken for the fathers' rights movement. Geldof has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, was granted an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II, and is a recipient of the Man of Peace title which recognises individuals who have made "an outstanding contribution to international social justice and peace", among numerous other awards and nominations.
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Bolesław Bierut
Bolesław Bierut ([bɔˈlɛswaf ˈbjɛrut] ( listen); 1892–1956; also known under assumed names Jerzy Bolesław Bielak and Bolesław Birkowski) was a Polish Communist leader, NKVD agent, and a hard-line Stalinist who became President of Poland after the Soviet takeover of the country in the aftermath of World War II.
Bierut was born in Rury Jezuickie, now a part of Lublin, as the son of Henryk Rutkowski, a village teacher, and his wife Barbara Biernacka (Wojciech and Maria, according to IPN source). He later adopted the surname "Bierut" combining the first syllables of his parents' surnames. In 1918 he took courses at the Warsaw School of Economics, and in 1924–1930 went to Moscow, to be trained at the school of the Communist International.
In 1930–1931 Bierut was sent by the Comintern to Austria, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria. In 1933 he became an agent of Soviet military intelligence, the GRU, and subsequently, was sentenced in Poland to 10 years in prison for his anti-state activities (incarcerated between 1933–1938). The pro-Soviet Communist Party of Poland was dissolved by Joseph Stalin in 1938. Bierut was fortunate to avoid being caught in the Great Purge, which led to the execution of most of the leaders of the Communist Party of Poland in the USSR. After an amnesty from the Polish government in 1938 Bierut settled down in Warsaw and worked as a bookkeeper in a cooperative.
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Bono
Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), most commonly known by his stage name Bono (/ˈbɒnoʊ/ BON-oh), is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife, Alison Stewart, and the future members of U2. Bono writes almost all U2 lyrics, often using political, social, and religious themes. During their early years, Bono's lyrics contributed to U2's rebellious and spiritual tone. As the band matured, his lyrics became inspired more by personal experiences shared with members of U2.
Outside the band, he has collaborated and recorded with numerous artists, is managing director and a managing partner of Elevation Partners, and has refurbished and owns The Clarence Hotel in Dublin with The Edge. Bono is also widely known for his activism concerning Africa, for which he co-founded DATA, EDUN, the ONE Campaign and Product Red. He has organised and played in several benefit concerts and has met with influential politicians. Bono has been praised and criticised for his activism and involvement with U2. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, was granted an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, and was named as a Person of the Year by Time, among other awards and nominations.
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Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (Russian: Бори́с Никола́евич Е́льцин; IPA: [bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈlaɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn] ( listen); 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was the President of Russia, serving from 1991 to 1999.
Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of the Russian Supreme Soviet. On 12 June 1991 he was elected by popular vote to the newly created post of President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (SFSR), at that time one of the 15 constituent republics of the Soviet Union. He won 57% of the vote in a six-candidate contest and became the second democratically elected leader of Russia in history. Upon the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev and the final dissolution of the Soviet Union on 25 December 1991, Yeltsin remained in office as the President of the Russian Federation, the USSR's successor state. Yeltsin was reelected in the 1996 election; in the second round of the election Yeltsin defeated Gennady Zyuganov from the revived Communist Party by a margin of 13%. However, Yeltsin never recovered his early popularity after a series of economic and political crises in Russia in the 1990s.
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Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, PC CC GOQ (born March 20, 1939) was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and the Goods and Services Tax, and the rejection of constitutional reforms such as the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord. Prior to his political career, he was a prominent lawyer and businessman in Montreal.
Mulroney was born on March 20, 1939, in Baie-Comeau, Quebec, a remote and isolated town in the eastern part of the province. He is the son of Irish Canadian Catholic parents, Mary Irene (née O'Shea) and Benedict Martin Mulroney, who was a paper mill electrician. Six of the couple's children survived infancy. As there was no English-language Catholic high school in Baie-Comeau, Mulroney completed his high school education at a Roman Catholic boarding school in Chatham, New Brunswick operated by St. Thomas University (in 2001, St. Thomas University named its newest academic building in his honour). Benedict Mulroney worked overtime and ran a repair business to earn extra money for his children's education, and he encouraged his oldest son to attend university.
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Bronisław Geremek
Professor Bronisław Geremek [brɔˈɲiswaf ɡɛˈrɛmɛk] ( listen) (born Benjamin Lewertow on March 6, 1932 in Warsaw, died July 13, 2008 in Lubień, Poland), was a Polish social historian and politician.
Geremek was born in Warsaw on March 6, 1932. His father, a fur merchant, was murdered in Auschwitz. His mother and he were smuggled out of the Warsaw Ghetto in 1943 and were sheltered by Stefan Geremek. Geremek later married Bronisław's mother and Bronisław was further raised in a Roman Catholic tradition. In his adult life he considered himself neither a Jew nor a Catholic. His grandfather was a maggid, his brother Jerry, living in New York is a Jew and his sons living in Poland are Roman Catholics.
In 1954 Bronisław Geremek graduated from the Faculty of History at the Warsaw University, and in 1956–1958 he completed postgraduate studies at the École pratique des hautes études in Paris. He completed his PhD in 1960 and in 1972 he was granted a postdoctoral degree at the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN). In 1989 he was appointed associate professor.
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Camillo Ruini
Camillo Ruini (Italian pronunciation: [kaˈmillo ruˈini]; born 19 February 1931) is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome from 1991 to 2008 [1]. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1991.
He was very active in the mass media and was one of the cardinals who most often appeared on Italian television, newspapers and magazines. On 14 February 2006, he was confirmed as president of the Italian Episcopal Conference by Pope Benedict XVI a post at which he served until March 2007.
Ruini was born in Sassuolo, Emilia-Romagna. Having studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, he obtained a licentiate in philosophy and a licentiate in sacred theology.
He was ordained to the priesthood on 8 December 1954, by Archbishop Luigi Traglia. In 1957 he returned to Reggio Emilia and taught philosophy at the diocesan seminary until 1968. From 1958 to 1966 he served as chaplain to university graduates and from 1966 to 1970 he served as a delegate for Azione Cattolica.
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Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (Italian pronunciation: [ˈkarlo adˈdzɛʎʎo ˈtʃampi] ( listen); born 9 December 1920) is an Italian politician and banker. He was the 49th Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and was the tenth President of the Italian Republic from 1999 to 2006. He is currently a Senator for life in the Italian Senate.
Ciampi was born in Livorno (Province of Livorno).
After receiving a doctorate in literature in 1941 from the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, one of the country's most prestigious universities, he was called to military duty in Albania as a lieutenant. On 8 September 1943, on the date of the armistice with the Allies, he refused to remain in the Fascist Italian Social Republic, and took refuge in Abruzzo, in Scanno. He subsequently managed to pass the lines and reach Bari, where he joined the Partito d'Azione (and thus the Italian resistance movement).
In 1946 he married Franca Pila. That same year, he obtained a doctorate in law from the University of Pisa and began working at the Banca d'Italia. He also joined the CGIL (Trade Union), which he left in 1980.
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Caspar Weinberger
Caspar Willard "Cap" Weinberger (August 18, 1917 – March 28, 2006), was an American politician and businessman. He served in a variety of prominent state and federal positions for three decades, most prominently as Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1987.
Born in San Francisco, California, Weinberger served in the 41st Infantry Division in the Pacific theater of World War II. His entry into politics was as a California State Assemblyman from 1953 to 1959, and he would go on to serve as Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and Director of the Office of Management and Budget under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. An accomplished private sector businessman, he later became vice president and general counsel of Bechtel Corporation, and still later Chairman of Forbes.
His tenure as Secretary of Defense is the third longest in U.S. history, and spanned the final years of the Cold War. He is also known for his key role in the administration's Strategic Defense Initiative and later indictments in the Iran-Contra affair. He was awarded both the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1987 and an honorary British knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.
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Category Popes
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Catherine of Siena
Saint Catherine of Siena, T.O.S.D, (25 March 1347 in Siena – 29 April 1380 in Rome) was a tertiary of the Dominican Order, and a Scholastic philosopher and theologian. She also worked to bring the papacy of Gregory XI back to Rome from its displacement in France, and to establish peace among the Italian city-states. She was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1970. She is one of the two patron saints of Italy, together with St. Francis of Assisi.
Caterina Benincasa was born in Siena, Italy, to Giacomo di Benincasa, a cloth dyer who ran his enterprise with the help of his sons, and Lapa Piagenti, possibly the daughter of a local poet. The house where Catherine grew up is still in existence. Born in 1347, she arrived when the black death struck the area; Siena was badly ravaged. Lapa was about forty years old when she prematurely gave birth to twin daughters, Catherine and Giovanna. Lapa had already had 22 children, but half of them had died. Giovanna was handed over to a wet-nurse, and presently died, whereas Catherine was nursed by her mother, and developed into a healthy child. She was two years old when Lapa had her 25th child, another daughter named Giovanna. Catherine had her first vision of Christ when she was age five or six, saying that Jesus smiled at her, blessed her, and left her in ecstasy. At age seven she vowed chastity.
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Chai Ling
Chai Ling (Chinese: 柴玲; Pinyin: Chǎi Líng) (born April 15, 1966 in Rizhao, Shandong Province, People's Republic of China) was one of the student leaders in the Tian'anmen Square protests of 1989. Today she is Founder of All Girls Allowed, a humanitarian organization working to restore value to girls in China.
Chai Ling's parents were members of the Communist Party. As a young student Chai herself joined the Central Communist Youth League, which named her a "model student" during high school for her "good health, grades and moral character," reported Paula Chin of People magazine.
Chai Ling graduated from Peking University in 1987 and then undertook graduate study in Beijing Normal University concentrating on child psychology.
She participated in demonstrations asking the government for democratic reforms in 1987, even though she realized that speaking out could have enormous implications. Chai Ling emerged as one of the student leaders on the Square at a later stage of the movement. Chai Ling along with other student leaders such as Wuerkaixi and Wang Dan "led six weeks of protests." The movement was the biggest threat ever to Communist Party rule."
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Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( /ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn/ or /ˈʃɑrləmeɪn/; French pronunciation: [ʃaʁ.lə.maɲ]; c. 742 – 28 January 814), also known as Charles the Great (Latin: Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus), was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans (Imperator Romanorum) from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800 in Rome.
His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define both Western Europe and the European Middle Ages. He is numbered as Charles I in the regnal lists of Germany, the Holy Roman Empire, and France.
The son of King Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, a Frankish queen, he succeeded his father in 768 and was initially co-ruler with his brother Carloman I. It has often been suggested that the relationship between Charlemagne and Carloman was not good, but it has also been argued that tensions were exaggerated by Carolingian chroniclers.
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Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (/ˈtʃɑrlz/ or /ˈʃɑrl dəˈɡɔːl/; French: [ʃaʁl də ɡol] ( listen); 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.
A veteran of World War I, in the 1920s and 1930s de Gaulle came to the fore as a proponent of mobile armoured divisions, which he considered would become central in modern warfare. During World War II, he earned the rank of brigadier general (retained throughout his life), leading one of the few successful armoured counter-attacks during the 1940 Battle of France in May in Montcornet, and then briefly served in the French government as France was falling. De Gaulle was the most senior French military officer to reject the June 1940 armistice to Nazi Germany right from the outset.
He escaped to Britain and gave a famous radio address, broadcast by the BBC on 18 June 1940, exhorting the French people to resist Nazi Germany and organised the Free French Forces with exiled French officers in Britain. As the war progressed de Gaulle gradually gained control of all French colonies except Indochina most of which had at first been controlled by the pro-German Vichy regime. Despite earning a reputation for being a difficult man to do business with, by the time of the Allied invasion of France in 1944 he was heading what amounted to a French government in exile, but although he insisted that France be treated as a great independent power by the other Allies, the Americans in particular remained deeply suspicious of his motives. De Gaulle became prime minister in the French Provisional Government, resigning in 1946 because of political conflicts.
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Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtʃe ɣeˈβaɾa]; June 14, 1928 – October 9, 1967), commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol of rebellion and global insignia within popular culture.
As a young medical student, Guevara traveled throughout Latin America and was radically transformed by the endemic poverty and alienation he witnessed. His experiences and observations during these trips led him to conclude that the region's ingrained economic inequalities were an intrinsic result of capitalism, monopolism, neocolonialism, and imperialism, with the only remedy being world revolution. This belief prompted his involvement in Guatemala's social reforms under President Jacobo Arbenz, whose eventual CIA-assisted overthrow solidified Guevara's political ideology. Later, while living in Mexico City, he met Raúl and Fidel Castro, joined their 26th of July Movement, and sailed to Cuba aboard the yacht, Granma, with the intention of overthrowing U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Guevara soon rose to prominence among the insurgents, was promoted to second-in-command, and played a pivotal role in the victorious two-year guerrilla campaign that deposed the Batista regime.
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Chechnya
The Chechen Republic ( /ˈtʃɛtʃɨn/; Russian: Чече́нская Респу́блика, Chechenskaya Respublika; Chechen: Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika), commonly referred to as Chechnya (/ˈtʃɛtʃniə/; Russian: Чечня́, Chechnya; Chechen: Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria (English: Land of Minerals), is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny. Population: 1,268,989 (2010 Census).
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Chechen-Ingush ASSR was split into two: the Republic of Ingushetia and the Chechen Republic. The latter proclaimed the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which sought independence. Following the First Chechen War with Russia, Chechnya gained de facto independence as the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. Russian federal control was restored during the Second Chechen War. Since then there has been a systematic reconstruction and rebuilding process, though sporadic fighting continues in the mountains and southern regions of the republic.
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Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS (3 January 1883 – 8 October 1967) was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was also the first person to hold the office of Deputy Prime Minister, under Winston Churchill in the wartime coalition government, before leading the Labour Party to a landslide election victory over Churchill's Conservative Party in 1945. He was the first Labour Prime Minister to serve a full Parliamentary term, and the first to command a Labour majority in Parliament.
The government he led put in place the post-war settlement, based upon the assumption that full employment would be maintained by Keynesian policies, and that a greatly enlarged system of social services would be created – aspirations that had been outlined in the wartime Beveridge Report. Within this context, his government undertook the nationalisation of major industries and public utilities as well as the creation of the National Health Service. After initial Conservative opposition to Keynesian fiscal policy, this settlement was broadly accepted by all parties until Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979.
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Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice ( /ˌkɒndəˈliːzə/; born November 14, 1954) is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush. Rice was the first female African-American secretary of state, as well as the second African American (after Colin Powell), and the second woman (after Madeleine Albright). Rice was President Bush's National Security Advisor during his first term, making her the first woman to serve in that position. Before joining the Bush administration, she was a professor of political science at Stanford University where she served as Provost from 1993 to 1999. Rice also served on the National Security Council as the Soviet and East European Affairs Advisor to President George H.W. Bush during the dissolution of the Soviet Union and German reunification.
Following her confirmation as Secretary of State, Rice pioneered the policy of Transformational Diplomacy, with a focus on democracy in the Greater Middle East. Her emphasis on supporting democratically elected governments faced challenges as Hamas captured a popular majority in Palestinian elections, and influential countries including Saudi Arabia and Egypt maintained authoritarian systems with U.S. support. While Secretary of State, she chaired the Millennium Challenge Corporation's board of directors.
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Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office. She led the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines. She was named "Woman of the Year" in 1986 by Time Magazine.
A self-proclaimed "plain housewife", Aquino was married to Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., the staunchest critic of then President Ferdinand Marcos. Senator Aquino was assassinated on August 21, 1983 upon returning to the Philippines after three years in exile in the United States. After her husband's assassination, Corazon Aquino emerged as the leader of the opposition against the Marcos administration. In late 1985, when President Marcos called for a snap election, Aquino ran for president with former senator Salvador Laurel as her vice-presidential running mate. After the elections were held on February 7, 1986, and the Batasang Pambansa proclaimed Marcos the winner in the elections, she called for massive civil disobedience protests, declaring herself as having been cheated and as the real winner in the elections. Filipinos enthusiastically heeded her call and rallied behind her. These events eventually led to the ousting of Marcos and the installation of Aquino as President of the Philippines on February 25, 1986 through the "People Power Revolution".
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Cristina Odone
Cristina Patricia Odone (born 11 November 1960) is an Italian journalist, editor, and writer living in the United Kingdom. She has written for several newspapers, and was formerly the editor of The Catholic Herald, and deputy editor of the New Statesman.
Odone was born in Nairobi, Kenya, to an Italian father, Augusto Odone, and a Swedish mother. Her half-brother was Lorenzo Odone, for whom Lorenzo's oil is named.
Odone's father was a World Bank official, which led to the family regularly moving. Odone went initially to Marymount School, then later to the National Cathedral School. After her parents divorce, Odone moved to the United Kingdom to go to St Clare's, a boarding school in Oxford. Odone studied French literature and history at Worcester College, Oxford.
After university, Odone edited The Catholic Herald from 1991–1995. Odone later worked for the World Bank in Washington, D.C., as an advisor to European companies.
In 1991, Odone became the editor of The Catholic Herald, resigning in 1996 in order to be able to finish her second novel, A Perfect Wife. In 1996, Odone became the television critic for The Daily Telegraph, a position she held for two years. In 1998, Odone became deputy editor of the New Statesman. Odone resigned in November 2004. For six years Odone was a weekly columnist for The Observer. In 2005, Odone wrote and presented a Channel 4 documentary directed by David Malone called Dispatches: Women Bishops.
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Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Sino-Mongolian word далай (dalai) meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word བླ་མ་ bla-ma (with a silent "b") meaning "chief, high priest".
In religious terms, the Dalai Lama is believed by his devotees to be the rebirth of a long line of tulkus who are considered to be manifestations of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteśvara. Traditionally, the Dalai Lama is thought of as the latest reincarnation of a series of spiritual leaders who have chosen to be reborn in order to enlighten others. The Dalai Lama is often thought to be the leader of the Gelug School, but this position belongs officially to the Ganden Tripa, which is a temporary position appointed by the Dalai Lama who, in practice, exerts much influence. The line of Dalai Lamas began as a lineage of spiritual teachers; the 5th Dalai Lama assumed political authority over Tibet.
For certain periods between the 17th century and 1959, the Dalai Lamas sometimes directed the Tibetan government, which administered portions of Tibet from Lhasa. The 14th Dalai Lama remained the head of state for the Central Tibetan Administration ("Tibetan government in exile") until his retirement on March 14, 2011. He has indicated that the institution of the Dalai Lama may be abolished in the future, and also that the next Dalai Lama may be found outside Tibet and may be female. The Chinese government was very quick to reject this and claimed that only it has the authority to select the next Dalai Lama.
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Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (Spanish pronunciation: [xo̞ˈse̞ ðaˈnje̞l o̞rˈte̞ɣa saˈβe̞ðɾa]; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguan politician. He is the current President of Nicaragua (since 2007), a position he has held previously between 1985 and 1990. A leader in the socialist Sandinista National Liberation Front (Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN), his policies in government have seen the implementation of leftist reforms across Nicaragua.
Born into a working class family, from an early age Ortega developed a hatred of the ruling President Anastasio Somoza Debayle, who was widely seen as a dictator, and became involved in the underground movement to oppose Somoza's regime. Joining the Sandinistas, he also travelled to Cuba to receive training in guerilla warfare from Fidel Castro's Marxist-Leninist government. After the Nicaraguan Revolution resulted in the overthrow and exile of the Somoza's government in 1979, Ortega became a member of the ruling multipartisan Junta of National Reconstruction and was later elected president, serving from 1985 to 1990. At the time a Marxist-Leninist, his first period in office was characterized by a controversial program of land reform, wealth redistribution and literacy programs. Such leftist reforms damaged U.S. economic interests in the country, gaining hostility from the U.S.'s governing Reagan administration, who funded a right wing militia, the Contras, to overthrow Ortega's government.
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Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (IPA: [tə̂ŋ ɕjɑ̀ʊpʰǐŋ] ( listen); 22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy. While Deng never held office as the head of state, head of government or General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (historically the highest position in Communist China), he nonetheless served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China from 1978 to 1992. As the core of the second generation leaders Deng shared his power with the two most powerful men after him: Li Xiannian and Chen Yun.
Born into a peasant background in Guang'an, Sichuan, China, Deng studied and worked in France in the 1920s, where he was influenced by Marxism. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1923. Upon his return to China he worked as a political commissar in rural regions and was considered a "revolutionary veteran" of the Long March. Following the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Deng worked in Tibet and other southwestern regions to consolidate Communist control. He was also instrumental in China's economic reconstruction following the Great Leap Forward in the early 1960s. His economic policies were at odds with the political ideologies of Chairman Mao Zedong. As a result, he was purged twice during the Cultural Revolution but regained prominence in 1978 by outmaneuvering Mao's chosen successor, Hua Guofeng.
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Denis Sassou Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso (born November 23, 1943) is a Congolese politician who has been the President of Congo-Brazzaville since 1997; he was previously President from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as President, he headed the single-party regime of the Congolese Labour Party (PCT) for 12 years. Under heavy pressure, he introduced multiparty politics in 1990 and was then stripped of executive powers by the 1991 National Conference, remaining in office as a ceremonial head of state. He stood as a candidate in the 1992 presidential election but was defeated, placing third.
Sassou Nguesso was an opposition leader for five years before returning to power at the conclusion of the June–October 1997 civil war, in which his rebel forces ousted President Pascal Lissouba. Following a transitional period, he won the 2002 presidential election, which lacked meaningful opposition participation; he was again re-elected under controversial circumstances in the 2009 presidential election.
Sassou Nguesso is backed by a variety of political parties, the most important of which is the PCT. He is the President of the PCT Central Committee.
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Diosdado Macapagal
Diosdado Pangan Macapagal (September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was the ninth President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the sixth Vice President, serving from 1957 to 1961. He also served as a member of the House of Representatives, and headed the Constitutional Convention of 1970. He is the father of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010.
A native of Lubao, Pampanga, Macapagal graduated from the University of the Philippines and University of Santo Tomas, after which he worked as a lawyer for the government. He first won election in 1949 to the House of Representatives, representing a district in his home province of Pampanga. In 1957 he became vice president in the administration of President Carlos P. Garcia, and in 1961 he defeated Garcia's re-election bid for the presidency.
As president, Macapagal worked to suppress graft and corruption and to stimulate the Philippine economy. He introduced the country's first land reform law, placed the peso on the free currency exchange market, and liberalized foreign exchange and import controls. Many of his reforms, however, were crippled by a Congress dominated by the rival Nacionalista Party. He is also known for shifting the country's observance of Independence Day from July 4 to June 12, commemorating the day Filipino patriots declared independence from Spain in 1898. His re-election bid was defeated in 1965 by Ferdinand Marcos, whose subsequent authoritarian rule lasted 20 years.
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Donald Tusk
Donald Franciszek Tusk [ˈdɔnalt franˈt͡ɕiʂɛk ˈtusk] ( listen) (born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician who has been Prime Minister of Poland since 2007. He was a co-founder and is chairman of the Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska) party.
Tusk was officially designated as Prime Minister on 9 November 2007 and took office on 16 November. His cabinet won a vote of confidence in the Sejm on 24 November 2007. He is currently the longest serving prime minister of the Third Republic of Poland. In October 2011, Tusk's Civic Platform won a plurality of seats in the Polish parliamentary election, meaning that Tusk became the first Prime Minister to be re-elected since the fall of communism in Poland.
Tusk began his public career as an activist in his home town of Gdansk, supporting Solidarity and organizing his fellow university students. With the exception of one four-year stretch, Tusk has served in the Third Republic parliament almost continuously since its first elections in 1991. He was Vice Marshal (deputy speaker) of the Senate from 1997 to 2001 and Vice Marshal of the Sejm from 2001 to 2005. He also served as Leader of the Opposition from 2003 to 2007.
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Eamon Duffy
Eamon Duffy (born 9 February 1947, Dundalk) is an Irish Professor of the History of Christianity at the University of Cambridge, and former President of Magdalene College.
He describes himself as a "cradle Catholic" and specializes in 15th to 17th century religious history of Britain. He is also a member of the Pontifical Historical Commission. His work has done much to overturn the popular image of late-medieval Catholicism in England as moribund, and instead presents it as a vibrant cultural force. On weekdays from 22 October to 2 November 2007, he presented the BBC Radio 4 series 10 Popes Who Shook the World - those popes featured were Peter, Leo I, Gregory I, Gregory VII, Innocent III, Paul III, Pius IX, Pius XII, John XXIII, and John Paul II.
Professor Duffy is a fellow and former president of Magdalene College, Cambridge.
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Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze (Georgian: ედუარდ შევარდნაძე [ɛduard ʃɛvardnad͡zɛ]; born 25 January 1928) is a former Soviet, and later, Georgian statesman from the height to the end of the Cold War. He served as President of Georgia from 1995 to 2003, and as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party (GPC, the de facto leader of Soviet Georgia), from 1972 to 1985. Shevardnadze was responsible for many top decisions on Soviet foreign policy in the Gorbachev Era. He was forced to retire in 2003 as a consequence of the bloodless Rose Revolution.
Shevardnadze's political career started in the late 1940s as a leading member of his local Komsomol organisation. He was later appointed its Second Secretary, and even First Secretary. His rise up the Georgian Soviet hierarchy continued until 1961 when he was demoted after he insulted a senior official. After spending two years in obscurity, Shevardnadze's returned as a First Secretary of a Tbilisi city district, and was able to charge the Tbilisi First Secretary at the time for corruption. His anti-corruption work quickly garnered the interest of the Soviet government, and Shevardnadze was appointed to First Deputy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR. He would later become the head of the internal affairs ministry and was able to charge First Secretary (leader of Soviet Georgia) Vasil Mzhavanadze for corruption charges.
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Edward Gierek
Edward Gierek (Polish pronunciation: [ˈɛdvart ˈɡʲɛrɛk]; January 6, 1913 – July 29, 2001) was a Polish communist politician.
He was born in Porąbka, outside of Sosnowiec. He lost his father to a mining accident in a pit at the age of four. His mother married again and emigrated to northern France, where he was raised. He joined the French Communist Party in 1931 and was later deported to Poland for organizing a strike. After his military service in Stryj, Galicia, Gierek went to Belgium in 1934, where he joined the Communist Party of Belgium while working in the coal mines of Waterschei. During World War II, he remained activist of the Communist Party of Belgium. He returned to Poland in 1948 and rose through the party ranks to become by 1957 a member of the Polish parliament. As first secretary of the Katowice voivodship party organization (1957–70), Gierek created a personal power base and became the recognized leader of the young technocrat faction of the party. When rioting over economic conditions broke out in late 1970, Gierek replaced Władysław Gomułka as party first secretary. Gierek promised economic reform and instituted a program to modernize industry and increase the availability of consumer goods, doing so mostly through foreign loans. His good relations with Western politicians, especially France's Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and West Germany's Helmut Schmidt, were a catalyst for his receiving western aid and loans.
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Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1970–74) and as Leader of the Conservative Party (1965–75).
Born in Broadstairs, Kent, Heath studied at Oxford and served in the Second World War. He was first elected in the 1950 general election, for Bexley and was government Chief Whip during the 1950s. Entering the Cabinet as Minister of Labour in 1959, he was then Lord Privy Seal responsible for Macmillan's unsuccessful EEC entry negotiations, then President of the Board of Trade. In 1965 Heath won the leadership of the Conservative Party against Reginald Maudling and Enoch Powell. The general election of 1966 saw the Labour government of Harold Wilson achieve a large increase in seats, however Heath remained Conservative leader.
Heath became Prime Minister after winning the 1970 general election. In 1971, Heath oversaw the decimalisation of British coinage and in 1972, he implemented major reform to the UK's system of local government. In foreign policy, Heath took the UK into the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973. Heath's premiership oversaw the height of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, with the suspension of the Stormont parliament and the imposition of direct British rule. Unofficial talks with IRA delegates were unsuccessful, as was the Sunningdale Agreement of 1973, which caused Ulster Unionists to withdraw from the Conservative whip.
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Egon Krenz
Egon Krenz (born 19 March 1937) is a former politician from East Germany (the German Democratic Republic), and that country's last communist leader. He succeeded Erich Honecker as leader of the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and head of state in October 1989, but was ousted just under three months later amid the collapse of the communist regime.
Throughout his career, Krenz held a number of prominent positions in the communist regime. He was Honecker's deputy from 1984 onward, until he succeeded Honecker in 1989 amid protests against the regime. Krenz was unsuccessful in his attempt to retain the communist regime's grip on power, and was forced to resign some weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
After the German reunification in 1990 he was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for manslaughter, for his role in the crimes of the regime.
Krenz was born in Kolberg in what was then Germany, now Poland. His family were resettled in Damgarten in 1944, when Germans were expelled from Farther Pomerania.
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Eisaku Satō
This article is about the Prime Minister of Japan. For the governor of Fukushima Prefecture of Japan of the same name, see Eisaku Satō (governor).
Eisaku Satō (佐藤 榮作, Satō Eisaku?, March 27, 1901 – June 3, 1975) was a Japanese politician and the 39th Prime Minister of Japan, elected on November 9, 1964, and re-elected on February 17, 1967, and January 14, 1970, serving until July 7, 1972. He was the longest serving prime minister in the history of Japan.
Satō was born in Tabuse, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and studied German law at Tokyo Imperial University. In 1923, he passed the senior civil service examinations, and in the following year, upon graduation, became a civil servant in the Ministry of Railways. He served as Director of the Osaka Railways Bureau from 1944 to 1946 and Vice-Minister for Transportation from 1947 to 1948.
Satō entered the Diet in 1949 as a member of the Liberal Party.
He was appointed Minister of Postal Services and Telecommunications from July 1951 - July 1952. Sato gradually rose through the ranks of Japanese politics, becoming Chief Cabinet Secretary to Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida from January 1953 to July 1954. He later served as Minister of Construction from October 1952-February 1953.
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Elio Toaff
Elio Toaff (born 30 April 1915 in Livorno) is the former Chief Rabbi of Rome. On 13 April 1986, he greeted and prayed with Pope John Paul II during an unannounced visit to the Synagogue of Rome.
In 1947 he served as a rabbi in Venice and in 1951 he became the chief rabbi of Rome.
One of his children is Israeli-Italian professor Ariel Toaff.
On May 17th 2012 he has been awarded the Prize Culturae within the Italian National Festival of Cultures in Pisa
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Emil Constantinescu
Emil Constantinescu (Romanian pronunciation: [eˈmil konstantiˈnesku]; born November 19, 1939) was President of Romania from 1996 to 2000.
He graduated from the law school of the University of Bucharest, and subsequently started a career as a geologist. Beginning in 1966, Constantinescu taught in the Geology Faculty of the University of Bucharest, where he also became Propaganda Secretary of the local organisation of the Romanian Communist Party.
After the Romanian revolution in 1989, Constantinescu became a founding member and vice president of the Civic Alliance. He was the acting chairman of the Romanian Anti-Totalitarian Forum, the first associative structure of the opposition in Romania, which was transformed into a political and electoral alliance - the Romanian Democratic Convention (CDR).
In 1992 he was elected president of the University of Bucharest, and became CDR's candidate for president. He lost the election to the incumbent, Ion Iliescu, after a second round.
He remains, however, heavily involved in politics through working for many NGOs, both in Romania and internationally. Emil Constantinescu is the current president of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy Academy for Cultural Diplomacy, of the Association of Citizenship Education, of the Romanian Foundation for Democracy and also the founding president of the Institute for Regional Cooperation and Conflict Prevention (INCOR). He is also a member of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy advisory board.
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Emilio Colombo
Emilio Colombo (born 11 April 1920) is an Italian politician who was Prime Minister of Italy from 1970 to 1972. In addition to having held top positions in Italian governments, he was also active in European politics and is currently an Italian senator-for-life.
Born in Potenza, Basilicata, Colombo entered politics as a member of the Christian Democratic Party. Having held several cabinet posts, he was Prime Minister of Italy from 1970 until his resignation in 1972. Later he became President of the European Parliament (occupying that office from 1977 until 1979) and Foreign Minister of Italy (from 1980 until 1983, and again from 1992 until 1993). A decade after he last held that position, President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi bestowed Italy's highest political honour on him, by nominating him Senator for life.
Shortly after this, in November 2003, he admitted to have used cocaine (for "therapeutic purposes") over a 12- to 18-month period, and to be a homosexual.
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Enrico Berlinguer
Enrico Berlinguer (Italian pronunciation: [berliŋˈɡwɛr]) (25 May 1922 – 11 June 1984) was an Italian politician; he was national secretary of the Italian Communist Party (Partito Comunista Italiano or PCI) from 1972 until his death.
The son of Mario Berlinguer and Maria Loriga, Enrico Berlinguer was born in Sassari, Italy to a noble and important Sardinian family, in a notable cultural context, with family ties and political contacts that would heavily influence his life and career. His surname 'Berlinguer' is of Catalan origin, a reminder of the period when Sardinia was part of the dominions of the Crown of Aragon.
He was a cousin of Francesco Cossiga (who was a leader of the Italian Christian Democrats and later became a President of the Italian Republic), and both were relatives of Antonio Segni, another Christian Democrat leader and President of the Republic. Enrico's grandfather, Enrico Berlinguer Sr., was the founder of La Nuova Sardegna, an important Sardinian newspaper, and a personal friend of Giuseppe Garibaldi and Giuseppe Mazzini, whom he had helped in his attempts through his parliamentary work to improve the sad conditions on the island.
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Enver Hoxha
Enver Hoxha ( pronunciation (help·info); 16 October 1908 – 11 April 1985) was the leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania. He also served as Prime Minister of Albania from 1944 to 1954, Minister of Defence, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chairman of the Democratic Front from 1945 to his death, and as Commander-in-Chief of the Albanian armed forces from 1944 to his death. Hoxha's leadership was characterized by his proclaimed firm adherence to anti-revisionist Marxism–Leninism from the mid-1970s onwards. After his break with Maoism in the 1976–1978 period, numerous Maoist parties declared themselves Hoxhaist. The International Conference of Marxist–Leninist Parties and Organizations (Unity & Struggle) is the most well known collection of these parties today.
Hoxha was born in Gjirokastër, a city in southern Albania (then under the Ottoman Empire) that has been home to many prominent families. He was the son of Halil Hoxha, a BektashiTosk cloth merchant who travelled widely across Europe and the United States of America, and Gjylihan (Gjylo) Hoxha. At age 16 he helped found and became secretary of the Students Society of Gjirokastër, which protested against the monarchist government. After the Society was closed down by the government, he left his hometown and moved to Korçë, continuing his studies in a French secondary school. There he learned French history, literature and philosophy. In this city he read for the first time the Communist Manifesto.
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Erich Honecker
Erich Honecker (German: [ˈeːʁɪç ˈhɔnɛkɐ]; 25 August 1912 – 29 May 1994) was a German socialist politician who led the German Democratic Republic as General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1971 until 1989, serving as Head of State as well after Willi Stoph's relinquishment of that post in 1976.
Following the definite end of the Cold War, Honecker refused all but cosmetic changes and was ousted by the party in late 1989 and removed from power. Following the German reunification he successfully evaded prosecution for human rights abuses committed under his regime, finally settling down with his family in Chile in 1993, dying the following year from liver cancer.
Honecker was born on Max-Braun-Straße in Neunkirchen, now Saarland, as the son of Wilhelm Honecker, a coal miner and political activist, who in 1905 had married Caroline Catharina Weidenhof. There were six children born to the family: Katharina (Käthe), Wilhelm (Willi), Frieda, Erich, Gertrud (b. 1917; m. Hoppstädter), and Karl-Robert.
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Ernest Bevin
Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 – 14 April 1951) was a British trade union leader and Labour politician. He co-founded and served as general secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union from 1922 to 1940, as Minister of Labour in the war-time coalition government, and as Foreign Secretary in the post-war Labour Government he supported the creation of NATO.
Bevin was born in the village of Winsford in Somerset, England, to Diana Bevin who, since 1877, had described herself as a widow. His father is unknown. After his mother's death in 1889, the young Bevin lived with his half-sister's family, moving to Morchard Bishop in Devon. He had little formal education, having briefly attended two village schools and then Hayward's School, Crediton, starting in 1890 and leaving in 1892. He later recalled being asked as a child to read the newspaper aloud for the benefit of adults in his family who were illiterate. At the age of eleven, he went to work as a labourer, then as a lorry driver in Bristol, where he joined the Bristol Socialist Society. In 1910 he became secretary of the Bristol branch of the Dockers' Union, and in 1914 he became a national organiser for the union.
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Ernesto Cardenal
Reverend Father Ernesto Cardenal Martínez (born January 20, 1925) is a Nicaraguan Catholic priest, poet and politician. He is a famous liberation theologian and the founder of the primitivist art community in the Solentiname Islands, where he lived for more than ten years (1965–1977). A member of the Nicaraguan Sandinistas, a party he has since left, he was Nicaragua's minister of culture from 1979 to 1987.
Born into an upper class family in Granada, Nicaragua, Cardenal is a first cousin of the poet Pablo Antonio Cuadra. Cardenal studied literature first in Managua and from 1942 to 1946 in Mexico. Later, from 1947 to 1949, he continued his studies in New York and traveled through Italy, Spain and Switzerland between 1949 and 1950.
In July 1950, he returned to Nicaragua, where he participated in the 1954 "April Revolution" against Anastasio Somoza García's regime. The coup d'état failed and ended with the deaths of many of his associates. Cardenal subsequently entered the Trappist Monastery of Gethsemani (Kentucky, United States), under the other poet-priest Thomas Merton, but in 1959 he left to study theology in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
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Ethiopian Civil War
The Ethiopian Civil War began on November 28, 1974 when the Marxist Derg staged a coup d'état against Emperor Haile Selassie, and lasted until the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a coalition of rebel groups, overthrew the government in 1991. The war overlapped other Cold War conflicts in Africa, such as the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002). The war left between 230,000-1.4 million dead.
The revolutionaries abolished the monarchy in March 1975 and Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen settled permanently in London, England where several other members of the Imperial family were already based. The other members of the Imperial family who were still in Ethiopia at the time of the revolution were imprisoned, including Amha Selassie's father the Emperor, his daughter by his first marriage, Princess Ijigayehu, his sister Princess Tenagnework and many of his nephews, nieces, relatives and in-laws. In 1975, first his father Emperor Haile Selassie then in 1977, his daughter Princess Ijigayehu died in detention. Members of the Imperial family remained imprisoned until 1988 (for the women) and 1989 (for the men).
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Eugeniusz Baziak
Eugeniusz Baziak (b. March 8, 1890 in Tarnopol – June 15, 1962 in Warsaw, Poland) was Archbishop of Lwów and Apostolic Administrator of Kraków. Baziak was rector of the Clerical Seminarium in Lwów. Since 1933 he was an auxiliary bishop and, since 1944, Archbishop of Lwów. In 1951, after the death of Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha, he became the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese in Kraków.
In his capacity as Apostolic Administrator of Kraków, he recommended to Pope Pius XII the promotion of Father Karol Wojtyła (the future Pope John Paul II), who was then a priest in the Archdiocese of Kraków, to the office of auxiliary (assistant) bishop of that Archdiocese. It is said that this recommendation was made in so strong terms that the Holy See made the appointment without even consulting with the Primate of Poland, Stefan Wyszyński, as was usual. Instead, Wyszyński received notice from the Vatican that he was simply to inform Father Wojtyła of the appointment, and ask him for his acceptance.
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Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community. Some groups use the term disfellowship instead. The word excommunication means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group. Excommunication may involve banishment, shunning, and shaming, depending on the religion, the offense that caused excommunication, or the rules or norms of the religious community.
Matthew 18:15-17 is seen as a biblical basis for excommunication in Christianity. There Jesus tells an offended church member to draw the offender's fault to his attention privately; then, failing repentance, to speak to him again with the support of one or two others so that the charge is established by two or three witnesses; and, if even this measure is unsuccessful, to bring the matter before the church as a whole, after which, if the offender refuses to accept the church's verdict, he is to be treated as "a Gentile and a tax collector."
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Felipe González
Felipe González Márquez (born 5 March 1942) is a Spanish socialist politician. He was the General Secretary of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) from 1974 to 1997. To date, he remains the longest-serving Prime Minister of Spain, after having served four successive mandates from 1982 to 1996.
Felipe was born in Seville, son of a farmer who had a small dairy. He has a sister named Lola González y Márquez, married to Francisco Germán Palomino y Romera, by whom she has two sons, Felipe and Germán Palomino y González. He studied Law at Seville University and started his career as attorney specialising in labour. While at the University he met members of the socialist trade union Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT) that was clandestine at the time. He also contacted members of the PSOE and started taking part in the party's clandestine activity. During that time he adopted the nom de guerre Isidoro and moved to Madrid. He was elected Secretary General of the Party at the Suresnes Congress, in France.
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Feng Congde
Feng Congde(封从德) (born 1967) is a Chinese dissident. He was a student leader in the 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests. He was on the Chinese Government's list of the 21 most wanted leaders of the protests.
Feng married the student leader Chai Ling in May 1989, but they divorced later.
He runs the website 64memo.com, a website that documents the history of the movement and provides research information, audio-visual reports and first hand accounts of the June Fourth massacre.
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Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician who held the title of President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives (1949–1959) and a member of the Philippine Senate (1959–1965). He was Senate President from 1963–1965.
While in power he implemented wide-ranging programs of infrastructure development and economic reform. However, his administration was marred by massive authoritarian corruption, despotism, nepotism, political repression, and human rights violations.
In 1983, his government was accused of being involved in the assassination of his primary political opponent, Benigno Aquino, Jr. Public outrage over the assassination served as the catalyst for the People Power Revolution in February 1986 that led to his removal from power and eventual exile in Hawaii. It was later discovered that, during his 20 years in power, he and his wife Imelda Marcos had moved billions of dollars of embezzled public funds to accounts and investments in the United States, Switzerland, and other countries.
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Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (Spanish: [fiˈðel ˈkastro]; born August 13, 1926) is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011. Politically a Marxist-Leninist, under his administration the Republic of Cuba was converted into a one-party socialist state, with industry and business being nationalized under state ownership and socialist reforms implemented in all areas of society. On the international stage, he also served as the Secretary-General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1979 to 1983 and 2006 to 2008.
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Francesco Cossiga
Francesco Cossiga (26 July 1928 – 17 August 2010) was an Italian politician, the 43rd Prime Minister and the eighth President of the Italian Republic. He was also a professor of constitutional law at the University of Sassari.
Cossiga was born in Sassari in the north of Sardinia. He started his political career during World War II. His name is now usually pronounced Italian pronunciation: [kosˈsiːɡa], but it was originally pronounced Italian pronunciation: [ˈkɔssiɡa], with the stress on the first syllable, meaning "Corsica". He was the cousin of Enrico Berlinguer.
He was a minister several times for the Democrazia Cristiana party (DC), notably during his stay at Viminale (Ministry for internal affairs) where he re-structured the Italian police, civil protection and secret services. In 1977, when Cossiga was minister of internal affairs, police squads organized by Cossiga shot against a demonstration in Rome, killing student Giorgiana Masi. Cossiga for many years stated that she was killed by her companions.
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Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi (born Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone; 1181/1182 – October 3, 1226) was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St. Francis is one of the most venerated religious figures in history.
Francis was the son of a wealthy cloth merchant in Assisi, and he lived the high-spirited life typical of a wealthy young man, even fighting as a soldier for Assisi. While going off to war in 1204, Francis had a vision that directed him back to Assisi, where he lost his taste for his worldly life. On a pilgrimage to Rome, he begged with the beggars at St. Peter's. The experience moved him to live in poverty. Francis returned home, began preaching on the streets, and soon amassed a following. His order was endorsed by Pope Innocent III in 1210. He then founded the Order of Poor Clares, which was an enclosed order for women, as well as the Third Order of Brothers and Sisters of Penance. In 1219, he went to Egypt in an attempt to convert the Sultan. By this point, the Franciscan Order had grown to such an extent that its primitive organizational structure was no longer sufficient. He returned to Italy to organize the order. Once his organization was endorsed by the Pope, he withdrew increasingly from external affairs. In 1223, Francis arranged for the first Christmas manger scene. In 1224, he received the stigmata, making him the first recorded person to bear the wounds of Christ's Passion. He died in 1226 while preaching Psalm 141.
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Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta (7 April 1506 – 3 December 1552) was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre (now part of Spain) and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a student of Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre in 1534. He led an extensive mission into Asia, mainly in the Portuguese Empire of the time. He was influential in the spreading and upkeep of Catholicism most notably in India, but also ventured into Japan, Borneo, the Moluccas, and other areas which had thus far not been visited by Christian missionaries. In these areas, being a pioneer and struggling to learn the local languages in the face of opposition, he had less success than he had enjoyed in India. It was a goal of Xavier to one day reach China. However, the government in China disliked most missionaries and many were killed.
Francis Xavier was born in the family castle of Xavier (Xabier, toponymic name whose origin comes from "etxaberri" meaning "new house" in the Basque language) in the Kingdom of Navarre on April 7, 1506 according to a family register. He was born to an aristocratic family of the Kingdom of Navarre, the youngest son of Juan de Jaso, privy counsellor to King John III of Navarre (Jean d'Albret), and Doña Maria de Azpilcueta y Aznárez, sole heiress of two noble Navarrese families. He was thus related to the great theologian and philosopher Martín de Azpilcueta. Notwithstanding different interpretations on his first language, no evidence suggests that Xavier's mother tongue was other than Basque, as stated by himself and confirmed by the sociolinguistic environment of the time.
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Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde, better known under the name of Franco, (Spanish: [fɾanˈθisko ˈfɾaŋko]; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general, dictator and the leader of the Nationalist military rebellion in the Spanish Civil War, and totalitarian head of state of Spain, from October 1936 (as a unified nation from 1939 onwards) until his death in November 1975. He came to power while recognizing the principles of the far-right Falange movement, although this was for propaganda reasons, as he belonged to no political party before becoming Head of State. As head of state, Franco used the titles Caudillo de España and Generalísimo, but also was called formally as His Excellency, The Head of State.
Franco was from a military family, and although originally intent on entering the Spanish Navy, he instead became a soldier. He participated in the Rif War in Morocco, becoming the youngest general in Europe by 1926. After returning to the Spanish mainland, he saw service suppressing an anarchist-led strike in 1934, defending the stability of Alcalá-Zamora's conservative government. Following the formation of a Popular Front government, made up of various left-wing factions, instability heightened. Violence between militant groups rose sharply with assassination of conservative parliamentary leader José Calvo Sotelo, in retaliation for the killing of José Castillo. Franco and his co-conspirators used Calvo's death as their pretext for war, as they had already initiated the plan for their rebellion.
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Franciszek Macharski
Franciszek Macharski (born 20 May 1927 in Kraków) is a Polish Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the Archbishop of Kraków from 1978, succeeding Karol Wojtyła to the chair of St. Stanisław, until his resignation in 2005. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1979.
Franciszek was born the youngest of four children in 1927. During World War II he worked as a menial laborer and afterward entered the seminary in Kraków, where he also studied theology. He was ordained as a priest in April 1950 by Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha. Until 1956 he was a vicar in a parish near Bielsko-Biała and was then transferred to Fribourg, Switzerland to continue his theological studies. He received his doctorate in 1960.
Father Macharski was appointed Archbishop of Kraków in December 1978 by Pope John Paul II, who had been Archbishop of that city himself until his election to the Papacy in October 1978. Macharski was consecrated as a Bishop by John Paul II himself at the Vatican on 6 January 1979 and took possession of the Archdiocese of Kraków on 28 January 1979, when he was installed at Wawel Cathedral.
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Franz König
Franz König (3 Augus 1905 – 13 March 2004) was an Austrian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of Vienna from 1956 to 1985, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958. The last surviving cardinal elevated by Pope John XXIII, he was the second-oldest and longest-serving cardinal worldwide at the time of his death.
König was born in Warth near Rabenstein, Lower Austria, as the oldest of the nine children of Franz and Maria König. He attended the Benedictine-run Stiftsgymnasium Melk and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he received his doctorate in philosophy on 9 July 1930 and then his doctorate in theology on 21 January 1936. He also studied at the Pontifical German-Hungarian College, the Pontifical Biblical Institute, where he specialized in old Persian languages and religion, and the Université Catholique de Lille.
Ordained as a priest on 29 October 1933 by Cardinal Francesco Marchetti-Selvaggiani, he originally served as a chaplain and teacher during World War II, his main concern at that time being youth ministry. Following this, König pursued an academic career, being appointed Privatdozent, later teaching religion at the College of Krems and the University of Vienna (1945–1948) and moral theology at the University of Salzburg (1948–1952).
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Franz Vranitzky
Franz Vranitzky (born 4 October 1937) is an Austrian politician. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), he was Chancellor of Austria from 1986 to 1997.
As the son of a foundryman, Vranitzky was born into humble circumstances in Vienna's 17th disttrict. He attended the Realgymnasium Geblergasse and studied economics, graduating in 1960. He financed his studies teaching Latin and English and as a construction worker.
As a young man, Vranitzky played basket ball and was a member of Austria's national team, which in 1960 unsuccessfully tried to qualify for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.
In 1962 he joined the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ).
In 1962, Vranitzky married Christine Christen, with whom he fathered two children.
Vranitzky began his career in 1961 at Siemens-Schuckert, but within the year switched to the National Bank of Austria. In 1969, he received a doctorate in International business studies. The following year, Hannes Androsch, minister of finance under Chancellor Bruno Kreisky had appointed him economic and financial advisor. Vranitzky served as deputy director of the Creditanstalt-Bankverein (1976–1981), briefly as its director general and as director general of the Österreichische Länderbank (1981–1984).
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François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (French: [fʁɑ̃swa mɔʁis mitɛˈʁɑ̃] ( listen); 26 October 1916 – 8 January 1996) was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the first figure from the left elected President under the Fifth Republic.
Reflecting family influences, Mitterrand started political life on the Catholic nationalist right. He served under the Vichy Regime in its earlier years. Subsequently, however, he joined the Resistance, moved to the left, and held ministerial office repeatedly under the Fourth Republic. He opposed de Gaulle's establishment of the Fifth Republic. Although at times a politically isolated figure, Mitterrand outmanoeuvred rivals to become the left's standard bearer in every presidential election from 1965 to 1988, except 1969. Elected President in the May 1981 presidential election, he was re-elected in 1988 and held office until 1995.
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Frère Roger
Frère Roger (Brother Roger) (Provence, Switzerland, May 12, 1915 - Taizé, August 16, 2005), baptised Roger Louis Schütz-Marsauche, also known as Brother Roger, was the founder and prior of the Taizé Community, an ecumenical monastic community.
Roger was born the ninth and youngest child of Karl Ulrich Schütz, a Protestant pastor from Bachs in the Zürcher Unterland (Zürich Lowlands) in Switzerland, and his wife, Amélie Henriette Schütz-Marsauche, a French Protestant woman from Burgundy.
From 1937 to 1940, Roger studied Reformed theology in Strasbourg and Lausanne, where he was a leader in the Swiss Student Christian Movement, part of the World Student Christian Federation.
In 1940, he rode a bicycle from Geneva to Taizé, a small town near Mâcon, about 390 kilometres (240 mi) southeast of Paris. Taizé was then in unoccupied France, just beyond the line of demarcation to the zone occupied by German troops. For two years Brother Roger hid Jewish refugees before being forced to leave Taizé. In 1944, he returned to Taizé to found the Community, initially a small quasi-monastic community of men living together in poverty and obedience.
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Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei (Italian pronunciation: [ɡaliˈlɛːo ɡaliˈlɛi]; 15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism. Galileo has been called the "father of modern observational astronomy", the "father of modern physics", the "father of science", and "the Father of Modern Science".
His contributions to observational astronomy include the telescopic confirmation of the phases of Venus, the discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter (named the Galilean moons in his honour), and the observation and analysis of sunspots. Galileo also worked in applied science and technology, inventing an improved military compass and other instruments.
Galileo's championing of heliocentrism was controversial within his lifetime, when most subscribed to either geocentrism or the Tychonic system. He met with opposition from astronomers, who doubted heliocentrism due to the absence of an observed stellar parallax. The matter was investigated by the Roman Inquisition in 1615, and they concluded that it could only be supported as a possibility, not as an established fact. Galileo later defended his views in Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, which appeared to attack Pope Urban VIII and thus alienated him and the Jesuits, who had both supported Galileo up until this point. He was tried by the Inquisition, found "vehemently suspect of heresy", forced to recant, and spent the rest of his life under house arrest. It was while Galileo was under house arrest that he wrote one of his finest works, Two New Sciences. Here he summarized the work he had done some forty years earlier, on the two sciences now called kinematics and strength of materials.
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Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (Arabic: جمال عبد الناصر حسين, IPA: [ɡæˈmæːl ʕæbdenˈnɑːsˤeɾ ħeˈseːn]; 15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of modernization, and socialist reform in Egypt together with a profound advancement of pan-Arab nationalism, including a short-lived union with Syria.
Nasser is seen as one of the most important political figures in both modern Arab history and politics in the 20th century. Under his leadership, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal Company and came to play a central role in anti-imperialist efforts in the Arab World and Africa. The imposed ending to the Suez Crisis made him a hero throughout the Arab world. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the international Non-Aligned Movement. He is well known for his nationalist policies and version of pan-Arabism, also referred to as Nasserism, which won a great following in the Arab World during the 1950s and 1960s. Although his status as "leader of the Arabs" was badly damaged by the Israeli victory over the Arab armies in the Six-Day War, as well as Egypt's failure to win the subsequent War of Attrition against Israel, many in the general Arab population still view Nasser as a symbol of Arab dignity and freedom.
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Gennady Yanayev
Gennady Ivanovich Yanayev (Russian: Генна́дий Ива́нович Яна́ев; 26 August 1937 – 24 September 2010) was a Soviet Russian politician and statesman whose career spanned the rules of Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko, and culminated during the Gorbachev years. Yanayev was born in Perevoz, Gorky Oblast. After years in local politics, he rose to prominence as Chairman of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, but he also held other lesser posts such as deputy of the Union of Soviet Societies for Friendship and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries.
Due to his chairmanship of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions he gained a seat in the Politburo. During the 1990 July plenum he was elected to the Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee. Later that year, with the help of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yanayev was elected the first, and only, Vice President of the Soviet Union. Having growing doubts about where Gorbachev's reforms were leading, Yanayev started working with, and eventually leading, the Gang of Eight, the group which deposed Gorbachev during the August coup of 1991. After three days the coup collapsed due to the popularity of Boris Yeltsin, but during its brief grip of power Yanayev was made Acting President of the Soviet Union. He was then arrested for his role in the coup, but in 1994 he was pardoned by the State Duma. He spent the rest of his life working in the Russian tourism administration until his death on 24 September 2010.
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George Marshall
George Catlett Marshall (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American military leader, Chief of Staff of the Army, Secretary of State, and the third Secretary of Defense. Once noted as the "organizer of victory" by Winston Churchill for his leadership of the Allied victory in World War II, Marshall served as the United States Army Chief of Staff during the war and as the chief military adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. As Secretary of State, his name was given to the Marshall Plan, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953.
George Catlett Marshall was born into a middle-class family in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, the son of George Catlett Marshall, Sr. and Laura Emily (Bradford) Marshall. Marshall was a scion of an old Virginia family, as well as a distant relative of former Chief Justice John Marshall. Marshall graduated from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), where he was initiated into the Kappa Alpha Order, in 1901.
Following graduation from VMI, Marshall was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Until World War I, he was posted to various positions in the US and the Philippines. He served as an infantry platoon leader and company commander in the Phillipines during the Phillipine-American War and several other guerilla uprisings. He was schooled and trained in modern warfare. His pre-war service included a tour at Fort Leavenworth, KS from 1906 to 1910 as both a student and an instructor.
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George Weigel
George Weigel (Baltimore, 1951 - ) is an American author, and political and social activist. He currently serves as a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Weigel was the Founding President of the James Madison Foundation. He is the author of the best-selling biography of Pope John Paul II, Witness to Hope and Tranquillitas Ordinis: The Present Failure and Future Promise of American Catholic Thought on War and Peace.
Weigel grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, where he attended St. Mary's Seminary and University, and he later received his masters degree from St. Michael's College, University of Toronto. Weigel has received nine honorary doctorate degrees, as well as the papal cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice and the Gloria Artis Gold Medal from the Polish Ministry of Culture.
Weigel lived in Seattle, serving as Assistant Professor of Theology and Assistant Dean of Studies at the St. Thomas the Apostle Seminary School of Theology in Kenmore, and Scholar-in-Residence at the World Without War Council of Greater Seattle, before returning to Washington, D.C. as a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
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Georges Pompidou
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou (French pronunciation: [ʒɔʁʒ pɔ̃pidu]; 5 July 1911 – 2 April 1974) was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.
He was born in the commune of Montboudif, in the department of Cantal in central France. After his khâgne at Lycée Louis-le-Grand, where he befriended Senegalese future poet and statesman Léopold Sédar Senghor, he graduated from the École Normale Supérieure with a degree of Agrégation in literature.
He first taught literature at the lycée Henri IV in Paris until hired in 1953 by Guy de Rothschild to work at Rothschild. In 1956, he was appointed the bank's general manager, a position he held until 1962. Later, he was hired by Charles de Gaulle to manage the Anne de Gaulle Foundation for Down's Syndrome (de Gaulle's daughter Anne had Down's Syndrome).
He served as prime minister under de Gaulle after Michel Debré resigned, from 16 April 1962 to 21 July 1968, and to this day is the longest serving French prime minister under the Fifth Republic. His nomination was controversial because he was not a member of the National Assembly. In October 1962, he was defeated by a vote of non-confidence, but de Gaulle dissolved the National Assembly. The Gaullists won the legislative election and Pompidou was reappointed as Prime Minister. In 1964, he was faced with a miners' strike. He led the 1967 legislative campaign of the Union of Democrats for the Fifth Republic to a narrow victory. Pompidou was widely regarded as being responsible for the peaceful resolution of the student uprising of May 1968. His strategy was to break the coalition of students and workers by negotiating with the trade-unions and employers (Grenelle conference). Until this crisis, he was the Prime Minister of a quiet and prosperous France.
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Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.; July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974. As the first person appointed to the vice-presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment (after Spiro Agnew had resigned), when he became President upon Richard Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974, he became the only President of the United States who was never elected President nor Vice-President by the Electoral College. Before ascending to the vice-presidency, Ford served nearly 25 years as the Representative from Michigan's 5th congressional district, eight of them as the Republican Minority Leader.
As President, Ford signed the Helsinki Accords, marking a move toward détente in the Cold War. With the conquest of South Vietnam by North Vietnam nine months into his presidency, U.S. involvement in Vietnam essentially ended. Domestically, Ford presided over arguably the weakest economy since the Great Depression, with growing inflation and a recession during his tenure. One of his more controversial acts was to grant a presidential pardon to President Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal. During Ford's incumbency, foreign policy was characterized in procedural terms by the increased role Congress began to play, and by the corresponding curb on the powers of the President. In 1976, Ford narrowly defeated Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination, but lost the presidential election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.
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Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒeˈtuliu doɾˈnɛlis ˈvaɾɡɐs]; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) served as President of Brazil, first as dictator, from 1930 to 1945, and in a democratically elected term from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, the most for any President, and second in Brazilian history only to Emperor Pedro II among heads of government. He favored nationalism, industrialization, centralization, social welfare and populism – for the latter, Vargas won the nickname "O Pai dos Pobres" (Portuguese for "The Father of the Poor"). Despite his promotion of workers' rights, Vargas was a staunch anti-communist.
Vargas was brought to power by political outsiders and the rank and file of the Armed Forces in the Revolution of 1930, a reaction to his loss in rigged elections earlier that year. His ascent marked the end of the Brazilian oligarchic Old Republic and states' dominated café com leite politics. He successfully influenced the outcome of the Brazilian presidential election of 1934, and instituted an authoritarian corporatist regime in 1937 known as the Estado Novo ("New State"), prolonging his hold onto power. Vargas went on to appease and eventually dominate his supporters, and pushed his political agenda as he built a propaganda machine around his figure.
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Gilbert Levine
Sir Gilbert Levine, KC*SG (born January 22, 1948, Brooklyn, New York) is an American conductor. He is considered an "outstanding personality in the world of international music television."
Levine attended the Juilliard School of Music, and holds an A.B. degree from Princeton University and a M.A. degree from Yale University. He studied bassoon with Stephen Maxym and Sherman Walt, piano with Gilbert Kalish, Music History with Lewis Lockwood and Arthur Mendel, Music Theory with Edward T. Cone, Peter Westergaard and Milton Babbitt, ear training and score reading with Nadia Boulanger, Renée Longy, and Luise Vosgerchian, and conducting with Jacques-Louis Monod and Franco Ferrara.
Levine was assistant to Sir Georg Solti in London at the London Philharmonic Orchestra and at the Royal Opera House (Covent Garden), and in Paris with l'Orchestre de Paris. Levine was also a protégé of Klaus Tennstedt.
Levine has lectured at Harvard University, Princeton University, and Yale University, and has taught conducting both at Yale and the Manhattan School of Music. His conducting students have included the American composer Aaron Jay Kernis. Levine maintains current ties to his two alma maters. He serves as a member of the Princeton University Department of Music Advisory Council and has recently been appointed to a fifth term as Associate Fellow of Trumbull College/Yale by the Yale Corporation, that university's highest governing body.
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Giovanni Benelli
Giovanni Benelli (12 May 1921 – 26 October 1982) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Florence from 1977 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1977.
Giovanni Benelli was born in Poggiole di Vernio, Tuscany, to Luigi and Maria (née Simoni) Benelli. Baptised the day after his birth, on 13 May, he was the youngest of his parents' five surviving children, and his uncle Guido was a revered Franciscan friar. Benelli entered the Seminary of Pistoia in 1931, and then attended the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome. He received the clerical tonsure on 23 December 1939, and was eventually ordained a priest on 31 October 1943 by Bishop Giuseppe Debernardi. At age 22, he had not yet reached the canonical age for priestly ordination, and therefore was given a special dispensation. Benelli finished his studies at the Gregorian in 1947, and also undertook pastoral work in Rome until 1950.
His abilities were noticed by the Church, and he soon became attached to the Roman Curia. Named private secretary to Giovanni Battista Montini on 1 August 1947, Benelli was later raised to the rank of Monsignor on 16 July 1950. He served as the Secretary of nunciatures to Ireland (1950–1953) and to France (1953–1960). Benelli was then appointed to the following posts: auditor of nunciature to Brazil (1960–1962), counsellor of nunciature to Spain (1962–1965), and permanent observer of Holy See before UNESCO in Paris (1965–1966).
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Giovanni Franzoni
Giovanni Battista Franzoni (born 8 November 1928, Varna) is a Christian communist and dissident Catholic theologian. A popular abbot at St. Paul's Outside the Walls, one of the most popular churches in Rome, he was defrocked by Pope Paul VI, with whom he had feuded over theology, during the Cold War, after he had announced his intention to vote for the relatively mainstream Italian Communist Party in 1976, which Franzoni had joined in June of that year.
An Italian born in Varna, Bulgaria, Franzoni began his work as a priest in Florence, Italy in the 1950s.
Franzoni is the author of numerous theological works.
Franzoni is a longtime peace activist, having stood against the United States' invasions of both Vietnam and Iraq.
Franzoni opposed the initiated beatification process for Pope John Paul II. In 2005, Franzoni joined ten other dissident theologians to appeal to Catholics critical of the canonization process to voice their concerns.
No longer a member of the Catholic priesthood, Franzoni is presently married to a Japanese pedagogist.
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Giulio Andreotti
Giulio Andreotti (Italian pronunciation: [ˈʤuːljo andreˈɔtti]; born January 14, 1919) is an Italian politician of the now dissolved centrist Christian Democracy party. He served as the 42nd Prime Minister of Italy from 1972 to 1973, from 1976 to 1979 and from 1989 to 1992. He also served as Minister of the Interior (1954 and 1978), Defense Minister (1959–1966 and 1974) and Foreign Minister (1983–1989) and he has been a senator for life since 1991. He is also a journalist and author.
He is sometimes called Divo Giulio (from Latin Divus Iulius, "divine Julius", an epithet of Julius Caesar). The movie Il Divo tells about Andreotti's links with the Mafia and won the Prix du Jury at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.
Andreotti was born in Rome into a family from Segni. He studied law in Rome, during which time he was member of the Federazione Universitaria Cattolica Italiana (FUCI, or Italian Catholic University Federation), which was then the only Catholic university association allowed by the Fascist government. Its members included many of the future leaders of the Italian Democrazia Cristiana (or DC, the Christian Democracy party). In July 1939, while Aldo Moro was president of FUCI, Andreotti became director of its magazine Azione Fucina. In 1942, when Moro was enrolled in the Italian Army, Andreotti succeeded him as president of FUCI, a position he held until 1944.
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Giuseppe Siri
Giuseppe Siri (20 May 1906 – 2 May 1989) was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Genoa from 1946 to 1987, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1953 by Pope Pius XII.
Siri was born in Genoa to Nicolò and Giulia (née Bellavista) Siri; his father was a stevedore. He entered the minor seminary of Genoa on 16 October 1906, and attended the major seminary from 1917 to 1926. Siri then studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Carlo Minoretti on 22 September 1928. Finishing his studies at the Gregorian, he earned his doctorate in theology summa cum laude and also did pastoral work in Rome until autumn 1929.
Upon returning to Genoa, he served as a chaplain until he became a professor of dogmatic theology at the major seminary in 1930, also teaching fundamental theology for a year. In addition to his academic duties, Siri was a preacher, conferencist, and professor of religion at the lyceums Andrea D'Oria and Giuseppe Mazzini from 1931 to 1936. He was named prosynodal examiner in the archdiocesan curia in 1936 and rector of Collegio Teologico S. Tommaso d'Aquino in 1937.
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Gregorio Honasan
Gregorio Ballesteros Honasan II (born March 14, 1948), better known as Gringo Honasan, is a Filipino political figure. He played a key role in the 1986 EDSA Revolution that toppled the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos. He led a series of coup attempts against the administration of Corazon Aquino. President Fidel Ramos granted him amnesty in 1992. He entered politics and became a senator from 1995 to 2004 and again since 2007.
Gregorio Honasan was born in Baguio City to Colonel Romeo Honasan and Alice Ballesteros, both from Sorsogon province. Honasan spent his elementary days at San Beda College from Kindergarten to Grade 6. After which, he went to Taiwan and studied at the Dominican School, Taipei, Taiwan. He then returned to the Philippines and finished his high school at Don Bosco Mandaluyong. He attained his Bachelor of Science degree at the Philippine Military Academy, where he received the title of "Class Baron", the academy's highest leadership award.
After graduating in 1971, he joined the Philippine Army and went into combat duty against separatist and communist insurgents in Luzon and Mindanao. He was wounded in action at battles in Lebak and Jolo. Making his way up through the armed forces, he became aide-de-camp to Secretary of National Defense Juan Ponce Enrile in 1974, and later became the department's Chief of Security.
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Gyula Horn
Gyula Horn (born on July 5, 1932, Budapest) is a Hungarian politician and the third Prime Minister of the Republic of Hungary, from 1994–1998.
He is remembered because as the last Communist Foreign Minister of Hungary, he played a major role in the demolishing of the "Iron Curtain" for East Germans in 1989, contributing to the later unification of Germany, and for the Bokros package, the biggest fiscal austerity programme in post-communist Hungary, launched under his premiership, in 1995.
He was born in Budapest. Gyula Horn first studied in a lower technicians' school in Hungary. He graduated from the Rostov-on-Don College of Economics and Finance in 1954. He is married, he has a daughter and a son.
In 1954 Horn joined the Hungarian communist party, then called the Hungarian Working People's Party. In November 1956 he joined the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (MSzMP) established by János Kádár to lead the crushing of the 1956 Hungarian revolution against Soviet occupation and communist rule.
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György Konrád
György (George) Konrád (born April 2, 1933) is a Hungarian novelist and essayist, known as an advocate of individual freedom.
Konrad was born in Berettyóújfalu, near Debrecen into an affluent Jewish family. He graduated in 1951 from the Madách Secondary School in Budapest, entered the Lenin Institute and eventually studied literature, sociology and psychology at the Eötvös Loránd University. In 1956 he participated in the Hungarian Uprising against the Soviet occupation, but did not kill anybody, although he had a gun. In fact, in light of his later attitude towards 56-veterans his honesty about his alleged democratic values been questioned.
Due to oppositional activities he was warned by the public prosecutor and was later fired from his work. In 1977 he received a DAAD- scholarship which enabled him to stay in West Berlin along with Iván Szelényi. After writing The Intellectual on the Road to Class Power with Szelényi, he hid the manuscript at his brother in law Ernő Sándor. Konrád was arrested in 10/22 1974. After this incident communist leading party ideologist György Aczél personally asked Konrád not to emigrate. In a letter to Aczél, Konrád made a few terms for his staying. This letter was also published in the Hungarian daily newspaper Magyar Nemzet and was also used as evidence in the Konrád vs Lovas slander trial, where Konrád sought retribution on the publicist István Lovas who have presented Konráds doubtful past in 2003. During this trial the Supreme Court of Budapest stated:
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Hafizullah Amin
Hafizullah Amin (1 August 1929 – 27 December 1979) was an Afghan politician and statesman during the Cold War. Amin was born in Paghman and educated at Kabul University, after which he started his career as a teacher. After a few years in that occupation, he went to the United States to study. He would visit the United States a second time before moving permanently to Afghanistan, and starting his career in radical politics. He ran as a candidate in the 1965 parliamentary election but failed to secure a seat. Amin was the only Khalqist elected to parliament in the 1969 parliamentary election, thus increasing his standing within the party. He was one of the leading organisers of the Saur Revolution which overthrew the government of Mohammad Daoud Khan.
Amin's short-lived presidency was marked by controversies from beginning to end. He came to power by killing his predecessor Nur Muhammad Taraki. The revolt against communist rule which had begun under Taraki worsened under Amin, and was a problem that his government was unable to solve. The Soviet Union, which alleged that Amin was an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency, intervened in Afghanistan on behalf of the Twenty-Year Treaty of Friendship between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. Amin was assassinated by the Soviets in December 1979 as part of Operation Storm-333, having ruled for slightly longer than three months.
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Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC, FRS (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963.
Nicknamed 'Supermac' and known for his pragmatism, wit and unflappability, Macmillan achieved notoriety before the Second World War as a Tory radical and critic of appeasement. Rising to high office as a protégé of wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill, he believed in the post-war settlement and the necessity of a mixed economy, and in his premiership pursued corporatist policies to develop the domestic market as the engine of growth. During his time as prime minister, average living standards steadily rose while numerous social reforms were carried out such as the 1956 Clean Air Act, the 1957 Housing Act, the 1960 Offices Act, the 1960 Noise Abatement Act, the Factories Act 1961, and the introduction of a graduated pension scheme to provide an additional income to retirees.
As a One Nation Tory of the Disraelian tradition, haunted by memories of the Great Depression, he championed a Keynesian strategy of public investment to maintain demand, winning a second term in 1959 with an increased majority on an electioneering budget. Benefiting from favourable international conditions, he presided over an age of affluence, marked by low unemployment and high if uneven growth. In his Bedford speech of July 1957 he told the nation they had 'never had it so good', but warned of the dangers of inflation, summing up the fragile prosperity of the 1950s.
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Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British Labour politician and Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the February 1974 general election resulted in a hung parliament. He is the most recent British Prime Minister to have served non-consecutive terms.
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Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (German pronunciation: [ˈhɛlmuːt ˈkoːl]; born 3 April 1930) is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 (of West Germany between 1982 and 1990 and of the reunited Germany between 1990 and 1998) and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. His 16-year tenure was the longest of any German chancellor since Otto von Bismarck and oversaw the end of the Cold War and the German reunification. Kohl is widely regarded as one of the main architects of the German reunification and, together with French President François Mitterrand, the Maastricht Treaty, which contributed to the creation of the European Union.
Kohl and Mitterrand were the joint recipients of the Karlspreis in 1988. In 1998, Kohl was named Honorary Citizen of Europe by the European heads of state or government for his extraordinary work for European integration and cooperation, an honour previously only bestowed on Jean Monnet. In 1996, he won the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award in International Cooperation.
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Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (German pronunciation: [ˈhɛlmʊt ˈʃmɪt]; born 23 December 1918) is a German Social Democratic politician who served as Chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Prior to becoming chancellor, he had served as Minister of Defence and Minister of Finance. He had also served briefly as Minister of Economics and as acting Foreign Minister. He is the oldest surviving German Chancellor and the last surviving person to have been solely Chancellor of West Germany (Helmut Kohl was Chancellor of both West Germany and reunified Germany). He is also the oldest living Federal German Minister, after the death of his Interior Minister Werner Maihofer.
Helmut Schmidt was born in Hamburg, as son of two teachers. He studied at Hamburg Lichtwark School, graduating in 1937. He was conscripted into military service and began serving with an anti-aircraft battery at Vegesack near Bremen during World War II. After brief service on the Eastern Front he returned to Germany in 1942 to work as a trainer and advisor at the Reichsluftfahrtministerium. Also in 1942, on 27 June, he married his childhood sweetheart Hannelore "Loki" Glaser (3 March 1919 – 21 October 2010), with whom he fathered two children: Helmut Walter (26 June 1944–February 1945, died of meningitis), and Susanne (b. 1947), who works in London for Bloomberg Television. Toward the end of the war, from December 1944 onwards, he served as an Oberleutnant in the artillery on the Western Front. He was captured by the British in April 1945 on Lüneburg Heath and was a prisoner of war until August. During his service in World War II Schmidt was awarded the Iron Cross.
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Hendrik Brugmans
Hendrik Brugmans (Amsterdam 13 December 1906 - Bruges 12 March 1997) was the son of historian Hajo Brugmans and Maria Keizer. He studied history of French literature at the Universiteit van Amsterdam and the Sorbonne University in Paris.
Brugmans, who was one of the intellectual leaders of the European Movement and co-founder and first president of the Union of European Federalists, was rector of the College of Europe in Bruges between 1950 and 1972.
Brugmans was awarded the Karlspreis in 1951. In 1972 he retired from work, but he remained living in Bruges. Brugmans died on the age of 90 years in 1997. The year after his death the College of Europe honoured Brugmans by naming that academic year the Brugmans promotion and by creating an annual lecture named after him. One of the buildings of the new Verversdijk site of the College in Bruges is also named after him.
Since 2010, the students of the College of Europe have honoured him further by holding an annual football tournament named the Hendrik Brugmans Memorial Cup. The tournament includes both current and former students of the College of Europe. The winner of the 2012 edition is the F.C. Natolinsky team.
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Heng Samrin
Heng Samrin (Khmer: ហេង សំរិន; born 1934) is a Cambodian politician. He was the chairman of the People's Republic of Kampuchea and the State of Cambodia (1979–1993), and later vice chairman (1998–2006) and chairman of the National Assembly of Cambodia since 2006.
Heng was born in Prey Veng Province, Cambodia. He became a member of the Khmer Rouge communist movement led by Pol Pot, and became a political commisar and army division commander when the Khmer Rouge took over the government in 1975. In 1978, he defected from the Khmer Rouge, which was backed by China, and fled to Vietnam. There he became one of the founding members of the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation (FUNSK). Later that year, Heng returned to Cambodia, leading a rebellion which was backed by Vietnam and the Soviet Union.
The Cambodian People's Party recently released a book about him called, A Man of the People, dedicated to him as a hero.
The Khmer Rouge collapsed in 1979, and Heng set up a new Communist government, the People's Republic of Kampuchea. He became chairman of the People's Revolutionary Council of the PRK in 1979. In 1981 he became chairman of the Council of State and secretary-general of the People's Revolutionary Party. Though at first he was the effective leader of the government, he quickly lost much of his power when the more moderate Hun Sen became Prime Minister in 1985. As Vietnamese influence declined, Heng began losing his posts, including the post of secretary-general in 1991 and chairman of the council of state in 1992. When King Norodom Sihanouk was restored in 1993, Heng was given the honorary title of Sâmdech, and was made honorary chairman of Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party.
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Henry Kissinger
Heinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger ( /ˈkɪsɪndʒər/; born May 27, 1923) is a German-born American writer, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. A recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, he served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. After his term, his opinion was still sought by many subsequent presidents and many world leaders.
A proponent of Realpolitik, Kissinger played a dominant role in United States foreign policy between 1969 and 1977. During this period, he pioneered the policy of détente with the Soviet Union, orchestrated the opening of relations with the People's Republic of China, and negotiated the Paris Peace Accords, ending American involvement in the Vietnam War. Various American policies of that era, including the bombing of Cambodia, remain controversial to many.
Kissinger is still a controversial figure today. He is the founder and chairman of Kissinger Associates, an international consulting firm.
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Hirohito
Hirohito (裕仁?), posthumously in Japan officially called Emperor Shōwa or the Shōwa Emperor (昭和天皇, Shōwa tennō?), (April 29, 1901 – January 7, 1989) was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to exclusively by his posthumous name Emperor Shōwa. The word Shōwa is the name of the era that corresponded with the Emperor's reign, and was made the Emperor's own name upon his death.
At the start of his reign, Japan was already one of the great powers—the ninth largest economy in the world after Italy, the third largest naval country, and one of the five permanent members of the council of the League of Nations. He was the head of state under the limitation of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan during Japan's imperial expansion, militarization, and involvement in World War II. After the war, he was not prosecuted for war crimes as many other leading government figures were. During the postwar period, he became the symbol of the new state.
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Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh (Vietnamese pronunciation: [hô cǐ miɲ] (Vietnamese pronunciation: [hô̤ tɕǐmɪŋ] ( listen)); 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Tất Thành and Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Stalinist revolutionary leader who was prime minister (1945–1955) and president (1945–1969) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam). He was a key figure in the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945, as well as the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Việt Cộng (NLF or VC) during the Vietnam War.
He led the Việt Minh independence movement from 1941 onward, establishing the communist-governed Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 and defeating the French Union in 1954 at Điện Biên Phủ. He officially stepped down from power in 1955 due to health problems, but remained a highly visible figurehead and inspiration for Vietnamese fighting for his cause – a united, independent Vietnam – until his death. After the war, Saigon, the capital of Republic of Vietnam, was renamed Hồ Chí Minh City in his honor.
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Hua Guofeng
Su Zhu (16 February 1921 – 20 August 2008), better known by the nom de guerre Hua Guofeng, was Mao Zedong's designated successor as the Paramount Leader of the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China.
A regional official in Hunan between 1949 and 1971, he became the head of the party leadership in the province during the latter stages of the Cultural Revolution. Hua was elevated to the national stage in early 1976, and was known for his loyalty to Mao. Upon Zhou Enlai's death in January 1976, Hua succeeded Zhou as Premier of the People's Republic of China. After Mao's death, Hua took on the titles of Chairman of the Communist Party of China and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, to the surprise and dismay of Jiang Qing and the rest of the Gang of Four. Hua is the only leader to have simultaneously held the three highest offices of the PRC - leading the Party, State Council, and the Central Military Commission.
Hua brought the Cultural Revolution to an end and ousted the Gang of Four from political power by staging their arrests in Beijing. He attempted moderate reforms and reversing some of the excesses of Cultural Revolution-era policies. However, because of his insistence on continuing the Maoist line, he was himself outmaneuvered a few years later by Deng Xiaoping, a pragmatic reformer, who forced Hua into early retirement. As Hua faded into political obscurity, he continued to insist on the correctness of Maoist principles. He is remembered as a largely benign transitional figure in modern Chinese political history.
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Iain Hollingshead
Iain Hollingshead (born 31 October 1980) is a British freelance journalist and novelist.
Iain writes feature articles for a range of publications, The Daily Telegraph in particular. Until recently, he also wrote a regular column called Loose Ends in Saturday's Guardian. He has taken part in a number of radio shows, including BBC Radio 4's Today programme and You and Yours.
His father is a GP and his mother is a surgeon. He has one elder brother. He went to Eton from 1993-98. Iain graduated from Cambridge University in 2003 with a first class degree in History. He worked for a year in Westminster - at Vote 2004 and the private office of Michael Howard - before pursuing a full-time career as a journalist. Vote 2004 was described in the Sunday Telegraph as the "most successful political campaign of all time".[citation needed] Iain was runner-up in the Guardian Student Media Awards as Columnist of the Year. While at university he also founded and edited The Cambridge Slapper - a popular satirical magazine.
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Ian Paisley
Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC (born 6 April 1926) is a politician and former church minister from Northern Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), he and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness were elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively on 8 May 2007. Paisley retired from religious ministry on 27 January 2012.
In addition to co-founding the DUP and leading it from 1971 to 2008, he is a founding member and was Moderator for 57 years of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster. In 2005, Paisley's political party became the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland, displacing his long-term rivals, the Ulster Unionists (UUP), who had dominated unionist politics in Northern Ireland since before the partition of Ireland.
On 4 March 2008 Paisley announced that he would step down as First Minister and leader of the DUP after the US-Northern Ireland Investment Conference in May 2008.Peter Robinson took over as DUP leader on 31 May 2008, and replaced Paisley as First Minister on 5 June 2008. Paisley was made a life peer in the Dissolution Honours List of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, ennobled on 18 June 2010 as Baron Bannside, of North Antrim in the County of Antrim.
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Ichirō Hatoyama
Ichirō Hatoyama (鳩山 一郎, Hatoyama Ichirō?, January 1, 1883 – March 7, 1959) was a Japanese politician and the 52nd, 53rd and 54th Prime Minister of Japan, serving terms from December 10, 1954 through March 19, 1955, from then to November 22, 1955, and from then through December 23, 1956.
Ichirō Hatoyama was, as his name indicates, the firstborn boy. He was born into a wealthy cosmopolitan family in Tokyo. His father Kazuo Hatoyama (1856–1911) was a Yale graduate (and Speaker of the House of Representatives) and his mother Haruko Hatoyama (1863–1938) was a famous author and the founder of Kyoritsu Women's University.
Ichirō was a Master Mason and a Protestant Christian (Baptist). He was Japan's third postwar Christian Prime Minister.
Iichirō Hatoyama, Ichirō's only son, made a career for himself as a civil servant in the Budget Bureau of the Finance Ministry. Iichirō retired after having achieved the rank of administrative Vice Minister. In his second career in politics, he rose to become Foreign Minister of Japan in 1976–1977.
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Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada (c. 1924 – 16 August 2003) was the military dictator and third President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military coup of January 1971, deposing Milton Obote. He later promoted himself to Field Marshal while he was the head of state. While serving in the British Regiment he toured Kenya.
Amin's rule was characterised by gross human rights abuse, political repression, ethnic persecution, extrajudicial killings, nepotism, corruption, and gross economic mismanagement. The number of people killed as a result of his regime is estimated by international observers and human rights groups to range from 100,000 to 500,000. During his years in power, Amin shifted in allegiance from being a pro-Western ruler enjoying considerable Israeli support to being backed by Libya's Muammar al-Gaddafi, the Soviet Union and East Germany.
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Ignatius of Antioch
Ignatius of Antioch (Ancient Greek: Ἰγνάτιος, also known as Theophorus from Greek Θεοφόρος "God-bearer") (ca. 35 or 50-between 98 and 117) was among the Apostolic Fathers, was the third Bishop of Antioch, and was a student of John the Apostle. En route to his martyrdom in Rome, Ignatius wrote a series of letters which have been preserved as an example of very early Christian theology. Important topics addressed in these letters include ecclesiology, the sacraments, and the role of bishops.
Ignatius' feast day is observed on 20 December in the Eastern Orthodox Church. In the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, he is commemorated, according to its Synaxarium, on the 24th of the Coptic Month of Kiahk (which currently falls on January 2, but is equivalent to December 20 in the Gregorian Calendar due to the current 13-day Julian-Gregorian Calendar offset). His celebration is on 1 February in the General Roman Calendar of 1962. Today Western Christianity follows the Syriac churches in keeping his feast on 17 October.
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Imelda Marcos
Imelda R. Marcos (born Imelda Remedios Visitasion Romualdez on July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician and widow of 10th Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Upon the ascension of her husband to political power, she held various positions to the government until 1986. She is the first politician elected as member of the Philippine legislature in three geographical locations (Manila, Leyte, Ilocos Norte). In 2010, she was elected to become a member of the House of Representatives to represent Ilocos Norte's second district. She is sometimes referred to as the Steel Butterfly or the Iron Butterfly. She is often remembered for symbols of the extravagance of her husband's political reign, including her collection of 2,700 pairs of shoes.
Her paternal ancestors, the Lopezes of Leyte, were wealthy, landed and prominent, and claimed to have founded the town of Tolosa, Leyte. Spanish mestizos, the Lopezes were descended from the Spanish friar and silversmith Don Francisco Lopez, originally from Granada in the Andalusian region of Spain. Together with Fray Salustiano Buz, he arrived by way of Acapulco to build Roman Catholic missions in the island provinces of Samar and Leyte (Buz would establish his home base in Palapag, Samar, the exit-entry point of the Manila Galleons in the Visayas islands). It was common then for Spanish friars to take mistresses, and Lopez's life-long relationship with a Chinese mestiza, Maria Crisostomo y Talentin of Basey, Samar, produced seven children. The eldest of them was Trinidad Lopez, or Doña Tidad in later years.
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Imre Nagy
Imre Nagy (7 June 1896 – 16 June 1958) was a Hungarian communist politician who was appointed Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People's Republic of Hungary on two occasions. Nagy's second term ended when his non-Soviet-backed government was brought down by Soviet invasion in the failed Hungarian Revolution of 1956, resulting in Nagy's execution on charges of treason two years later.
Nagy (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈnɒɟ]) was born in Kaposvár, to a peasant family and was apprenticed to a locksmith. He enlisted in the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I and served on the Eastern Front. He was taken prisoner in 1915. He became a member of the Russian Communist Party, and joined the Red Army.
Nagy returned to Hungary in 1921. In 1930 he travelled to the Soviet Union and joined the communist party. He was engaged in agricultural research, and also worked in the Hungarian section of the Comintern. He was expelled from the party in 1936 and later worked for the Soviet Statistical Service. Rumours that he was an agent of the Soviet secret service surfaced later, begun by Hungarian party-leader Károly Grósz in 1989 in an attempt to discredit Nagy. There is evidence, however, that Nagy did serve as an informant for the NKVD during his time in Moscow and provided names to the secret police as a way to prove his loyalty (not an uncommon tactic for foreign communists in the Soviet Union at the time).
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Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Hindi: इंदिरा प्रियदर्शिनी गांधी Indirā Priyadarśinī Gāndhī listen (help·info), née Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms (1966–77) and a fourth term (1980–84). Gandhi was the second female head of government in the world after Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka, and she remains as the world's second longest serving female Prime Minister as of 2012. She was the first woman to become prime minister in India.
Gandhi was the only child of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India. She adhered to the quasi-socialist policies of industrial development that had been begun by her father. Gandhi established closer relations with the Soviet Union, depending on that nation for support in India’s long-standing conflict with Pakistan. She was also the only Indian Prime Minister to have declared a state of emergency in order to 'rule by decree' and the only Indian Prime Minister to have been imprisoned after holding that office. She was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in retaliation for ordering Operation Blue Star.
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Irenaeus
St. Irenaeus ( /aɪrəˈniːəs/; Ancient Greek: Εἰρηναῖος), (2nd century AD – c. 202) was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, then a part of the Roman Empire (now Lyon, France). He was an early church father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology. He was a hearer of Polycarp, who in turn was a disciple of John the Evangelist.
Irenaeus' best-known book, Adversus Haereses or Against Heresies (c. 180) is a detailed attack on Gnosticism, which was then a serious threat to the Church, and especially on the system of the Gnostic Valentinus. As one of the first great Christian theologians, he emphasized the traditional elements in the Church, especially the episcopate, Scripture, and tradition. "Caesar and Christ"(New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972)</ref> Against the Gnostics, who said that they possessed a secret oral tradition from Jesus himself, Irenaeus maintained that the bishops in different cities are known as far back as the Apostles — and none of them was a Gnostic — and that the bishops provided the only safe guide to the interpretation of Scripture. His writings, with those of Clement and Ignatius, are taken to hint at papal primacy. Irenaeus is the earliest witness to recognition of the canonical character of all four gospels.
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Jacques Delors
Jacques Lucien Jean Delors (born 20 July 1925) is a French economist and politician, the eighth President of the European Commission and the first person to serve three terms in that office (between January 1985 and December 1994). He is the father of Martine Aubry, the leader of the Socialist Party of France.
Born in Paris in a family originating from Corrèze, Delors first held in the 1940s-1960s a series of posts in French banking and state planning with the Banque de France. As a member of the French Confederation of Christian Workers, he participated in its secularization and the foundation of the French Democratic Confederation of Labour. In 1969, he became social affairs adviser to the Gaullist Prime Minister Jacques Chaban-Delmas, a move which was presented as part of Chaban's outreach to the centre-ground and first attracted media attention to Delors personally .
In 1974, Delors joined the French Socialist Party, with other left-wing Christians. He was one of the rare members of the party to be openly religious, thus challenging its long-standing secular tradition. He served in the European Parliament from 1979 to 1981, becoming chairman of its Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. Under President François Mitterrand, Delors served as Economics and Finance Minister from 1981–1983, and Economics, Finance, and Budget Minister from 1983–1984. He advocated a pause in the social policies, a clear acceptance of the market economy, and an alignment with European social democracy. Critically, he held the line on France's membership of the European Monetary System (EMS), giving priority to monetary stability over left-wing spending priorities. Mitterrand flirted with the idea of naming him Prime Minister[citation needed], but never made this appointment.
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James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005), was a British Labour politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980. Commonly known as Jim Callaghan (and nicknamed "Sunny Jim", "Gentleman Jim", "Lucky Jim" or "Big Jim"), Callaghan is the only person to have served in all four of the Great Offices of State: Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary.
Callaghan was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1964 to 1967 during a turbulent period in the British economy in which he had to wrestle with a balance of payments deficit and speculative attacks on the pound sterling. In November 1967, the Government was forced to devalue the pound sterling despite having already denied this would be done, both publicly and to the House of Commons. Callaghan offered to resign, but was persuaded to swap his ministerial post with Roy Jenkins, becoming Home Secretary from 1967 to 1970. In that capacity, Callaghan took the decision to use the Army to support the police in Northern Ireland, after a request from the Northern Ireland Government.
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Jason Berry
Jason Berry is an investigative reporter in New Orleans, an American author and film director. He is renowned for pioneering investigative reporting on sexual abuse in the priesthood of the Catholic Church.
His book Lead Us Not Into Temptation: Catholic Priests and the Sexual Abuse of Children (1992) was the first major book on this issue. His 2004 book Vows of Silence deals with the sexual abuse of Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Legion of Christ, and the cover-up of that abuse. The author also adapted Vows of Silence into a film.
Berry has been frequently interviewed in national media in the United States, has worked as a consultant for ABC News, and contributed to the National Public Radio and is a speaker on sexual abuse issues and popular culture.
He has also written books on popular music.
Berry won his first Catholic Press Association Award in 1986 for his original coverage in the National Catholic Reporter of the clergy sexual-abuse scandals in Louisiana. He was awarded his second in 1993 for the publication of Lead Us Not Into Temptation: Catholic Priests and the Sexual Abuse of Children. Berry is a graduate of Georgetown University and a recipient of the Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship for his reportage of David Duke. He and his wife live in New Orleans with their two young daughters.
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Javier Solana
Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga, KOGF (Spanish pronunciation: [fɾanˈθisko xaˈβjer soˈlana ðe maðaˈɾjaɣa], born 14 July 1942) is a Spanish physicist and Socialist politician. After serving in the Spanish government under Felipe González (1982–1995) and Secretary General of NATO (1995–1999), he was appointed the European Union's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Secretary General of the Council of the European Union and Secretary-General of the Western European Union and held these posts from October 1999 until December 2009.
Solana was born in Madrid, Spain. He comes from a well-known Spanish family, being the grand nephew of Spanish League of Nations disarmament chief, diplomat, writer and European integrationist Salvador de Madariaga (Javier's grandfather, Rogelio de Madariaga y Castro and Salvador de Madariaga were cousins). His father was a chemistry professor, Luis Solana San Martín, who died when Javier was nineteen. His mother, Obdulia Madariaga Pérez, died in 2005. Javier is the third of five children. His older brother Luis was once imprisoned for his political activities opposing the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, subsequently became a distinguished leader in the Spanish telecommunications industry and was one of the first socialist members of the Trilateral Commission.
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Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru (IPA: [dʒəʋaːɦərˈlaːl ˈneːɦru] ( listen), Hindi: जवाहरलाल नेहरू; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964), often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian lawyer, politician and statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India (1947–64) and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the 1930s and ’40s. Nehru was elected by the Indian National Congress to assume office as independent India's first Prime Minister, and re-elected when the Congress Party won India's first general election in 1951 and 1952. Nehru contributed to the establishment of a parliamentary democracy in India and was one of the founders of the international Non-Aligned Movement.
The son of moderate nationalist leader and Congressman Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru became a leader of the left wing of the Congress when fairly young. Rising to become Congress President under the mentorship of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Nehru was a charismatic leader, advocating complete independence for India from the British Empire. Throughout his life, Nehru advocated Democratic Socialism/Fabian Socialism and a strong public sector as the means by which economic development could be pursued by poorer nations. He was the father of Indira Gandhi and the maternal grandfather of Rajiv Gandhi, who would later serve as the third and sixth Prime Ministers of India respectively.
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Jean Monnet
Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ mɔnɛ]; 9 November 1888 – 16 March 1979) was a French political economist and diplomat. He is regarded by many as a chief architect of European Unity and is regarded as one of its founding fathers. Never elected to public office, Monnet worked behind the scenes of American and European governments as a well-connected pragmatic internationalist.
Monnet was born in Cognac, Charente, into a family of cognac merchants. At the age of sixteen, he abandoned his university-entrance examinations part way through and moved to London where he spent some years in the City of London with Mr. Chaplin, the agent of his father's company. Subsequently, he traveled widely – to Scandinavia, Russia, Egypt, Canada, and the United States – for the family business.
Monnet believed that the only path that would lead to an Allied victory lay in the merging of France and Britain's war efforts and he reflected on a concept that would co-ordinate war resources. In 1914, young Monnet was allowed to meet French Premier René Viviani on this issue. The French government agreed in principle upon his plans. During the first years of the war Monnet had not much success, promoting and pressing internationally for a better organization of the allied economic cooperation. However, finally, stronger combines like the Wheat Executive (end of 1916) and the Allied Maritime Transport Council (end of 1917) were set into work and had a big share[citation needed] in winning the war.
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Jeff Bezos
Jeffrey Preston "Jeff" Bezos (/beɪzəs/, born January 12, 1964) is an American entrepreneur who played a key role in the growth of e-commerce as the founder and chief executive officer of Amazon.com, Inc., an online merchant of books and later of a wide variety of products. Under his guidance, Amazon.com became the largest retailer on the World Wide Web and the model for Internet sales.
Bezos was born Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Jacklyn Gise Jorgensen and Ted Jorgensen. His maternal ancestors were settlers who lived in Texas, and over the generations acquired a 25,000 acre (101 km2 or 39 miles2) ranch in Cotulla. Bezos' maternal grandfather was a regional director of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in Albuquerque. He retired early to the ranch, where Bezos spent many summers as a youth, working with him. At an early age, Bezos displayed a striking mechanical aptitude – as a toddler, he tried dismantling his crib with a screwdriver.
Bezos was born to a teenage mother in Albuquerque. Her marriage to his father lasted little more than a year. When Jeff was five, she remarried, this time to Miguel Bezos. Miguel was born in Cuba, immigrated to the United States alone when he was fifteen years old, worked his way through the University of Albuquerque, married, and legally adopted Jeff. After the marriage, the family moved to Houston, Texas, and Miguel became an engineer for Exxon. The young Bezos attended River Oaks Elementary School in Houston from fourth to sixth grade. As a child, he spent summers at his grandfather's ranch in southern Texas, "laying pipe, vaccinating cattle and fixing windmills."
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Jens Otto Krag
Jens Otto Krag (Danish pronunciation: [jɛns ʌto ˈkʁɑːʊ̯ˀ]) (September 15, 1914 – June 22, 1978) was a Danish politician. He was Prime Minister from 1962 to 1968 and again from 1971 to 1972.
Krag was born in Randers, Denmark. He joined the Danish Social Democratic Party youth organization in 1930 and rose through the ranks of the party. In the 1930s he moved to Copenhagen and studied economics at the University of Copenhagen while remaining very active in the party.
During World War II, he was Danish supply director and advisor to the labor unions on economic matters. He was elected to Parliament (Folketinget) in 1947 and became Commerce Minister. He supported the strengthening of the Danish military and Danish membership of NATO in 1949.
In 1950 Krag resigned from Parliament partially due to a conflict with Vilhelm Buhl and H. C. Hansen and, in order to become more fluent in the English language and see more of the world, requested a position at the Danish embassy in the United States. He received the position, and was in America until 1953 when he was re-elected to parliament and became a minister without portfolio. He was minister of the new department of foreign economic affairs from 1953 until 1958 and Foreign Minister from 1958 until 1962.
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Jerome
Saint Jerome (c. 347 – 30 September 420; (also Hierom or Jerom) (Latin: Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; Ancient Greek: Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος) was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia. He is best known for his translation of the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate), and his list of writings is extensive.
He is recognised by the Catholic Church as a saint and Doctor of the Church, and the Vulgate is still an important text in Catholicism. He is also recognized as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church, where he is known as St. Jerome of Stridonium or Blessed Jerome.
Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus was born at Stridon around 347. He was not baptized until about 360 or 366, when he had gone to Rome with his friend Bonosus (who may or may not have been the same Bonosus whom Jerome identifies as his friend who went to live as a hermit on an island in the Adriatic) to pursue rhetorical and philosophical studies. He studied under the grammarian Aelius Donatus. There Jerome learned Latin and at least some Greek, though probably not the familiarity with Greek literature he would later claim to have acquired as a schoolboy.
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Jesus
Jesus ( /ˈdʒiːzəs/; Greek: Ἰησοῦς; 7–2 BC/BCE to 30–36 AD/CE), also referred to as Jesus Christ or simply Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and most Christian denominations venerate him as God the Son incarnated. In Islam, Jesus (in Arabic: عيسى in Islamic usage, commonly transliterated as Isa) is considered one of God's important prophets.
Most modern historians agree that Jesus existed and was a Jewish teacher from Galilee in Roman Judaea, who was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman Prefect, Pontius Pilate. Scholars have offered competing descriptions and portraits of Jesus, which at times share a number of overlapping attributes, such as a rabbi, a charismatic healer, the leader of an apocalyptic movement, a self-described Messiah, a sage and philosopher, or a social reformer who preached of the "Kingdom of God" as a means for personal and egalitarian social transformation. Scholars have correlated the New Testament accounts with non-Christian historical records to arrive at an estimated chronology of Jesus' life.
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Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States (1977–1981) and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office. Before he became President, Carter served as a U.S. Naval officer, was a peanut farmer, served two terms as a Georgia State Senator and one as Governor of Georgia (1971–1975).
During Carter's term as President, two new cabinet-level departments were created: the Department of Energy and the Department of Education. He established a national energy policy that included conservation, price control, and new technology. In foreign affairs, Carter pursued the Camp David Accords, the Panama Canal Treaties, the second round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II), and returned the Panama Canal Zone to Panama. Throughout his career, Carter strongly emphasized human rights. He took office during a period of international stagflation, which persisted throughout his term. The end of his presidential tenure was marked by the 1979–1981 Iran hostage crisis, the 1979 energy crisis, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (at the end of 1979), 1980 Summer Olympics boycott by the United States of the Moscow Olympics and the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.
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Joachim Gauck
Joachim Gauck pronounced [joːˈʔaxiːm ɡaʊ̯k] (born 24 January 1940 in Rostock) is the current President of Germany (since 18 March 2012). A former Lutheran pastor, he came to prominence as an anti-communist civil rights activist in East Germany.
During the Peaceful Revolution, he was a co-founder of the New Forum opposition movement in East Germany, which contributed to the downfall of the Soviet-backed dictatorship of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). In 1990 he served as a member of the only freely elected People's Chamber for the Alliance 90. Following German reunification, he was elected by the Bundestag as the first Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Archives, serving from 1990 to 2000. As Federal Commissioner, he earned recognition as a "Stasi hunter" and "tireless pro-democracy advocate," exposing the crimes of the former communist secret police.
He was nominated as the candidate of the SPD and the Greens for President of Germany in the 2010 election, but narrowly lost to Christian Wulff, the candidate of the government coalition. His candidacy was met by significant approval of the population and the media; Der Spiegel described him as "the better President" and the Bild called him "the president of hearts." After Christian Wulff had stepped down, Gauck was elected President with 991 of 1228 votes in the Federal Convention in the 2012 election, as a nonpartisan consensus candidate of the CDU, the CSU, the FDP, the SPD and the Greens.
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Joe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, PC CC AOE (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician. He served as the 16th Prime Minister of Canada, from June 4, 1979, to March 3, 1980.
Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal politics, entering the House of Commons in the 1972 election and winning the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1976. He came to power in the 1979 election, defeating the Liberal government of Pierre Trudeau and ending sixteen continuous years of Liberal rule. Taking office the day before his 40th birthday, Clark is the youngest person to become Prime Minister. His tenure was brief as he only won a minority government, and it was defeated on a motion of non-confidence. Clark subsequently lost the 1980 election and the leadership of the party in 1983.
He returned to prominence in 1984 as a senior cabinet minister in Brian Mulroney's cabinet, retiring from politics after not standing for re-election for the House of Commons in 1993. He made a political comeback in 1998 to lead the Progressive Conservatives before its dissolution, serving his final term in Parliament from 2000 to 2004. Clark today is recognized as a distinguished scholar and statesman, and serves as a university professor and as president of his own consulting firm.
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John Diefenbaker
John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC (September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative (PC or Tory) party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an election victory, doing so three times, although only once with a majority of seats in the Canadian House of Commons.
Diefenbaker was born in southwestern Ontario in 1895. In 1903, his family migrated west to the portion of the Northwest Territories which would shortly thereafter become the province of Saskatchewan. He grew up in the province, and was interested in politics from a young age. After brief service in World War I, Diefenbaker became a lawyer. He contested elections through the 1920s and 1930s with little success until he was finally elected to the House of Commons in 1940.
In the House of Commons, Diefenbaker was repeatedly a candidate for the PC leadership. He attained leadership of the party in 1956, leading it for eleven years. In 1957, he led the party to its first electoral victory in 27 years; a year later he called a snap election and spearheaded the Tories to one of their greatest triumphs. Diefenbaker appointed the first female minister in Canadian history to his Cabinet, as well as the first aboriginal member of the Senate. During his six years as Prime Minister, his government obtained passage of the Canadian Bill of Rights and granted the vote to the First Nations and Inuit peoples. In foreign policy, his stance against apartheid helped secure the departure of South Africa from the Commonwealth of Nations, but his indecision on whether to accept Bomarc nuclear missiles from the United States led to his government's downfall. Diefenbaker is also remembered for his role in the 1959 cancellation of the Avro Arrow project.
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John Foster Dulles
John Foster Dulles (February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) served as U.S. Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959. He was a significant figure in the early Cold War era, advocating an aggressive stance against communism throughout the world. He advocated support of the French in their war against the Viet Minh in Indochina and it is widely believed that he refused to shake the hand of Zhou Enlai at the Geneva Conference in 1954. He also played a major role in the Central Intelligence Agency operation to overthrow the democratic Mossadegh government of Iran in 1953 (Operation Ajax) and the democratic Arbenz government of Guatemala in 1954 (Operation PBSUCCESS).
Born in Washington, D.C., he was one of five children and the eldest son born to Presbyterian minister Allen Macy Dulles and his wife Edith (Foster). His paternal grandfather, John Welsh Dulles, had been a Presbyterian missionary in India. He attended public schools in Watertown, New York. After graduating from Princeton University (Phi Beta Kappa, 1908), where he competed on the American Whig-Cliosophic Society debate team, and graduating from The George Washington University Law School, he joined the New York City law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, where he specialized in international law. He tried to join the United States Army during World War I but was rejected because of poor eyesight. Instead, Dulles received an Army commission as Major on the War Industries Board.
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John the Apostle
John the Apostle (Aramaic Yoħanna, Koine Greek Ἰωάννης) (c. AD 6 – c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome and brother of James, son of Zebedee, another of the Twelve Apostles. Christian tradition holds that he outlived the remaining apostles—all of whom suffered martyrdom (except Judas Iscariot)—and ultimately died of natural causes "in great old age in Ephesus" at the beginning of the second century. The Church Fathers consider him the same person as John the Evangelist, John of Patmos, and the Beloved Disciple.
The Church Fathers generally identify him as the author of five books in the New Testament: the Gospel of John, three Epistles of John, and the Book of Revelation. The Gospel according to John differs considerably from the synoptic gospels, likely written decades earlier than John's Gospel. The bishops of Asia Minor supposedly requested him to write his gospel to deal with the heresy of the Ebionites, who asserted that Christ did not exist before Mary. John probably knew and undoubtedly approved of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but these gospels spoke of Jesus primarily in the year following the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist). Around 600, however, Sophronius of Jerusalem noted that "two epistles bearing his name ... are considered by some to be the work of a certain John the Elder" and, while stating that Revelation was written by John on Patmos, it was “later translated by Justin Martyr and Irenaeus”, presumably in an attempt to reconcile tradition with the obvious differences in Greek style. On the other hand, many authors in those days employed secretaries often called scribes whose personal styles influenced the final documents. John perhaps employed different scribes for his several works who dictated his words as he was influenced by the Holy Spirit through his meditation, visions, and dreams.
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John the Baptist
John the Baptist (Hebrew: יוחנן המטביל, Yoḥanan ha-mmaṭbil, Arabic: يحيى بن زكريا Yahya ibn Zakariya, Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ Yoḥanan, Greek: Ὁ Ἅγιος/Τίμιος Ἐνδοξος Προφήτης, Πρόδρομος καὶ Βαπτιστής Ἰωάννης Ho Hágios/Tímios Endoxos, Profḗtēs, Pródromos, kaì Baptistḗs Ioánnes) (c. 6 BC – c. AD 30-36) was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels and the Qur'an. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River. Some scholars maintain that he was influenced by the Essenes, who were semi-ascetic, expected an apocalypse, and practiced rituals corresponding strongly with baptism, although there is no direct evidence to substantiate this. John is regarded as a prophet in Christianity, Islam, the Bahá'í Faith, and Mandaeism.
Most biblical scholars agree that John baptized Jesus at "Bethany beyond the Jordan," by wading into the water with Jesus from the eastern bank. John the Baptist is also mentioned by Jewish historian Josephus, in Aramaic Matthew, in Pseudo-Clementine, and in the Qur'an. Accounts of John in the New Testament appear compatible with the account in Josephus. There are no other historical accounts of John the Baptist from around the period of his lifetime.
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John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC (born June 7, 1929) is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984.
In his political career, Turner held several prominent Cabinet posts, including minister of justice and minister of finance, under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau from 1968 to 1975. Amid a world recession and the prospect of having to implement the unpopular wage and price controls, Turner surprisingly resigned his position in 1975. After a hiatus from politics from 1975 to 1984, Turner returned and successfully contested the Liberal leadership. Turner held the office of Prime Minister for 79 days (the second shortest tenure in Canadian history after Charles Tupper), as he dissolved Parliament immediately after being sworn in as Prime Minister, and went on to lose the 1984 election in a landslide. Turner stayed on as Liberal leader and headed the Official Opposition for the next six years, leading his party to a modest recovery in the 1988 campaign, resigning from politics in 1990.
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John Vianney
Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney (8 May 1786 – 4 August 1859), commonly known in English as St John Vianney, was a French parish priest who in the Catholic Church is venerated as a saint and as the patron saint of all priests. He is often referred to as the "Curé d'Ars". He became internationally notable for his priestly and pastoral work in his parish because of the radical spiritual transformation of the community and its surroundings. Catholics attribute this to his saintly life, mortification, his persevering ministry in the sacrament of confession, and his ardent devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Philomena.
Vianney was born on 8 May 1786, in the French town of Dardilly, and was baptized the same day. His parents, Matthieu Vianney and Marie Beluze, had six children, of whom John was the fourth. The Vianneys were Catholics who helped the poor and gave hospitality to Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, the patron saint of tramps, who passed through Dardilly on his pilgrimage to Rome.
By 1790, the French Revolution forced many loyal priests to hide from the government in order to carry out the sacraments in their parish. In order to attend Mass, even though it was illegal, the Vianneys travelled to distant farms where they could pray in secret. Since the priests risked their lives day by day, Vianney began to look upon priests as heroes. His First Communion lessons were publicly carried out in a public home by three priests. He made his first communion at the age of 13. During the Mass, the windows were covered so that the light of the candles could not be seen from the outside. The secrecy of his Catholic practices continued, especially during his preparation for confirmation.
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Jonas Savimbi
Jonas Malheiro Savimbi (August 3, 1934 – February 22, 2002) was an Angolan political leader. He founded and led UNITA, a movement that first waged a guerrilla war against Portuguese colonial rule, 1966–1974, then confronted the rival MPLA during the decolonization conflict, 1974-75, and after independence in 1975 fought the ruling MPLA in the Angolan Civil War until his death in a clash with government troops in 2002.
Savimbi was born on August 3, 1934, in Munhango, Moxico Province, a small town on the Benguela Railway, and raised in Bié Province. Savimbi's father, Lote, was a stationmaster on Angola's Benguela railway line and a preacher of the Protestant "Igreja Evangélica Congregacional de Angola", founded and maintained by American missionaries. Both his parents were members of the Bieno group of the Ovimbundu, the people who later served as Savimbi's major political base.
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Jorge Rafael Videla
Jorge Rafael Videla Redondo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxorxe rafaˈel βiˈðela]; born 2 August 1925) is a former senior commander in the Argentine Army who was the de facto President of Argentina from 1976 to 1981. He came to power in a coup d'état that deposed Isabel Martínez de Perón. After the return of a representative democratic government, he was prosecuted for large-scale human rights abuses and crimes against humanity that took place under his rule, including kidnappings or forced disappearance, widespread torture and extrajudicial murder of activists, political opponents (either real, suspected or alleged) as well as their families, at secret concentration camps. The accusations also included the theft of many babies born during the captivity of their mothers at the illegal detention centres. He was under house arrest until 10 October 2008, when he was sent to a military prison. On 5 July 2010, Videla took full responsibility for his army's actions during his rule. "I accept the responsibility as the highest military authority during the internal war. My subordinates followed my orders," he told an Argentine court. On 22 December 2010, Videla was sentenced to life in a civilian prison for the deaths of 31 prisoners following his coup d'état.
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Jose Maria Sison
Jose Maria Sison (born February 8, 1939, Cabugao, Commonwealth of the Philippines) is a writer and activist who reorganized the Communist Party of the Philippines and added elements of Maoism to its philosophy.
Since August 2002, he has been classified as a "person supporting terrorism" by the United States. The European Union's second highest court ruled to delist him as a "person supporting terrorism" and reversed a decision by member governments to freeze assets.
Jose Maria Sison was born at Cabugao, Ilocos Sur on February 8, 1939. Also a member of a prominent family with the connections to other prominent personalities like the Crisologos, Sison affirmed his background as a member of a landowning family. But during his childhood days, his inclination to the left began by listening to his barber discussing him about the Hukblahap in Ilocos (kwentong barbero), as well as studying in a public school in Ilocos (unlike his relatives) before entering Ateneo de Manila, then in Colegio de San Juan de Letran. A 1959 graduate of the University of the Philippines, Sison studied in Indonesia, before returning to the Philippines to settle as a university professor of literature. Sison also joined the Lavaite Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas as well as one of the founding members of the Socialist Party and Movement for the Advancement of Nationalism. And in 1964, he co-founded the Kabataang Makabayan or Patriotic Youth with Nilo S. Tayag. This organization rallied Filipino youth against the Vietnam war, against the Marcos presidency and corrupt politicians alongside Imperialism, Bureaucrat Capitalism and Feudalism. The organization also spearheaded the studying of Maoism as part of the struggle.
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Josemaría Escrivá
Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer (9 January 1902 – 26 June 1975; also known as José María or Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer y Albás, born José María Mariano Escrivá y Albás) was a Roman Catholic priest from Spain who founded Opus Dei, an organization of laypeople and priests dedicated to the teaching that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. He was canonized in 2002 by Pope John Paul II, who declared Saint Josemaría should be "counted among the great witnesses of Christianity."
Escrivá gained a doctorate in civil law at the Complutense University of Madrid and a doctorate in theology at the Lateran University in Rome. His principal work was the foundation, government and expansion of Opus Dei. Escrivá and Opus Dei have aroused controversy, primarily revolving around allegations of secrecy, elitism, cult-like practices within Opus Dei, and political involvement with right-wing causes, such as the dictatorships of Generals Francisco Franco in Spain (1939–1975) and Augusto Pinochet in Chile (1973–1990). Some journalists, among them Vatican analyst John L. Allen, Jr., have averred that many of these accusations are unproven or have grown from black legends propagated by enemies of Opus Dei and Escrivá. Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI and many Catholic leaders strongly endorse Escrivá's teaching on the universal call to holiness, the role of laity, and sanctification of work.
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Joseph Bech
Joseph Bech (17 February 1887 – 8 March 1975) was a Luxembourgian politician. He was the 15th Prime Minister of Luxembourg, serving for eleven years, from July 16, 1926 until November 5, 1937. He returned to the position after World War II, becoming the 17th Prime Minister, serving for another four years, from 29 December 1953 until 29 March 1958.
Bech studied Law at Freiburg and Paris, before qualifying as a lawyer in 1914. The same year, on 30 June, he was elected to the Luxembourgian Chamber of Deputies for the newly-founded Party of the Right, representing the Canton of Grevenmacher.
On 15 April 1921, Bech was appointed to Émile Reuter's cabinet, holding the positions of Director-General for the Interior and Director-General for Education. In 1925, Bech lost these positions, as the Party of the Right's was edged out of government by a coalition of all other parties, who formed the government under Pierre Prüm.
When Prüm's coalition collapsed, in 1926, Bech became Prime Minister, which he remained until 1937.
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Joseph Luns
Joseph Marie Antoine Hubert Luns (August 28, 1911 – July 17, 2002) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). He was the longest-serving Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs from September 2, 1952 until July 6, 1971 and later became the 5th (and also longest-serving) Secretary General of NATO for 13 years from October 1, 1971 until June 25, 1984.
Joseph Luns was born in a Roman Catholic, francophile and artistic family. His mother’s family originated from Alsace-Lorraine and had moved to Belgium after the annexation of the region by the German Reich in 1871. His father Huib Luns was a versatile artist and a gifted educationalist, who ended his career as professor of architectural drawing at the Technical University of Delft. Luns got his secondary education in Amsterdam and Brussels. He opted to become a commissioned officer of the Dutch Royal Navy, but registered too late to be selected. Therefore, Luns decided to study law at Amsterdam University during the period 1932-1937. Like his father, Luns demonstrated a preference for conservative and authoritarian political parties and an interest in international politics. As a young student he positioned himself on the political right, favoring a strong authority for the state and being of the opinion that socialism, due to its idealistic ideology, had fostered the rising of fascism and nazism. Luns himself had been a silent member of the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (NSB), but left in 1936 before this party chose a strongly anti-semitic course.
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Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visible public face of a period in which Cold War tensions fueled fears of widespread Communist subversion. He was noted for making claims that there were large numbers of Communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers inside the United States federal government and elsewhere. Ultimately, McCarthy's tactics and his inability to substantiate his claims led him to be censured by the United States Senate.
The term McCarthyism, coined in 1950 in reference to McCarthy's practices, was soon applied to similar anti-communist activities. Today the term is used more generally in reference to demagogic, reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character and/or patriotism of political opponents.
Born and raised on a Wisconsin farm, McCarthy earned a law degree at Marquette University in 1935 and was elected as a circuit judge in 1939, the youngest in state history. At age 33, McCarthy volunteered for the United States Marine Corps and served during World War II. He successfully ran for the United States Senate in 1946, defeating Robert M. La Follette, Jr. After three largely undistinguished years in the Senate, McCarthy rose suddenly to national fame in February 1950 when he asserted in a speech that he had a list of "members of the Communist Party and members of a spy ring" who were employed in the State Department. McCarthy was never able to prove his sensational charge.
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Joseph Nye
Joseph Samuel Nye, Jr. (born January 19, 1937) is the co-founder, along with Robert Keohane, of the international relations theory neoliberalism, developed in their 1977 book Power and Interdependence. Together with Keohane, he developed the concepts of asymmetrical and complex interdependence. They also explored transnational relations and world politics in an edited volume in the 1970s. More recently, he pioneered the theory of soft power. His notion of "smart power" became popular with the use of this phrase by members of the Clinton administration, and more recently the Obama Administration. Nye is currently University Distinguished Service Professor at Harvard University, and previously served as dean of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He also serves as a Guiding Coalition member for the Project on National Security Reform.
The 2011 TRIP survey of over 1700 international relations scholars ranks Joe Nye as the sixth most influential scholar in the field of international relations in the past twenty years.
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Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин; born Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Джугашвили; 18 December 1878 – 5 March 1953) was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution in Russia in 1917 and later held the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953. While the office of the General Secretary was officially elective and not initially regarded as the top position in the Soviet state, Stalin managed to use it to consolidate more and more power in his hands after the death of Vladimir Lenin in 1924 and gradually put down all opposition groups within the Communist Party. This included Leon Trotsky, a socialist theorist and the principal critic of Stalin among the early Soviet leaders, who was exiled from the Soviet Union in 1929. Whereas Trotsky was an exponent of permanent revolution, it was Stalin's concept of socialism in one country that became the primary focus of Soviet politics.
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Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito (Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [jɔ̂sip brɔ̂ːz tîtɔ]; born Josip Broz; Cyrillic: Јосип Броз Тито; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman, serving in various roles from 1945 until his death in 1980. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, due to his successful economic and diplomatic policies, Tito was seen by most as a benevolent dictator, and was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad. Viewed as a unifying symbol, his internal policies successfully maintained the peaceful coexistence of the nations of the Yugoslav federation. He gained international attention as the chief leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, working with Jawaharlal Nehru of India and Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt.
Josip was born as the seventh child of Franjo and Marija Broz in the village of Kumrovec within Austria-Hungary (modern-day Croatia). Drafted into the army, he distinguished himself, becoming the youngest Sergeant Major in the Austro-Hungarian Army. After being seriously wounded and captured by the Russians, Josip was sent to a work camp in the Ural Mountains. He participated in the October Revolution, and later joined a Red Guard unit in Omsk. Upon his return home, Broz found himself in the newly established Kingdom of Yugoslavia, where he joined the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.
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João Goulart
João Belchior Marques Goulart (gaúcho Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʒu.ɐ̃w bewˈki.ɔɾ ˈmarkis ɡuˈlaɾ], or [ˈʒwɐ̃w ˈbɛwkjɔʁ ˈmaʁkiʒ ɡuːˈlaʁ] in the standard fluminense dialect; March 1, 1919 – December 6, 1976) was a Brazilian politician and the 24th President of Brazil until a military coup d'état deposed him on April 1, 1964. He is considered to have been the last left-wing President of the country until Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in 2003.
João Goulart is nicknamed "Jango" ([ˈʒɐ̃gu]). The Jânio Quadros–João Goulart presidential bid was thus called "Jan–Jan" ([ʒɐ̃.ʒɐ̃], an amalgamation of Jânio and Jango).
His childhood hypocoristics was "Janguinho" (little Jango), which came from an uncle named Jango. Years later, when he entered the world of politics, supported and advised by Getúlio Vargas, his friends and colleagues started to call him Jango.
His grandfather, Belchior Rodrigues Goulart, descended from Portuguese immigrants from Azores who arrived at Rio Grande do Sul in the second half of the 18th century. In the group of first Azoreans established in the state there were at least three immigrants with the surname Govaert (latter adapted to Goulart or Gularte in Portuguese) of Flemish-Azorean ancestors; the surname Goulart originates from France.
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Juan Ponce Enrile
Juan Ponce Enrile (born February 14, 1924) is a Filipino politician. As a protege of President Ferdinand Marcos, he served as Justice Secretary and then Defense Secretary under the Marcos regime. He later became one of the leaders (along with General Fidel V. Ramos) of the 1986 People Power Movement that drove Marcos from power. Enrile has continued to be a prominent politician since then; he has been President of the Senate of the Philippines since November 2008.
Juan Ponce Enrile was born Juanito Furagganan in Gonzaga, Cagayan, to Petra Furagganan, the daughter of a poor fisherman. He was born out of wedlock—his father was the already married powerful regional politician and renowned lawyer Alfonso Ponce Enrile. He is the second great-nephew of Mariano Ponce. He was reunited with his father by the time he reached his high school years.
He graduated cum laude in 1949 with an Associate of Arts degree at the Ateneo de Manila University. Afterward, he attended the University of the Philippines College of Law and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Laws degree. While in law school, he joined the Sigma Rho fraternity. Upon graduation, he was elected to the prestigious Pi Gamma Mu and Phi Kappa Phi international honor societies. He achieved the 11th highest score in the 1953 bar examinations with a 91.72% rating and a perfect score in mercantile law. As a scholar at the Harvard Law School, he earned a Master of Laws degree with specialized training in international tax law.
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Julius Nyerere
Julius Kambarage Nyerere (13 April 1922 – 14 October 1999) was a Tanzanian politician who served as the first President of Tanzania and previously Tanganyika, from the country's founding in 1961 until his retirement in 1985.
Born in Tanganyika to Nyerere Burito (1860–1942), Chief of the Zanaki, Nyerere was known by the Swahili name Mwalimu or 'teacher', his profession prior to politics. He was also referred to as Baba wa Taifa (Father of the Nation). Nyerere received his higher education at Makerere University in Kampala and the University of Edinburgh. After he returned to Tanganyika, he worked as a teacher. In 1954, he helped form the Tanganyika African National Union.
In 1961, Nyerere was elected Tanganyika's first Prime Minister, and following independence, in 1962, the country's first President. In 1964, Tanganyika became politically united with Zanzibar and was renamed to Tanzania. In 1965, a one-party election returned Nyerere to power. During the first years Nyerere created a single-party system and used "preventive detention" to eliminate trade unions and opposition.
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János Kádár
János Kádár (26 May 1912 – 6 July 1989) was a Hungarian communist leader and the General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, presiding over the country from 1956 until his retirement in 1988. His thirty-two year term as General Secretary makes Kádár the longest ruler of the People's Republic of Hungary. During Kádár's rule, Hungary was stabilized and liberalized to an extent never before seen in any Eastern Bloc country until Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary. Due to his age and declining health, he decided to retire as Secretary-General of the party in 1988, and a younger generation consisting mostly of reformers took over.
Kádár was born in Fiume to a poor family, his father left his mother and him when he was very young, and he never met his father. After living in the countryside for some years, Kádár and his mother moved to Budapest. After quitting school, Kádár joined the Communist Party of Hungary's youth organisation, KIMSZ. Kádár would go on to become a notable figure of the pre-World War II communist party, even becoming First Secretary. As leader he dissolved the party, and reorganised it as the Peace Party. This new party failed to win any popular support for the communist cause, and he would later be accused, of dissolving the Hungarian communist party. With the German invasion of Hungary, the Peace Party tried again to win support from the Hungarian populace, but failed. At the time of the Soviet occupation, the communists led by Kádár were very small in size.
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Kakuei Tanaka
Kakuei Tanaka (田中 角栄 or 田中 角榮, Tanaka Kakuei?, 4 May 1918 – 16 December 1993) was a Japanese politician and the 64th and 65th Prime Minister of Japan from 7 July 1972 to 22 December 1972 and from 22 December 1972 to 9 December 1974 respectively. He was also the most influential member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party until the mid-1980s, when he fell from power after a long series of scandals, leading him to be described as "that paragon of post-war corruption."
Tanaka, nicknamed Kaku-san, was known as the "Shadow Shogun" (闇将軍 Yami-shōgun. literally, "Shadow Shogun" or "Shogun of Darkness").
His political-economic direction is called construction state (土建国家, Doken Kokka?).
Tanaka was born into a rural family with seven children in Nishiyama, Niigata Prefecture. His father was involved with a disastrous venture to start Niigata's first dairy farm, and so the family scraped by in abject poverty. Kakuei left school after the equivalent of the eighth grade and went to work in the construction business, and soon moved to Tokyo.
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Ken Starr
Kenneth Winston "Ken" Starr (born July 21, 1946) is an American lawyer and educational administrator who has also been a federal judge. He is best known for his investigation of figures during the Clinton administration.
Starr served as a federal Court of Appeals judge and also at another time as Solicitor General. He received the most publicity for his tenure as Independent Counsel while Bill Clinton was U.S. president. Starr was initially appointed to investigate the suicide death of deputy White House counsel Vince Foster and the Whitewater real estate investments of Bill Clinton. The three-judge panel charged with administering the Independent Counsel Act later expanded the inquiry into numerous areas including an extramarital affair that Bill Clinton had with Monica Lewinsky. After several years of investigation Starr filed the Starr Report which alleged that Bill Clinton had lied about existence of the affair during a sworn deposition. The allegation opened the door for the impeachment of Bill Clinton and the five-year suspension of Clinton's law license.
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Kim Campbell
Avril Phædra Douglas "Kim" Campbell, PC CC OBC QC (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian politician, lawyer, university professor, diplomat, and writer. She served as the 19th Prime Minister of Canada, from June 25, 1993 to November 4, 1993. Campbell was the first and to date the only female Prime Minister of Canada, the first baby boomer to hold that office, and the only PM to have been born in British Columbia.
Campbell was born in Port Alberni, British Columbia to George Thomas Campbell (1920–2002) and Phyllis "Lisa" Cook. Her mother left the family when Campbell was 12, leaving Kim and her sister Alix to be raised by their father. As a teenager, Campbell permanently nicknamed herself Kim, perhaps for actress Kim Novak.
While in her pre-teens, Campbell was a host and reporter on the CBC children's program Junior Television Club.
Campbell and her family moved to Vancouver, where she attended Prince of Wales Secondary School, and was a top student. She became the school's first female student president, and graduated in 1964.
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Kim Philby
Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 1912–11 May 1988) was a high-ranking member of British intelligence who worked as a double agent before defecting to the Soviet Union. He served as both an NKVD and KGB operative.
In 1963, Philby was revealed to be a member of the spy ring now known as the Cambridge Five, the other members of which were Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt, and John Cairncross. Of the five, Philby is believed to have been most successful in providing secret information to the Soviet Union. His activities were moderated only by Joseph Stalin's fears that he was secretly on Britain's side. Philby was an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) from 1946 to 1965.
Philby was born at Ambala in the Punjab while it was a province of British India. His father, St. John Philby, a well-known author, orientalist, and convert to Islam, was a member of the Indian Civil Service and later a civil servant in Mesopotamia and advisor to King Ibn Sa'ud of Saudi Arabia.
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Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (German pronunciation: [ˈkɔnʁaːt ˈhɛɐman ˈjoːzɛf ˈaːdənaʊɐ]; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman. As Chancellor of Germany (West Germany) from 1949 to 1963, he led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that forged close relations with old enemies France and the United States. In his years in power Germany achieved prosperity, democracy, stability and respect. He was the first chancellor (head of government) of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, called West Germany), 1949–63. He was the first leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), a coalition of Catholics and Protestants that under his leadership became and has since remained the most dominant in Germany.
Adenauer, dubbed "Der Alte" ("the old one"), belied his age as the oldest elected leader in world history by his intense work habits and his uncanny political instinct. He displayed a strong dedication to a broad vision of democracy, capitalism, and anti-Communism. A shrewd politician, Adenauer was deeply committed to a Western-oriented foreign policy and restoring the position of West Germany on the world stage. He worked to restore the West German economy from the destruction in World War II to a central position in Europe, rebuilt its army and came to terms with France, helped make possible Western European unification, opposed rival East Germany, and made his nation a member of NATO and a firm ally of the United States.
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Konstantin Chernenko
Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko (24 September 1911 – 10 March 1985) was a Soviet politician and the fifth General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He led the Soviet Union from 13 February 1984 until his death thirteen months later, on 10 March 1985. Chernenko was also Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 11 April 1984 until his death.
Chernenko was born to a poor family in the village of Bolshaya Tes (now in Novosyolovsky District, Krasnoyarsk Krai). His father, Ustin Demidovich (of Ukrainian origin),[citation needed] worked in copper and gold mines while his mother took care of the farm work.
Chernenko joined the Komsomol (Communist Youth League) in 1929, and became a full member of the Communist Party in 1931. From 1930 to 1933, he served in the Soviet frontier guards on the Soviet-Chinese border. After completing his military service, he returned to Krasnoyarsk as a propagandist. In 1933 he worked in the Propaganda Department of the Novosyolovsky District Party Committee. A few years later he was promoted head of the same department in Uyarsk Raykom. Chernenko then steadily rose through the Party ranks, becoming the Director of the Krasnoyarsk House of Party Enlightenment then in 1939, the Deputy Head of the AgitProp Department of Krasnoyarsk Territorial Committee and finally, in 1941 he was appointed Secretary of the Territorial Party Committee for Propaganda. It was in the 1940s that Chernenko established a close-knit relationship with Fyodor Kulakov. In 1945, he acquired a diploma from a party training school in Moscow, and in 1953 he finished a correspondence course for schoolteachers.
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Konstanty Michalski
Konstanty Michalski (1879–1947) was a Polish Catholic theologian and philosopher.
Michalski was a member of an order of missionary priests. From 1918 he was a professor of philosophy at—from 1931 rector of— Kraków's Jagiellonian University. From 1927 he was a member of the Polish Academy of Learning.
Michalski was a leading Polish student of medieval philosophy. The chief object of his studies was late, especially 14th-century, Scholasticism and Nominalism in Poland.
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Kwame Nkrumah
The Rt. Hon. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah (21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972), P.C., was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1951 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana. An influential 20th-century advocate of Pan-Africanism, he was a founding member of the Organization of African Unity and was the winner of the Lenin Peace Prize in 1963.
Kwame Nkrumah was born in 1909 to Madam Nyaniba in Nkroful, Gold Coast. Nkrumah trained to be a teacher at Achimota School in Accra from 1927 to 1930 . For the following 5 years he worked as a teacher in several schools in the Gold Coast including a Catholic school in Axim, whilst saving money to continue his education in the USA. In 1935 he sailed from Takoradi, the Gold Coast's main port, to Liverpool in England, and made his way to London where he obtained his student visa from the US Embassy. It was while he was in London in late 1935 thet he heard the news of Fascist Italy's invasion of Abyssinia, an event that outraged the young Nkrumah and influenced his political development. In October 1935 Nkrumah sailed from Liverpool to the United States and enrolled in Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He graduated with a BA in 1939, and received a Bachelor of Sacred Theology in 1942. Nkrumah earned a Master of Science in education from the University of Pennsylvania in 1942, and a Master of Arts in philosophy the following year. While lecturing in political science at Lincoln he was elected president of the African Students Organization of America and Canada. As an undergraduate at Lincoln he participated in at least one student theater production and published an essay on European government in Africa in the student newspaper, The Lincolnian.
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Károly Grósz
Károly Grósz (August 1, 1930 - January 7, 1996) was a Hungarian communist politician.
Grósz was born in Miskolc, Hungary. He joined the Communist Party in 1945 at the age of 14. Soon the Communists had established a regime in Hungary, and Grósz rose through the party ranks, becoming an important party leader in his native region. In 1974 he was appointed head of the Department of Agitation and Propaganda of the governing Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party.
In 1979 Grósz was elected first secretary of the party committee of his home county. In 1984 he returned to national prominence as the head of the party committee in Budapest. At the next Party Congress in 1985, he became a member of the Politburo. In 1987, he was appointed (Prime Minister of Hungary (Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People's Republic of Hungary) to succeed György Lázár, who had filled the post for more than eleven years. The appointment of the younger and more energetic Grósz was acclaimed both at home and abroad. As the country was facing economic troubles and growing discontent, the aging party leader János Kádár decided to resign, although originally he had planned to remain in office until 1990. In May 1988 a party conference was convened, which elected Károly Grósz as general secretary of the party at Kádár's recommendation on May 22, 1988.
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Laura Bush
Laura Lane Welch Bush (born November 4, 1946) is the wife of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. She was the First Lady from January 20, 2001, to January 20, 2009. She graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in education and soon took a job as a second grade teacher. After attaining her Master's degree in Library Science at the University of Texas at Austin, she was employed as a librarian. She met George Walker Bush in 1977, and they were married later that year. The couple had twin daughters in 1981.
Bush's political involvement began with her marriage. She campaigned during her husband's unsuccessful 1978 run for the United States Congress and later his successful Texas gubernatorial campaign. As First Lady of Texas, Bush implemented many initiatives focused on health, education, and literacy. In 1999, she aided her husband in campaigning for the presidency in a number of ways, most notably delivering a keynote address at the 2000 Republican National Convention, which gained her national attention. She became first lady after her husband defeated Democrat Al Gore in the 2000 election.
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Le Duan
Lê Duẩn (7 April 1907 – 10 July 1986) was a Vietnamese communist politician. He rose in the party hierarchy in the late 1950s, and was elected General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam at the 3rd Party Congress. Le Duan continued Hồ Chí Minh's policy of ruling through collective leadership. From 1958 until his death in 1986, Le Duan was the top decision-maker in Vietnam.
Born into a lower class family in Quảng Trị province, French Indochina, little is known about Le Duan's family and childhood; his birthname remains unknown. He first came in contact with Marxist literature in the 1920s through his work as a railway clerk. Le Duan was a founding member of the Indochina Communist Party (the future Communist Party of Vietnam) in 1930, but was arrested the following year, in 1931. He spent six years in jail until he was released in 1937. From 1937 to 1939 he worked himself up the party ladder; but he was rearrested in 1939, this time for fomenting an uprising in the South. Le Duan was released from jail following the successful communist-led August Revolution.
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Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa (commonly rendered Walesa) (Polish: [ˈlɛx vaˈwɛ̃sa] ( listen), English: /ˌlɛk vəˈwɛnsə/ or /wɔːˈlɛnsə/; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish politician, trade-union organizer, and human-rights activist. A charismatic leader, he co-founded Solidarity (Solidarność), the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland between 1990 and 1995.
Wałęsa was an electrician by trade, with no higher education. Soon after beginning work at the Gdańsk (then, "Lenin") Shipyards, he became a trade-union activist. For this he was persecuted by the Polish communist government, placed under surveillance, fired in 1976, and arrested several times. In August 1980 he was instrumental in negotiations that led to the ground-breaking Gdańsk Agreement between striking workers and the government, and he became a co-founder of the Solidarity trade-union movement. Arrested again after martial law was imposed and Solidarity was outlawed, upon release he continued his activism and was prominent in the establishment of the 1989 Round Table Agreement that led to semi-free parliamentary elections in June 1989 and to a Solidarity-led government.
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Leo Tindemans
Leonard Clemence “Leo” Tindemans (Dutch: [ˈleˑ(ɪ̯)oˑ ˈtɪndəmɑns] ( listen)) (born 16 April 1922) is a Belgian politician and the 43rd Prime Minister. He was born in Zwijndrecht.
Tindemans was affiliated with the CVP. This party is strong in the northern region of Flanders. Tindemans was elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 1961 and re-elected in 1965, 1968, 1971, 1974, 1977 and 1978. From 1965 to 1973 Tindemans also served as the mayor of Edegem.
In 1968 Tindemans became minister tasked with the relations between the communities (1968–1972) during which he prepared the first constitutional reform which saw Belgium start transforming into a federal state. In 1972 he became minister for agriculture (1972–1973). In 1973 he became deputy Prime Minister and minister for the budget (1973–1974). Tindemans served as Prime Minister of two Belgian governments, from 25 April 1974 to 20 October 1978. His first cabinet was a minority government formed by the Christian-democrats and liberals. When his first government fell in 1977, Tindemans won the snap general election which followed and formed his second cabinet with the Christian-democrats, socialists and Flemish nationalists. His second government (1977–1978) fell due to the controversy surrounding the Egmont pact.
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Leonel Brizola
Leonel de Moura Brizola (January 22, 1922 – June 21, 2004) was a Brazilian politician. Launched in politics by Getúlio Vargas, Brizola was the only politician to serve as governor of two different states in the whole history of Brazil. In 1959 he was elected governor of Rio Grande do Sul, and in 1982 and 1990 he was elected governor of Rio de Janeiro. He was also vice-president of the Socialist International, as well as Honorary President of that organization for a few months, from October 2003 until his death. Brizola and his party (Democratic Labour Party) preached and practiced a kind of social democratic left-wing policy.
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Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (Russian: Леони́д Ильи́ч Бре́жнев; IPA: [lʲɪɐˈnʲid ɪlʲˈjitɕ ˈbrʲeʐnʲɪf] ( listen); Ukrainian: Леоні́д Іллі́ч Бре́жнєв, 19 December 1906 (O.S. 6 December) – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee (CC) of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in length. During Brezhnev's rule, the global influence of the Soviet Union grew dramatically, in part because of the expansion of the Soviet military during this time, but his tenure as leader has often been criticised for marking the beginning of a period of economic stagnation in which serious economic problems were overlooked, problems which eventually led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Brezhnev was born in Kamenskoe into a Russian worker's family. After graduating from the Dniprodzerzhynsk Metallurgical Technicum, he became a metallurgical engineer in the iron and steel industry, in Ukraine. He joined Komsomol in 1923, and in 1929 became an active member of the Communist Party. He was drafted into immediate military service during World War II and left the army in 1946 with the rank of Major General. In 1952 Brezhnev became a member of the Central Committee, and in 1964, Brezhnev succeeded Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary. Alexei Kosygin succeeded Khrushchev in his post as Chairman of the Council of Ministers.
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Leopoldo Galtieri
Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri Castelli (July 15, 1926 – January 12, 2003) was an Argentine general and President of Argentina from December 22, 1981 to June 18, 1982, during the last military dictatorship (known officially as the National Reorganization Process). The death squad Intelligence Battalion 601 directly reported to him. He was removed from power soon after the British retook the Falklands Islands, whose invasion he had ordered.
Galtieri was the child of working class parents who were poor Italian immigrants. At 17 he enrolled at the National Military Academy to study civil engineering, and his early military career was as an officer in the engineering branch.
In 1975, after more than 25 years as a combat engineer, he became commander of the Argentine engineering corps. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the military coup that started the self-styled National Reorganisation Process in 1976 and rose further, becoming a major general in 1977, and commander-in-chief in 1980 with the rank of lieutenant general.
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Louis de Montfort
St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (31 January 1673 – 28 April 1716) was canonized in 1947. He was a French priest and known in his time as a preacher and author, whose books, still widely read, have influenced a number of popes.
He is considered as one of the early proponents of the field of Mariology as it is known today, and a candidate to become a Doctor of the Church. His "founders statue" by Giacomo Parisini is now placed at the Upper Niche of the South Nave within Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.
He was born in Montfort-sur-Meu, the eldest surviving child of the large family of Jean-Baptiste Grignion, a notary, and his wife Jeanne Robert who was known for being deeply Catholic. He passed most of his infancy and early childhood in Iffendic, a few kilometers from Montfort, where his father had bought a farm. At the age of 12, he entered the Jesuit College of St Thomas Becket in Rennes.
At some time during his college days, he became aware of a call to the priesthood, and at the end of his ordinary schooling, began his studies of philosophy and theology, still at St Thomas in Rennes. Listening to the stories of a local priest, the Abbé Julien Bellier, about his life as an itinerant missionary, he was inspired to preach missions among the very poor. And, under the guidance of some other priests he began to develop his strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
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Luís Carlos Prestes
Luís Carlos Prestes (January 3, 1898 – March 7, 1990) was a leader of the 1920s tenente rebellion and the Communist opposition to the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas in Brazil.
Known as the "Knight of Hope" - title of a biography written by Jorge Amado - Prestes helped organize the failed tenente rebellion of 1922, a revolt by the largely middle class officer corps and poor conscripted servicemen against the agrarian oligarchies that dominated Brazil's Old Republic (1889–1930). As he was sick with typhoid fever, he was not able to fight on the day of the rebellion. From 1924 Prestes was one of the leaders of the insurrectionary movement, leading the Coluna Prestes Prestes' column on a 25,000 km (15,534 mi) march through the rural Brazilian countryside, aiming not to defeat the enemy forces of the Federal government, but keep the column in being and continue to threaten the enemy.
The tenente revolt heralded the end of the politics of coffee and milk and coronelism and the beginning of social reforms. Years later, in 1930 the Revolution of 1930 would bring down the Old Republic. Joined by many moderate tenentes, but not Prestes, the Revolution of 1930 installed Getúlio Vargas as provisional president. Although the tenentes sympathized with him, Vargas was a far more conservative figure. As the tenentes wanted Prestes to join Vargas, Prestes decided to meet him in Porto Alegre and explained his idea of socialist revolution for around two hours. Vargas was highly impressed by him, and even donated 800 contos de réis, around 400,000 USD, but Prestes viewed Vargas as the leader of a bourgeois revolution, and decided to donate most of the money to the Latin American branch of the Comintern, which financed the group for a few years. Another part of the money was given to the tenente Siqueira Campos, who died in a plane crash while flying from Argentina to Brazil. His body was discovered three days later, but the money was never found.
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Manuel Noriega
Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈnwel noˈɾjeɣa]; born February 11, 1934) is a former Panamanian politician and soldier. He was military governor of Panama from 1983 to 1989.
In the 1989 invasion of Panama by the United States he was removed from power, captured, detained as a prisoner of war, and flown to the United States. Noriega was tried on eight counts of drug trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering in April 1992. Noriega's U.S. prison sentence ended in September 2007; pending the outcome of extradition requests by both Panama and France, for convictions in absentia for murder in 1995 and money laundering in 1999. France was granted its extradition request in April 2010. He arrived in Paris on April 27, 2010, and after a re-trial as a condition of the extradition, he was found guilty and sentenced to seven years in jail in July 2010. A conditional release was granted on September 23, 2011 for Noriega to be extradited to serve 20 years in Panama. He arrived in Panama on December 11, 2011.
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Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung listen (help·info), and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976), was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution. He was the architect and founding father of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from its establishment in 1949, and held authoritarian control over the nation until his death in 1976. His theoretical contribution to Marxism–Leninism, along with his military strategies and brand of policies, are collectively known as Maoism.
Mao rose to power by commanding the Long March, forming a Second United Front with Kuomintang (KMT) during the Second Sino-Japanese War to repel a Japanese invasion, and leading the Communist Party of China (CPC) to victory against Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang (KMT) in the Chinese Civil War. After solidifying the reunification of China through his Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries, Mao enacted sweeping land reform, by using violence and terror to overthrow the feudal landlords before seizing their large estates and dividing the land into people's communes. During the years when Mao was China’s 'Great Helmsman', a range of positive changes came to China. These included promoting the status of women, improving popular literacy, doubling the school population, providing universal housing, abolishing unemployment and inflation, increasing health care access, and dramatically raising life expectancy. In addition, China's population almost doubled during the period of Mao's leadership (from around 550 to over 900 million). As a result, Mao is still officially held in high regard by many in China as a great political strategist, military mastermind, and savior of the nation. Maoists further promote his role as a theorist, statesman, poet, and visionary, while anti-revisionists continue to defend most of his policies.
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Marcel Lefebvre
Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre (29 November 1905 – 25 March 1991) was a French Roman Catholic archbishop. Following a career as an Apostolic Delegate for West Africa and Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers, he took the lead in opposing the changes within the Church associated with the Second Vatican Council.
In 1970, Lefebvre founded the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX). In 1988, against the express prohibition of Pope John Paul II, he consecrated four bishops to continue his work with the SSPX. The Holy See immediately declared that he and the other bishops who had participated in the ceremony had incurred automatic excommunication under Catholic canon law.
Marcel Lefebvre was born in Tourcoing, Nord,. He was the second son and third child of eight children of textile factory-owner René Lefebvre and Gabrielle, born Watine, who died in 1938. Marcel's father René died at age 62 in 1944 in the German concentration camp at Sonnenburg (in East Brandenburg, Germany), where he had been imprisoned by the Gestapo because of his work for the French Resistance and British Intelligence.
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Marcelo Caetano
Marcelo José das Neves Alves Caetano, GCTE, GCC, also spelled Marcello Caetano (Portuguese pronunciation: [mɐɾˈsɛlu kɐiˈtɐnu]; Lisbon, 17 August 1906 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 26 October 1980), was a Portuguese politician and scholar, who was the last prime minister of the Estado Novo regime, from 1968 until his overthrow in the Carnation Revolution of 1974.
He was a son of José Maria de Almeida Alves Caetano and his first wife Josefa Maria das Neves. Graduated as a Licentiate and later a Doctorate in Law, Caetano was a Cathedratic Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, where he graduated and of which he would also become the 9th Dean or Rector. An ultraconservative politician and a self-proclaimed reactionary in his youth, Caetano started his political career in the 1930s under the authoritarian regime of António de Oliveira Salazar. He soon became an important figure in the "Estado Novo" government, and in 1940 was appointed chief of the Portuguese Youth organisation. Caetano progressed in his academic career at the university, publishing several works and lecturing law. While in jail due to political causes, Álvaro Cunhal, law student, the future leader and founder of the Portuguese Communist Party, submitted his final thesis on the topic of abortion before a faculty jury that included Marcelo Caetano. Between 1944 and 1947 Caetano was Minister of the Colonies and since 1947 President of the Executive Board of the National Union. He served as President of the Corporative Chamber between 1949 and 1955.
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Marcial Maciel
Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado (March 10, 1920 – January 30, 2008) was a Mexican-born Roman Catholic priest. He founded the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi movement but was revealed to have abused boys and fathered at least one child himself. Maciel maintained relationships with at least two women and fathered up to six children, two of whom he allegedly abused as well.
In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI removed Maciel from active ministry after an investigation started under John Paul II, ordering him to spend the rest of his days in prayer and penance. On March 25, 2010, a communiqué on the Legion's website acknowledged as factual "reprehensible actions" by Maciel, including sexual abuse of minor seminarians.
Pope Benedict XVI appointed Cardinal Velasio De Paolis his delegate to examine the Legionaries’ constitution and conduct a visitation of its lay affiliate Regnum Christi.
Maciel was born in Cotija, Michoacán, Mexico and became a priest after a troubled youth.
Maciel was expelled from two seminaries for reasons that have never been explained. He became a priest only when one of his uncles ordained him after private studies.
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Marcos Pérez Jiménez
Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez (Michelena, Táchira, April 25, 1914 – Alcobendas, Spain, September 20, 2001) was a Venezuelan military and general officer of the Army of Venezuela, engineer and politician.
His period in charge of the country is characterized by a marked improvement and development, with the rise of oil prices due to conflicts like the Korean War, its ambitious policy of public works and building could be executed to perfection. Also achieved an imminent development of industries such as hydropower, mining, steel, real estate sector and of course the building itself, all these bases, the high level of economic prosperity that is lived in the country.
Not go unnoticed, the progress in the military, which included the final professionalization of the armed forces, and increased sophistication of equipment, raising the level of armaments, and in general, the modernized undertaken in the area, while in with regard to domestic policy, the country experienced a state of order, high safety standards, but the negative side, said highly repressive character, with the National Security (Seguridad Nacional, secret police), as the spearhead and the almost complete concentration of power in his hands, turning his presidency into a dictatorial regime.
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Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS, née Roberts (born 13 October 1925) is a British politician and the longest-serving (1979–1990) British prime minister of the 20th century, and the only woman ever to have held the post. A Soviet journalist nicknamed her the "Iron Lady", which later became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. As prime minister, she implemented conservative policies that have come to be known as Thatcherism.
Originally a research chemist before becoming a barrister, Thatcher was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Finchley in 1959. Edward Heath appointed her Secretary of State for Education and Science in his 1970 government. In 1975 Thatcher defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election and became Leader of the Opposition, as well as the first woman to lead a major political party in the United Kingdom. She became prime minister after winning the 1979 general election.
After entering 10 Downing Street, Thatcher introduced a series of political and economic initiatives to reverse what she perceived as Britain's precipitous national decline. Her political philosophy and economic policies emphasised deregulation (particularly of the financial sector), flexible labour markets, the privatisation of state-owned companies, and reducing the power and influence of trade unions. Thatcher's popularity during her first years in office waned amid recession and high unemployment, until economic recovery and the 1982 Falklands War brought a resurgence of support, resulting in her re-election in 1983. Thatcher was re-elected for a third term in 1987, but her Community Charge (popularly referred to as "poll tax") was widely unpopular and her views on the European Community were not shared by others in her Cabinet. She resigned as Prime Minister and party leader in November 1990, after Michael Heseltine launched a challenge to her leadership.
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Martin Luther
Martin Luther (help·info) (10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German monk, priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. His refusal to retract all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the Emperor.
Luther taught that salvation is not earned by good deeds but received only as a free gift of God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ as redeemer from sin. His theology challenged the authority of the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge and opposed sacerdotalism by considering all baptized Christians to be a holy priesthood. Those who identify with Luther's teachings are called Lutherans.
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Masayoshi Ōhira
Masayoshi Ōhira (大平 正芳, Ōhira Masayoshi?, March 12, 1910 – June 12, 1980) was a Japanese politician and the 68th and 69th Prime Minister of Japan from December 7, 1978 to June 12, 1980. He is the most recent Japanese prime minister to die in office.
He was born in present day Kan'onji, Kagawa and attended Hitotsubashi University.
At the apex of his political life, Ōhira came to represent what were known as "mainstream factions" within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) which put him at odds with Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda, who led what were known as an "anti-mainstream" faction.
Ōhira was elected to the presidency of the LDP in late 1978.
On December 7, 1978, he was appointed 68th Prime Minister, successfully pushing Takeo Fukuda from his position.
Ōhira was the sixth Christian to hold this office after Hara Takashi, Takahashi Korekiyo, Ichirō Hatoyama, Tetsu Katayama, and Shigeru Yoshida.
In the general election of 1979, the LDP narrowly failed to win an outright majority, but enough independent members of the Diet joined the party to enable Ōhira to remain in office, and he was duly reappointed on November 9 of that year. On May 16, 1980, a vote of no confidence was held in the Diet.
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Mathieu Kérékou
Mathieu Kérékou, (born 2 September 1933) was President of Benin from 1972 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2006. After seizing power in a military coup, he ruled the country for 17 years, for most of that time under an officially Marxist-Leninist ideology, before he was stripped of his powers by the National Conference of 1990. He was defeated in the 1991 presidential election, but was returned to the presidency in the 1996 election and controversially re-elected in 2001.
Kérékou was born in 1933 in Kouarfa, in the north-west of the country. After having studied at military schools in Mali and Senegal, Kérékou served in the military. Following independence, from 1961 to 1963 he was an aide-de-camp to President Hubert Maga; following Maurice Kouandété's seizure of power in December 1967, Kérékou, who was his cousin, was made chairman of the Military Revolutionary Council. After Kérékou attended French military schools from 1968 to 1970, Maga made him a major, deputy chief of staff, and commander of the Ouidah paratroop unit.
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Max Scheler
Max Ferdinand Scheler (August 22, 1874 – May 19, 1928) was a German philosopher known for his work in phenomenology, ethics, and philosophical anthropology. Scheler developed further the philosophical method of the founder of phenomenology, Edmund Husserl, and was called by José Ortega y Gasset "the first man of the philosophical paradise." After his demise in 1928, Heidegger affirmed, with Ortega y Gasset, that all philosophers of the century were indebted to Scheler and praised him as "the strongest philosophical force in modern Germany, nay, in contemporary Europe and in contemporary philosophy as such." In 1954, Karol Wojtyła, later Pope John Paul II, defended his doctoral thesis on "An Evaluation of the Possibility of Constructing a Christian Ethics on the Basis of the System of Max Scheler."
Max Scheler was born in Munich, Germany, August 22, 1874, to a Lutheran father and an Orthodox Jewish mother. As an adolescent, he turned to Catholicism, likely because of its conception of love, although he became increasingly non-committal around 1921. After 1921 he disassociated himself in public from Catholicism and the Judeo-Christian God, committing himself with philosophical anthropology.
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Mehmet Ali Ağca
Mehmet Ali Ağca (Turkish pronunciation: [ˈaːdʒa]; born January 9, 1958) is a Turkishassassin who murdered left-wing journalist Abdi İpekçi on February 1, 1979 and later shot and wounded Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981, after escaping from a Turkish prison. After serving 19 years of imprisonment in Italy, he was deported to Turkey, where he served a ten-year sentence. He was released on January 18, 2010. Ağca has described himself as a mercenary with no political orientation, although he is known to have been a member of the Turkish ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves organization.
Ağca was born in the Hekimhan district, Malatya Province in Turkey. As a youth, he became a petty criminal and a member of street gangs in his home town. He became a smuggler between Turkey and Bulgaria.
He claims to have received two months of training in weaponry and terrorist tactics in Syria as a member of the left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine paid for by the Communist Bulgarian government, although this has been questioned.
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Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin (help·info) (Hebrew: מְנַחֵם בֵּגִין, Polish: Mieczysław Biegun, Arabic: مناحيم بيغن Munahayyim Beeghin, Russian: Менахем Вольфович Бегин Menakhem Vol'fovich Begin, 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944, against the British mandatory government, which was opposed by the Jewish Agency. As head of the Irgun, he targeted the British in Palestine.
Begin was elected to the first Knesset, as head of Herut, the party he founded, and was at first on the political fringe, embodying the opposition to the Mapai-led government and Israeli establishment. He remained in opposition in the eight consecutive elections (except for a national unity government around the Six-Day War), but became more acceptable to the political center. His 1977 electoral victory and premiership ended three decades of Labour Party political dominance. He probably served as Opposition Leader longer than anyone in the history of modern democratic politics.
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Michael Ledeen
Michael Arthur Ledeen (born Los Angeles, California, August 1, 1941) is an American specialist on foreign policy. His research areas have included state sponsors of terrorism, Iran, the Middle East, Europe (Italy), U.S.-China relations, intelligence, and Africa (Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe). He is a former consultant to the United States National Security Council, the United States Department of State, and the United States Department of Defense. He has also served as a special adviser to the United States Secretary of State. He held the Freedom Scholar chair at the American Enterprise Institute where he was a scholar for twenty years and now holds the similarly named chair at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He is a contributing editor to National Review, contributes to the Wall Street Journal, and regularly appears on Fox News and on a variety of radio talk shows.
In 1974, Michael Ledeen moved to Rome where he studied the history of Italian Fascism. In 1977, he went to Washington to join the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) (then affiliated with Georgetown University). He continues to visit Italy frequently.
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Michael Melchior
A renowned Jewish leader, thinker and activist, Rabbi Michael Melchior (Hebrew: מיכאל מלכיאור, born 31 January 1954) is a leading advocate for social justice in Israel, quality education for all, Jewish-Arab reconciliation and co-existence, protection of the environment, Israel-Diaspora relations and the strengthening of Civic Society as a catalyst for social change.
A descendant of seven generations of Rabbis in Denmark, Rabbi Michael Melchior was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1954. He was ordained as an Orthodox Rabbi, amongst others, by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and Rabbi Simcah HaCohen Kook at Yeshivat Hakotel of Jerusalem in 1980. Soon afterwards he returned to Scandinavia to serve as Chief Rabbi of Norway, renewing the Jewish community which was shattered during the Holocaust.
In 1986, he immigrated to Israel and settled down with his family in Jerusalem, where he serves until present day as the Rabbi of a dynamic Orthodox Synagogue, while still holding the title of Chief Rabbi of Norway.
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Michel Aflaq
Michel Aflaq (Arabic: ميشيل عفلق, Damascus, 1910 – Paris, 23 June 1989) was a Syrian philosopher, sociologist and Arab nationalist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of Ba'athism and its political movement; he is considered by several Ba'athists to be the principal founder of Ba'athist thought. He published various books during his lifetime, the most notable being The Battle for One Destiny (1958) and The Struggle Against Distorting the Movement of Arab Revolution (1975).
Born into a middle class family in Damascus, Syria, Aflaq studied at the Sorbonne, where he met his future political companion Salah al-Din al-Bitar. He returned to Syria in 1932, and began his political career in communist politics. Aflaq became a communist activist, but broke his ties with the communist movement when the Syrian–Lebanese Communist Party supported France's colonial policies. Later in 1940 Aflaq and al-Bitar established the Arab Ihya Movement (later renaming itself the Arab Ba'ath Movement, taking the name from Zaki al-Arsuzi's group by the same name). The movement proved successful, and in 1947 the Arab Ba'ath Movement merged with al-Arsuzi's Arab Ba'ath organisation to establish the Arab Ba'ath Party. Aflaq was elected to the party's executive committee and was elected "'Amid" (meaning the party's leader).
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Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (Russian: Михаи́л Серге́евич Горбачёв, tr. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachyov; IPA: [mʲɪxɐˈil sʲɪrˈɡʲejəvʲɪtɕ ɡərbɐˈtɕof] ( listen); born 2 March 1931) is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the Soviet Union, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991. He was the only general secretary in the history of the Soviet Union to have been born during the Communist rule.
Gorbachev was born in Stavropol Krai into a peasant Ukrainian–Russian family, and in his teens operated combine harvesters on collective farms. He graduated from Moscow State University in 1955 with a degree in law. While he was at the university, he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and soon became very active within it. In 1970, he was appointed the First Party Secretary of the Stavropol Kraikom, First Secretary to the Supreme Soviet in 1974, and appointed a member of the Politburo in 1979. Within three years of the deaths of Soviet Leaders Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, and Konstantin Chernenko, Gorbachev was elected General Secretary by the Politburo in 1985. Before he reached the post, he had occasionally been mentioned in western newspapers as a likely next leader and a man of the younger generation at the top level.
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Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga (born Joseph-Desiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko ( /məˈbuːtuː ˈsɛseɪ ˈsɛkoʊ/), was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (also known as Zaire for much of his rule) from 1965 to 1997. While in office, he formed an authoritarian regime, amassed vast personal wealth, and attempted to purge the country of all colonial cultural influence, while also maintaining an anti-communist stance.
Mobutu, a member of the Ngbandi ethnic group, was born in Lisala, Belgian Congo. Mobutu's mother Marie Madeleine Yemo, was a hotel maid who fled to Lisala to escape the harem of a local village chief. There she met and married Albéric Gbemani, a cook for a Belgian judge. Shortly she gave birth to Mobutu. The name "Mobutu" was selected by an uncle. Gbemani died when Mobutu was eight.
The wife of the Belgian judge took a liking to Mobutu and taught him to speak, read and write fluently. Yemo relied on the help of relatives to support her four children, and the family moved often. Mobutu's earliest studies were in Léopoldville, but his mother eventually sent him to an uncle in Coquilhatville, where he attended the Christian Brothers School, a Catholic mission boarding school. A physically imposing figure, he dominated school sports. He also excelled in academics and ran the class newspaper. He was also known for his pranks and impish sense of humor. A classmate recalled that when the Belgian priests, whose first language was Dutch, misspoke in French, Mobutu would leap to his feet in class and point out the mistake. In 1949 Mobutu stowed away aboard a boat to Léopoldville and met a girl. The priests found him several weeks later, and at the end of the school year he was sent to the Force Publique (FP), the Belgian Congolese army. Enlistment, which came with a seven-year commitment, was a punishment for rebellious students.
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Mohammad Hatta
Mohammad Hatta (help·info) (12 August 1902 – 14 March 1980) was born in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). He was Indonesia's first vice president, later also serving as the country's Prime Minister. Known as "The Proclamator", he and a number of Indonesians, including the first president of Indonesia, Sukarno, fought for the independence of Indonesia from the Dutch. Despite his efforts to gain Indonesian independence, he studied in the Netherlands from 1921 until 1932. Moreover, after his early education, he studied in Dutch schools in Indonesia.
Mohammad Hatta is often remembered as Bung Hatta ('Bung' is an affectionate title used to address colleagues, popular in the early 1900s and is still used by Indonesians).
Hatta was born in Bukittinggi on 12 August 1902 into a prominent and strongly Islamic family. His grandfather was a respected ulema in Batuhampar, near Payakumbuh. His father, Haji Mohammad Djamil, died when he was eight months old and he was left with his six sisters and his mother. As in the matrilineal society of Minangkabau tradition, he was then raised in his mother's family. His mother's family was wealthy, and Hatta was able to study Dutch as well as finishing Qur'an after school.
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Mohammad Mosaddegh
Mohammad Mosaddegh or Mosaddeq (Persian: محمد مصدق, IPA: [mohæmˈmæd(-e) mosædˈdeɣ] ( listen)*), also spelled Mossadegh, Mossadeq, Mosadeck, or Musaddiq (16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967), was the Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 until being overthrown in a coup d'état in 1953.
His administration introduced a wide range of social and political reforms but is most notable for its nationalization of the Iranian oil industry, which had been under British control since 1913 through the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC/AIOC) (later British Petroleum or BP).
Mosaddegh was removed from power in a coup on 19 August 1953, organised and carried out by the United States CIA at the request of the British MI6 which chose Iranian General Fazlollah Zahedi to succeed Mosaddegh.
The coup is sometimes known as the TPAJAX Project after its CIA cryptonym, however, in Iran it is referred to as the 28 Mordad 1332 coup, after its date on the Iranian calendar., which is incorrect as the Operation's proper name was TPAjax (TP standing for Tudeh Party of Iran the Russian backed communist party of Iran} Mosaddegh was imprisoned for three years, then put under house arrest until his death.
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Mohammad Najibullah
Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai (February 1947 – 28 September 1996), better known mononymously as Najibullah or Najib, was an Afghan politician and statesman during the Cold War. Najibullah was born in Gardiz and educated at Kabul University, after which he began his career in the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). He became a member of the Parcham faction led by Babrak Karmal. Following the Saur Revolution Najibullah was a low profile bureaucrat, who was sent into exile during Hafizullah Amin's rise to power as Afghan ambassador to Iran. He returned to Afghanistan following the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan which toppled Amin's rule, and placed Karmal as head of state, party and government. During Karmal's rule, Najibullah became head of the KHAD, the Afghan equivalent to the Soviet KGB.
During Najibullah's tenure as KHAD head, it became one of the most efficient governmental organs. Because of this he gained the attention of several leading Soviet officials, such as Yuri Andropov, Dmitriy Ustinov and Boris Ponomarev. In 1981, Najibullah was appointed to the PDPA Politburo. Because of its efficiency, the KHAD was turned into the Ministry of State Security in 1985. On 21 September 1985 Najibullah stepped down as state security minister to focus on PDPA politics; he had just recently been appointed to the PDPA Secretariat. Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, was able to get Karmal to step down as PDPA General Secretary on 4 May 1986, and replace him with Najibullah. From then, until November, Najibullah was locked in a power struggle against Karmal, who still retained his post of Chairman of the Revolutionary Council. Najibullah accused Karmal of trying to wreck his policy of National Reconciliation.
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Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (Arabic: معمر محمد أبو منيار القذافي) (June 1942 – 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi /ˈmoʊ.əmɑr ɡəˈdɑːfi/ (Arabic: مُعَمَّر القَذَّافِي Muʿammar al-Qaḏḏāfī audio (help·info)) or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011. Gaddafi seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1969 and served as the country's head of state until 1977, when he stepped down from his official executive role as Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council of Libya, and claimed subsequently to be merely a symbolic figurehead. He styled himself as "Leader of the Revolution"; in 2008 a meeting of traditional African rulers bestowed on him the title "King of Kings". A leading advocate for a United States of Africa, he served as Chairperson of the African Union (AU) from 2 February 2009 to 31 January 2010.
Gaddafi replaced the Libyan Constitution of 1951 with laws based on the political ideology he had formulated, which he called the Third International Theory and published in The Green Book. After establishing the Jamahiriya (جماهيرية, "state of the masses") system in 1977, he officially stepped down from power and after that time held a largely symbolic role within the country's official governance structure. Rising oil prices and extraction in Libya led to increasing revenues. By exporting as much oil per capita as Saudi Arabia and through various welfare programs, Libya achieved the highest living standards in Africa; Libya remained debt-free.
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Mário Soares
Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares, GColTE, GCC, GColL, KE (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈmaɾiu suˈaɾɨʃ]; born 7 December 1924), Portuguese politician, served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the 17th President of Portugal from 1986 to 1996.
Soares is the son of João Lopes Soares (Leiria, Arrabal, 17 November 1878 - Lisbon, Campo Grande, 31 July 1970), Founder of the Colégio Moderno in Lisbon, Minister and then anti-fascist republican activist who had been a Priest for some time before marrying Elisa Nobre Baptista (Santarém, Pernes, 8 September 1887 - Lisbon, Campo Grande, 28 February 1955), Mário Soares's mother, at the 7th Conservatory of the Civil Register of Lisbon on 5 September 1934. His father also had another son by an unknown mother named Tertuliano Lopes Soares. His mother had previously been married and had two children, J. Nobre Baptista and Cândido Nobre Baptista. Mário Soares was raised as a Roman Catholic, but came to identify himself as a laic, agnostic and atheist.
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Mátyás Rákosi
Mátyás Rákosi (March 9, 1892 – February 5, 1971) was a Hungarian communist politician. He was born Mátyás Rosenfeld in present-day Serbia. He was the de facto ruler of communist Hungary between 1945 and 1956 — first in his capacity as General Secretary of the Hungarian Communist Party (1945–1948) and later as General Secretary of the Hungarian Working People's Party (1948–1956). His rule was aligned with USSR politics during Joseph Stalin's government.
Rákosi was born in Ada, a village in Bács County in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Vojvodina, Serbia). Born into a Jewish family, the fourth son of a grocer (his mother would give birth to seven more children) he later repudiated religion and totally repudiated Judaism.
He served in the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War and was captured on the Eastern Front. After returning to Hungary, he participated in the communist government of Béla Kun; after its fall he fled, eventually to the Soviet Union. After returning to Hungary in 1924 he was imprisoned, and was released to the Soviet Union in 1940, in exchange for the Hungarian revolutionary banners captured by the Russian troops at Világos in 1849. In the Soviet Union, he became leader of the Comintern. He returned to Debrecen, Hungary, on January 30, 1945, sent by Soviet leadership, to organize the Communist Party.
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Ne Win
Ne Win (Burmese: နေဝင်း IPA: [nè wɪ́ɴ]; born on 24 May or 14 May 1911 or 10 July 1910 – 5 December 2002) was a Burmese politician and military commander. He was Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974 and also head of state from 1962 to 1981. He also was the founder and from 1962 to 1988 the chairman of the Burma Socialist Programme Party, which from 1964 until 1988 was the sole political party in the Burmese nation state.
Ne Win's date of birth is not known with certainty. The English language publication Who's Who in Burma published in 1961 by People's Literature House, Rangoon, stated that Ne Win was born on 24 May 1911. Dr. Maung Maung stated in the Burmese version of his book Burma and General Ne Win, also published in English, that Ne Win was born on 14 May 1911. However, in a book written in Burmese titled The Thirty Comrades, the author Kyaw Nyein gave Ne Win's date of birth as 10 July 1910.
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Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (Xhosa pronunciation: [xoˈliːɬaɬa manˈdeːla]; born 18 July 1918) is a South African politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, the first ever to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before being elected President, Mandela was a militant anti-apartheid activist, and the leader and co-founder of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). In 1962 he was arrested and convicted of sabotage and other charges, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Mandela went on to serve 27 years in prison, spending many of these years on Robben Island. Following his release from prison on 11 February 1990, Mandela led his party in the negotiations that led to the establishment of democracy in 1994. As President, he frequently gave priority to reconciliation, while introducing policies aimed at combating poverty and inequality in South Africa.
In South Africa, Mandela is often known as Madiba, his Xhosa clan name; or as tata (Xhosa: father). Mandela has received more than 250 awards over four decades.
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Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich ( /ˈnjuːt ˈɡɪŋɡrɪtʃ/; born Newton Leroy McPherson; June 17, 1943) is an American politician, author, and political consultant. He represented Georgia's 6th congressional district as a Republican from 1979 until his resignation in 1999, and served as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. Gingrich was a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.
In the 1970s, Gingrich taught history and geography at the University of West Georgia. During this period he ran twice (1974 and 1976) for the United States House of Representatives before winning in November 1978. He served as House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995.
A co-author and architect of the "Contract with America", Gingrich was a major leader in the Republican victory in the 1994 congressional election. In 1995, Time named him "Man of the Year" for "his role in ending the four-decades-long Democratic majority in the House". While he was House speaker, the House enacted welfare reform, passed a capital gains tax cut in 1997, and in 1998 passed the first balanced budget since 1969. The poor showing by Republicans in the 1998 Congressional election and pressure from Republican colleagues caused Gingrich's resignation from the speakership on November 5, 1998, and then the House on January 3, 1999.
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Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm ( listen; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was the first president of South Vietnam (1955–1963). In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diệm led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable U.S. support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a 1955 plebiscite that was widely considered fraudulent. A Roman Catholic, Diệm pursued biased and religiously oppressive policies against the Republic's Montagnard natives and its Buddhist majority, epitomized in Malcolm Browne's Pulitzer Prize winning photograph of the self-immolation of Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức in 1963.
Amid religious protests that garnered worldwide attention, Diệm lost the backing of his U.S. patrons and was assassinated, along with his brother, Ngô Đình Nhu by Nguyễn Văn Nhung, the aide of ARVN General Dương Văn Minh on 2 November 1963, during a coup d'état that deposed his government.
Diệm was born in Huế, the original capital of the Vietnamese Nguyễn Dynasty. His family originated in the central Vietnamese village of Phú Cẩm. Portuguese missionaries had converted his family to Roman Catholicism in the 17th century, so Diệm was given a saint's name at birth, following the custom of the Catholic Church. His full name was Jean Baptiste Ngô Đình Diệm. He would often claim that he had descended from a blue-blooded family of mandarins who were so revered that people believed that it was a great honour and good luck to be buried alongside his ancestors. Most historians dismiss this as false and believe that his family were of low rank until his father passed the imperial examinations.[citation needed]
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Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (April 15 [O.S. April 3] 1894, – September 11, 1971) led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964. Khrushchev was responsible for the partial de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union, for backing the progress of the early Soviet space program, and for several relatively liberal reforms in areas of domestic policy. Khrushchev's party colleagues removed him from power in 1964, replacing him with Leonid Brezhnev as First Secretary and Alexei Kosygin as Premier.
Khrushchev was born in the Russian village of Kalinovka in 1894, close to the present-day border between Russia and Ukraine. He was employed as a metalworker in his youth, and during the Russian Civil War was a political commissar. With the help of Lazar Kaganovich, he worked his way up the Soviet hierarchy. He supported Joseph Stalin's purges, and approved thousands of arrests. In 1939, Stalin sent him to govern Ukraine, and he continued the purges there. During what was known in the Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War (Eastern Front of World War II), Khrushchev was again a commissar, serving as an intermediary between Stalin and his generals. Khrushchev was present at the bloody defense of Stalingrad, a fact he took great pride in throughout his life. After the war, he returned to Ukraine before being recalled to Moscow as one of Stalin's close advisers.
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Nikolai Ryzhkov
Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov (Russian: Николай Иванович Рыжков, Nikolaj Ivanovič Ryžkov; born 28 September 1929) was a Soviet official who became a Russian politician following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He served as the last Chairman of the Council of Ministers or Premier of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. Responsible for the cultural and economic administration of the Soviet Union during the late Gorbachev Era, Ryzhkov was succeeded as premier by Valentin Pavlov in 1991. The same year, he lost his seat on the Presidential Council going on to become Boris Yeltsin's leading opponent in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) 1991 presidential election.
Ryzhkov was born in the city of Dzerzhynsk, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1929. After graduating in the 1950s he started work in the 1970s and began his political career in local industry, working his way up through the hierarchy of Soviet industrial ministries. In 1979 Ryzhkov was appointed First Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Committee. Following Nikolai Tikhonov's resignation as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Ryzhkov was voted into office in his place. During his tenure, he supported Mikhail Gorbachev's much-needed 1980s reform of the Soviet economy.
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Noboru Takeshita
Noboru Takeshita (竹下 登, Takeshita Noboru?, February 26, 1924 – June 19, 2000) was a Japanese politician and the 74th Prime Minister of Japan from November 6, 1987 to June 3, 1989.
Takeshita was also the last Prime Minister during the long rule of the Emperor Shōwa.
Takeshita was born in present-day Unnan, Shimane and attended Waseda University.
In 1958, he entered the lower house of the Diet of Japan, joining the powerful faction of Kakuei Tanaka in the Liberal Democratic Party. Takeshita eventually became Tanaka's primary fundraiser, traveling the country to garner support for the LDP's coffers. Like Tanaka, Takeshita was fond of "pork barrel" politics, retaining his own seat by bringing excessively huge public works projects to Shimane.
Takeshita served as Chief Cabinet Secretary from 1971 to 1974, as Minister of Construction in 1976.
Takeshita served as Minister of Finance from 1979 to 1980; and he again accepted the finance position from 1982 to 1986. In this period, he achieved prominence as Japan's negotiator during deliberations which led to the agreement which is known as the Plaza Accord in New York.
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Nobusuke Kishi
Nobusuke Kishi (岸 信介, Kishi Nobusuke?, November 13, 1896 – August 7, 1987) was a Japanese politician and the 56th and 57th Prime Minister of Japan from February 25, 1957 to June 12, 1958 and from then to July 19, 1960. He was called[who?]Shōwa no yōkai (昭和の妖怪 "the Shōwa era ghost/monster").
Kishi was born Nobusuke Satō in Tabuse, Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, but left his family at a young age to move in with the more affluent Kishi family, adopting their family name. His biological younger brother, Eisaku Satō, would also go on to become a prime minister.
Kishi attended Tokyo Imperial University (now the University of Tokyo) and entered the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in 1920. In 1935, he became one of the top officials involved in the industrial development of Manchukuo, where he was later accused of exploiting Chinese forced labor. Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō, himself a veteran of the Manchurian campaign, appointed Kishi Minister of Commerce and Industry in 1941, and he held this position until Japan's surrender in 1945. He was also elected to the Lower House of the Diet of Japan in 1942.
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Norman Davies
Professor Ivor Norman Richard DaviesFBA, FRHistS (born 8 June 1939) is a leading English historian of Welsh descent, noted for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland, and the United Kingdom.
Davies was born to Richard and Elizabeth Davies in Bolton, Lancashire. He studied in Grenoble, France from 1957 to 1958 and then under A. J. P. Taylor at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he earned a B.A. in History in 1962. He was awarded an M.A. at the University of Sussex in 1966 and also studied in Perugia, Italy. He intended to study for a Ph.D. in the Soviet Union but was denied an entry visa, so instead he went to Kraków, Poland, to study at the Jagiellonian University and do research on the Polish–Soviet War. As this war was denied in the official communist Polish historiography of that time, he was obliged to change the title of his dissertation to The British Foreign Policy towards Poland, 1919–20. After he obtained his Ph.D. in Kraków in 1968, the English text appeared under the title White Eagle, Red Star. The Polish-Soviet War 1919–20 in 1972.
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Nur Misuari
Nur Misuari (Bahasa Sūg: Nūr Miswāri) (born in 1942 in Jolo, Sulu, Philippines) is a Moro politician and former leader of the Moro National Liberation Front. He completed his education through academic scholarships at the University of the Philippines and became a student activist. Misuari was a lecturer at the University of the Philippines in political science and in the 1960s, he established the Mindanao Independence Movement which aimed to organize an independent state in southern Philippines. The Mindanao Independence Movement formed the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that sought political reforms from the Government of the Philippines. Unable to gain reforms, the MNLF engaged in military conflict against the Philippine government and its supporters between 1972 to 1976 under the leadership of Misuari. The military resistance to the government of former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos did not produce autonomy for the Moro people. He departed to Saudi Arabia in exile. He returned to the Philippines after Marcos was removed from office during the People Power Revolution in 1986.
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Nur Muhammad Taraki
Nur Muhammad Taraki (15 July 1917, or 1913 – 14 September 1979) was an Afghan politician and statesman during the Cold War. Taraki was born near Kabul and educated at Kabul University, after which he started his political career as a journalist. He later became one of the founding members of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) and was elected as the party's General Secretary at its first congress. He ran as a candidate in the 1965 Afghan parliamentary election but failed to secure himself a seat. In 1966 he published the first issue of Khalq, a party newspaper, but it was closed down shortly afterwards by the Afghan Government. The assassination of Mir Akbar Khyber led Taraki, along with Hafizullah Amin (the organiser of the revolution) and Babrak Karmal, to initiate the Saur Revolution and establish the communist Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
The presidency of Taraki, albeit short-lived, was marked by controversies from beginning to end. Taraki launched a land reform on 1 January 1978 which proved to be highly unpopular and, along with his government's other reforms, led to a popular backlash which initiated the Afghan civil war. Despite repeated attempts throughout his reign, Taraki proved unable to persuade the Soviet Union to intervene in support of the restoration of civil order.
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Omar Torrijos
Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera (February 13, 1929 – July 31, 1981) was the Commander of the Panamanian and National Guard and the de facto leader of Panama from 1968 to 1981. Torrijos was never officially the president of Panama, but instead held titles including "Maximum Leader of the Panamanian Revolution" and "Supreme Chief of Government." Although he was considered a leftist dictator, he simultaneously had the support of the United States as he opposed communism. His politics were based instead on progressivism.
Torrijos is best known for negotiating the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties that eventually gave Panama full sovereignty over the Panama Canal, at noon on December 31, 1999. His son Martín Torrijos was elected president and served from 2004 to 2009.
Torrijos was born in Santiago in the province of Veraguas, the sixth of twelve children. His father, José Maria Torrijos, was originally from Colombia, and was employed as a teacher. He was educated at the local Juan Demóstenes Arosemena School and won a scholarship to the military academy in San Salvador. He graduated with a commission as a second lieutenant. He joined the Panamanian army, the National Guard (Guardia Nacional), in 1952. He was promoted to captain in 1956 and took a cadet course at the School of the Americas in 1965.
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Otto von Habsburg
Otto von Habsburg (20 November 1912 – 4 July 2011), also known by his royal name as Archduke Otto of Austria, was the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary from 1916 until the dissolution of the empire in 1918, a realm which comprised modern-day Austria, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, and parts of Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine. He remained the Crown Prince of Hungary until also the deposition of the Habsburgs in Hungary in 1921. He subsequently became the pretender to the former thrones, Head of the Imperial House of Habsburg, and Sovereign of the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1922. He resigned as Sovereign of the Golden Fleece in 2000 and as head of the Imperial House in 2007.
The eldest son of Charles I, the last Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, and his wife, Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Otto was born as third in line to the thrones, as His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke and Prince Imperial Otto of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia. With his father's accession to the thrones in 1916, he was himself likely to become the Emperor. As his father never abdicated, Otto was considered by himself, his family and Austro-Hungarian legitimists to be the rightful Emperor-King from 1922.
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Palmiro Togliatti
Palmiro Togliatti (Italian pronunciation: [palˈmiro toʎˈʎatti]; 26 March 1893 - 21 August 1964) was an Italian politician and leader of the Italian Communist Party from 1927 until his death.
Born in Genoa to a middle class family, Togliatti began his political life in the Italian Socialist Party prior to the First World War. He served as a volunteer officer during the war, and was wounded in action and sent home for illness. Returning at the end of the conflict, he was a part of the group around Antonio Gramsci's L'Ordine Nuovo paper in Turin, while working as a tutor.
He was a founding member of the Communist Party of Italy (PCd'I, later PCI) and, after Gramsci was jailed by Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime, he became the senior leader of the PCd'I until his death, for which he also directed Il Comunista.
When the party was banned by the Italian Fascist government in 1926, Togliatti was one of few leaders not to be arrested, as he was attending a meeting of the Comintern in Moscow. In exile during the late 1920s and the 1930s, he organized clandestine meetings of the PCd'I at Lyon (1926) and Cologne (1931). In 1927 he took the position of Secretary of the party.
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Paolo Guzzanti
Paolo Guzzanti (born 1 August 1940) is an Italian journalist and politician. He was previously a member of the Italian Socialist Party.
Born in Rome, he is the nephew of Elio Guzzanti and father to actors Corrado, Sabina and Caterina.
As a journalist he worked for L'Avanti!, La Repubblica (of which he was co-founder) and La Stampa. He also hosted the first season of TV show Chi l'ha visto?. Currently he is an editorialist of Paolo Berlusconi's Il Giornale (he was deputy director before and for Panorama, also owned by Berlusconi.
He was elected to the Italian Parliament for Forza Italia. From 2002 to 2006 he was president of the Mitrokhin Commission, a parliamentary commission which was entrusted with investigating the role of KGB in Italy. The commission, since the very beginning, received heavy criticism as it was pointed out that its main role seemed only that to discredit the former Italian Communist Party. According to an interview of former KGB agent Yevgeny Limarev published on La Repubblica, Italian left-winged politicians to be discredited included Romano Prodi, Massimo D'Alema and Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio. The commission was closed in 2006 without any concrete result given.
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Pat Cox
Pat Cox (born 28 November 1952) is an Irish politician and former television current affairs presenter. He was President of the European Parliament from 2002 to 2004 and served as a member of the European Parliament from 1989–2004.
Before this Cox was a journalist and presenter with RTÉ's Today Tonight and then a Teachta Dála (TD) for Cork South–Central. He is now the President of the European Movement International.
Born in Dublin but raised in Limerick, Cox was educated at Ardscoil Rís in Limerick, the University of Limerick and Trinity College, Dublin. Cox is married to Cathy, and lived at Ashboro, Shanakiel in the Cork northside suburb of Sunday's Well for 16 years.
Cox first came to prominence as a journalist, then a presenter, with RTÉ's Today Tonight, a four nights a week current affairs programme which dominated the Irish television schedules in the 1980s. He stood as a Fianna Fáil candidate at the 1979 local elections. Cox left the programme to become a political candidate. He was elected an MEP in 1989 for the constituency of Munster, representing the Progressive Democrats (PDs). At the 1992 general election he was also elected to Dáil Éireann as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Cork South–Central.
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Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Émery Lumumba (2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was a Congolese independence leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo after he helped win its independence from Belgium in June 1960. Only twelve weeks later, Lumumba's government was deposed in a coup during the Congo Crisis. He was subsequently imprisoned and executed by firing squad, an act that was committed with the assistance of the government of Belgium, for which the Belgian government officially apologized in 2002.
Lumumba was born in Onalua in the Katakokombe region of the Kasai province of the Belgian Congo, a member of the Tetela ethnic group. Raised in a Catholic family as one of four sons, he was educated at a Protestant primary school, a Catholic missionary school, and finally the government post office training school, passing the one-year course with distinction. He subsequently worked in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) and Stanleyville (now Kisangani) as a postal clerk and as a travelling beer salesman. In 1951, he married Pauline Opangu. In 1955, Lumumba became regional head of the Cercles of Stanleyville and joined the Liberal Party of Belgium, where he worked on editing and distributing party literature. After traveling on a three-week study tour in Belgium, he was arrested in 1955 on charges of embezzlement of post office funds. His two-year sentence was commuted to twelve months after it was confirmed by Belgian lawyer Jules Chrome that Lumumba had returned the funds, and he was released in July 1956. After his release, he helped found the broad-based Mouvement National Congolais (MNC) in 1958, later becoming the organization's president. Lumumba and his team represented the MNC at the All-African Peoples' Conference in Accra, Ghana, in December 1958. At this international conference, hosted by influential Pan-African President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Lumumba further solidified his Pan-Africanist beliefs.
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Patrick Flores
Patrick Fernández Flores (July 26, 1929), is a Roman Catholic cleric and was Archbishop of San Antonio from 1979 until 2004. Flores was the first Mexican American to become a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church.
Flores was born in 1929 to Patrico and Trinidad Fernandez de Flores, American migrant workers, in Ganado, Texas. In the tenth grade he considered dropping out of school after his father had become ill, but was persuaded to stay after a bishop agreed to finance his education. He worked as a janitor at a local cantina and decided to make the world a cleaner and more habitable place by becoming a priest.
He graduated from Catholic Kirwin High School (now O'Connell Consolidated High School) in Galveston, Texas. He studied at St. Mary's Seminary in La Porte, Texas and at St. Mary's Seminary in Houston. He received his divinity degree and was ordained a priest on 26 May 1956 by bishop Wendellin Nold in Galveston. He then served as a parish priest in the Diocese of Galveston-Houston.
In the early 1960s, he directed the Christian Family Movement in the Galveston-Houston diocese and the Bishop's Committee for the Spanish Speaking, a ministry that encouraged bilingual congregations. Later, in October 1969, Flores joined forty-seven other Hispanic priests to establish PADRES Padres Asociados para Derechos Religiosos, Educativos, y Sociales (Spanish for "Priests Associated for Religious, Education, and Social Rights"), an organization meant to draw attention to the problems of Hispanics in the church and society.
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Paul Marcinkus
Paul Casimir Marcinkus (January 15, 1922 – February 20, 2006) was an American archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He was best known for his tenure as President of the Vatican Bank from 1971 through 1989.
Marcinkus was born in Cicero, Illinois, the son of an immigrant window washer who arrived in Cicero in 1914. His father, Mykolas, had left Lithuania to escape possible induction into the Russian army. Moving to the United States, he briefly lived in Pittsburgh before moving to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, to work for a cousin as a farm hand, then moving to Cicero after finding work in a Chicago steel mill. By the time his fourth son, Paulius, arrived, he had started washing windows for the Leo Sheridan Co., a job he would hold for thirty years.
After attending Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Paul was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 3, 1947, and served parish assignments with both St. Christina's and Holy Cross church on the city's far south side. By 1949, he had been appointed to the archdiocese's matrimonial tribunal, which processed applications to have marriages annulled.
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Paul the Apostle
Paul the Apostle (c. AD 5 – c. AD 67; variously referred to as the "Apostle Paul" or "Saint Paul"), also known as Saul of Tarsus, is perhaps the most influential early Christian missionary. The writings ascribed to him by the church form a considerable portion of the New Testament. The influence on Christian thinking of the epistles ascribed to him has been significant, due in part to his association as a prominent apostle of Christianity during the spreading of the Gospel through early Christian communities across the Roman Empire.
According to the writings in the New Testament, Paul was known as Saul prior to his conversion, and was dedicated to the persecution of the early disciples of Jesus in the area of Jerusalem. While traveling from Jerusalem to Damascus on a mission to "bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem", the resurrected Jesus appeared to him in a great light. Saul was struck blind, but after three days his sight was restored by Ananias of Damascus, and Paul began to preach that Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah and the Son of God.
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Peggy Noonan
Peggy Noonan (born Margaret Ellen Noonan on September 7, 1950, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American author of seven books on politics, religion, and culture and a weekly columnist for The Wall Street Journal. She was a primary speech writer and Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan and in her political writings is considered a Republican.
She is a graduate of Rutherford High School in Rutherford, New Jersey, and Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Five of Noonan's books have been New York Times bestsellers. Noonan is a trustee of the Manhattan Institute. She has been awarded honorary doctorates from Miami University; St. John Fisher College; her alma mater, Fairleigh Dickinson University; Adelphi College; and Saint Francis College. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work on America: A Tribute to Heroes. She has also been widely recognized for her regular appearances on ABC's This Week and NBC's Meet The Press.
In her political writings, Noonan frequently cites the political figures she admires, including Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, and Edmund Burke.
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Peter Hebblethwaite
Peter Hebblethwaite (30 September 1930, Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire — 18 December 1994, Oxford, Oxfordshire), was a British priest, editor, journalist and biographer.
The son of Charles and Elsie Ann Hebblethwaite, he was a British journalist on Vatican affairs (regarded by some during his lifetime as the leading English-language Vaticanologist) and for some years he was a Jesuit priest. He was educated at the parish primary school of St Anne's, Ashton-under-Lyne, and Xaverian College, Manchester, a Catholic grammar school.
He entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1948, and later studied in studying in England and France. He was ordained a priest in 1963. Two years later he joined the staff of the Jesuit magazine The Month, covering the final session of the Second Vatican Council. In 1967 he was appointed editor of The Month, a post he held until leaving the priesthood to marry Margaret Speaight (born 1951, London), a British writer, journalist, activist and religious worker. The couple wed in 1974 and had three children.
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Peter Ueberroth
Peter Victor Ueberroth (/ˈjuːbərɒθ/; born September 2, 1937) is an American executive. He served as the sixth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1989. He was recently the chairman of the United States Olympic Committee; he was replaced by Larry Probst in October 2008.
Although Ueberroth was born in Evanston, Illinois, he grew up in northern California. While attending Fremont High School, Ueberroth excelled in football, baseball, and swimming. After graduating from high school, Ueberroth attended San Jose State University on an athletic scholarship. While attending San Jose State he joined Delta Upsilon. He competed in the 1956 United States Olympic water polo trials but failed to make the team. Ueberroth ultimately graduated from San Jose State in 1959 with a degree in business.
After college, Ueberroth became a vice president and shareholder in Trans International Airlines (he was 22 years old at the time). Ueberroth worked at Trans International until 1963, when he founded his own travel company, which would become First Travel Corporation. By the time he sold First Travel in 1980, it was the second largest travel business in North America.
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Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau CC, CH, PC, QC, FSRC ( /truːˈdoʊ/; French pronunciation: [tʁydo]; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.
Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals, but he eventually joined the Liberal Party of Canada when he entered federal politics in the 1960s. He was appointed as Lester Pearson's Parliamentary Secretary, and later became his Minister of Justice. From his base in Montreal, Trudeau took control of the Liberal Party and became a charismatic leader, inspiring "Trudeaumania". From the late 1960s until the mid-1980s, he dominated the Canadian political scene and aroused passionate reactions. "Reason before passion" was his personal motto. He retired from politics in 1984, and John Turner succeeded him as Prime Minister.
Admirers praise the force of Trudeau's intellect and they salute his political acumen in preserving national unity against Quebec separatists, suppressing a violent revolt, and establishing the Charter of Rights and Freedoms within Canada's constitution. Critics accuse him of arrogance, economic mismanagement, and unduly favouring the federal government relative to the provinces, especially in trying to control the oil wealth of the Prairies.
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Pol Pot
Saloth Sar (19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998), better known as Pol Pot (Khmer: ប៉ុល ពត), was a Cambodian Maoist revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge from 1963 until his death in 1998. From 1963 to 1981, he served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea. From 1976 to 1979, he also served as the prime minister of Democratic Kampuchea. Pol Pot became leader of Cambodia on April 17, 1975. During his time in power he imposed agrarian socialism, forcing urban dwellers to relocate to the countryside to work in collective farms and forced labor projects. The combined effects of forced labor, malnutrition, poor medical care, and executions resulted in the deaths of approximately 21% of the Cambodian population. In all, an estimated 1.7 to 2.5 million people (out of a population of slightly over 8 million) died as a result of the policies of his three-year premiership.
In 1979, after the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, Pol Pot fled to the jungles of southwest Cambodia, and the Khmer Rouge government collapsed. From 1979 to 1997, he and a remnant of the old Khmer Rouge operated near the border of Cambodia and Thailand, where they clung to power, with nominal United Nations recognition as the rightful government of Cambodia. Pol Pot died in 1998 while under house arrest by the Ta Mok faction of the Khmer Rouge. Since his death, rumours that he was poisoned have persisted.
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Poles
The Polish people, or Poles (Polish: Polacy [pɔˈlat͡sɨ]; singular: Polak), are a nation indigenous to Poland. They speak the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe. The Polish word for a Polish person is "Polak" (masculine) and "Polka" (feminine).
The preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland defines the Polish nation as comprising all the citizens of Poland. Poland's inhabitants live in the following historic regions of the country: Wielkopolska, Małopolska, Mazovia, Pomerania, Warmia, Mazury, Podlasie, Kujawy and Silesia. A wide-ranging Polish diaspora exists throughout Europe (Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Belarus, Lithuania and Ukraine), the Americas (the United States, Brazil and Argentina) and Australia. Chicago, in the United States, has the world's largest urban Polish population after Warsaw.
Over a thousand years ago, the Polans of Giecz, Gniezno and Poznań — an influential tribe in Wielkopolska — succeeded in uniting Lechitic tribes under what became the Piast dynasty, thus giving rise to the Polish state.
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Pope Adeodatus I
Pope Saint Adeodatus I or Deodatus I (which is Given by God in Latin, also called Deusdedit, which is God Has Given; both are now considered variants of the same name) (died 8 November 618) was Pope from 13 November 615 to his death.
He was born in Rome, the son of a subdeacon. He served as a priest for 40 years before his election and was the first priest to be elected pope since John II in 533. Adeodatus represents the second wave of anti-Gregorian challenge to the papacy, the first being that of Sabinian. He reversed the practice of his predecessor Boniface IV of filling the papal administrative ranks with monks by recalling the clergy to such positions and by ordaining some 14 priests, the first ordinations in Rome since Pope Gregory.
In August 618, an earthquake struck Rome, followed by an outbreak of a scab disease, during which Adeodatus died. There was a vacancy of one year, one month, and 16 days before his successor was consecrated.
According to tradition, he was the first pope to use lead seals (bullae) on papal documents, which in time came to be called "papal bulls". One bulla dating from his reign is still preserved, the obverse of which represents the Good Shepherd in the midst of His sheep, with the letters Alpha and Omega underneath, while the reverse bears the inscription: Deusdedit Papæ.
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Pope Adeodatus II
Pope Adeodatus II or Pope Deodatus II reigned as Pope from 11 April 672 to 17 June 676. Little is known about him. Most surviving records indicate that Adeodatus was known for his generosity, especially when it came to the poor and to pilgrims.
Born in Rome, he became a Benedictine and was a monk of the Roman cloister of St Erasmus on the Caelian Hill. He was active in improving monastic discipline and in the repression of Monothelitism and gave Venice the right to choose the doge itself.
Pope Adeodatus II was already an elderly man when he was elected pope and, even though he reigned for four years, not a great deal was accomplished during his pontificate.
He is sometimes referred to as Adeodatus (without a number) since Pope Adeodatus I is sometimes known as Pope Deusdedit.
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Pope Adrian I
Pope Adrian (c. 700 – 25 December 795) was pope from 1 February 772 to 25 December 795. He was the son of Theodore, a Roman nobleman.
Shortly after Adrian's accession the territory ruled by the papacy was invaded by Desiderius, king of the Lombards, and Adrian was compelled to seek the assistance of the Frankish king Charlemagne, who entered Italy with a large army. Charlemagne besieged Desiderius in his capital of Pavia. After taking the town, he banished the Lombard king to the Abbey of Corbie in France, and adopted the title "King of the Lombards" himself. The pope, whose expectations had been aroused, had to content himself with some additions to the Duchy of Rome, the Exarchate of Ravenna, and the Pentapolis in the Marches, which consisted of the "five cities" on the Adriatic coast from Rimini to Ancona with the coastal plain as far as the mountains. He celebrated the occasion by striking the earliest papal coin, and in a mark of the direction the mediaeval papacy was to take, no longer dated his documents by the Emperor in the east, but by the reign of Charles, king of the Franks.
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Pope Adrian II
Adrian II (792–872) was pope from 14 December 867 to 14 December 872. He was a member of a noble Roman family who became pope at an advanced age.
He maintained, but with less energy, the policies of his predecessor Nicholas I. Lothar II, king of Lotharingia, who died in 869, left Adrian to mediate between the Frankish kings with a view to assuring the Holy Roman Emperor Louis II the inheritance of Lothar II, Louis's brother.
Photius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, shortly after the council in which he had pronounced sentence of deposition against Pope Nicholas I, was driven from the patriarchate by a new emperor, Basil the Macedonian, who favoured his rival Ignatius. An Ecumenical Council (Considered the 8th Ecumenical Council by the Catholic Church) was convoked as the Fourth Council of Constantinople to decide this matter. At this council Adrian was represented by legates who presided at the condemnation of Photius as a heretic, but did not succeed in coming to an understanding with Ignatius on the subject of jurisdiction over the Bulgarian church.
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Pope Adrian III
Pope Saint Adrian III, was Pope from 17 May 884 to July 885. He was born at Rome. He died in July 885 at San Cesario sul Panaro (Modena) not long after embarking on a trip to Worms, in modern Germany. The purpose the journey was to attend a diet after being summoned by the Frankish King Charles III, the Fat, to settle the succession to the Holy Roman Empire and discuss the rising power of the Saracens. He was noted[who?] for having aided the Romans during a famine.
His cult was confirmed in 1891, and his feast day is 8 July.
His death and subsequent burial in the church of San Silvestro Nonantola Abbey near Modena is commemorated in the sculpted reliefs (c. 1122) that frame the doorway of this church. His relics are found near the high altar here.
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Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV (c. 1100 – 1 September 1159), born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope from 1154 to 1159.
Adrian IV has been the only Englishman so far to occupy the papal chair. It is generally believed that Nicholas Breakspear was born at Breakspear Farm in the parish of Abbots Langley in Hertfordshire and received his early education at the Abbey School, St Albans (St Albans School).
His father was Robert, who later became a monk at St Albans. Nicholas himself, however, was refused admission to the monastery, being told by the abbot to "wait to go on with his schooling so that he might be considered more suitable" (Abbey chronicles). In the event, he did not wait and went instead to Paris and finally became a canon regular of the cloister of St. Rufus monastery near Arles. He rose to be prior and soon thereafter was unanimously elected abbot. This election has been traditionally dated to 1137, but evidence from the abbey's chronicles suggests it occurred about 1145.
His reforming zeal as abbot led to the lodging of complaints against him at Rome; but these merely attracted to him the favourable attention of Pope Eugene III, who created him Cardinal Bishop of Albano in December 1149.
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Pope Adrian V
Pope Adrian V (c. 1210/20 – 18 August 1276), born Ottobuono de' Fieschi, was Pope for a short time during the year 1276.
Ottobuono belonged to a feudal family of Liguria, the Fieschi, Counts of Lavagna.
His first clerical position came in 1243, when he was created a papal chaplain. Subsequently he received several ecclesiestical benefices, becoming archdeacon in Bologna (1244) and Parma (1244/48–1255), canon and chancellor of the cathedral chapter in Reims (1243–1250), canon and dean of the chapter in Piacenza (c. 1247) and canon of the cathedral chapter in Paris (1244/45–1270). In December 1251, he was created Cardinal Deacon of San Adriano by his uncle Pope Innocent IV. He was also archpriest of the patriarchal Liberian Basilica (attested from 1262).
He was sent to England in 1265 by Pope Clement IV to mediate between King Henry III of England and his barons, and to preach the Crusades. He remained there for several years as the papal legate, serving from October 1265 to July 1268. His diplomatic position was such that his name is still on the oldest extant piece of English statute law, the Statute of Marlborough of 1267, where the formal title mentions as a witness "the Lord Ottobon, at that time legate in England". (Also on this legation was a young diplomat, the future Boniface VIII.) In April 1268 he issued a set of canons, which formed the basis of church law in England until the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century.
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Pope Adrian VI
Pope Adrian VI (Latin: Hadrianus VI, Dutch: Adrianus VI), born Adriaan Florenszoon Boeyens (2 March 1459 – 14 September 1523), served as the 218th Pope of the Catholic Church from 9 January 1522 until his death on 14 September 1523, 1 year and 248 days later. Pope Adrian VI was born in the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht in the Low Countries, and he was the last non-Italian Pope until Pope John Paul II, 455 years later, and is, together with Pope Marcellus II, one of only two modern popes to retain his baptismal name after election.
Adriaan Florenszoon Boeyens was born on 2 March 1459 in the city of Utrecht, which was then the capital of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, a part of the Burgundian Netherlands in the Holy Roman Empire. He was born in into modest circumstances as the son of Florens Boeyens van Utrecht, also born in Utrecht, and his wife Gertruid. He is often called a 'German pope', because prior to the 16th-century national identity in the Low Countries was fledgling and 'Dutch' and 'German' were not yet distinct concepts.
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Pope Agapetus I
Pope Saint Agapetus I (died 22 April 536) reigned as pope from 13 May 535 to 22 April 536. He is not to be confused with another Saint Agapetus, an Early Christian martyr with the feast day of 6 August.
Agapetus was born in Rome, although his exact date of birth is unknown. He was the son of Gordianus, a Roman priest who had been slain during the riots in the days of Pope Symmachus (term 498–514). The name of his father might point to a familial relation with two other Popes: Felix III (483–492) and Gregory I (590–604). Gregory was a descendant of Felix. Gregory's father, Gordianus, held the position of Regionarius in the Roman Church. Nothing further is known about the position.
Agapetus collaborated with Cassiodorus in founding at Rome a library of ecclesiastical authors in Greek and Latin and helped Cassiodorus with the project of translating the standard Greek philosophers into Latin.[citation needed]
Jeffrey Richards describes him as "the last survivor of the Symmachan old guard", having been ordained as a deacon perhaps as early as 502, during the Laurentian schism. He was elevated from archdeacon to pope in 535. His first official act was to burn, in the presence of the assembled clergy, the anathema which Boniface II had pronounced against the latter's deceased rival Dioscurus on a false charge of simony and had ordered to be preserved in the Roman archives.
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Pope Agapetus II
Pope Agapetus II (died November 955) was Pope from 10 May 946 until his death in 955, at the time when Alberic II (932–954), son of Marozia, was governing the independent republic of Rome under the title of "prince and senator of the Romans." He was born in Rome.
Agapetus, a man of some force of character, attempted to put a stop to the so-called Pornocracy, which lasted from the accession of Pope Sergius III in 904 to the deposition of Pope John XII in 963. His appeal to Otto I the Great to intervene in Rome remained without immediate effect, since Alberic II's position was too strong to be attacked, but it bore fruit after his death.
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Pope Agatho
Saint Agatho was a Christian pope from 26 June 678 to 10 January 681 and a saint that is venerated by both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches
Little is known of Agatho before his papacy. A letter written by St. Gregory the Great to the abbot of St. Hermes in Palermo mentions an Agatho, a Greek born in Sicily to wealthy parents. He wished to give away his inheritance and join a monastery, and in this letter Gregorgy advises that he may do so as long as his wife was willing to enter a convent. There is a possibility that Pope Agatho is this monk, but this would make him over 100 years old at the time of his election, and as such must be considered unlikely without further evidence to support a connection.
Shortly after Agatho became Pope, St Wilfrid, Archbishop of York, arrived at Rome to invoke the authority of the Holy See on his behalf. Wilfrid had been deposed from his see by Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury, who had carved up Wilfrid's diocese and appointed three bishops to govern the new sees. At a synod which Pope Agatho convoked in the Lateran to investigate the affair, it was decided that Wilfrid's diocese should indeed be divided, but that Wilfrid himself should name the bishops.
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Pope Alexander I
Pope Saint Alexander I was Bishop of Rome from about 106 to 115. The Holy See's Annuario Pontificio (2012) identifies him as a Roman who reigned from 108 or 109 to 116 or 119. Some believe he suffered martyrdom under the Roman Emperor Trajan or Hadrian, but this is improbable.
According to the Liber Pontificalis, it was Alexander I who inserted the narration of the Last Supper (the Qui pridie) into the Catholic mass. However, in the article on Saint Alexander I in the 1907 Catholic Encyclopedia, Thomas Shahan judges this tradition to be inaccurate. Both Catholic and non-Catholic experts regard this tradition as inaccurate. It is viewed as a product of the agenda of Liber Pontificalis—this section of the book was probably written in the late fifth century—to show an ancient pattern of the earliest bishops of Rome ruling the church by papal decree.
The introduction of the customs of using blessed water mixed with salt for the purification of Christian homes from evil influences, and of mixing water with the sacramental wine are attributed to Pope Alexander I. Some sources consider these attributions unlikely. It is certainly possible, however, that Alexander played an important part in the early development of the Church of Rome's emerging liturgical and administrative traditions.
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Pope Alexander II
Pope Alexander II (died 21 April 1073), born Anselmo da Baggio, was Pope from 1061 to 1073.
He was born in Milan. As Anselm I, bishop of Lucca, he had been an energetic coadjutor with Hildebrand of Sovana in endeavouring to suppress simony and enforce the clerical celibacy. The papal election of 1061, which Hildebrand had arranged in conformity with the papal decree of 1059 (see Pope Nicholas II), was not sanctioned by the imperial court of Germany. True to the practice observed in preceding papal elections, the German court nominated another candidate, Cadalus, bishop of Parma, who was proclaimed Pope at the council of Basel under the name of Honorius II. He marched to Rome and for a long time threatened his rival's position. At length, however, Honorius was forsaken by the German court and deposed by a council held at Mantua; Alexander II's position remained unchallenged.
In 1065, Alexander admonished Landulf VI of Benevento "that the conversion of Jews is not to be obtained by force." Also in the same year, Alexander called for a crusade against the Moors in Spain.
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Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Rolando (or Orlando) of Siena, was Pope from 1159 to 1181. He is noted in history for laying the foundation stone for the Notre Dame de Paris.
He was born in Siena. From 14th century he is referred to as a member of the aristocratic family of Bandinelli, but this is not proven. For a long time, scholars believed[citation needed] him to be identical with the 12th-century canon lawyer and theologian Master Roland of Bologna, who composed the "Stroma" or "Summa Rolandi"—one of the earliest commentaries on the Decretum of Gratian—and the "Sententiae Rolandi", a sentence collection displaying the influence of Pierre Abélard.
In October 1150, Pope Eugene III created him cardinal deacon with the Title of Santi Cosma e Damiano. Later he became cardinal priest with the Title of St Mark. In 1153, he became papal chancellor and was the leader of the cardinals opposed to German Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. He negotiated the Treaty of Benevento, which restored peaceful relations between Rome and the Kingdom of Sicily.
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Pope Alexander IV
Pope Alexander IV (1199 or ca. 1185 – 25 May 1261) was Pope from 1254 until his death.
Born as Rinaldo di Jenne in Jenne (now in the Province of Rome), he was, on his mother's side, a member of the family de' Conti di Segni, the counts of Segni, like Pope Innocent III and Pope Gregory IX. His uncle Gregory IX made him cardinal deacon and Protector of the Order of Franciscans in 1227, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church from 1227 until 1231 and Bishop of Ostia in 1231 (or 1232). He became Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1244 (or 1240). On the death of Pope Innocent IV in 1254 he was elected pope at Naples on 12 December 1254.
Alexander IV succeeded Innocent IV as guardian of Conradin, the last of the Hohenstaufens, promising him protection; but in less than a fortnight he conspired against him and bitterly opposed Conradin's uncle Manfred.[citation needed] Alexander IV threatened excommunication and interdict against the party of Manfred without effect. Nor could he enlist the kings of England and Norway in a crusade against the Hohenstaufens. Rome itself became too Ghibelline for the Pope, who withdrew to Viterbo, where he died in 1261. He was buried in Viterbo Cathedral, but his tomb was destroyed during sixteenth-century renovations.
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Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI (Spanish: Alejandro VI, or Alexander Sextus), born Roderic Llançol i de Borja (Spanish: Rodrigo Lanzol; 1 January 1431 – 18 August 1503) was pope (Bishop of Rome) from 1492 until his death in 1503. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, and his Italianized surname Borgia became a byword for libertinism and nepotism, which are traditionally considered as characterizing his papacy. However, his reputation is mostly drawn from his enemies, the Italian prelates and barons whose power he subverted. Two of Alexander's successors, Sixtus V and Urban VIII, described him as one of the most outstanding popes since St. Peter. His reputation rests more on his considerable skills as a diplomat, politician and civil administrator rather than as a pastor, although regarding the latter he was no more or less effective than any of the other renaissance pontiffs.
Rodrigo Llançol was born on 1 January 1431 in the town of Xàtiva in the Kingdom of Valencia, one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon, in present-day Spain. His parents were the Valencian Jofré Llançol i Escrivà (died bef. 24 March 1437) and his wife and distant cousin the Aragonese Isabel de Borja y Cavanilles (died 19 October 1468). His family name is written Llançol in Valencian and Lanzol in Spanish. Rodrigo adopted his mother's family name of Borja in 1455 following the elevation to the papacy of his maternal uncle Alonso de Borja (Italianized to Alfonso Borgia) as Calixtus III.
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Pope Alexander VII
Pope Alexander VII (13 February 1599 – 22 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was Pope from 7 April 1655, until his death.
Born in Siena, a member of the illustrious banking family of Chigi and a great-nephew of Pope Paul V (1605–1621), he was privately tutored and eventually received doctorates of philosophy, law, and theology from the University of Siena.
In 1627 he began his apprenticeship as vice-papal legate at Ferrara, and on recommendations from two cardinals he was appointed successively Inquisitor of Malta and nuncio in Cologne (1639–1651). There, he supported Urban VIII's condemnation of Jansenius' Augustinus by the papal bull In eminenti of 1642.
Though expected to take part in the negotiations which led in 1648 to the Peace of Westphalia, he declined to deliberate with persons whom the Catholic Church considered heretics, and protested, when it was finally completed, against the Treaty of Westphalia that ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and established the balance of European power that lasted until the wars of the French Revolution (1789).
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Pope Alexander VIII
Pope Alexander VIII (22 April 1610 – 1 February 1691), born Pietro Vito Ottoboni, was Pope from 1689 to 1691.
Pietro Ottoboni was born of a noble Venetian family, and was the son of Marco Ottoboni, chancellor of the Republic of Venice. His early studies were made with marked brilliancy at the University of Padua, where, in 1627, he earned a doctorate in canon and civil law.
He went to Rome during the pontificate of Pope Urban VIII (1623–44), and was made governor of Terni, Rieti, and Spoleto. For fourteen years he served as auditor of the Rota. At the request of the Venetian Republic, Ottoboni was made Cardinal-Priest of San Salvatore in Lauro by Pope Innocent X (1644–55) in 1652, and was later given the bishopric of Brescia, in Venetian territory, where he quietly spent the best years of middle life.
The ambassador of Louis XIV of France (1643–1715) succeeded in procuring his election on 6 October 1689, as successor to Pope Innocent XI (1676–89); nevertheless, after months of negotiation Alexander VIII finally condemned the declaration made in 1682 by the French clergy concerning the liberties of the Gallican church.
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Pope Anacletus
Pope Saint Anacletus (very rarely written as Anencletus), also called Pope Cletus, was the third Roman Pope (after St. Peter and St. Linus).
The 14 February 1961 Instruction of the Congregation for Rites on the application to local calendars of Pope John XXIII's motu proprio Rubricarum instructum of 25 July 1960 decreed that "the feast of 'Saint Anacletus', on whatever ground and in whatever grade it is celebrated, is transferred to 26 April, under its right name, 'Saint Cletus'. The Roman Martyrology mentions the Pope in question only under the name of "Cletus". The Annuario Pontificio gives both forms, as alternatives. Eusebius, Saint Irenaeus, Saint Augustine and Optatus all suggest that both names refer to the same individual. On the other hand, the Liberian Catalogue and the Liber Pontificalis both state that Anacletus and Cletus are two different persons.
The name "Cletus" in Ancient Greek means "one who has been called", and "Anacletus" means "one who has been called back".
St Cletus/Anacletus was traditionally said to have been a Roman, and to have been pope for twelve years. The Annuario Pontificio states: "For the first two centuries, the dates of the start and the end of the pontificate are uncertain." It gives the years 80 to 92 as the reign of Pope Cletus/Anacletus. Other sources give the years 77 to 88.
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Pope Anastasius I
Pope Saint Anastasius I, born in Rome the son of Maximus, was pope from 27 November 399 to 401.
He condemned the writings of the Alexandrian theologian Origen shortly after their translation into Latin. He fought against these writings throughout his papacy, and in 400 he called a council to discuss them. The council agreed that Origen was not faithful to the Catholic Church.
If Origen has put forth any other writings, you are to know that they and their author are alike condemned by me. The Lord have you in safe keeping, my lord and brother deservedly held in honour.
— letter to Simplicianus,
During his reign he also encouraged Catholics in North Africa to fight Donatism.
It was Pope Anastasius who instructed priests to stand and bow their head as they read from the gospels.
Among his friends were Augustine, Jerome, and Paulinus. Jerome speaks of him as a man of great holiness who was rich in his poverty.
Anastasius was succeeded by his son, Innocent I, who was born before Anastasius entered the clergy.
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Pope Anastasius II
Pope Anastasius II was pope from 24 November 496 to 16 November 498.
Anastasius II was pontiff during the time of the schism of Patriarch Acacius of Constantinople. He showed some tendency towards conciliation, and thus brought upon himself the lively reproaches of the author of the Liber Pontificalis. On the strength of this tradition, Dante placed this pope in Hell. According to historian Richard P. McBrien, the view of Anastasius II as a traitor is unjust. Anastasius II had entered in communion with a supporter of Acacius, bringing condemnation from some of the clergy of Rome, who denounced Anastasius II. His death in 498 at the height of the crisis was seen as divine retribution.
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Pope Anastasius III
Pope Anastasius III (died June 913) was Pope from April 911 to June 913, was a Roman by birth. A Roman nobleman, Lucian, is sometimes recognized as his father, although other sources assert that he was the illegitimate son of his predecessor Pope Sergius III (904–911).
Practically nothing is recorded of Pope Anastasius III, his pontificate falling in the period when Rome and the Papacy were in the power of Theophylact, Count of Tusculum, and his wife Theodora, who approved Anastasius III's candidacy. Under his reign the Normans of Rollo were evangelized.
He was buried in St. Peter's Basilica.
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Pope Anastasius IV
Pope Anastasius IV (ca. 1073 – 3 December 1154), born Corrado Demetri della Suburra, was Pope from 1153 to 1154.
He was a Roman, son of Benedictus de Suburra, probably of the family of Demetri, and became a secular clerk. He was created cardinal-priest of S. Pudenziana by Pope Paschal II no later than in 1114. In 1127 or 1128 Pope Honorius II promoted him to the suburbicarian See of Sabina. He had taken part in the double papal election of 1130, had been one of the most determined opponents of Antipope Anacletus II and, when Pope Innocent II fled to France, had been left behind as his vicar in Italy. At the time of his election to the papacy in July 1153 he was Dean of the College of Cardinals and probably the oldest member of that body.
During his short pontificate he played the part of a peacemaker; he came to terms with the Emperor Frederick I in the vexing question of the appointment to the See of Magdeburg and closed the long quarrel, which had raged through four pontificates, about the appointment of William Fitzherbert (commonly known as Saint William of York) to the see of York by sending him the pallium in spite of the continued opposition of the powerful Cistercian order. Pope Anastasius IV died on 3 December 1154 and was succeeded by Cardinal Nicholas of Albano as Pope Adrian IV.
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Pope Anicetus
Pope Saint Anicetus was Pope of the Catholic Church from about 150 to about 167 (the Vatican's list cites 150 to 167 or 153 to 168). His name is Greek for unconquered (ἀ-νίκητος). He was a Syrian from the city of Emesa (modern-day Homs).
According to Irenaeus, it was during his pontificate that the aged Polycarp of Smyrna, a disciple of John the Evangelist, visited Rome to discuss the celebration of Passover with Anicetus. Polycarp and his Church of Smyrna celebrated the crucifixion on the fourteenth day of Nisan, which coincides with Pesach (or Passover) regardless of which day of the week upon this date fell, while the Roman Church celebrated the Pasch on Sunday—the weekday of Jesus' resurrection. The two did not agree on a common date, but Anicetus conceded to St Polycarp and the Church of Smyrna the ability to retain the date to which they were accustomed. The controversy was to grow heated in the following centuries.
The Christian historian Hegesippus also visited Rome during Anicetus' pontificate. This visit is often cited as a sign of the early importance of the Roman See.
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Pope Anterus
Pope Saint Anterus was Pope from 21 November 235 to 3 January 236, and succeeded Pope Pontian, who had been deported from Rome along with the antipope Hippolytus to Sardinia.
Anterus was the son of Romulus, born in Petilia Policastro. He was pope for only one month and ten days, and is thought to have been of Greek origin, but the name could indicate that he was a freed slave. He created one bishop for the city of Fondi.
Some scholars believe he was martyred, because he ordered greater strictness in searching into the acts of the martyrs exactly collected by the notaries appointed by Saint Clement[disambiguation needed
].[clarification needed] Other scholars doubt this and believe it is more likely that he died in undramatic circumstances during the persecutions of Emperor Maximinus the Thracian.
He was buried in the papal crypt of the Catacomb of Callixtus on the Appian Way in Rome. The site of his sepulchre was discovered by De Rossi in 1854, with some broken remnants of the Greek epitaph engraved on the narrow oblong slab that closed his tomb and only the Greek term for bishop readable.
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Pope Benedict I
Pope Benedict I was pope from 2 June 575 to 30 July 579.
Benedict was the son of a man named Bonifacius, and was called Bonosus by the Greeks. The ravages of the Lombards rendered it very difficult to communicate with the Byzantine Emperor at Constantinople, who claimed the privilege of confirming the election of the popes. Hence there was a vacancy of nearly eleven months between the death of Pope John III and the arrival of the imperial confirmation of Benedict's election on 2 June 575.
Benedict granted an estate, the Massa Veneris, in the territory of Minturnae, to Abbot Stephen of St. Mark's "near the walls of Spoleto" (St. Gregory I, Ep. ix, 87, I. al. 30). Famine followed the devastating Lombards, and from the few words the Liber Pontificalis has about Benedict, we gather that he died in the midst of his efforts to cope with these difficulties. He was buried in the vestibule of the sacristy of the old Basilica of St. Peter. In a ceremony held in December, he ordained fifteen priests and three deacons and consecrated twenty-one bishops.
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Pope Benedict II
Pope Saint Benedict II was Pope from 684 to 685.
Pope Benedict II died on 8 May 685. He succeeded Leo II. Although chosen in 683, he was not ordained until 684 because the permission of Emperor Constantine IV was not obtained until some months after the election. According to the Liber Diurnus Romanorum Pontificum, he obtained from the Emperor a decree which either abolished imperial confirmations altogether or made them obtainable from the Exarch of Ravenna. This gave the power of confirmations of papal nominations directly to the Church and the people of Rome. Benedict symbolically adopted Constantine's two sons Justinian and Heraclius.
To help to suppress Monothelitism, he endeavoured to secure the subscriptions of the bishops of Hispania to the decrees of the Third Council of Constantinople of 678, and to bring about the submission to the decrees of Macarius, the deposed bishop of Antioch.
Restorations of numerous churches in Rome are ascribed to the less than a year's pontificate of Benedict II.
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Pope Benedict III
Pope Benedict III was Pope from 29 September 855 to 17 April 858.
Little is known of Benedict's life before his papacy. He was educated and lived in Rome and was cardinal priest of the church of San Callisto at the time of his election. Benedict had a reputation for learning and piety. He was elected upon the refusal of Hadrian, the initial choice of the clergy and people. A group of important people preferred a different candidate, Anastasius. This latter group had Benedict's election disavowed and Anastasius installed. However, popular opinion was so strong that Benedict's consecration was allowed. The envoys of Holy Roman Emperor Louis II forced Benedict to handle Anastasius and his adherents leniently. The schism helped to weaken the hold of the emperors upon the popes, especially upon their elections.
Benedict intervened in the conflict between the sons of Lothair I (the future King Lothair II of Lotharingia, Emperor Louis II and Charles of Provence) on the latter's death. He was active in other cases as well and adopted a firm position towards Constantinople.
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Pope Benedict IV
Pope Benedict IV (died July 903) was Pope from 900 to 903. He was the son of Mammalus, a native of Rome. The tenth-century historian Frodoard, who nicknamed him the Great, commended his noble birth and public generosity. He succeeded Pope John IX (898–900) and was followed by Pope Leo V (903).
Benedict IV upheld the ordinances of Pope Formosus, whose rotting corpse had been exhumed by Pope Stephen VI and put on trial in the Cadaver Synod of 897. In 901, after the Carolingian Emperors had disappeared, Benedict followed the example of Pope Leo III and crowned Louis of Provence as Holy Roman Emperor. In his reign, he also excommunicated Baldwin II of Flanders for murdering Fulk, Archbishop of Reims. He died in the summer of 903 and was buried in front of St Peter's Basilica, by the gate of Guido.
This article incorporates text from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia article "Pope Benedict IV" by Horace K. Mann, a publication now in the public domain.
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Pope Benedict IX
Pope Benedict IX (c. 1012 – c. 1056), born in Rome as Theophylactus of Tusculum, was Pope on three occasions between 1032 and 1048. One of the youngest popes, he was the only man to have been Pope on more than one occasion and the only man ever to have sold the papacy.
Benedict was born the son of Alberic III, Count of Tusculum, and was a nephew of Pope Benedict VIII and Pope John XIX. His father obtained the Papal chair for him, granting it to his son in October 1032.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia and other sources, Benedict IX was around 18 to 20 years old when made pontiff, although some sources claim 11 or 12. He reportedly led an extremely dissolute life and allegedly had few qualifications for the papacy other than connections with a socially powerful family, although in terms of theology and the ordinary activities of the Church he was entirely orthodox. St. Peter Damian is alleged to have described him as "feasting on immorality"; the anti-papal historian Ferdinand Gregorovius wrote that in Benedict, "a demon from hell in the disguise of a priest... occupied the chair of Peter and profaned the sacred mysteries of religion by his insolent courses."[1] The Catholic Encyclopedia calls him "a disgrace to the Chair of Peter." The first pope said to have been primarily homosexual, he was said to have held orgies in the Lateran palace.
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Pope Benedict V
Pope Benedict V (died 4 July 966), of Roman birth, was Pope in 964, elected by the Romans on the death of Pope John XII. However the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I (936–973) did not approve of the choice and had him deposed after only a month with his acquiescence. The ex-Pope was carried off to Hamburg and placed under the care of Adaldag, Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen. There he became a deacon, dying in 966. He was first buried in the cathedral in Hamburg. At a later date his remains were transferred to Rome.
At the synod which deposed him in July 964, the pastoral staff was broken over him by Pope Leo VIII; this is the first mention of the papal sceptre.
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Pope Benedict VI
Pope Benedict VI was pope from January 973 to June 974. His brief pontificate came in the political context of the founding of the Holy Roman Empire, during the transition between the reigns of German emperors Otto I and Otto II and the struggle for power of aristocratic families such as the Crescentii and Tusculani in the region of Rome.
Benedict VI was born in Rome, the son of Hildebrand. He was elected and installed as pope under the protection of Otto I, whose dominance in Roman and ecclesial affairs was resisted by local aristocracy. Record of his reign as pope is scant, though he is known to have confirmed privileges assumed by certain monasteries and churches.
Otto I died soon after Benedict's election in 973, and in 974 Benedict was imprisoned in the Castel Sant'Angelo, at that time a stronghold of the Crescentii. When Otto II sent an imperial representative, Count Sicco, to secure his release, Crescentius I and Cardinal-Deacon Franco Ferrucci, who would subsequently become Boniface VII, an antipope, had Benedict murdered while still in prison.
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Pope Benedict VII
Pope Benedict VII (died 10 July 983) was born in Rome, the son of David or Deodatus (brother of Alberic II of Spoleto). Before his election to the papacy, he had previously served as Bishop of Sutri. He belonged to the noble family of the Counts of Tusculum. He was elected by the Roman clergy and people in October 974 under the influence of Sicco, imperial envoy of Emperor Otto II. He governed Rome quietly for nearly nine years, a somewhat rare thing in those days. Benedict VII's date of birth is not known with certainty, but it is known that he was related to Prince Alberic II and connected to the Crescenti family. He succeeded to the papacy as a compromise candidate to replace antipope Boniface VII (974, 984–985). Boniface VII was excommunicated and unsuccessfully attempted to retake the papacy.
Benedict VII promoted monasticism and ecclesiastical reform along with Emperor Otto II. He also consecrated the priest James, who had been sent to him by the people of Carthage "to help the wretched province of Africa." Benedict VII visited the city of Orvieto with his nephew Filippo Alberici, who later settled there and became Consul of the city state in 1016. The Alberici family live there to this day. In March 981, Benedict presided over a synod in St Peter's that prohibited simony. In September 981, he convened a Lateran Synod.
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Pope Benedict VIII
Pope Benedict VIII (died 9 April 1024), born Theophylactus, was Pope from 1012 to 1024. He was of the noble family of the counts of Tusculum (son of Gregory, Count of Tusculum, and brother of future Pope John XIX), descended from Theophylact, Count of Tusculum, just as was his predecessor Pope Benedict VI (973–974).
Benedict VIII was opposed by an antipope, Gregory VI, who compelled him to flee Rome. He was restored by Henry II of Germany, whom he crowned Emperor on 14 February 1014. He remained on good terms with Henry for his entire pontificate. In Benedict VIII's pontificate the Saracens renewed their attacks on the southern coasts of Italy. They also burned Pavia and effected a settlement in Sardinia. The Normans also then began to settle in Italy. The Pope promoted peace in Italy by allying himself with the Normans, orchestrating the defeat of the Saracens in Sardinia and subjugating the Crescentii. In 1022, he held a synod at Pavia with the Emperor to restrain simony and incontinence of the clergy. The reformation sponsored by Cluny Abbey was supported by him, and he was a friend of its abbot, St. Odilo.
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Pope Benedict XI
Blessed Pope Benedict XI (1240 – 7 July 1304), born Nicola Boccasini, was Pope from 22 October 1303 until his death.
Born in Treviso, he succeeded Pope Boniface VIII, but was unable to carry out his policies. Benedict XI was a Dominican and when he was made Master of the Order in 1296, he issued ordinances forbidding public questioning of the legitimacy of Boniface VIII's election on the part of any Dominican. At the time of the seizure of Pope Boniface VIII at Anagni in 1303, Boccasini was one of only two cardinals to defend the papal party in the Lateran Palace itself. However, upon being elected Pope at the papal conclave of 1303, he released King Philip IV of France from the excommunication that had been laid upon him by Boniface VIII, and practically ignored Boniface's bull Unam sanctam, which asserted papal supremacy over secular rulers. Nevertheless, on 7 June 1304, Benedict excommunicated Philip IV's implacable minister Guillaume de Nogaret and all the Italians who had played a part in the seizure of Boniface VIII at Anagni.
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Pope Benedict XII
Pope Benedict XII (died 25 April 1342), born Jacques Fournier, the third of the Avignon Popes, was Pope from 1334 to 1342.
Little is known of the origins of Jacques Fournier. He is believed to have been born in Saverdun in the Comté de Foix around the 1280s to a family of modest means. He became a Cistercian monk and left the countryside to study at the University of Paris. In 1311 he was made Abbot of Fontfroide Abbey and quickly became known for his intelligence and organizational ability. In 1317 he was made Bishop of Pamiers. There he undertook a rigorous hunt for Cathar heretics, which won him praise from religious authorities, but alienated the local people.
His efforts against the Cathars of Montaillou in the Ariège were carefully recorded in the Fournier Register, which he took to Rome and deposited in the Vatican Library. This has been documented by Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie's pioneering microhistory, Montaillou, village occitan. In 1326, upon the successful rooting out of the last – it was believed – heretics of the south, he was made Bishop of Mirepoix in the Ariège. A year later, in 1327, he was made a cardinal.
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Pope Benedict XIII
Pope Benedict XIII (2 February 1650 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco Orsini, later Friar Vincenzo Maria Orsini, O.P., was pope from 1724 until his death.
He was born in Gravina in Puglia to Ferdinando III Orsini, duke of Gravina, and Giovanna Frangipani della Tolfa, from Toritto. He was a member of the Orsini of Rome, the third and last member of that family to become Pope. He entered the Dominican Order and received the name Vincenzo Maria. He was named Cardinal-Priest of San Sisto on 22 February 1672 (allegedly, against his will); later he was bishop of Manfredonia, bishop of Cesena and then archbishop of Benevento.
At first, he called himself Benedict XIV, but afterwards altered the title to Benedict XIII (the previous Benedict XIII having been considered an antipope).
He endeavoured to put a stop to the decadent lifestyles of the Italian priesthood and of the cardinalate. He also abolished the lottery in Rome. A man fond above all of asceticism and religious celebrations, according to Cardinal Lambertini (later Pope Benedict XIV) he "did not have any idea about how to rule". The government was effectively held in his lieu by Cardinal Niccolò Coscia, who had been Benedict's secretary when he was archbishop of Benevento, and who committed a long series of financial abuses at his own advantage, causing the ruin of the Papal treasure. According to Montesquieu, "All the money of Rome go to Benevento... as the Beneventani direct [Benedict's] weakness".
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Pope Benedict XIV
Pope Benedict XIV (31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was Pope from 17 August 1740 to 3 May 1758.
Lambertini was born into a noble family of Bologna, which was at that time the second largest city in the Papal States. He was created Cardinal-Priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme on 10 May 1728 and was elected Pope in 1740. The conclave that elected him had lasted for six months, and he is reported to have said to the cardinals: "If you wish to elect a saint, choose Gotti; a statesman, Aldrovandi; an honest man, me". His Papacy began in a time of great difficulties, chiefly caused by the disputes between Catholic rulers and the Papacy about governmental demands to nominate bishops rather than leaving the appointment to the Church. He managed to overcome most of these problems — the Holy See's disputes with the Kingdom of Naples, Sardinia, Spain, Venice, and Austria were settled.
He had a very active papacy, reforming the education of priests, the calendar of feasts of the Church, and many papal institutions. Perhaps the most important act of Benedict XIV's pontificate was the promulgation of his famous laws about missions in the two bulls, Ex quo singulari and Omnium solicitudinum. In these bulls he ruled on the custom of accommodating Christian words and usages to express non-Christian ideas and practices of the native cultures, which had been extensively done by the Jesuits in their Indian and Chinese missions.
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Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV (Latin: Benedictus PP. XV, Italian: Benedetto XV; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, reigned as Pope from 3 September 1914 to 22 January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I and its political, social and humanitarian consequences in Europe.
Between 1846 and 1903, the Church experienced its two longest pontificates in history up to that point. Together Pius IX and Leo XIII ruled for 57 years. In 1914, the Cardinals choose Della Chiesa at the age of 59, indicating their desire for another long-lasting pontificate at the outbreak of World War I, which he labeled “the suicide of civilized Europe.” The war and its consequences were the main focus of Benedict. He declared the neutrality of the Holy See and attempted from that perspective to mediate peace in 1916 and 1917. Both sides rejected his initiatives. German Protestants rejected any “Papal Peace” as insulting. French politician Georges Clemenceau regarded the Vatican initiative as anti-French.
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Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI (Latin: Benedictus PP. XVI; Italian: Benedetto XVI; German: Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger on 16 April 1927) is the 265th Pope, a position in which he serves dual roles as Sovereign of the Vatican City State and leader of the Catholic Church. As pope he is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter. Benedict XVI was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal Inauguration Mass on 24 April 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, on 7 May 2005. A native of Bavaria, Pope Benedict XVI has both German and Vatican citizenship.
After a long career as an academic, serving as a professor of theology at various German universities—the last being the University of Regensburg—he was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising and cardinal by Pope Paul VI in 1977. In 1981, he settled in Rome when he became Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, one of the most important dicasteries of the Roman Curia. From 2002 until his election as Pope, he was also Dean of the College of Cardinals, and as such the primus inter pares among the cardinals. Prior to becoming Pope, he was "a major figure on the Vatican stage for a quarter of a century" as "one of the most respected, influential and controversial members of the College of Cardinals"; he had an influence "second to none when it came to setting church priorities and directions" as one of Pope John Paul II's closest confidants.
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Pope Boniface I
Pope Saint Boniface I was pope from 28 December 418 to 4 September 422. He was a contemporary of Saint Augustine of Hippo, who dedicated to him some of his works.
On the day of the funeral for Pope Zosimus, which was held at San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, partisans of Eulalius occupied the Lateran. Later that day, he proceeded thither with a crowd consisting of deacons, laity and a few priests, and was elected bishop. The new Pope and his supporters remained at the church until Sunday, 29 December, for the formal ordination customarily took place on a Sunday. Meanwhile, on the Saturday after Eulalius had been elected, a majority of the priests of the church elected Boniface, who had previously been a councilor of Pope Innocent, and was also ordained on 29 December at the Church of Saint Marcellus in the Campus Martius. The Urban Prefect Aurelius Anicius Symmachus warned both parties to keep the peace, and wrote to the Emperor Honorius that Eulalius, who had been elected first and in due order, was in the right. The Emperor answered on 3 January 419, recognizing Eulalius as the rightful Bishop of Rome. Despite these official acts, violence broke out between the two groups, and Boniface was seized by the Prefect's police and taken to a lodging outside the walls where he was detained under the surveillance of the Prefect's agents.
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Pope Boniface II
Pope Boniface II was pope from 530 to 532.
He was by birth an Ostrogoth, the first Germanic pope, and he owed his appointment to the influence of the Gothic king Athalaric. Boniface was chosen by his predecessor, Pope Felix IV, who had been a strong adherent of the Arian king, and was never elected. For a time, Boniface served as Pope in competition with the Antipope Dioscorus, who had been elected by most of the priests of Rome. Boniface and Dioscorus were both consecrated in Rome on 22 September 530, but Dioscurus died only twenty-two days later.
Boniface changed the numbering of the years in the Julian Calendar from Ab Urbe Condita to Anno Domini.
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Pope Boniface III
Pope Boniface III was Pope from 19 February to 12 November 607. Despite his short time as Pope he made a significant contribution to the organization of the Catholic Church.
The son of John Cataadioce, he was a Roman by birth although of Greek extraction.
As a deacon, Boniface had impressed Pope Gregory I, who described him as a man "of tried faith and character" and selected him to be apocrisiarius (legate, essentially the papal nuncio) to the court of Constantinople in 603. This was to be a significant time in his life and helped to shape his short but eventful papacy.
As apocrisarius he had the ear of Emperor Phocas and was held in esteem by him. This was to prove important when he was instructed by Pope Gregory to intercede with Emperor Phocas on behalf of Bishop Alcison of Cassiope on the island of Corcyra. Alcison found his position as bishop being usurped by Bishop John of Euria in Epirus, who had fled his home along with his clergy to escape from attacks by the Slavs and Avars. John, having found himself safe on Corcyra, was not content to serve under Bishop Alcison; instead he set about trying to usurp his episcopal authority. Normally this behaviour would not have been tolerated, but Emperor Phocas was sympathetic to Bishop John and not inclined to interfere. Alcison appealed to Pope Gregory, who left the problem to Boniface to resolve. In a stroke of diplomatic genius, Boniface managed to reconcile all the parties while still retaining the confidence of the Emperor.
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Pope Boniface IV
Pope Saint Boniface IV (c. 550 – 25 May 615) was pope from 608 to his death.
Son of Johannes, "a physician, a Marsian from the province and town of Valeria; he succeeded Boniface III after a vacancy of over nine months." He was consecrated on either 25 August (Duchesne) or 15 September (Jaffé) in 608. His death is listed as either 8 May or 25 May 615 by these same two authorities.
In the time of Pope Gregory I, he was a deacon of the Roman Church and held the position of dispensator, that is, the first official in connection with the administration of the patrimonies.
Boniface obtained leave from the Byzantine Emperor Phocas to convert the Pantheon in Rome into a Christian church, and on 13 May 609 (?), the temple erected by Agrippa to Jupiter the Avenger, Venus, and Mars was consecrated by the pope to the Virgin Mary and all the Martyrs. It was the first instance at Rome of the transformation of a pagan temple into a place of Christian worship. Twenty-eight cartloads of sacred bones were said to have been removed from the Catacombs and placed in a porphyry basin beneath the high altar.
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Pope Boniface IX
Pope Boniface IX (c. 1350 – 1 October 1404), born Piero Tomacelli, was the second Roman Pope of the Western Schism, from 2 November 1389 until his death. During this time the Antipopes Clement VII and Benedict XIII continued to hold court as pope in Avignon under the protection of the French monarchy. He was the last Pope who bore the name Boniface.
Piero (also Perino, Pietro) Tomacelli came of an ancient but impoverished baronial family of Casarano in the Kingdom of Naples. An unsympathetic German contemporary source, Dietrich of Nieheim, asserted that he was illiterate (nesciens scribere etiam male cantabat). Neither a trained theologian nor skilled in the business of the Curia, he was tactful and prudent in a difficult era, but Ludwig Pastor, who passes swiftly over his pontificate, says, "The numerous endeavours for unity made during this period form one of the saddest chapters in the history of the Church. Neither Pope had the magnanimity to put an end to the terrible state of affairs" by resigning. After his election at the papal conclave of 1389, Germany, England, Hungary, Poland, and the greater part of Italy accepted him as Pope. The remainder of Europe recognized the Avignon Pope Clement VII. He and Boniface mutually excommunicated each other.
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Pope Boniface V
Pope Boniface V (died 25 October 625) was pope from 619 to 625.
He was consecrated as pope on 23 December 619. He did much for the Christianising of England and enacted the decree by which churches became places of refuge for criminals.
Boniface V was a Neapolitan who succeeded Pope Adeodatus I after a vacancy of more than a year. Before his consecration, Italy was disturbed by the rebellion of the eunuch Eleutherius, Exarch of Ravenna. The patrician pretender advanced towards Rome, but before he could reach the city, he was slain by his own troops.
The Liber Pontificalis records that Boniface made certain enactments relative to the rights of sanctuary, and that he ordered the ecclesiastical notaries to obey the laws of the empire on the subject of wills. He also prescribed that acolytes should not presume to translate the relics of martyrs and that, in the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, they should not take the place of deacons in administering baptism. Boniface completed and consecrated the cemetery of Saint Nicomedes on the Via Nomentana. In the Liber Pontificalis, Boniface is described as "the mildest of men", whose chief distinction was his great love for the clergy.
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Pope Boniface VI
Pope Boniface VI, a native of Rome, was elected Pope in April 896 as a result of riots soon after the death of Pope Formosus. Prior to his reign, he had twice incurred a sentence of deprivation of orders as a subdeacon and as a priest. After a pontificate of fifteen days, he is said by some to have died of the gout, by others to have been forcibly ejected to make way for Stephen VI, the candidate of the Spoletan party.
At a synod in Rome held by John IX in 898, his election was pronounced null and void.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Pope Boniface VI". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.
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Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII (c. 1235 – 11 October 1303), born Benedetto Gaetani, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1294 to 1303. Today, he is probably best remembered for his feuds with Dante, who placed him in the Eighth Circle of Hell in his Divina Commedia, among the simonists.
Benedetto was born in 1235 in Anagni, c. 50 kilometres southeast of Rome. He was the younger son of a minor noble family, the Gaetani. He took his first steps in the religious life when he was sent to the monastery of the Friars Minor in Velletri, where he was put under the care of his uncle Fra Leonardo Patrasso. He became a canon of the cathedral in Anagni in his teens. In 1252, when his uncle Pietro Gaetani became Bishop of Todi, in Umbria, Benedetto went with him and began his legal studies there. Benedetto never forgot his roots in Todi, later describing the city as "the dwelling place of his early youth," the city which "nourished him while still of tender years," and as a place where he "held lasting memories". In 1260, Benedetto acquired a canonry in Todi, as well as the small nearby castle of Sismano. Later in life he repeatedly expressed his gratitude to Anagni, Todi, and his family.
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Pope Caius
Pope Saint Caius or Gaius was Pope from 17 December 283 to 22 April 296. Christian tradition makes him a native of the Dalmatian city of Salona, today Solin near Split, the son of a man also named Caius, and a member of a noble family related to the Emperor Diocletian.
Little information on Caius is available except that given by the Liber Pontificalis, which relies on a legendary account of the martyrdom of St. Susanna for its information. According to legend, Caius baptized the men and women who had been converted by Saint Tiburtius (who is venerated with St. Susanna) and Saint Castulus. His legend states that Caius took refuge in the catacombs of Rome and died a martyr.
About 280, an early Christian house of worship was established on the site of Santa Susanna, which, like many of the earliest Christian meeting places, was in a house (domus ecclesiae). The domus belonged, according to the sixth-century acta, to brothers named Caius and Gabinus, prominent Christians. Caius may be this Pope, or Caius the Presbyter. Gabinus is the name given to the father of Saint Susanna. Thus, sources state that Caius was the uncle of Saint Susanna.
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Pope Callixtus I
Pope Saint Callixtus I or Callistus I was pope from about 217 to about 222, during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus. He was martyred for his Christian faith and is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.
His contemporary and enemy, the author of Philosophumena (probably Hippolytus of Rome), relates that Callixtus, as a young slave, was put in charge of collected funds by his master Carpophorus, funds which were given as alms by other Christians for the care of widows and orphans; Callixtus lost the funds and fled from Rome, but was caught near Portus. According to the tale, Callixtus jumped overboard to avoid capture but was rescued and taken back to his master. He was released at the request of the creditors, who hoped he might be able to recover some of the money, but was rearrested for fighting in a synagogue when he tried to borrow money or collect debts from some Jews.
Philosophumena claims that, denounced as a Christian, Callixtus was sentenced to work in the mines of Sardinia. He was released with other Christians at the request of Hyacinthus, a eunuch presbyter, who represented Marcia, the favourite mistress of Emperor Commodus. At this time his health was so weakened that his fellow Christians sent him to Antium to recuperate and he was given a pension by Pope Victor I.
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Pope Callixtus II
Pope Blessed Calixtus II (or Calistus II) (died 13 December 1124), born Guy de Burgundy, the fourth son of William I, Count of Burgundy, was elected Pope on 1 February 1119 after the death of Pope Gelasius II. His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy, which he was able to settle through the Concordat of Worms (in 1122).
Guy was a member of the highest aristocracy in Europe. The fourth son of one of the wealthiest rulers in Europe, his family was part of a network of noble alliances. He was a cousin of Arduin of Ivrea, the King of Italy. One sister, Gisela, was married to Humbert II, Count of Savoy, and then to Renier I of Montferrat; another sister, Maud, was the wife of Eudes I of Burgundy. His brother Raymond was married to Urraca, the heiress of León; they became the parents of King Alfonso VII of León. His brother Hugh was an Archbishop of Besançon.
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Pope Callixtus III
Pope Callixtus III (31 December 1378 – 6 August 1458) (Catalan: Calixt III, Spanish: Calixto III), né Alfons de Borja, was Pope from 8 April 1455 to his death in 1458.
Alfonso de Borja was born in La Torreta, now a neighbourhood of Canals, Valencia – today in Spain – but at that time in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon. He was the son of Domingo de Borja and Francina Llançol. During the western schism he supported Antipope Benedict XIII, and was the driving force behind Antipope Clement VIII's submission to Pope Martin V in 1429. His early career was spent as a professor of law at the University of Lleida and then as a diplomat in the service of the Kings of Aragon, especially during the Council of Basel (1431–1439). He became a cardinal after reconciling Pope Eugene IV with King Alfonso V of Aragon.
He was raised to the papal chair in 1455 as Callixtus III at a very advanced age, as a "compromise candidate" in the papal conclave that year. He is viewed by historians as being feeble and incompetent. In 1456, he issued the papal bull Inter Caetera to Portugal (not to be confused with Inter Caetera of 1493). This bull reaffirmed the Portuguese right to reduce infidels and the Moors to servitude by the earlier bulls Romanus Pontifex and Dum Diversas, thus reaffirming the papal consent to the enslavement of Africans. This confirmation of Romanus Pontifex also gave the Portuguese the military Order of Christ under Prince Henry the Navigator.
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Pope Celestine I
Pope Saint Celestine I was elevated to the papacy in the year 422, on 3 November according to the Liber Pontificalis, but on 10 April according to Tillemont.
Celestine I was a Roman from the region of Campania. Nothing is known of his early history except that his father's name was Priscus. He is said to have lived for a time at Milan with St. Ambrose. The first known record of him is in a document of Pope Innocent I from the year 416, where he is spoken of as "Celestine the Deacon".
Various portions of the liturgy are attributed to him, but without any certainty on the subject. Though he did not attend personally, he sent delegates to the First Council of Ephesus of 431, in which the Nestorians were condemned. Four letters written by him on that occasion, all dated 15 March 431, together with a few others, to the African bishops, to those of Illyria, of Thessalonica, and of Narbonne, are extant in re-translations from the Greek; the Latin originals having been lost.
St. Celestine actively condemned the Pelagians and was zealous for orthodoxy. He sent Palladius to Ireland to serve as a bishop in 431. Bishop Patricius (Saint Patrick) continued this missionary work. Pope Celestine strongly opposed the Novatians in Rome; as Socrates Scholasticus writes, "this Celestinus took away the churches from the Novatians at Rome also, and obliged Rusticula their bishop to hold his meetings secretly in private houses." He was zealous in refusing to tolerate the smallest innovation on the constitutions of his predecessors. As St. Vincent of Lerins reported in 434:
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Pope Celestine II
Pope Celestine II (died 8 March 1144), born Guido di Castello, was pope from 1143 to 1144.
Guido di Castello, possibly the son of a local noble, Niccolo di Castello, was born either in Città di Castello, situated in Paterna Santa Felicità upon the Apennines, or at Macerata in the March of Ancona.
Guido had studied under Pierre Abélard, and eventually became a distinguished master in the schools. Eventually Guido began his career in Rome as a subdeacon and a scriptor apostolicus under Pope Callixtus II. He was created Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Via Lata by Pope Honorius II in 1127; as such, he signed the papal bulls issued between 3 April 1130 and 21 December 1133. In the double papal election of 1130 he joined the obedience of Pope Innocent II. In December 1133 Innocent promoted him to the rank of Cardinal-Priest of San Marco. He signed the papal bulls as S.R.E. indignus sacerdos between 11 January 1134 and 16 May 1143. As the cardinal of San Marco’s, he supported Innocent’s claims with regards to Monte Cassino, and as a mark of his confidence in him, Innocent made Guido the rector of Benevento. Afterwards, he made him a papal legate to France in 1140.
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Pope Celestine III
Pope Celestine III (ca. 1106 – 8 January 1198), born Giacinto Bobone, was elected Pope on 21 March 1191 and reigned until his death. He was born into the noble Orsini family in Rome, though he was only a cardinal deacon before becoming Pope. He was ordained a priest on 13 April 1191, ruled the church six years, nine months, and nine days before he died on 8 January 1198. He was buried at the Lateran.
Considered by the Curia as an expert on Spain, Giacinto conducted two legatine missions to Spain in (1154–55) and (1172–75) as Cardinal Deacon of St.Maria at Cosmedin.
He crowned the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI on the day after his election in 1191 with a ceremony symbolizing his absolute supremacy, as described by Roger of Hoveden. He subsequently excommunicated the same Henry VI for wrongfully keeping King Richard I of England in prison. He placed Pisa under an interdict, which was lifted by his successor Innocent III in 1198. He condemned King Alfonso IX of León for his marriage to Teresa of Portugal on the grounds of consanguinity. Then, in 1196, he excommunicated Alfonso IX for making peace with the Muslims while making war on Castile. Following the marriage between Alfonso and Berenguela of Castile, Celestine excommunicated Alfonso and placed an interdict over León.
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Pope Celestine IV
Pope Celestine IV (died 10 November 1241), born Goffredo da Castiglione, was pope from 25 October 1241 until his death.
Born in Milan, Goffredo or Godfrey is often referred to as son of a sister of Pope Urban III, but this claim is without foundation. Nothing is known of his early life until he became chancellor of the church of Milan (perhaps as early as 1219, certainly in 1223–27). Pope Gregory IX made him a cardinal on 18 September 1227 [1] with the cure of San Marco, and in 1228–29 sent him as legate in Lombardy and Tuscany, where the cities and communes had generally remained true to the Hohenstaufen emperor, Frederick II. He was dispatched in an attempt to bring these territories around to the curial side, but without success. In 1238 he was made cardinal bishop of Sabina.
The papal election of 1241 that elevated Celestine to the papal chair was held under stringent conditions that hastened his death. The papal curia was disunited over the violent struggle to bring the Emperor and King of Sicily Frederick II to heel. One group of cardinals favored the ambitious schemes of the Gregorian Reform and aimed to humble Frederick as a papal vassal. Frederick, however, controlled as his unwilling guests in Tivoli two cardinals whom he had captured at sea, and in Rome Cardinal Giovanni Colonna was his ally, largely because the curia was in the hands of the Colonna archenemy, the senator Matteo Rosso Orsini. The latter held the consistory immured under his guards in the ramshackle palace of the Septizodium, where rains leaked through the roof of their chamber, mingled with the urine of Orsini's guards on the rooftiles. One of the cardinals fell ill and died.
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Pope Celestine V
Pope Saint Celestine V (1215 – 19 May 1296), born Pietro Angelerio (according to some sources Angelario, Angelieri, Angelliero, or Angeleri), also known as Pietro da Morrone, was elected Pope in the year 1294 in the last non-conclave papal election in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. He is notable for having abdicated the papacy. No subsequent pope has taken the name Celestine.
According to tradition, Pietro Angelerio was born to parents Angelo Angelerio and Maria Leone in a town called Sant'Angelo Limosano, in the Kingdom of Sicilia (Sicily). Sant'Angelo Limosano is now part of Provincia di Campobasso, in Molise, Italy.
After his father's death he began working in the fields. His mother Maria was a key figure in Pietro's spiritual development: she imagined a different future for her deeply-beloved son than becoming just a farmer or a shepherd. From the time he was a child, he showed great intelligence and love for others. He became a Benedictine monk at Faifoli in the Diocese of Benevento when he was 17. He showed an extraordinary disposition toward asceticism and solitude, and in 1239 retired to a solitary cavern on the mountain Morrone, whence his name. Five years later he left this retreat, and went with two companions, to a similar cave on the Mountain of Maiella in the Abruzzi region of central Italy, where he lived as strictly as possible according to the example of St. John the Baptist. There are accounts of the severity of his penitential practices. While living like this he founded, in 1244, the order subsequently named after him, the Celestines.
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Pope Clement I
Pope Clement I (fl. 96), also known as Saint Clement of Rome (in Latin, Clemens Romanus), is listed from an early date as a Bishop of Rome. He was the first Apostolic Father of the Church.
Few details are known about Clement's life. According to Tertullian, Clement was consecrated by Saint Peter, and he is known to have been a leading member of the church in Rome in the late 1st century. Early church lists place him as the second or third bishop of Rome after Saint Peter. The Liber Pontificalis presents a list that makes Pope Linus the second in the line of bishops of Rome, with Peter as first; but at the same time it states that Peter ordained two bishops, Linus and Pope Cletus, for the priestly service of the community, devoting himself instead to prayer and preaching, and that it was to Clement that he entrusted the Church as a whole, appointing him as his successor. Tertullian too makes Clement the immediate successor of Peter. And while in one of his works Jerome gives Clement as "the fourth bishop of Rome after Peter" (not in the sense of fourth successor of Peter, but fourth in a series that included Peter), he adds that "most of the Latins think that Clement was second after the apostle". Clement is put after Linus and Cletus/Anacletus in the earliest (c. 180) account, that of Irenaeus, who is followed by Eusebius of Caesarea. The meaning of these early reports is unclear, given the lack of evidence for monarchical episcopacy in Rome at so early a date.
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Pope Clement II
Pope Clement II (died October 1047), was Pope from 25 December 1046 until his death. He was the first in a series of reform-minded popes from Germany.
Born in Hornburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, he was the son of Count Konrad of Morsleben and Hornburg and his wife Amulrad.
In 1040, he became Bishop of Bamberg. In 1046, he accompanied King Henry III on his campaign to Italy and in December, participated in the Council of Sutri, which deposed former Popes Benedict IX and Sylvester III and persuaded Pope Gregory VI to resign. King Henry nominated Suidger for the papacy and the council elected him. Suidger took the name Clement II. Immediately after his election, King Henry and the new Pope moved to Rome, where Clement crowned Henry III as Holy Roman Emperor.
Clement II's short pontificate, starting with the Roman synod of 1047, initiated an improvement in the state of affairs within the Roman Church, particularly by enacting decrees against simony. A dispute for precedence among the Sees of Ravenna, Milan, and Aquileia was settled in favour of Ravenna.
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Pope Clement III
Pope Clement III (1130 – 20 March 1191), born Paulino (or Paolo) Scolari, was elected Pope on 19 December 1187 and reigned until his death.
A Roman by birth, Pope Alexander III appointed him in succession Archpriest of the patriarchal Liberian Basilica, Cardinal-deacon of Sergio e Bacco, and finally Cardinal bishop of Palestrina in December 1180. He appears as signatory of the papal bulls issued between 15 October 1179 and 11 December 1187.[citation needed]
Shortly after his accession at the conclusion of the papal election of December 1187, Clement succeeded in allaying the conflict which had existed for half a century between the Popes and the citizens of Rome, with an agreement by which the citizens were allowed to elect their magistrates, while the nomination of the governor of the city remained in the hands of the Pope. On 31 May 1188 he concluded a treaty with the Romans which removed long standing difficulties, thus returning the Papacy to Rome.
Clement also inherited a depleted college of cardinals, consisting of no more than twenty cardinals. He orchestrated three series of promotions (March 1188, May 1189 and October 1190) that resulted in over thirty new cardinals.
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Pope Clement IV
Pope Clement IV (23 November 1190/1200 – 29 November 1268), born Gui Faucoi called in later life le Gros (Guy Foulques the Fat; Italian: Guido Fulcodi il Grosso), was Pope from 5 February 1265 until his death. He was elected in an election held at Perugia that lasted four months while cardinals argued over whether to call in Charles of Anjou, the youngest brother of King Louis IX of France to carry on the papal war against the imperial house of Hohenstaufen.
Guy was born in Saint-Gilles-du-Gard in the Languedoc region of France. After reaching adulthood, he was an unlikely candidate for holy orders: widowed and the father of two young women before taking orders, he was successively a soldier and a lawyer, and in the latter capacity had acted as secretary to King Louis IX, to whose influence he was chiefly indebted for his elevation to the cardinalate. Upon the death of his wife, he followed his father's example and gave up secular life for the Church. His rise was rapid: in 1257, he was appointed Bishop of Le Puy; in 1259, he was appointed Archbishop of Narbonne; and in December 1261, he became the first cardinal created by Pope Urban IV, for the See of Sabina. He was the papal legate in England between 1262 and 1264. He was named grand penitentiary in 1263.
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Pope Clement IX
Pope Clement IX (28 January 1600 – 9 December 1669), born Giulio Rospigliosi, was Pope from 1667 to 1669.
Born Giulio Rospigliosi to a noble family of Pistoia, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, he was a pupil of the Jesuits. After receiving his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Pisa, he taught theology there. Later Rospigliosi worked closely with Pope Urban VIII (1623–1644), a Barberini Pope, where he worked in the Papal diplomacy as nuncio to Spain, among other posts. He was also made vicar of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.
Rospigliosi was an accomplished man of letters, who wrote poetry, dramas and libretti, as well as what may be the first comic opera[citation needed]. He was also a patron of Nicolas Poussin, commissioning A Dance to the Music of Time from him and dictating its iconography.
During the reign of Pope Innocent X (1644–55), who was hostile to the Barberini and their adherents, Rospigliosi continued his appointment as papal nuncio to the court of Spain. After the accession of Pope Alexander VII (1655–67), he once again enjoyed papal favour. In 1657 he was named Cardinal-Priest of San Sisto and Secretary of State. After Alexander VII's death in 1667, an 18-day papal conclave concluded with Rospigliosi's election as Pope. Upon his succession, he took the name Clement IX.
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Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V, born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled de Guoth and de Goth) (c. 1264 – 20 April 1314) was Pope from 1305 to his death. He is memorable in history for suppressing the order of the Knights Templar and executing some of its members, and as the Pope who moved the Curia from Rome to Avignon, ushering in the period known as the Avignon Papacy.
Born in Villandraut, Aquitaine, Bertrand was canon and sacristan of the Cathedral of Saint-André in Bordeaux, then vicar-general to his brother, the Archbishop of Lyon, who in 1294 was created Cardinal-Bishop of Albano. He was then made Bishop of St-Bertrand-de-Comminges, the cathedral church of which he was responsible for greatly enlarging and embellishing, and chaplain to Pope Boniface VIII, who made him Archbishop of Bordeaux in 1297.
Following the death of Benedict XI in 1304, there was a year's interregnum occasioned by disputes between the French and Italian cardinals, who were nearly equally balanced in the conclave, which had to be held at Perugia. Bertrand was elected Pope Clement V in June 1305 and consecrated on 14 November. Bertrand was neither Italian nor a cardinal, and his election might have been considered a gesture towards neutrality. The contemporary chronicler Giovanni Villani reports gossip that he had bound himself to King Philip IV of France by a formal agreement before his elevation, made at St. Jean d'Angély in Saintonge. Whether this was true or not, it is likely that the future pope had conditions laid down for him by the conclave of cardinals. At Bordeaux, Bertrand was formally notified of his election and urged to come to Italy, but he selected Lyon for his coronation on 14 November 1305, which was celebrated with magnificence and attended by Philip IV. Among his first acts was the creation of nine French cardinals.
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Pope Clement VI
Pope Clement VI (1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, the fourth of the Avignon Popes, was pope from May 1342 until his death in December of 1352. Clement is most notable as the Pope who reigned during the time of the Black Death (1348–1350), during which he granted remission of sins to all that died of the plague.
Clement was born in the village of Maumont, today part of the commune of Rosiers-d'Égletons, Corrèze, in Limousin, the son of the wealthy lord of Rosiers-d'Égletons.
He entered the Benedictine order as a boy, studied at the College de Sorbonne in Paris, and became successively prior of St. Baudil, Abbot of Fécamp, Bishop of Arras, Chancellor of France, Archbishop of Sens and Archbishop of Rouen. He was made cardinal-priest of Santi Nereo e Achilleo and administrator of the bishopric of Avignon by Benedict XII in 1338 and was chosen to succeed him as pope at the papal conclave of 1342.
Like his immediate predecessors, he was devoted to France, and he demonstrated his French sympathies by refusing a solemn invitation to return to Rome from the city's people, as well as from the poet Petrarch. He threw a sop to the Romans, however, by reducing the Jubilee term from one hundred years to fifty. He also purchased the sovereignty of Avignon from Queen Joan I of Naples for 80,000 crowns.
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Pope Clement VII
Clement VII (26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534), born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, was a cardinal from 1513 to 1523 and was Pope from 1523 to 1534.
He was born in Florence one month after his father's death. His father, Giuliano de' Medici, had been assassinated. Although his parents had not had a formal marriage, a canon law loophole allowing for the parents to have been betrothed per sponsalia de presenti meant that Giulio was considered legitimate. He was thus the nephew of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who educated him in his youth. Clement's mother, Fioretta Gorini, also died leaving him an orphan.
Giulio was made a Knight of Rhodes and Grand Prior of Capua, and, upon the election of his cousin Giovanni de' Medici to the pontificate as Leo X (1513–21), he soon became a powerful figure in Rome. Upon his cousin's accession to the papacy, Giulio became his principal minister and confidant, especially in the maintenance of the Medici interest at Florence as archbishop of that city. On 23 September 1513, he was made cardinal and he was consecrated on 29 September. He had the credit of being the main director of papal policy during the whole of Leo X's pontificate, especially as cardinal protector of England. He was also the titular Bishop of Worcester in the county of Worcestershire in England as Administrator or the See of Worcester.
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Pope Clement VIII
Pope Clement VIII (24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was Pope from 30 January 1592 to 3 March 1605.
He was made Cardinal-Priest of S. Pancrazio in 1585 by Pope Gregory XIII. Pope Sixtus V named him major penitentiary in January 1586 and in 1588 sent him as legate in Poland. He placed himself under the direction of the reformer Philip Neri, who for thirty years was his confessor. Aldobrandini won the gratitude of the Habsburgs by his successful diplomatic efforts in Poland to obtain the release of the imprisoned Archduke Maximilian, the defeated claimant to the Polish throne.
After the death of Pope Innocent IX (1591), another stormy conclave ensued, where a determined minority of Italian Cardinals were unwilling to be dictated to by Philip II of Spain. Cardinal Aldobrandini's election on 30 January 1592, was received as a portent of more balanced and liberal Papal policy in European affairs. He took the non-politicised name Clement VIII. He proved to be an able Pope, with an unlimited capacity for work and a lawyer's eye for detail, and a wise statesman, the general object of whose policy was to free the Papacy from its dependence upon Spain.
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Pope Clement X
Pope Clement X (13 July 1590 – 22 July 1676), born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was Pope from 29 April 1670 to 22 July 1676.
Emilio Altieri was born in Rome, the son of Lorenzo Altieri and Victoria Delphini, a Venetian lady. The Altieri family belonged to the ancient Roman nobility and had enjoyed the highest consideration at Rome for several centuries; they had occasionally contracted alliances with the Colonnas and the Orsinis. During earlier pontificates, Altieri held many important offices and had been entrusted with several delicate missions.
After finishing his studies, Altieri was named auditor of Giovanni Battista Lancellotti in 1623, in the nunciature of Poland. On his return to Rome, he was named Bishop of Camerino, then governor of Loreto and of all Umbria. Pope Urban VIII (1623–44) gave him charge of the works designed to protect the territory of Ravenna from the unruly Po River.
Pope Innocent X (1644–55) sent him as nuncio to Naples, where he remained for eight years. He is credited with the re-establishment of peace after the stormy days of Masaniello. Pope Alexander VII (1655–67) confided to him a mission to Poland.
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Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI (23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was Pope from 1700 until his death in 1721.
Albani was born in Urbino, into a noble family that had established itself there from northern Albania in the 15th century and were originally soldiers of Scanderbeg against the Ottoman Empire. During his reign as a Pope the famous Illyricum Sacrum was commissioned, and today it is one of the main sources of the field of Albanology, with over 5000 pages divided in several volumes written by Daniele Farlati and Dom. Coletti.
He was governor of Rieti and Urbino, and was created Cardinal-Deacon of S. Maria in Aquiro by Pope Alexander VIII. He succeeded as Pope on 23 November 1700.
Soon after his accession, the War of Spanish Succession broke out.
Despite initially holding an ambiguous neutrality, Clement was later forced to name Charles, Archduke of Austria, as King of Spain, since the imperial army had conquered much of northern Italy and was threatening Rome itself (January 1709).
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Pope Clement XII
Pope Clement XII (7 April 1652 – 6 February 1740), born Lorenzo Corsini, was Pope from 12 July 1730 to 6 February 1740.
Born in Florence, the son of Bartolomeo Corsini, Marquis of Casigliano and his wife Isabella Strozzi, sister of the Duke of Bagnuolo, Corsini had been an aristocratic lawyer and financial manager under preceding pontiffs. He is known for building the new façade of the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, beginning construction of the Trevi Fountain, and the purchase of Cardinal Alessandro Albani's collection of antiquities for the papal gallery. He was created Cardinal-Priest of Santa Susanna in 1706.
Under Pope Benedict XIII (1724–30), the finances of the Papal States had been delivered into the hands of Cardinal Niccolò Coscia and other members of the curia, who had drained the financial resources of the see. After deliberating for four months, the College of Cardinals selected Corsini, 78 years old and with failing eyesight, who had held all the important offices of the Roman Curia. Clement XII was one of the oldest men to be elected Pope.
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Pope Clement XIII
Pope Clement XIII (7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was Pope from 16 July 1758 to 2 February 1769.
He was born to a recently ennobled family of Venice, received a Jesuit education in Bologna and became a Cardinal-Deacon of San Nicola in Carcere in 1737. Previously he had filled various important posts in the Curia and had been bishop of Padua since 1743; during his tenure as bishop of Padua he visited all the parishes in the diocese, the first bishop to do that for 50 years. He became pope on 6 July 1758. In the same year the Rezzonico family were celebrating Ludovico Rezzonico's marriage into the powerful Savorgnan family. The son of the man who bought the unfinished palace on the Grand Canal (now Ca' Rezzonico) and finished its construction, Carlo the pontiff was notorious for his rampant nepotism.
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Pope Clement XIV
Pope Clement XIV (31 October 1705 – 22 September 1774), born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was Pope from 1769 to 1774. At the time of his election, he was the only Franciscan friar in the College of Cardinals.
Ganganelli was born in Santarcangelo di Romagna. He received his education from the Jesuits at Rimini and the Piarists of Urbino, and in 1724, at the age of nineteen, entered the Order of Friars Minor Conventual of St. Francis with the Franciscan name of Lorenzo Francesco. In 1741 he was made definitor generalis of the order (Catholic Encyclopedia). Ganganelli became a friend of Pope Benedict XIV (1740–58). In 1758 he was appointed by that Pope to investigate the issue of the traditional blood libel regarding the Jews, which he found to be untrue [1]. Pope Clement XIII (1758–69) appointed him Cardinal-Priest of San Lorenzo in Panisperna in 1759, at the insistence of Lorenzo Ricci, the General of the Jesuits.
Ganganelli was elected Pope Clement XIV on 19 May 1769 and was installed on 4 June 1769, after a conclave that had been sitting since 15 February 1769, heavily influenced by the political manoeuvres of the ambassadors of Catholic sovereigns who were opposed to the Jesuits. Some of the pressure was subtle: for an unprecedented impromptu visit to the conclave by Emperor Joseph II (1765–90) and his brother Leopold, Grand Duke of Tuscany, officially incognito, the seals were broken, the Austrians inspected the proceedings with great interest and brought with them a festive banquet. During the previous pontificate the Jesuits had been expelled from Portugal and from all the Bourbon courts: France, Spain, Naples, and Parma; now the general suppression of the order was urged by the faction called the "court cardinals", who were opposed by the diminished pro-Jesuit faction, the Zelanti ("zealous"), who were generally opposed to the encroaching secularism of the Enlightenment.
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Pope Conon
Pope Conon (c. 630 – 21 September 687) was Pope from 21 October 686 until his death in Rome. He had been put forward as a compromise candidate, there being a conflict between the two factions resident in Rome—military and clerical. On his death, Conon was buried in the Patriarchal Basilica of St. Peter.
Conon was apparently the son of an officer in the Thracian troop. He was educated in Sicily then ordained priest at Rome. His age, venerable appearance, and simple character caused the clergy and soldiery of Rome, who were in disagreement, to put aside their respective candidates and to elect him as pope. He was consecrated on 21 October 686 after notice of his election had been sent to the Exarch of Ravenna, or after it had been confirmed by him.
He received the Irish missionaries Saint Kilian and his companions, consecrated Kilian bishop, and commissioned him and the others to preach the faith in Franconia. (Vita S. Kiliani, in Canisius, Lect. Antiquæ, III, 175–180.) He was in favour with Byzantine Emperor Justinian II, who informed him that he had recovered the Acts of the Third Council of Constantinople, by which, the Emperor wrote, it was his intention to abide. Justinian also remitted certain taxes and dues owing to the imperial exchequer from several papal patrimonies.
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Pope Constantine
Pope Constantine (664 – 9 April 715) was pope from 708 to 715. With the exception of Antipope Constantine, he was the only pope to take such a "quintessentially" Eastern name of an emperor. During this period, the regnal name was also used by emperors and patriarchs.
Selected as one of the last popes of the Byzantine Papacy, the defining moment of Constantine's pontificate was his 710/711 visit to Constantinople where he compromised with Justinian II on the Trullan canons of the Quinisext Council. Constantine was the last pope to visit Constantinople until Pope Paul VI did again in 1967.
Constantine was an Assyrian by birth, fluent in the Greek language and immersed in Eastern rituals and practices. By his upbringing, he would have been "fully at ease in the oriental milieu of the early-eight-century Byzantine court".
Before his selection as pope, he had visited Constantinople twice. He was one of the Roman legates to the Third Council of Constantinople there in 680/681. He also delivered a combative letter from Pope Leo II to Constantine IV in 682. He met and developed a rapport with Prince Justinian, the heir apparent to the Byzantine throne, on both occasions.
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Pope Cornelius
Pope Cornelius was pope from his election on 6 or 13 March 251 to his martyrdom in June 253.
Emperor Decius, who ruled from 249 to 251 AD, persecuted Christians in the Roman Empire rather sporadically and locally, but starting January in the year 250, he ordered all citizens to perform a religious sacrifice in the presence of commissioners, or else face death. Many Christians refused and were martyred, including the pope, St Fabian, on 20 January, while others partook in the sacrifices in order to save their own lives. Two schools of thought arose after the persecution. One side, led by Novatian, who was a priest in the diocese of Rome, believed that those who had stopped practicing Christianity during the persecution could not be accepted back into the church even if they repented. Under this philosophy, the only way to re-enter the church would be re-baptism. The opposing side, including Cornelius and Cyprian the Bishop of Carthage, did not believe in the need for re-baptism. Instead they thought that the sinners should only need to show contrition and true repentance to be welcomed back into the church. In hopes that Christianity would fade away, Decius prevented the election of a new pope. However, soon afterwards Decius was forced to leave the area to fight the invading Goths and while he was away the elections for pope were held. In the 14 months without a pope, the leading candidate, Moses, had died under the persecution. Novatian believed that he would be elected, however Cornelius was unwillingly elected the twenty-first pope in March 251.
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Pope Damasus I
Pope Saint Damasus I ( /ˈdæməsəs/ DAM-əs-əs) was the bishop of Rome from 366 to 384.
He was born around 305, probably near the city of Idanha-a-Velha (in Lusitania, Hispania), in what is present-day Portugal, then part of the Western Roman Empire. His life coincided with the rise of Emperor Constantine I and the reunion and re-division of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires, which is associated with the widespread legitimization of Christianity and the later adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman state.
Damasus is known to have been raised in the service of the Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls in Rome, and following the death of Pope Liberius, he succeeded to the papacy amidst factional violence. A group of Damasus' supporters, previously loyal to his opponent Felix, attacked and killed rivals loyal to Liberius' deacon Ursinus in a riot that required the intervention of Emperor Valentinian I to quell.
Damasus faced accusations of murder and adultery (despite having not been married) in his early years as pope. The neutrality of these claims have come into question with some suggesting that the accusations were motivated by the schismatic conflict with the supporters of Arianism. His personal problems were contrasted with his religious accomplishments, which included restoring Saint Lawrence outside the Walls, encouraging his personal secretary Saint Jerome in his Vulgate translation of the Bible, and presiding over the Council of Rome in 382, which set down the canon of Scripture. He also did much to encourage the veneration of the Christian martyrs.
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Pope Damasus II
Pope Damasus II (died 9 August 1048), born Poppo, was Pope from 17 July 1048 to 9 August 1048, the second of the German pontiffs nominated by Emperor Henry III. A native of Bavaria, he was the third German to become Pope and had one of the shortest papal reigns. His original name was Poppo, and he was bishop of Brixen when the Emperor raised him to the papacy.
Given the display of imperial power Henry III had inflicted on the Romans in intervening against Pope Gregory VI and installing Clement II, it is not surprising that on Christmas Day of 1047, an emissary was sent by the Roman people bringing news of Clement II's death to Henry III and asking him, in his position as Patricius of the Romans, to appoint a successor. Henry had been engaged in an indecisive campaign in Frisia, and was in his palace at Pöhlde in Saxony when the embassy found him. The envoys, according to their instructions, suggested as a suitable candidate the handsome Halinard, Archbishop of Lyon, who was a fluent speaker of Italian, and was well respected in Rome.
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Pope Dionysius
Pope Saint Dionysius was pope from 22 July 259 to 26 December 268.
He may have been born in Magna Græcia, but this has not been verified. Dionysius was elected pope in 259, after the martyrdom of Sixtus II in 258. The Holy See had been vacant for nearly a year due to difficulty in electing a new pope during the violent persecution which Christians faced. When the persecution had begun to subside, Dionysius was raised to the office of Bishop of Rome. Emperor Valerian I, who had led the persecution, was captured and killed by the King of Persia in 260. The new emperor, Gallienus, issued an edict of toleration, bringing the persecution of Christians to an end and giving the Church legal status. To the new pope fell the task of reorganizing the Roman church, which had fallen into great disorder. On the protest of some of the faithful at Alexandria, he demanded from the bishop of Alexandria, also called Dionysius, explanations concerning his doctrine regarding the relation of God to the Logos, which was satisfied.
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Pope Donus
Pope Donus was Pope from 2 November 676 to 11 April 678.
He was the son of a Roman named Mauricius. Not much is known of this pope.
While he was Pope, he had the enclosed forecourt of St. Peter's Basilica paved, had the atrium (or quadrangle) in front of St. Peter's paved with great blocks of white marble, and restored other churches of Rome, notably the church of St. Euphemia on the Appian Way and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.
During the pontificate of Donus, Reparatus, the Archbishop of Ravenna, returned to the obedience of the Holy See, thus ending the schism created by Archbishop Maurus, who had aimed at making Ravenna autocephalous.
During the reign of Donus, a colony of Nestorian monks was discovered in a Syrian monastery at Rome — the Monasterium Boetianum. Donus is reported to have dispersed them through the various religious houses of the city and to have given their monastery to Roman monks.
Relations with Constantinople at the time of Donus' reign tended towards the conciliatory.
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Pope Eleuterus
Pope Saint Eleuterus, or Eleutherius, (Greek: Ελευθέριος) was Bishop of Rome from about 174 to 189 (the Vatican cites 171 or 177 to 185 or 193). He was born in Nicopolis in Epirus. His name is Greek for free.
His contemporary Hegesippus wrote that he was a deacon of the Roman Church under Pope Anicetus (c. 154–164), and remained so under Pope Soter, whom he succeeded in about 174.
The Montanist movement, which originated in Asia Minor, made its way to Rome and Gaul in the second half of the 2nd century, around the reign of Eleuterus. Its nature did not diverge so much from the orthodoxy of the time for it to initially be labeled heresy. During the violent persecution at Lyon, in 177, local confessors wrote from their prison concerning the new movement to the Asiatic and Phrygian communities, and also to Pope Eleuterus. The bearer of their letter to the pope was the presbyter Irenaeus, soon to become Bishop of Lyon. It appears from statements of Eusebius concerning these letters that the Christians of Lyon, though opposed to the Montanist movement, advocated patience and pleaded for the preservation of ecclesiastical unity.
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Pope Eugene I
Pope Saint Eugene I or Eugenius I, was pope from 10 August 654 to 1 June 657.
He was a native of Rome, born to one Rufinianus. He was elected pope on 10 August 654, ascended in 655, and died on 1 June 657 of natural causes.
Little is known of Pope Eugene's early life other than that he was a Roman from the Aventine and was known for his holiness, gentleness, and charity. He had been a cleric from his youth and held various positions within the Church of Rome.
On the banishment of Pope Martin I by Byzantine Empire Constans II, he showed greater deference than his predecessor to the emperor's wishes and made no public stand against the Monothelitism of the patriarchs of Constantinople.
Martin I was carried off from Rome on 18 June 653 and was kept in exile until his death in September 655. Little is known about what happened in Rome after Pope Martin's departure, but it was typical in those days for the Holy See to be governed by the archpriest and archdeacon.
After a year and two months, a successor was found to Martin in Eugene.
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Pope Eugene II
Pope Eugene II (in Latin: Eugenius II), pope (824–827), a native of Rome, was chosen to succeed Paschal I. Another candidate, Zinzinnus, was proposed by the plebeian faction, and the presence of Lothair I, son of the Frankish emperor Louis the Pious, was necessary in order to maintain the authority of the new pope. Lothair took advantage of this opportunity to redress many abuses in the papal administration, to vest the election of the pope in the nobles, and to confirm the statute that no pope should be consecrated until his election had the approval of the Frankish emperor.
He was elected pope on 6 June 824 after the death of Paschal I. The late pope had attempted to curb the rapidly increasing power of the Roman nobility, who had turned for support to the Franks to strengthen their positions against him. When Paschal died, these nobles made strenuous efforts to replace him with a candidate of their own; and despite the fact that the clergy put forward a candidate likely to continue the policy of Paschal, the nobles were successful in their attempt. They secured the consecration of Eugene, who was the archpriest of St Sabina on the Aventine, although by a decree of the Roman Council of 769, under Stephen IV, they had no right to a real share in a papal election. Their candidate is stated in earlier editions of the Liber Pontificalis to have been the son of Boemund, but in the more recent and more accurate editions his father's name is not given. While archpriest of the Roman Church, he is credited with having fulfilled most conscientiously the duties of his position. After he became pope, he beautified his ancient church of St. Sabina with mosaics and metalwork bearing his name that were still intact as late as the 16th century. Eugene is described by his biographer as simple and humble, learned and eloquent, handsome and generous, a lover of peace, and wholly occupied with the thought of doing what was pleasing to God.
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Pope Eugene III
Pope Blessed Eugene III (died 8 July 1153), born Bernardo da Pisa, was Pope from 1145 to 1153. He was the first Cistercian to become Pope.
Bernardo was born in Pisa, but little is known about his origins and family except that he was son of a certain Godius. From the 16th century he is commonly identified as member of the family of Paganelli di Montemagno, which belonged to the Pisan aristocracy, but this has not been proven and contradicts earlier testimonies that suggest he was a man of rather humble origins. In 1106 he was a canon of the cathedral chapter in Pisa and from 1115 is attested as subdeacon. 1133–1138 he acted as vicedominus of the archdiocese of Pisa. Between May 1134 and February 1137 he was ordained into the priesthood by Pope Innocent II, who resided at that time in Pisa. Under the influence of Bernard of Clairvaux he entered the Cistercian Order in the monastery of Clairvaux in 1138. A year later he returned to Italy as leader of the Cistercian community in Scandriglia. In Autumn 1140, Pope Innocent II named him abbot of the monastery of S. Anastasio alle Tre Fontane outside Rome. Some chronicles indicate that he was also elevated to the College of Cardinals, but these testimonies probably resulted from a confusion because Bernardo is not attested as cardinal in any document and from the letter of Bernard of Clairvaux addressed to the cardinals shortly after his election clearly appears that he was not a cardinal.
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Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV (1383 – 25 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was pope from 3 March 1431 until his death.
He was born in Venice to a rich merchant family, a Correr on his mother's side. Condulmer entered the Order of Saint Augustine at the monastery of St. George in his native city. At the age of twenty-four he was appointed by his uncle Pope Gregory XII as Bishop of Siena and came into prominence. In Siena, the political class objected to a 24-year old bishop who was a foreigner. Therefore, the issue was not pressed, and he resigned the appointment, becoming instead his uncle's papal treasurer, protonotary and Cardinal Priest of San Clemente. Pope Martin V named him Cardinal Priest of the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere.
He made himself useful to Pope Martin V and was quickly elected to succeed him in the papal conclave of 1431. He was crowned as Eugene IV at St. Peter's Basilica on 11 March 1431. By a written agreement made before his election he pledged to distribute to the cardinals one-half of all the revenues of the Church and promised to consult with them on all questions of importance, both spiritual and temporal. Upon assuming the papal chair, Eugene IV took violent measures against the numerous Colonna relatives of his predecessor Martin V, who had rewarded them with castles and lands. This at once involved him in a serious contest with the powerful house of Colonna that nominally supported the local rights of Rome against the interests of the Papacy. A truce was soon arranged.
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Pope Eusebius
Pope Saint Eusebius (from Greek Εὐσέβιος "pious", from eu (εὖ) "well" and sebein (σέβειν) "to respect") was pope in the year 309 or 310.
His pontificate lasted only from 18 April to 17 August, after which, in consequence of disturbances within the Church which led to acts of violence, he was banished by the emperor Maxentius, who had been the ruler of Rome since 306, and had at first shown himself friendly to the Christians. The difficulty arose, as in the case of his predecessor Pope Marcellus I, out of his attitude toward the lapsi, which represented the milder standpoint.
Eusebius died in exile in Sicily and was buried in the catacomb of Callixtus. Pope Damasus I placed an epitaph of eight hexameters over his tomb; the epithet "martyr" contained in them is not to be taken in the strict sense.
His feast is celebrated on 26 September.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Jackson, Samuel Macauley, ed. (1914). "article name needed". New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (third ed.). London and New York: Funk and Wagnalls.
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Pope Eutychian
Pope Saint Eutychian or Eutychianus was pope from 4 January 275 to 7 December 283 (according to the Annuario Pontificio of 2012).
His original epitaph was discovered in the catacomb of Callixtus (see Kraus, Roma sotterranea, p. 154 et seq.), but almost nothing more is known of him. Even the date of his reign is uncertain. Liber Pontificalis gives a reign of 8 years and 11 months, from 275 to 283. Eusebius, on the other hand says his reign was only 10 months.
He is said to have allowed the blessing of grapes and beans on the altar and to have buried 324 martyrs with his own hands. Some historians doubt these traditions, since there was no persecution after the death of Aurelian in 275 and blessing the produce of the fields is believed to belong to a later period.
His feast is kept on 8 December.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Pope St. Eutychianus". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.
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Pope Evaristus
Pope Saint Evaristus is accounted the fifth Pope, holding office from c. 99 to 107 AD or from 99 to 108. He was also known as Aristus.
Little is known about St Evaristus. According to the Liber Pontificalis, he came from a family of Hellenic Jewish origin. He was elected during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian, the time of the second general persecution.
Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical History IV, I, stated that Evaristus died in the 12th year of the reign of the Roman Emperor Trajan, after holding the office of bishop of the Romans for eight years.
It was once supposed that all the early Popes were martyrs. There is no confirmation of this in the case of Pope Evaristus, who is listed without that title in the Roman Martyrology, with a feast day on 26 October.
St Evaristus succeeded St Clement in the See of Rome during the reign of Trajan and governed the Church for about eight years, as the fourth successor of St. Peter. The Liber Pontificalis says that he was the son of a Hellenic Jew of Bethlehem, and, certainly incorrectly, that he divided Rome into several "titles" or Parishes, assigning a priest to each, and appointed seven deacons for the city. He is usually accorded the title of martyr, but his martyrdom is not proven. It is probable that St Evaristus was buried near St Peter's tomb in the Vatican. His feast day is celebrated on 26 October.
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Pope Fabian
Pope Fabian was Pope from 10 January 236 to 20 January 250, succeeding Pope Anterus.
Eusebius of Caesarea (Church History, VI. 29) relates how the Christians, having assembled in Rome to elect a new bishop, saw a dove alight upon the head of Fabian, a layman and stranger to the city, who was thus marked out for this dignity and was at once proclaimed bishop by acclamation, although there were several famous men among the candidates for the vacant position.
He is said to have baptized Philip the Arab and his son, to have done some building in the catacombs, to have improved the organization of the church in Rome, and to have appointed officials to register the deeds of the martyrs.
According to "later accounts, more or less trustworthy", Fabian sent out the "apostles to the Gauls" to Christianize Gaul after the persecutions under Emperor Decius had all but dissolved the small Christian communities. Fabian sent seven bishops from Rome to Gaul to preach the Gospel: Gatianus of Tours to Tours, Trophimus of Arles to Arles, Paul of Narbonne to Narbonne, Saturnin to Toulouse, Denis to Paris, Austromoine to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Clermont, and Saint Martial to Limoges. He also had the bodies of Hippolytus of Rome and Pope Pontian brought from Sardinia to Rome. He was martyred during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Decius and was one of the first to die on 20 January 250.
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Pope Felix I
Pope Saint Felix I was Pope from 5 January 269 to 30 December 274.
A Roman by birth, Felix was chosen as Pope on 5 January 269, in succession to Pope Dionysius, who had died on 26 December 268
Felix was the author of an important dogmatic letter on the unity of Christ's Person. He received the emperor Aurelian's aid in settling a theological dispute between the anti-Trinitarian Paul of Samosata, who had been deprived of the bishopric Antioch by a council of bishops for heresy and the orthodox Domnus, Paul's successor. Paul refused to give way, and in 272 the emperor Aurelian was asked to decide between the rivals. He ordered the church building to be given to the bishop who was "recognized by the bishops of Italy and of the city of Rome" (Felix). See Eusebius, Hist. Ecc. vii. 30.
The text of that letter was later interpolated by a follower of Apollinaris in the interests of his sect.
The notice about Felix in the Liber Pontificalis ascribes to him a decree that Masses should be celebrated on the tombs of martyrs ("Hic constituit supra memorias martyrum missas celebrare"). The author of this entry was evidently alluding to the custom of celebrating Mass privately at the altars near or over the tombs of the martyrs in the crypts of the catacombs (missa ad corpus), while the solemn celebration always took place in the basilicas built over the catacombs. This practice, still in force at the end of the fourth century, dates apparently from the period when the great cemeterial basilicas were built in Rome, and owes its origin to the solemn commemoration services of martyrs, held at their tombs on the anniversary of their burial, as early as the third century. Felix probably issued no such decree, but the compiler of the Liber Pontificalis attributed it to him because he made no departure from the custom in force in his time.
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Pope Felix III
Pope Saint Felix III (though as Antipope Felix the "II" was not actually pope, he could also be called "Pope St. Felix II") was pope from 13 March 483 to 3 January 492. His repudiation of the Henoticon is considered the beginning of the Acacian schism.
Felix was born into a Roman senatorial family and was a great-great-grandfather of Pope Gregory I. He was a widower with two children when he was elected to succeed Pope Simplicius in 483.
It is said that Felix appeared as an apparition to one of his descendants, his great-granddaughter Trasilla (an aunt of Pope Gregory I), and asked her to enter Heaven through death, and on the eve of Christmas Trasilla died, seeing Jesus Christ beckoning.
His first act was to repudiate the Henoticon, a deed of union originating with Patriarch Acacius of Constantinople and published by Emperor Zeno with the view of allaying the strife between the Miaphysite Christians and Chalcedonian Christians. He also addressed a letter of remonstrance to Acacius. The latter proved refractory and sentence of deposition was passed against Acacius.
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Pope Felix IV
Pope Saint Felix IV was pope from 526 to 530.
He came from Samnium, the son of one Castorius. Following the death of Pope John I at the hands of the Ostrogoth King Theodoric the Great, the papal voters gave in to the king's demands and chose Cardinal Felix as Pope. Felix's favor in the eyes of the king caused him to push for greater benefits for the Church.
He was elected after a gap of nearly two months after the death of John I.
During his reign, an Imperial edict was passed granting that cases against clergy should be dealt with by the Pope. He defined church teaching on grace and free will in response to a request of Faustus of Riez, in Gaul, on opposing Semi-Pelagianism.
Felix attempted to designate his own successor: Pope Boniface II. The reaction of the Senate was to forbid the discussion of a pope’s successor during his lifetime or to accept such a nomination.
The majority of the clergy reacted to Felix's activity by nominating Dioscorus as Pope. Only a minority supported Boniface.
Felix built the Santi Cosma e Damiano in the Imperial forums.
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Pope Formosus
Pope Formosus (c. 816 – 896) was Pope of the Catholic Church from 891 to 896. His brief reign as Pope was troubled, and his remains were exhumed and put on trial in the notorious Cadaver Synod.
Born at Ostia, he became Cardinal Bishop of Portus in 864. He undertook diplomatic missions to Bulgaria (866) and France (869 and 872), and he persuaded Charles the Bald, King of France, to be crowned as emperor by the Pope in 875.
As early as 872 he was a candidate for the papacy, but due to political complications he left Rome and the court of Pope John VIII that year. John convened a synod, and Formosus was ordered to return or be excommunicated on charges that he had aspired to the Bulgarian Archbishopric and the Holy See; had opposed the emperor and had deserted his diocese without papal permission; had despoiled the cloisters in Rome; had performed the divine service in spite of the interdict; and had "conspired with certain iniquitous men and women for the destruction of the papal see"[citation needed]. The condemnation of Formosus and others was announced in July 872. In 878 the sentence of excommunication was withdrawn after he promised never to return to Rome or exercise his priestly functions.
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Pope Gelasius I
Pope Saint Gelasius I (died 21 November 496) was pope from 492 until his death in 496. He was the third and last Bishop of Rome of Berber origin[citation needed] in the Catholic Church. Gelasius was a prolific writer whose style placed him on the cusp between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Gelasius had been closely employed by his predecessor Felix III, especially in drafting papal documents. His reign was characterized by a call for strict orthodoxy, a more assertive push for papal authority, and increasing tension between the churches in the West and the East.
Gelasius' election on 1 March 492 was a gesture for continuity: Gelasius inherited Felix's struggles with Eastern Roman Emperor Anastasius I and the patriarch of Constantinople and exacerbated them by insisting on the removal of the name of the late Acacius, patriarch of Constantinople, from the diptychs, in spite of every ecumenical gesture by the current, otherwise quite orthodox patriarch Euphemius (q.v. for details of the Acacian schism).
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Pope Gelasius II
Pope Gelasius II (died 29 January 1119), born Giovanni Caetani (also called Coniulo), was pope from 24 January 1118 to 29 January 1119.
He was born between 1060 and 1064 at Gaeta into the Pisan branch of the Caetani family.
He became a monk of Monte Cassino, was taken to Rome by Pope Urban II, and made papal subdeacon (August 1088) and cardinal deacon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin (probably on 23 September 1088). As chancellor of the Holy Roman Church from 1089 to 1118, he drastically reformed the papal administration, establishing a permanent staff of clerks for the papacy, overcoming the previous custom of relying on Roman notaries to write papal documents, and introducing the minuscule curial script. His tenure also established the precedent of the papal chancellor always being a cardinal and holding the office for life or until elected pope.
Shortly after his unanimous election to succeed Pope Paschal II in 1118, he was seized by Cencio II Frangipane, a partisan of Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, but was freed by a general uprising of the Romans on his behalf. Henry V sought to enforce the privilege of investiture to the papacy conceded to the emperor by Paschal II, but then revoked. He drove Gelasius II from Rome in March 1118, pronounced his election null and void, and set up Maurice Bourdin, Archbishop of Braga, as antipope under the name of Gregory VIII.
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Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I (Latin: Gregorius I) (c. 540 – 12 March 604), better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death. Gregory is well known for his writings, which were more prolific than those of any of his predecessors as pope.
Throughout the Middle Ages he was known as “the Father of Christian Worship” because of his exceptional efforts in revising the Roman worship of his day.
He is also known as St. Gregory the Dialogist in Eastern Orthodoxy because of his Dialogues. For this reason, English translations of Orthodox texts will sometimes list him as "Gregory Dialogus". He was the first of the popes to come from a monastic background. Gregory is a Doctor of the Church and one of the Latin Fathers. He is considered a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, and some Lutheran churches. Immediately after his death, Gregory was canonized by popular acclaim. The Protestant reformer, John Calvin, admired Gregory and declared in his Institutes that Gregory was the last good pope. He is the patron saint of musicians, singers, students, and teachers.
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Pope Gregory II
Pope Saint Gregory II was pope from 19 May 715 to his death on 11 February 731 in succession to Pope Constantine. Having, it is said, bought off the Lombards for thirty pounds of gold after Charles Martel refused his call for aid, he used the tranquillity thus obtained for vigorous missionary efforts among the Germanic tribes, and for strengthening the papal authority in the churches of Britain and Ireland. By excommunicating the Byzantine emperor Leo III the Isaurian in the course of the iconoclastic controversy of the Eastern Empire, he prepared the way for a long series of revolts and civil wars that tended greatly to the establishment of the temporal power of the popes. His public letter to the Emperor denied the Imperial right to interfere in matters of doctrine, the central tenet of Caesaropapism.
The name he selected was significant, expressing his intention to follow in the policies of Gregory the Great
He died in 731, and subsequently attained the honour of canonization. The day that Gregory is remembered in the "Martyrology" seems to be any one of 11 February, 13 February, and 28 February.
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Pope Gregory III
Pope Saint Gregory III (died 28 November 741) was pope from 11 February 731 to 28 November 741. His pontificate, like that of his predecessor, was disturbed by the iconoclastic controversy in the Byzantine Empire, and by the ongoing advance of the Lombards, in which he vainly invoked the intervention of Charles Martel.
Gregory, was the son of a Syrian named John. He was elected pope by popular acclamation on 11 February, 731, but was not formally consecrated as Bishop of Rome until 18 March after receiving the approval of the Byzantine exarch in Ravenna. He was the last pope to seek the exarch’s ratification of a papal election.
Upon his accession as pope, Gregory immediately appealed to the Byzantine Emperor Leo III to moderate his position on the iconoclastic controversy. When Gregory’s representative was arrested on the orders of the emperor, Gregory called a synod in November 731, which condemned iconoclasm outright. Leo responded by trying to bring the Pope under control, although the fleet he sent to enforce the imperial will was shipwrecked in the Adriatic Sea. He then proceeded to appropriate papal territories in Sicily and Calabria, and transferring ecclesiastical jurisdictions in the former Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum to the Patriarch of Constantinople. However, his attempt to force the Duke of Naples to enforce an imperial decree to confiscate papal territory in the duchy failed, as the duke was supportive of the pope’s stand.
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Pope Gregory IV
Pope Gregory IV was Pope from October 827 to 25 January 844. His pontificate was notable for the papacy’s attempts to intervene in the quarrels between the emperor Louis the Pious and his sons. It also saw the breakup of the Carolingian Empire in 843.
The son of a Roman patrician called John, Gregory was apparently an energetic but mild churchman, renowned for his learning. Consecrated a priest during the pontificate of Pope Paschal I, at the time of Pope Valentine’s death in 827, Gregory was the Cardinal priest of the Basilica of St Mark in Rome. Like his predecessor, Gregory was nominated by the nobility, and the electors unanimously agreed that he was the most worthy to become the Bishop of Rome. They found him at the Basilica of Saints Cosmas and Damian where, despite his protestations, he was taken and installed at the Lateran Palace, after which he was enthroned as Pope-elect sometime in October 827. Gregory’s elevation to the papal see is believed to represent a continuation of the attempts to control the local political situation in Rome which had begun during Pope Eugene II’s pontificate.
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Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX (c. 1145/70 – 22 August 1241), born Ugolino di Conti, was pope from 19 March 1227 until his death.
The successor of Pope Honorius III, he fully inherited the traditions of Pope Gregory VII and of his cousin Pope Innocent III, and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy.
Ugolino was born in Anagni. The date of his birth varies in sources between ca. 1145 and 1170.
He was created Cardinal-Deacon of the church of Sant'Eustachio by his cousin Innocent III in December 1198. In 1206 he was promoted to the rank of Cardinal Bishop of Ostia e Velletri. He became Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1218 or 1219. He was also Cardinal Protector of the Order of Franciscans.
As Cardinal Bishop of Ostia he cultivated a wide range of acqaintances, among them Queen of England at that time, Isabella of Angoulême.
After his elevation to the papal chair at the conclusion of the papal election of 1227, Gregory IX began his pontificate by suspending the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, then lying sick at Otranto, for dilatoriness in carrying out the promised Sixth Crusade. The suspension was followed by excommunication and threats of deposition, as deeper rifts appeared – Frederick II's control of the Sicilian Church, his feudal obligations to the Pope, even his continued presence in Sicily. Frederick II publicly appealed to the sovereigns of Europe complaining of his treatment. Frederick II went to the Holy Land and skirmished with the Saracens to fulfill his vow, but was soon back in Italy, where Gregory IX had taken advantage of his absence by invading his territories. A consequent invasion of the Papal states in 1228 having proved unsuccessful, the Emperor was constrained to give in his submission and beg for absolution.
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Pope Gregory V
Pope Gregory V, né Bruno of Carinthia (c. 972 – 18 February 999) was Pope from 3 May 996 to 18 February 999, a son of the Salian Otto I, Duke of Carinthia, who was a grandson of the Emperor Otto I the Great. Gregory V succeeded Pope John XV when only twenty-four years of age. He was the chaplain of his cousin Emperor Otto III, who presented him as candidate.
Gregory V was the first German Pope. Sometimes Pope Boniface II (530–532) is considered the first German Pope, although he was in fact an Ostrogoth.
Politically, Gregory V acted consistently as the Emperor's representative in Rome and granted many exceptional privileges to monasteries within the Holy Roman Empire. One of his first acts was to crown Otto III Emperor on 21 May 996. Together, they held a synod a few days after the coronation in which Arnulf, Archbishop of Reims, was ordered to be restored to his See of Reims, and Gerbert of Aurillac, the future Pope Silvester II, was condemned as an intruder. Robert II of France, who had been insisting on his right to appoint bishops, was ultimately forced to back down, and ultimately also to put aside his wife Bertha, by the rigorous enforcement of a sentence of excommunication on the kingdom.
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Pope Gregory VI
Pope Gregory VI (died 1048), born in Rome as John Gratian (Latin Johannes Gratianus), was Pope from 1 May 1045 until his abdication at the Council of Sutri on 20 December 1046.
Gratian, the Archpriest of St. John by the Latin Gate, was a man of great reputation for uprightness of character. He was also the godfather of Pope Benedict IX, who was foisted on the papacy by his powerful family, the Theophylacti, counts of Tusculum, at the age of twenty.
Benedict IX, wishing to marry and vacate the position into which he had been thrust by his family, consulted his godfather as to whether he could resign the supreme pontificate. When he was convinced that he might do so, he offered to give up the papacy into the hands of his godfather for a large sum of money. Desirous of ridding the See of Rome of such an unworthy pontiff, John Gratian paid him the money and was recognized as Pope in his stead.
The accession of Gratian, who took the name Gregory VI, did not bring peace to the Church, though it was hailed with joy even by such a strict upholder of the right as St. Peter Damian. When Benedict IX left the city after selling the papacy, there was already another aspirant to the See of Peter in the field. John, Bishop of Sabina, had been hailed as Pope Sylvester III by the faction of the nobility that had driven Benedict IX from Rome in 1044, and had then installed him in his place. Though Benedict IX soon returned, and forced Sylvester III to retire to his See of Sabina, he never gave up his claims to the papal throne, and through his political allies contrived apparently to keep some hold on a portion of Rome.
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Pope Gregory VII
Pope Gregory VII (c. 1015/1028 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (Italian: Ildebrando da Soana), was Pope from 22 April 1073 until his death.
One of the great reforming popes, he is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor that affirmed the primacy of papal authority and the new canon law governing the election of the pope by the College of Cardinals. He was also at the forefront of developments in the relationship between the emperor and the papacy during the years before he became pope.
He twice excommunicated Henry, who in the end appointed Antipope Clement III to oppose him in the political power struggles between the Catholic Church and his empire. Hailed as one of the greatest of the Roman pontiffs after his reforms proved successful, Gregory was, during his own reign, despised by some for his expansive use of papal powers.
Gregory was beatified by Gregory XIII in 1584 and canonized in 1728 by Pope Benedict XIII.
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Pope Gregory VIII
Pope Gregory VIII (c. 1100/1105 – 17 December 1187), born Alberto di Morra, was Pope from 25 October 1187 until his death.
Alberto di Morra was born about 1105 in Benevento, Italy. His father was the nobleman Sartorius di Morra. He became a monk early in life, either as a Cistercian in Laon, or a Benedictine at Monte Cassino. Alberto later joined a new religious order, the Premonstratensian or Norbertine order, probably between the ages of 20-30. He was a canon at St. Martin's Abbey in Laon. He later became a professor of canon law in Bologna.
In 1156, Pope Adrian IV made him cardinal-deacon of Sant'Adriano, and on 14 March 1158 he became cardinal-priest of San Lorenzo in Lucina. As a papal legate of Pope Alexander III, he was sent to teach canon law throughout Europe in the 1160s, and was sent to Portugal to crown Afonso II. He also brought an offer of reconciliation in 1163 to Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, whom Pope Alexander III had excommunicated in 1160. Alexander also sent him to England to investigate the murder of Thomas Becket, and he absolved King Henry II of England of the murder during the Council of Avranches. From 1177-1179, Alberto also served as a legate in Italy and in February 1178 was named Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church. It was in this position that he "...compiled a Forma Dicendi, a collection of official papal acts, and also completed a codification of the cursus, a compilation of the very stringent rules governing the euphonious arrangements of sentence endings and phrasing in papal acts. In his honor, the cursus was called stylus gregorianus." These two documents were very influential in shaping the rhetoric used in papal documents. Shortly before his election to the papacy, Alberto founded a monastery in his hometown of Benevento.
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Pope Gregory X
Blessed Pope Gregory X (ca. 1210 – 10 January 1276), born Tedaldo Visconti, was Pope from 1271 to 1276. He was elected at the conclusion of a papal election that ran from 1268 to 1271, the longest papal election in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.
Born in Piacenza, he spent most of his ecclesiastical career in the north, in the Low Countries.
Gregory succeeded Pope Clement IV in 1271 after the papal chair had been vacant for three years due to divisions among the Cardinals. The College of Cardinals was equally split between French and Italian Cardinals who wanted a Pope from their country due to the ongoing political situation with Charles of Anjou, younger brother of King Louis IX of France, who had usurped the throne of Sicily by arms and perpetually intervened in the political affairs of the entire Italian peninsula. The deadlock was finally broken when the citizens of Viterbo, where the Cardinals were assembled, removed the roof from the building they were meeting in and locked them in, only allowing them bread and water. Three days later, the Cardinals elected Pope Gregory X. He was considered a strong choice because even though he was Italian, he had spent most of his career north of the Alps and thus had not been embroiled in recent Italian political controversies.
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Pope Gregory XI
Gregory XI (c. 1329 – 27 March 1378) was pope from 1370 until his death.
He was born Pierre Roger de Beaufort in Maumont in the modern commune of Rosiers-d'Égletons, Limousin, around 1330. He succeeded Pope Urban V at the papal conclave of 1370. He was the seventh and last of the Avignon Popes.
During his pontificate vigorous measures were taken against the heresies which had broken out in Germany, England, and other parts of Europe; a sincere effort was also made to cause a reformation in the various monastic orders.
John Wycliffe's 19 reformation articles on church related items as he wrote in his On Civil Dominion and 21 proposed reformation articles of Johannes Klenkoka's Decadecon were submitted to Pope Gregory XI in the early part of the 1370s. Gregory formally condemned fourteen articles of Decadecon in 1374 and nineteen propositions of Wycliffe's On Civil Dominion in 1377.
His return to Rome on 17 January 1377, is attributed in part to the stirring words of Catherine of Siena. This had been attempted by Gregory's predecessor, Urban V, without success. The project was delayed by a conflict between the pope and Florence, known as "the War of the Eight Saints" for the "Eight for War," the Florentine magistrates responsible for the conduct of the war. The pope put Florence under interdict for a time.
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Pope Gregory XII
Pope Gregory XII (c. 1326 – 18 October 1417), born Angelo Correr or Corraro, was Pope from 1406 to 1415. He succeeded Pope Innocent VII on 30 November 1406.
Gregory was chosen at Rome in 1406 by a conclave consisting of only fifteen cardinals under the express condition that, should Antipope Benedict XIII (1394–1423), the rival papal claimant at Avignon, renounce all claim to the Papacy, he would also renounce his, so that a fresh election might be made and the Western Schism (1378–1417) could be ended.
The two pontiffs opened wary negotiations to meet on neutral turf at Savona in Liguria, but soon began to waver in their resolve. The Correr relatives of Gregory XII in Venice and King Ladislaus of Naples, the supporter of Gregory XII and his predecessor for political reasons, used all their influence to prevent the meeting, and each Pope feared being captured by the party of the rival Pope.
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Pope Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII (7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was Pope from 1572 to 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake for the Gregorian calendar, which remains the internationally accepted civil calendar to this date.
During his pontificate, Gregory fostered cultural patronages associated with his papacy. He strengthened many ecclesiastical and diplomatic envoys to Asia, namely the islands of Japan and the Philippines. He was also the first Pope to bestow the Immaculate Conception as Patroness to the Philippine Islands on 9 February 1579.
Ugo Boncompagni was born the son of Cristoforo Boncompagni (10 July 1470–1546) and of his wife Angela Marescalchi in Bologna, where he studied law and graduated in 1530. He later taught jurisprudence for some years, and his students included notable figures such as Cardinals Alexander Farnese, Reginald Pole and Charles Borromeo. He had an illegitimate son before he took holy orders.
At the age of thirty-six he was summoned to Rome by Pope Paul III (1534–1549), under whom he held successive appointments as first judge of the capital, abbreviator, and vice-chancellor of the Campagna. Pope Paul IV (1555–1559) attached him as datarius to the suite of Cardinal Carlo Carafa, Pope Pius IV (1559–1565) made him Cardinal-Priest of San Sisto Vecchio and sent him to the Council of Trent.
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Pope Gregory XIV
Pope Gregory XIV (11 February 1535 – 16 October 1591), born Niccolò Sfondrati, was Pope from 5 December 1590 until his death in 1591.
Niccolò Sfondrati was born at Somma Lombardo, then part of the Duchy of Milan, in the highest stratum of Milanese society. His mother, of the house of Visconti, died in childbirth. His father Francesco, a senator of the ancient comune of Milan, was created Cardinal-Priest by Pope Paul III in 1544.
In his youth he was known for his modest lifestyle and stringent piety. He studied at Perugia and Padua, was ordained a priest and swiftly appointed Bishop of Cremona, in 1560, in time to participate in the sessions of the Council of Trent from 1561 to 1563. Pope Gregory XIII made him a Cardinal-Priest of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere on 12 December 1583. Sfondrati was a close follower of Carlo Cardinal Borromeo, and when cardinal he celebrated the Requiem Mass for Borromeo on 7 November 1584. Sfondrati was an intimate friend and a great admirer of Philip Neri, an Italian priest who died in 1595 and was canonised in 1622.
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Pope Gregory XV
Pope Gregory XV (9 January or 15 January 1554 – 8 July 1623), born Alessandro Ludovisi, was pope from 1621, succeeding Pope Paul V on 9 February 1621.
He was born in Bologna to Pompeo Ludovisi, Count of Samoggia, now Savigno in the Province of Bologna, and of Camilla Bianchini, being one of seven children.
Educated at the Roman College run by the Jesuits in Rome, he went to the University of Bologna to get degrees in canon and Roman law, June 1575. His early career was as a papal jurist in Rome, and there is no evidence that he had been ordained. In March 1612, however, Pope Paul V appointed him as the Archbishop of Bologna, for which he was presumably ordained and then he was consecrated a bishop on 1 May of that year.
In August 1616 the pope sent him as nuncio to the Duchy of Savoy, to mediate between Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy and Philip III of Spain in their dispute concerning the Gonzaga Marquisate of Montferrat. In September 1616, Paul created him Cardinal Priest, his titular church being Santa Maria in Traspontina. Ludovisi remained in his episcopal see in Bologna until he went to Rome after the death of Pope Paul to take part in the conclave at which he was chosen as pope.
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Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI (18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846), born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon entering the religious order of the Camaldolese. Strongly conservative and traditionalist, he opposed democratic and modernising reforms in the Papal States and throughout Europe, seeing them as fronts for revolutionary leftism, and he sought to strengthen the religious and political authority of the papacy (see Ultramontanism).
Cappellari was born at Belluno on 18 September 1765, to an Italian noble family. His parents were from a small village named Pesariis, in Friuli. At an early age he joined the order of the Camaldolese (part of the Benedictine monastic family) and entered the Monastery of San Michael in Murano, near Venice. As a Camaldolese monk, Cappellari rapidly gained distinction for his theological and linguistic skills. In 1799 he published a polemic against the Italian Jansenists titled II Trionfo della Santa Sede ("The Triumph of the Holy See"), which passed through various editions in Italy and was translated into several European languages. In 1800 he became a member of the Academy of the Catholic Religion, founded by Pope Pius VII (1800–23), to which he contributed memoirs on theological and philosophical questions. In 1805 he was made abbot of the Monastery of San Gregorio on Rome's Caelian Hill.
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Pope Hilarius
Pope Saint Hilarius (also Hilarus, Hilary) was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 461 to 28 February 468. He was canonized as a saint after his death.
The Sardinian archdeacon of Rome, Hilarius was elected bishop of Rome, probably on 17 November 461, and was consecrated on 19 November 461.
As archdeacon under Pope Leo I, he fought vigorously for the rights of the Roman See and vigorously opposed the condemnation of Flavian of Constantinople at the Second Council of Ephesus in 449 to settle the question of Eutyches. According to a letter to the Empress Pulcheria collected among the letters of Leo I, Hilarius apologized for not delivering to her the pope's letter after the synod, but owing to Dioscurus of Alexandria, who tried to hinder his going either to Rome or to Constantinople, he had great difficulty in making his escape in order to bring to the pontiff the news of the result of the council.
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Pope Honorius I
Pope Honorius I (died 12 October 638) was pope from 625 to 638.
Honorius, according to the Liber Pontificalis, came from Campania and was the son of the consul Petronius. He became pope on 27 October 625, two days after the death of his predecessor, Boniface V. The festival of the Elevation of the Cross is said to have been instituted during the pontificate of Honorius, which was marked also by considerable missionary enterprise. Much of this was centered on England, especially Wessex. He also succeeded in bringing the Irish Easter celebrations in line with the rest of the Catholic Church.
Although Honorius never issued a dogmatic (ex cathedra) decree in regards to the controversy of Christ's wills , he favoured Monothelitism. He supported a formula proposed by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius with the design of bringing about a reconciliation between Monothelites and the rest of the Catholic Church. Monothelitism is the teaching that Christ has only one will, the divine will, in contrast with the teaching that He has both a divine will and a human will. To this end, Honorius "sent his deacon Gaios" to a synod in Cyprus in 634 hosted by archbishop Arkadios II with additional representatives from Patriarch Sergius I of Constantinople. The anti-Monothelite side in Jerusalem, championed by Maximus the Confessor and Sophronius of Jerusalem, sent to this synod Anastasius (a pupil of Maximus), George of Reshaina (a pupil of Sophronius), two of George of Raishana's own pupils, and eight bishops from Palestine. When the two sides were presented to the Emperor, the Emperor persisted with Monothelitism and so did Honorius. (George of Reshaina, "An Early Life of Maximus the Confessor", 316–7)
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Pope Honorius II
Pope Honorius II (died 13 February 1130), born Lamberto Scannabecchi, was Pope from 21 December 1124 to 13 February 1130. Although from a humble background, his obvious intellect and outstanding abilities saw him promoted up through the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Attached to the Frangipani family of Rome, his election as Pope was contested by a rival candidate, Celestine II, and force was used to guarantee his election. His pontificate was concerned with ensuring that the privileges the Roman Church had obtained through the Concordat of Worms were preserved and, if possible, extended. He was the first pope to confirm the election of the Holy Roman Emperor. Distrustful of the traditional Benedictine order, he favoured new monastic orders, such as the Augustinians and the Cistercians, and sought to exercise more control over the larger monastic centres of Monte Cassino and Cluny Abbey. He also approved the new military order of the Knights Templar in 1128. He failed to prevent Roger II of Sicily from extending his power in southern Italy and was unable to stop Louis VI of France from interfering in the affairs of the French church. Like his predecessors, he managed the wide-ranging affairs of the church through Papal Legates. With his death in 1130, the Church was again thrown into confusion with the election of two rival popes, Innocent II and the antipope Anacletus II.
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Pope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III (1148 – 18 March 1227), previously known as Cencio Savelli, was Pope from 1216 to 1227.
He was born in Rome as son of Aimerico. He was a member of the Roman Savelli family.
For a time he was canon at the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, then he became Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church in January 1188 and Cardinal Deacon of Santa Lucia in Silice on 20 February 1193. Under Pope Clement III and Pope Celestine III he was treasurer of the Roman Church, notably compiling the Liber Censuum, and served as acting Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church from 1194 until 1198.
In 1197 he became tutor of the future Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, who had been given as ward to Pope Innocent III by the Empress-widow Constance of Sicily.
Innocent III raised him to the rank of a Cardinal Priest in 1200, by which he obtained the Titulus of Ss. Ioannis et Pauli. He was dismissed as Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church in 1198, but about the same time he assumed the post of Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals.
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Pope Honorius IV
Pope Honorius IV (c. 1210 – 3 April 1287), born Giacomo Savelli, was Pope for two years, from 1285 to 1287. During his pontificate he largely continued to pursue the pro-French political policy of his predecessor, Pope Martin IV. He was the last Pope who was married before he took Holy Orders.
Savelli was born in Rome into the rich and influential family of the Savelli. Initially, he was married and had at least two sons. One of them became podestà of Urbino and died before 1279. Another one was a senator in Rome and died in 1306. After the death of his wife, he entered ecclesiastical state.
He studied at the University of Paris, where he held a prebend and a canonry at the cathedral of Châlons-sur-Marne. Later he obtained the benefice of rector at the church of Berton in the Diocese of Norwich in England, a nation he never visited.
In 1261 he was created Cardinal Deacon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin by Pope Urban IV, who also appointed him papal prefect in Tuscany and captain of the papal army. Cardinal Savelli pursued a diplomatic career. Pope Clement IV sent him and three other cardinals to invest Charles of Anjou as King of Sicily at Rome on 28 July 1265. After the long deadlocked vacancy in the papal see after the death of Clement IV, a vacant seat of three years, he was one of the six cardinals who finally elected Pope Gregory X by compromise on 1 September 1271 in a conclave held at Viterbo because conditions in Rome were too turbulent.
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Pope Hormisdas
Pope Saint Hormisdas (c. 450 – 6 August 523) was Pope from 20 July 514 to 523. His papacy was dominated by the Acacian schism, started in 484 by Acacius of Constantinople's efforts to placate the Monophysites. His efforts to resolve this schism was successful, and on 28 March 519, the reunion of the Greek Church with Rome was ratified in the cathedral of Constantinople before a large crowd.
Jeffrey Richards explains Hormisdas' Persian name as probably in honor of an exiled Persian noble, Hormizd, "celebrated in the Roman martyrology (8 August) but not so honoured in the East." The names of his father and son suggest he had an otherwise "straightforward Italian pedigree."
He was born at Frosinone, Campagna di Roma, Italy. Before becoming a Roman deacon, Hormisdas was married, and his son became pope under the name of Silverius. During the Laurentian schism, Hormisdas was one of the most prominent clerical partisans of Pope Symmachus. He was notary at the synod held at St. Peter's in 502. Two letters of Magnus Felix Ennodius, bishop of Pavia, survive addressed to him, written when the latter tried to regain horses and money he had lent the pope.
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Pope Hyginus
Pope Saint Hyginus was bishop of Rome from about 136 or 138 to about 140 or 142. Tradition holds that during his papacy he determined the various prerogatives of the clergy and defined the grades of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. However, modern scholars tend to doubt this claim and view the governance of the church of Rome during this period as still more or less collective.
According to the Liber Pontificalis, Hyginus was a Greek born in Athens. The source further states that he previously was a philosopher, probably founded on the similarity of his name with that of two Latin authors.
Irenaeus says that the Gnostic Valentinus came to Rome in Hyginus's time, remaining there until Anicetus became pontiff (Against Heresies, III, iii). Cerdo, another Gnostic and predecessor of Marcion, also lived at Rome in the reign of Hyginus; by confessing his errors and recanting he succeeded in obtaining readmission into the bosom of the Church, but eventually he fell back into the heresies and was expelled from the Church. How many of these events took place during the time of Hyginus is not known.
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Pope Innocent I
Pope Saint Innocent I was pope from 401 to 12 March 417.
According to his biographer in the Liber Pontificalis, Innocent was the son of a man called Innocens of Albano, but according to his contemporary Jerome, his father was Pope Anastasius I (399–401), whom he was called by the unanimous voice of the clergy and laity to succeed (he had been born before his father's entry to the clergy).
Innocent I lost no opportunity in maintaining and extending the authority of the Roman Empire. (See as the ultimate resort for the settlement of all disputes.) His communications with Victricius of Rouen, Exuperius of Toulouse, Alexander of Antioch and others, as well as his actions on the appeal made to him by John Chrysostom against Theophilus of Alexandria, show that opportunities of this kind were numerous and varied. He took a decided view on the Pelagian controversy, confirming the decisions of the synod of the province of proconsular Africa, held in Carthage in 416, which had been sent to him, and also writing in the same year in a similar sense to the fathers of the Numidian synod of Mileve who had addressed him (Augustine of Hippo among them).
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Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II (died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was pope from 1130 to 1143, and was probably one of the clergy in personal attendance on the antipope Clement III (Guibert of Ravenna).
Papareschi came from a Roman family, probably of the rione Trastevere.
Pope Paschal II made him a cardinal deacon. In this capacity, he accompanied Pope Gelasius II when he was driven into France. He was selected by Pope Calixtus II for various important and difficult missions, such as the one to Worms for the conclusion of the Concordat of Worms, the peace accord made with Holy Roman Emperor Henry V in 1122, and also the one to France in 1123 that made peace with King Louis VI.
In 1130, as Pope Honorius II lay dying, the cardinals decided to entrust the election to a commission of eight men led by papal chancellor Haimeric, who had his candidate Cardinal Gregory Papareschi hastily elected as Pope Innocent II. He was consecrated on 14 February, the day after Honorius' death. The other cardinals announced that Innocent had not been canonically elected and chose Cardinal Pietro Pierleoni, a Roman whose family were the enemy of Haimeric's supporters, the Frangipani; Pierleoni took the name Pope Anacletus II. Anacletus' mixed group of supporters were powerful enough to take control of Rome while Innocent was forced to flee north. Based on a simple majority of the entire college of cardinals, Anacletus was the canonically elected pope, and Innocent was the anti-Pope. However, the legislation of Pope Nicholas II (in the famous decree of 1059) pre-empted the choice of the majority of the cardinal priests and cardinal deacons. This rule was changed by the Second Lateran council of 1139.
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Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III (1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216) was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni.
Pope Innocent was one of the most powerful and influential popes in the history of the papacy. He exerted a wide influence over the Christian regimes of Europe, claiming supremacy over all of Europe's kings. Pope Innocent was central in supporting the Catholic Church's reforms of ecclesiastical affairs through his decretals and the Fourth Lateran Council. This resulted in a considerable refinement of the Western canon law. Pope Innocent is notable for using interdict and other censures to compel princes to obey his decisions, although these measures were not uniformly successful. The pope called for crusades against militant heretics like the Cathars as well as Muslims. One of Pope Innocent's most critical decisions was calling upon Christian forces to begin the Fourth Crusade. Although the Crusades were, in part, originally intended to support the Byzantine Empire at Constantinople from attack by Turkish invaders, the Fourth Crusade resulted in the sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204, which greatly upset Pope Innocent.
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Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV (c. 1195 – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was Pope from 25 June 1243 until his death in 1254.
Born in Genoa (although some sources say Manarola) in an unknown year, Sinibaldo was the son of Brumisan di Grillo and Ugo Fieschi, Count of Lavagna. The Fieschi were a noble merchant family of Liguria. Sinibaldo received his education at the universities of Parma and Bologna and, for a time, taught canon law at Bologna. He was considered one of the best canonists of his time and was called to serve the Pope in the Roman Curia in the year 1226.
Before his elevation to the papacy, Sinibaldo was Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church (1226–27), being created Cardinal Priest of San Lorenzo in Lucina on 18 September 1227 by Pope Gregory IX, later serving as governor of the March of Ancona from 1235 until 1240.
It is widely repeated from the 17th century on that he became bishop of Albenga in 1235, but there is no foundation to this claim.
Innocent's immediate predecessor was Pope Celestine IV, elected 25 October 1241, whose reign lasted a mere fifteen days. The events of Innocent IV's pontificate are therefore inextricably linked to the policies dominating the reigns of popes Innocent III, Honorius III and Gregory IX.
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Pope Innocent IX
Pope Innocent IX (20 July 1519 – 30 December 1591), born Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti, was Pope from 29 October 1591 to his death on 30 December of the same year. Prior to his short papacy, he had been a Canon Lawyer, diplomat, and chief administrator during the reign of Pope Gregory XIV (1590–1591).
Facchinetti, whose family came from Crodo, in the diocese of Novara, northern Italy, was born in Bologna on 20 July 1519. He was a lawyer, a graduate in 1544 of the University of Bologna, which was pre-eminent in jurisprudence, and became secretary to Cardinal Nicolò Ardinghelli before entering the service of Alessandro Cardinal Farnese, brother of the Duke of Parma and grandson of Pope Paul III (1534–1549), one of the great patrons of the time. The Cardinal, who was archbishop of Avignon, sent Facchinetti there as his ecclesiastical representative and subsequently recalled him to the management of his affairs at Parma, where he was acting governor of the city, from 1556 to 1558. In 1560, Facchinetti was named Bishop of Nicastro, in Calabria, and in 1562 was present at the Council of Trent. Pope Pius V (1566–1572) sent him as papal nuncio to Venice in 1566 to further the papal alliance with Spain and Venice against the Turks, which ultimately resulted in the victory of Lepanto in 1571. Relinquishing his see to pursue his career in Rome, he was named titular Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1572.
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Pope Innocent V
The Blessed Pope Innocent V (c. 1225 – 22 June 1276), born Pierre de Tarentaise, was Pope from 21 January 1276 until his death.
He was born around 1225 near Moûtiers in the Tarentaise region of the County of Savoy, then part of the Kingdom of Arles in the Holy Roman Empire, but now in southeastern France. In early life, he joined the Dominican Order, in which he acquired great fame as a preacher. At the papal conclave of January 1276 he became the first member of that order to become Pope. The only noteworthy feature of his brief and uneventful pontificate was the practical form assumed by his desire for reunion with the Eastern Church. He was proceeding to send legates to Michael VIII Palaeologus, the Byzantine emperor, in connection with the recent decisions of the Second Council of Lyons, when he died at Rome. Pope Innocent V was the author of several works of philosophy, theology, and canon law, including commentaries on the Pauline epistles and on the Sentences of Peter Lombard. He is sometimes referred to as famosissimus doctor.
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Pope Innocent VI
Pope Innocent VI (1282 or 1295 – 12 September 1362), born Étienne Aubert, was Pope from 18 December 1352 until his death. His father was Adhemar Aubert (1260-?), seigneur de Montel-de-Gelat in Limousin province. His niece was Catherine Aubert, Dame de Boutheon, also the wife of Randon II, Baron of Joyeuse; she was an ancestor of La Fayette. A Pope at Avignon, the successor of Clement VI, he was a native of the hamlet of Les Monts, Diocese of Limoges (today part of the commune of Beyssac, département of Corrèze), and, after having taught civil law at Toulouse, he became successively Bishop of Noyon and Bishop of Clermont.
In 1342, he was raised to the position of cardinal. On the death of Clement VI, after each cardinal had bound himself to a particular line of policy should he be elected, Aubert was chosen at a papal conclave on 18 December 1352, taking the name of Innocent VI. One of the first acts of his pontificate was to declare the pact to have been illegal and null.
His subsequent policy compares favourably with that of the other Avignon Popes. He introduced many needed reforms in the administration of church affairs, and through his legate, Cardinal Albornoz, who was accompanied by Rienzi, he sought to restore order in Rome, where, in 1355, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV was crowned with his permission, after previously having made an oath that he would quit the city on the day of the ceremony.
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Pope Innocent VII
Pope Innocent VII (probably1339 – 6 November 1406), born Cosimo de' Migliorati, was briefly Pope at Rome between 1404 and 1406 during the period of the Western Schism (1378–1417) while there was a rival Pope, Antipope Benedict XIII, at Avignon.
Migliorati was born to a simple family of Sulmona in the Abruzzi. He distinguished himself by his learning in both civil and Canon Law, which he taught for a time at Perugia and Padua. His teacher Giovanni da Legnano sponsored him at Rome, where Pope Urban VI (1378–89) took him into the Curia, sent him for ten years as papal collector to England, made him Bishop of Bologna in 1386 at a time of strife in that city, and Archbishop of Ravenna in 1387.
Pope Boniface IX made him cardinal-priest of S. Croce in Gerusalemme (1389) and employed him as legate in several delicate and important missions. When Boniface IX died, there were present in Rome delegates from the rival Pope at Avignon, Benedict XIII. The Roman cardinals asked these delegates whether their master would abdicate if the cardinals refrained from holding an election. When they were bluntly told that Benedict XIII would never abdicate (indeed he never did), the cardinals proceeded to an election. First, however, they all undertook a solemn oath to leave nothing undone, and, if need be, lay down the tiara to end the schism.
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Pope Innocent VIII
Pope Innocent VIII (1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was Pope from 1484 until his death.
Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo) was born at Genoa of Greek ancestry, the son of Arano Cybo or Cibo (c. 1375-c. 1455) and his wife Teodorina de Mari (c. 1380-). His paternal grandparents were Maurizio Cybo and his wife Saeacina Marocelli. Arano Cybo was a senator in Rome under Pope Calixtus III (1455–58). Giovanni Battista's early years were spent at the Neapolitan court, and subsequently he went to Padua and Rome for his education.
In Rome he became a priest in the retinue of cardinal Calandnini, half-brother to Pope Nicholas V (1447–55). The influence of his friends procured for him, from Pope Paul II (1464–71), the bishopric of Savona, and in 1473, with the support of Giuliano Della Rovere, later Pope Julius II, he was made cardinal by Pope Sixtus IV, whom he succeeded on 29 August 1484 as Pope Innocent VIII.
The papal conclave of 1484 was riven with faction, while gangs rioted in the streets. Cardinal Giuliano did not have sufficient votes at the conclave to be elected, so he turned his energies towards the election of Cybo, whom he was confident that he could control.
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Pope Innocent X
Pope Innocent X (6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was Pope from 1644 to 1655. Born in Rome of a family from Gubbio in Umbria who had come to Rome during the pontificate of Pope Innocent IX, he graduated from the Collegio Romano and followed a conventional cursus honorum, following his uncle Girolamo Pamphilj as auditor of the Rota, and like him, attaining the dignity of Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Eusebio, in 1629. Trained as a lawyer, he succeeded Pope Urban VIII (1623–44) on 15 September 1644, as one of the most politically shrewd pontiffs of the era, who much increased the temporal power of the Holy See. He was a great-great-great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI.
Pope Gregory XV (1621–23) sent him as nuncio to the court of the Kingdom of Naples. Urban VIII sent him to accompany his nephew, Francesco Barberini, whom he had accredited as nuncio, first in France and then in Spain, where Pamphilj had the first-hand opportunities to form an intense animosity towards the Barberini. In reward for his labors, Giovanni Battista was made apostolic nuncio at the court of Philip IV of Spain (1621–65). The position led to a life-long association with the Spaniards which was of great use during the Papal Conclave of 1644.
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Pope Innocent XI
Blessed Pope Innocent XI (16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was Pope from 1676 to 1689.
Benedetto Odescalchi was born at Como in 1611 (either on 16 or 19 May), the son of a Como nobleman, Livio Odescalchi, and Paola Castelli Giovanelli from Gandino. In 1626 his father died, and Benedetto began schooling in human sciences taught by the Jesuits at his local college, before transferring to Genoa. In 1630 he narrowly survived an outbreak of plague, which killed his mother.
The Odescalchi family, although only of minor nobility, were nevertheless determined entrepreneurs. In 1619, Benedetto's brother founded a bank with his three uncles in Genoa which quickly grew into a successful money-lending business. After completing his studies in grammar and letters, the 15-year old Benedetto moved to Genoa to take part in the family business as an apprentice. Lucrative economic transactions were established with clients in the major Italian and European cities, such as Nuremberg, Milan, Kraków, and Rome.
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Pope Innocent XII
Pope Innocent XII (13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was Pope from 1691 to 1700.
He was born in Spinazzola (current Puglia) to one of the most aristocratic families of the Kingdom of Naples, which included many Viceroys, and ministers to the crown, and was educated at the Jesuit college in Rome.
In his twentieth year he became an official of the court of Pope Urban VIII (1623–1644); under successive Popes he served as nuncio at Florence and Vienna and in Poland; he served as inquisitor in Malta; and by Pope Innocent XI (1676–1689) he was created him Cardinal-Priest of S. Pancrazio in 1681 and archbishop of Naples. After the conclave held in the wake of the death of Alexander VIII had gone on for five months, Cardinal Pignatelli emerged as a compromise candidate between the cardinals of France and the Holy Roman Empire.
Immediately after his election on 12 July 1691, Innocent XII declared against the nepotism which had too much and too long been one of the greatest scandals of the Papacy; the bull Romanum decet Pontificem, issued in 1692, banned the curial office of the Cardinal Nephew and prohibited Popes at all times from bestowing estates, offices, or revenues on any relative; furthermore, only one relative, "if otherwise suitable", was to be raised to the cardinalate. At the same time he sought to check the simoniacal tendencies in the practices of the apostolic chamber, and in connection with this to introduce a simpler and more economical manner of life into his court. Innocent XII said that "the poor were his nephews", comparing his public benificence to the nepotism of many predecessors.
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Pope Innocent XIII
Pope Innocent XIII (13 May 1655 – 7 March 1724) was pope from 1721 until his death.
He was born Michelangelo Conti in Poli, near Rome. Like Pope Innocent III (1198–1216), Pope Gregory IX (1227–1241) and Pope Alexander IV (1254–1261), he was a member of the family of the Conti, counts and dukes of Segni. He included the family crest in his Pontifical coats of arms.
He became Cardinal-Priest of Santi Quirico e Giulitta under Pope Clement XI (1700–21) in 1706. From 1697 to 1710 he acted as papal nuncio to the Kingdom of Portugal, where he is believed to have formed those unfavourable impressions of the Jesuits which afterwards influenced his conduct towards them. In 1721 his high reputation for ability, learning, purity, and a kindly disposition secured his election to succeed Clement XI as Pope Innocent XIII. His pontificate was prosperous, but comparatively uneventful. Innocent XIII prohibited the Jesuits from prosecuting their mission in China, and ordered that no new members should be received into the order. This indication of his sympathies encouraged some French bishops to approach him with a petition for the recall of the bull Unigenitus by which Jansenism had been condemned; the request, however, was peremptorily denied.
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Pope John I
Pope Saint John I (c. 470 – 18 May 526) was Pope from 523 to 526. He was a native of Siena (or the "Castello di Serena"), near Chiusdino. He is the first pope known to have visited Constantinople while in office.
While a deacon in Rome, he is known to have been a partisan of the Antipope Laurentius, for in a libellus written to Pope Symmachus in 506, John confessed his error in opposing him, anathematized Peter of Altinum and Laurentius, and begged pardon of Symmachus. He would then be the deacon John who signed the acta of the Roman synod of 499 and 502; the fact the Roman church only had seven deacons at the time makes identifying him with this person very likely. He may also be the deacon John to whom Boethius dedicated three of his five religious tractates written between 512 and 520.
John was very frail when he was elected to the papacy. Despite his protests, he was sent by the Arian King Theodoric the Great of the Ostrogoths to Constantinople to secure a moderation of Emperor Justin's decree of 523 against the Arians. Theodoric threatened that if John should fail in his mission, there would be reprisals against the orthodox Catholics in the West. John proceeded to Constantinople with a considerable entourage: his religious companions included bishop Ecclesius of Ravenna, bishop Eusebius of Fanum Fortunae, and Sabinus of Campania. His secular companions were the senators Flavius Theodorus, Inportunus, Agapitus, and the patrician Agapitus.
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Pope John II
Pope John II (born Mercurius) was pope from 533 to 535.
He was the son of a certain Projectus, born in Rome and a priest of the Basilica di San Clemente on the Caelian Hill. He was made pope on 2 January 533. The basilica of St. Clement still retains several memorials of "Johannes surnamed Mercurius". Presbyter Mercurius is found on a fragment of an ancient ciborium, and several of the marble slabs which enclose the schola cantorum bear upon them, in the style of the sixth century, the monogram of Johannes.
He was the first pope to adopt a new name (regnal name) upon elevation to the papacy, as his theophoric birth name honoured the Roman god Mercury.
At this period simony (the purchase or sale of church offices or preferment) in the election of popes and bishops was rife among clergy and laity. During the sede vacante of over two months, "shameless trafficking in sacred things was indulged in. Even sacred vessels were exposed for sale". The matter had been brought before the Senate, and laid before the Arian Ostrogothic Court at Ravenna. The last decree (Senatus consultum) which the Roman Senate is known to have issued, passed under Boniface II, was directed against simony in papal elections. The decree was confirmed by Athalaric, king of the Ostrogoths. He ordered it to be engraved on marble and to be placed in the atrium of St. Peter's Basilica in 533. By one of Athalaric's own additions to the decree, it was decided that if a disputed election was carried before the Gothic officials of Ravenna by the Roman clergy and people, three thousand solidi would have to be paid into court. This sum was to be given to the poor. John remained on good terms with Athalaric, who, being of the Arian Christianity, was content to refer to John's tribunal all actions brought against the Roman clergy.
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Pope John III
Pope John III was pope from 561 to 13 July 574. He was born in Rome of a distinguished family. The Liber Pontificalis calls him a son of one Anastasius. His father bore the title illustris, more than likely being a vir illustris ("illustrius man", high-ranking member of the Roman Senate). According to the historian Evagrius, his birth name was Catelinus, but he took the name John on his accession.
He may be identical with the subdeacon John who made a collection of extracts from the Greek Fathers and completed the translation of the Vitae patrum into Latin which Pope Pelagius I had begun.
His pontificate is characterized by two major events over which he had no control. The first was the death of Emperor Justinian I in 565. Jeffrey Richards considers his reign was an "anomaly", "a temporary damning up of the stream of history." With his death, the Byzantine Empire turned its attention from Rome and the West to pressing problems in the Balkans, from the Avars, Persians and the Arabs. "Italy, being geographically peripheral to the imperial heartland, inevitably took bottom place on the strategic priority list."
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Pope John IV
Pope John IV (died 12 October 642) was elected Pope of the Catholic Church, after a four-month sede vacante, on 24 December 640.
Pope John was a native of Dalmatia (probably in the town of Salona). He was the son of the scholasticus (advocate) Venantius. At the time of his election he was archdeacon of the Roman Church, an important role in governing the see. As John's consecration on 24 December 640 followed very soon after his election, and it is supposed that the papal elections were being confirmed by the Exarch of Ravenna rather than by the Emperor in Constantinople.
Troubles in his native land caused by invasions of Slavs directed John's attention there. To alleviate the distress of the inhabitants, John sent the abbot Martin into Dalmatia and Istria with large sums of money for the redemption of captives. As the ruined churches could not be rebuilt, the relics of some of the more important Dalmatian saints were brought to Rome. John erected an oratory in their honour which still stands. It was adorned by the pope with mosaics depicting John himself holding in his hands a model of his oratory. John endeavoured thereby to convert the Slavs in Dalmatia and Istria to Christianity. Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus claimed that Porga, duke of the Dalmatian Croats, who had been invited into Dalmatia by Heraclius, sent to Emperor Heraclius for Christian teachers. It is supposed that the Emperor to whom this message was sent was Emperor Heraclius himself, and that he sent it to Pope John IV.
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Pope John IX
Pope John IX was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 898 to 900.
Little is known about John IX before he became Pope. Born in Tivoli in an unknown year, he was ordained as a Benedictine priest by Pope Formosus. With the support of the powerful House of Spoleto he was elected Pontiff in early 898 following the sudden death of Pope Theodore II.
With a view to diminish the violence of faction in Rome, John held several synods in Rome and elsewhere in 898. They not only confirmed the judgment of Pope Theodore II in granting Christian burial to Pope Formosus, but also at a council held at Ravenna decreed that the records of the synod held by Pope Stephen VI which had condemned him should be burned. Re-ordinations were forbidden, and those of the clergy who had been degraded by Stephen were restored to the ranks from which he had deposed them.
To keep their independence, which was threatened by the Germans, the Slavs of Moravia appealed to John to let them have a hierarchy of their own. Ignoring the complaints of the German hierarchy, John sanctioned the consecration of a metropolitan and three bishops for the Church of the Moravians.
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Pope John Paul I
Pope John Paul I (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. I, Italian: Giovanni Paolo I), born Albino Luciani (17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978), reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and as Sovereign of Vatican City from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent Year of Three Popes. John Paul I was the first Pope to be born in the 20th century and the last Pope to die in it.
In Italy he is remembered with the appellatives of "Il Papa del Sorriso" (The Smiling Pope) and "Il Sorriso di Dio" (The smile of God).Time magazine and other publications referred to him as The September Pope.
Albino Luciani was born on October 17, 1912 in Forno di Canale (now Canale d'Agordo) in Belluno, a province of the Veneto region in Northern Italy. He was the son of Giovanni Luciani (1872?–1952), a bricklayer, and Bortola Tancon (1879?–1948). Albino was followed by two brothers, Federico (1915–1916) and Edoardo (1917–2008), and a sister, Antonia (1920–2009).
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Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan Paweł II), born Karol Józef Wojtyła (Polish: [ˈkarɔl ˈjuzɛf vɔjˈtɨwa]; 18 May 1920, Wadowice, Republic of Poland – 2 April 2005, Apostolic Palace, Vatican City), reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005. He was the second-longest serving Pope in history and the first non-Italian since 1523.
John Paul II was acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century. He was instrumental in ending communism in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. John Paul II significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. Though criticised by progressives for upholding the Church's teachings against artificial contraception and the ordination of women, and by traditionalists for his support of the Church's Second Vatican Council and its reform, he was also widely praised for his firm, orthodox Catholic stances.
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Pope John V
Pope John V was pope from July 685 to 2 August 686. John V was the first pope of the Byzantine Papacy allowed to be consecrated by the Byzantine Emperor without prior consent, and the first in a line of ten consecutive popes of Eastern origin. His papacy was marked by reconciliation between the city of Rome and the Empire.
John was a Syrian by birth, born in the province of Antioch.
On account of his knowledge of Greek, he was named papal legate to the Third Council of Constantinople in 680.
John V was the first pope of the Byzantine Papacy consecrated without the direct approval of the Byzantine Emperor.Constantine IV had done away with the requirement during the reign of Pope Benedict II, John V's predecessor, providing that "the one elected to the Apostolic See may be ordained pontiff from that moment and without delay". In a return to the "ancient practice", John V was selected "by the general population" of Rome. John was elected in July 685. Constantine IV doubtlessly trusted that the population and clergy of Rome had been sufficiently Easternized, and indeed the next ten pontiffs were of Eastern descent.
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Pope John VI
Pope John VI was a Greek pope from Ephesus who reigned during the Byzantine Papacy from 30 October 701 to 11 January 705. His papacy was noted for military and political breakthroughs on the Italian peninsula. He succeeded to the papal chair two months after the death of Pope Sergius I, and his election occurred after a vacancy of less than seven weeks. He was succeeded by Pope John VII after a vacancy of less than two months. The body of the pope is buried in St. Peter's Basilica.
During his reign, he assisted the Exarch Theophylactos, who had been sent to Italy by the emperor Justinian II, and prevented him from using violence against the Romans. John VI's interventions prevented Theophylactos from being injured, having come to Rome to "cause trouble for the pontiff".
Aside from this, he also succeeded in inducing Gisulf, the Lombard duke of Benevento, to withdraw from the territories of the empire, through tactics of persuasion and bribery. According to some sources, he "single-handedly convinced the Lombard duke Gisulf of Benevento to withdraw his forces and return home" after the duke had devastated the neighboring Campanian countryside and constructed an encampment within sight of the city walls of Rome.
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Pope John VII
Pope John VII (c. 650 – 18 October 707) was pope from 705 to 707. The successor of John VI, he was (like his predecessor) of Greek ancestry. He is one of the popes of the Byzantine captivity.
John was a native of Rossano in Calabria. His father, Plato (c. 620 – 686), was imperial cura palatii urbis Romae, or curator of the Palatine Hill. This makes John the first pope to be the son of a Byzantine official. His mother was called Blatta (c. 627 – 687). His paternal grandfather was Theodorus Chilas (c. 600 – aft. 655), a Senator in 655.
John VII had good relations with the Lombards, who then ruled much of Italy. However, his relations with Justinian II, the Byzantine Emperor, were far from smooth. Papal relations with Byzantium had soured over the Quinisext (or Trullan) council of 692. Scholarly debate contests John VII's stance on the Canons. He did not ratify the Canons, which were deeply unpopular in Italy. Nonetheless, he was criticized, most unusually, by the Liber Pontificalis for not signing them:
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Pope John VIII
Pope John VIII was pope from 13 December 872 to 16 December 882. He is often considered one of the ablest pontiffs of the ninth century.
He was born in Rome. Among the reforms achieved during his pontificate was a notable administrative reorganisation of the papal Curia. He asked for military aid from Charles the Bald and later Count Boso of Provence, in response to Saracens who were raiding Campania and the Sabine Hills. His efforts failed and he was forced to pay tribute to the Saracens.
In 873, John VIII learned of St. Methodius' imprisonment. Methodius had been imprisoned by his German enemies, who objected to his use of the Slavonic language in the liturgy. John forbade the celebration of Mass in Bavaria until Methodius was released. Following Methodius' release John allowed him to resume his episcopal duties in Illyricum, but forbid him to celebrate Mass in the Slavonic language.
In 879 he recognised the reinstatement of Photius as the legitimate patriarch of Constantinople; Photius had been condemned in 869 by Pope Adrian II. In 878 John crowned Louis II, king of France. He also anointed two Holy Roman Emperors: Charles II and Charles III. He was assassinated in 882.
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Pope John X
Pope John X, Pope from March 914 to May 928, was deacon at Bologna when he attracted the attention of Theodora, the wife of Theophylact, Count of Tusculum, the most powerful noble in Rome, through whose influence he was elevated first to the see of Bologna and then to the archbishopric of Ravenna.
In direct opposition to a decree of council, John X was, at the instigation of Theodora, promoted to the papal chair as the successor of Pope Lando (913–914). Like Pope John IX (898–900) he endeavoured to secure himself against his temporal enemies through a close alliance with Theophylact and Alberic, marquis of Camerino, then governor of the duchy of Spoleto.
In December 915 John X granted the imperial crown to Berengar of Friuli (915–924), and with the assistance of the forces of all the princes of the Italian Peninsula, he took the field in person against the Saracens, over whom he gained a great victory on the banks of the Garigliano. The defeat and death of Berengar in 924, through the combination of the Italian princes, again frustrated the hopes of a united Italy, and after witnessing several years of anarchy and confusion, John X perished as a result of the intrigues of Marozia, daughter of Theodora.
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Pope John XI
Pope John XI (910? – December 935) was a Pope from March 931 (at the age of 20) to December 935.
The parentage of John XI is still a matter of dispute. According to Liutprand of Cremona (Antapodosis, ii. c. 48) and the "Liber Pontificalis," he was the natural son of Pope Sergius III (904–911), ("Johannes, natione Romanus ex patre Sergio papa," "Liber Pont." ed. Duchesne, II, 243). Ferdinand Gregorovius,Ernst Dümmler, Thomas Greenwood (Cathedra Petri: A Political History of the great Latin Patriarchate), Philip Schaff, and Rudolf Baxmann agree with Liutprand that Pope Sergius III fathered Pope John XI by Marozia. If that is true, John XI would be the only known illegitimate son of a Pope to have become Pope himself. (Silverius was the legitimate son of Pope Hormisdas). On the other hand, Horace Kinder Mann, Reginald L. Poole, Peter Llewelyn (Rome in the Dark Ages), Karl Josef von Hefele, August Friedrich Gfrörer,Ludovico Antonio Muratori, and Francis Patrick Kenrick maintain that Pope John XI was sired by Alberic I of Spoleto, Count of Tusculum.
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Pope John XII
Pope John XII (c. 937 – 14 May 964), born Octavianus, was Pope from 16 December 955 to 14 May 964. The son of Alberic II, Patrician of Rome, and his stepsister Alda of Vienne, he was a seventh generation descendant of Charlemagne on his mother's side.
Before his death in 954, Alberic administered an oath to the Roman nobles in St. Peter's providing that the next vacancy for the papal chair would be filled by his son Octavianus. He succeeded his father as Patrician of Rome in 954 at only seventeen years of age. After the death of Agapetus II in November 955, Octavianus was actually chosen his successor on 16 December 955 at the age of eighteen. His adoption of the apostolic name of John XII was the third example of taking a regnal name upon elevation to the papal chair, the first being John II (533–535) and the second John III (561–574). Pope John XII was depicted as a coarse, immoral man in the writings which remain about his papacy, whose life was such that the Lateran was spoken of as a brothel, and the moral corruption in Rome became the subject of general disgrace.
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Pope John XIII
Pope John XIII of the Crescenzi family (died 6 September 972) served as Pope from 1 October 965 until his death.
Born in Rome, he spent his career in the papal court. He was the brother of Crescenzio II, patricius romanorum, and Stefania, lady of Palestrina.
After a period as bishop of Narni, he was elected Pope John XIII five months after the death of Pope Leo VIII as a compromise candidate with the agreement of Emperor Otto I (936–973). John XIII's behaviour and foreign backing made him disliked in Rome. There was a revolt that resulted in his temporary banishment in December 965, but he returned to Rome in November 966.
After John XIII's restoration, he worked with the Emperor on ecclesiastical improvements, including the creation of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg.
On Christmas 967, John XIII crowned Otto I's son Otto II as co-Emperor. Otto II afterwards married the niece of the Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimisces, princess Theophanu, as part of the ongoing attempt to reconcile Eastern and Western Churches. John XIII created new Latin archbishoprics in southern Italy, thus reducing the influence of the Byzantine Empire and Eastern Orthodox Church there.
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Pope John XIV
Pope John XIV (died 20 August 984) was Pope from December 983 to 20 August 984 as successor to Pope Benedict VII.
He was born at Pavia, and before his elevation to the papal chair was imperial chancellor of Emperor Otto II, yet still only the latter's second choice for pope.
His original name was Pietro Canepanova, but he took the name John XIV to avoid being linked to St. Peter himself.
Otto II died shortly after his election, his heir Otto III, being only 3 years old and unable to protect John's position as Pope. Antipope Boniface VII (974, 984–985), on the strength of the popular feeling against the new Pope, returned from Constantinople and placed John XIV in prison in the Castel Sant'Angelo, where he died either from starvation or poison.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "John XIV (pope)". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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Pope John XIX
Pope John XIX (died October 1032), born Romanus in Rome, was Pope from 1024 to 1032.
He succeeded his brother Pope Benedict VIII, both members of the powerful house of Tusculum. Prior to being elected Pope, he was an unordained layman and was therefore ordained a bishop in order to enable him to ascend the papal chair, having previously been a consul and senator.
He played a role in the process leading to the Schism of 1054 by rejecting a proposal by Patriarch Eustathius of Constantinople to recognise that Patriarchate's sphere of interest in the east. Against the grain of ecclesiastical history, John XIX agreed, upon being paid a large bribe, to grant the title of ecumenical bishop to the Patriarch of Constantinople . However, this proposal excited general indignation throughout the Church, compelling him almost immediately to withdraw from the agreement.
On the death of the Emperor Henry II in 1024, he gave his support to Emperor Conrad II, who along with his consort was crowned with great pomp at St. Peter's Basilica on Easter of 1027.
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Pope John XV
Pope John XV (born in Rome, died March 996) was Pope from 985 to 996, succeeding Boniface VII. He was said to have been Pope after another Pope John who reigned four months after Pope John XIV (983–984) and was named "Papa Ioannes XIV Bis" or "Pope John XIVb". This supposed first John XIV never existed, rather he was confused with a certain cardinal deacon John, son of Robert, who was opposed to Boniface VII and is now excluded from the papal lists.
John XV was the son of Leo, a Roman presbyter. At the time he mounted the papal chair, Crescentius II was Patrician of Rome, significantly hampering the pope's influence, but the presence of the Empress Theophanu, regent for her son, Holy Roman Emperor Otto III in Rome from 989 to 991 restrained Crescentius' ambition.
The Pope's venality and nepotism made him very unpopular with the citizens of Rome, but to his credit, he was a patron and protector of the reforming monks of Cluny.
During this papacy, a serious dispute arose over the deposition in 991 of Arnulf, Archbishop of Reims, by French churchmen, the Pope's interference leading at first to no definite result. This affair is sometimes read as an early groundswell of the conflicts between Popes and the new kings of France that came to a head later in the Investiture Controversy, so it is worth relating in some detail. Hugh Capet, king of France, made Arnulf archbishop of Reims in 988, even though Arnulf was the nephew of the King's bitter rival, Charles of Lorraine. Charles thereupon succeeded in capturing Reims and took the archbishop prisoner. Hugh, however, considered Arnulf a turncoat and demanded his deposition by John XV. The turn of events outran the messages, when Hugh Capet captured both Charles and Archbishop Arnulf and convoked a synod at Reims in June 991, which obediently deposed Arnulf and chose as his successor Abbot Gerbert of Aurillac, afterwards Pope Silvester II.
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Pope John XVII
Pope John XVII (died 6 December 1003), born John Sicco, and the son of another John Sicco, was born in the region of Rome then referred to as Biveretica. He succeeded Pope Silvester II as Pope on 16 May 1003, but died less than six months later.
John XVII was nominated to the papacy by John Crescentius, a Roman noble who held power in the city in opposition to Emperor Otto III. John XVII's successor, Pope John XVIII, was also selected by Crescentius.
John died on 6 November 1003 and was buried in the Lateran Basilica between the two doors of the principal façade. According to John the Deacon, his epitaph began by stating that “here is the tomb of the supreme John, who is said to be Pope, for so he was called.”
Before entering the priesthood, Sicco had been married and had three sons who also entered Holy Orders:
The previous legitimate Pope John is generally considered to be John XV (985–996). John XVI (997–998) was an antipope according to official reckoning, and thus his regnal number XVI should have been reused. But this did not occur, and the sequencing has never been corrected.
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Pope John XVIII
Pope John XVIII (died June or July 1009) was Pope in Pisa from 1004 to 1009. He was born Fasanius at Rapagnano, near Ascoli Piceno, the son of a Roman priest named Leo.
During his whole pontificate he was allegedly subordinate to the head of the Crescentii clan who controlled Rome, the patricius (an aristocratic military leader) John Crescentius III. This period was disrupted by conflicts between the Ottonian Emperor Henry II and Arduin of Ivrea, who had styled himself King of Italy. Rome was wracked with bouts of plague, and Saracens operating freely out of Sardinia ravaged the Tyrrhenian coasts.
As Pope, John XVIII occupied his time mainly with details of ecclesiastical administration. He authorized a new Diocese of Bamberg to serve as a base for missionary activity among the Slavs, a concern of Henry II's. He also adjudicated a squabble between the abbot of Fleury and the bishops of Sens and Orléans.
Ultimately he abdicated and, according to one catalog of Popes, retired to a monastery, where he died shortly afterwards. His successor was Pope Sergius IV.
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Pope John XXI
Pope John XXI, born Pedro Julião (Latin, Petrus Iulianus (c. 1215 – 20 May 1277), a Portuguese often identified with Pedro Hispano (Latin, Petrus Hispanus; English, Peter of Spain), was Pope from 1276 until his death about eight months later. He was the only Portuguese Pope, although Damasus I can also be considered Portuguese, as he was born in territory that is nowadays in Portugal, and Paul IV had a Portuguese grandmother.
He was also the only Pope to have been a physician.
Because he decided to skip the number XX, the previous Pope named John was Pope John XIX (1024–32). Pope John XXI is technically the 19th actual Pope John.
Pedro Julião was probably born in Lisbon between 1210 and 1220. He started his studies at the episcopal school of Lisbon Cathedral and later joined the University of Paris, although some historians claim that he was educated at Montpellier. Wherever he studied, he concentrated on medicine, theology, logic, physics, metaphysics and Aristotle's dialectic.
There are some who believe he must be identified with an individual known as Peter of Spain. On the basis of this premise, he is the person who from 1245 to 1250 became known as Pedro Hispano (because he came from Hispania, the Iberian Peninsula), and taught medicine at the University of Siena. There, he wrote the Summulae Logicales, a reference manual on Aristotelian logic that remained in use in European universities for more than 300 years. He became famous as a university teacher, then returned to Lisbon. At the court of Guimarães he was the councilor and spokesman for King Afonso III of Portugal in church matters. Later, he became prior of Guimarães. He tried to become Bishop of Lisbon, but he was defeated. Instead, he became the master of the school of Lisbon. A notable philosopher with works in logic, he was also the responsible for the creation of the Square of opposition.
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Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII (1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was pope from 7 August 1316 until his death. He was the second Pope of the Avignon Papacy (1309–1377), elected by a conclave in Lyon assembled by King Philip V of France. Like his predecessor, Clement V, he centralized power and income in the Papacy and lived a princely life in Avignon. He opposed the political policies of Louis IV of Bavaria as Holy Roman Emperor, which prompted Louis to invade Italy and set up an antipope, Nicholas V. Pope John XXII faced controversy in theology involving his views on the Beatific Vision, and he opposed the Franciscan understanding of the poverty of Christ and his apostles. He canonized St. Thomas Aquinas.
The son of a shoemaker in Cahors, Jacques Duèze studied medicine in Montpellier and law in Paris.
The death of Pope Clement V in 1314 was followed by an interregnum of two years due to disagreements between the cardinals, who were split into two factions. After two years, Philip V of France finally in 1316 managed to arrange a papal conclave of twenty-three cardinals in Lyon. This conclave elected Jacques Duèze, who took the name John XXII and was crowned in Lyon. He set up his residence in Avignon rather than Rome, continuing the Avignon Papacy of his predecessor.
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Pope John XXIII
Blessed Pope John XXIII (Latin: Ioannes PP. XXIII; Italian: Giovanni XXIII), born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (25 November 1881 – 3 June 1963), headed the Catholic Church and ruled Vatican City from 1958 until his death.
Pope John was elected on 28 October 1958. He called the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) but did not live to see it to completion. He died in 1963, only four-and-a-half years after his election, and two months after the completion of his final encyclical, Pacem in Terris. He was beatified, along with Pope Pius IX, on 3 September 2000.
Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was born in Sotto il Monte, a small country village in the Bergamo province of the Lombardy region of Italy. He was the first-born son of Giovanni Battista Roncalli (1854–1935) and his wife Marianna Giulia Mazzolla (1854–1939), and fourth in a family of 13, including: Angelo Giuseppe, Alfredo (1889–??), Maria Caterina (1877–1883), Teresa (1879–1954), Ancilla (1880–1953), Domenico Giuseppe (22 February 1888 – 14 March 1888), Francesco Zaverio (1883–1976), Maria Elisa (1884–1955), Assunta Casilda (1886–??), Giovanni Francesco (1891–1956), Enrica (1893–1918), Giuseppe Luigi (1894–??) and Luigi (1896–1898). His family worked as sharecroppers as did most of the people of Sotto il Monte – a striking contrast to that of his predecessor, Eugenio Pacelli (Pope Pius XII), who came from an ancient aristocratic family, long connected to the Papacy. However, he was still a descendant of an Italian noble family, from a secondary and impoverished branch.
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Pope Julius I
Pope Saint Julius I, was pope from 6 February 337 to 12 April 352.
He was a native of Rome and was chosen as successor of Mark after the Roman seat had been vacant for four months. He is chiefly known by the part he took in the Arian controversy. After the followers of Eusebius of Nicomedia, who was now the Patriarch of Constantinople, had renewed their deposition of Athanasius as bishop of Alexandria, at a synod held in Antioch in 341, they resolved to send delegates to Constans, Emperor of the West, and also to Julius, setting forth the grounds on which they had proceeded. Julius, after expressing an opinion favourable to Athanasius, adroitly invited both parties to lay the case before a synod to be presided over by himself. This proposal, however, the Arian Eastern bishops declined to accept.
On this second banishment from Alexandria, Athanasius came to Rome, and was recognised as a regular bishop by the synod presided over by Julius in 342. Julius sent a letter to the Eastern bishops that is an early instance of the claims of primacy for the bishop of Rome. Even if Athanasius and his companions were somewhat to blame, the letter runs, the Alexandrian Church should first have written to the pope. "Can you be ignorant," writes Julius, "that this is the custom, that we should be written to first, so that from here what is just may be defined" (Epistle of Julius to Antioch, c. xxii).
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Pope Julius II
Pope Julius II (5 December 1443 – 21 February 1513), nicknamed "The Fearsome Pope" (Il Papa Terribile) and "The Warrior Pope" (Il Papa Guerriero), born Giuliano della Rovere, was Pope from 1503 to 1513. His papacy was marked by an active foreign policy, ambitious building projects, and patronage for the arts.
There is disagreement about Julius' date of birth. Some sources put his birth as late as 1453. Giuliano della Rovere was the son of Rafaello della Rovere brother of Pope Sixtus IV and of Theodora Manerola, a lady of Greek extraction. Giuliano was an altar boy of his uncle Pope Sixtus IV (Francesco della Rovere). He was educated among the Franciscans by his uncle, who took him under his special charge and later sent him to a convent in La Pérouse with the purpose of obtaining knowledge of the sciences. However, he does not appear to have joined the order of St. Francis, but rather remained a member of the secular clergy until his elevation to bishop of Carpentras, France, in 1471; very shortly after his uncle succeeded to the papal chair.
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Pope Julius III
Pope Julius III (10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was Pope from 7 February 1550 to 1555.
In his early career in the Church Julius established a reputation as an effective and trustworthy diplomat, and was elected to the Papacy as a compromise candidate when the Papal Conclave found itself deadlocked between the rival French and German factions. As Pope he lost, or failed to show, any of the qualities which had distinguished his previous career, devoting himself instead to a life of personal pleasure and indolence, and the achievements of his incumbency were very few. His lasting fame, or notoriety, rests rather on his relationship with the 17 year old boy whom he raised to the position of Cardinal-Nephew, and, it was said at the time, with whom he shared his bed: the resulting scandal did great harm to the reputation of the Church.
The last of the High Renaissance Popes, Julius III was born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte in Rome in 1487. His father was a famous jurist; and he himself studied law at Perugia and Siena, as well as theology under the direction of the Dominican, Ambrosius Catharinus.
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Pope Lando
Pope Lando (also known as Landus) was elected pope in either July or August 913. He died about six months later, in either February or March 914.
He was born in Sabina, Italy. His father was reportedly named Taino. He did not change his name on his accession.
Lando is thought to have had powerful friends who helped him to be elected pope. Little more is known about him. He was the last pope to use a papal name which had not been previously used until Pope John Paul I did so in 1978.
Lando was pope during the period later known as the Saeculum obscurum, which lasted from 904 to 964.
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Pope Leo I
Pope Leo I, also known as Leo the Great (c. 391 or 400 – 10 November 461) was the Bishop of Rome—the Pope—of the Catholic Church from 29 September 440 to his death on 10 November 461.
He was an Italian aristocrat, and was the first pope of the Catholic Church to have been called "the Great". He is perhaps best known for having met Attila the Hun in 452 and persuading him to turn back from his invasion of Italy. He is also a Doctor of the Church, most remembered theologically for issuing the Tome of Leo, a document which was foundational to the debates of the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon. The Council of Chalcedon, the fourth ecumenical council, dealt primarily with Christology, and elucidated the orthodox definition of Christ's being as the hypostatic union of two natures—divine and human—united in one person, "with neither confusion nor division". The Council of Chalcedon gave rise to the first major schism in Christian history, the Monophysite schism.
According to the Liber Pontificalis, he was a native of Tuscany. By 431, as a deacon, he occupied a sufficiently important position for Cyril of Alexandria to apply to him in order that Rome's influence should be thrown against the claims of Juvenal of Jerusalem to patriarchal jurisdiction over Palestine—unless this letter is addressed rather to Pope Celestine I. About the same time John Cassian dedicated to him the treatise against Nestorius written at his request. But nothing shows more plainly the confidence felt in him than his being chosen by the emperor to settle the dispute between Aëtius and Caecina Decius Aginatius Albinus, the two highest officials in Gaul.
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Pope Leo II
Pope Saint Leo II was Pope from 17 August 682 to 28 June 683.
He was a Sicilian by birth (the son of a man named Paulus), and succeeded Agatho. Though elected pope a few days after the death of St. Agatho (10 January 681), he was not consecrated till after the lapse of a year and seven months (17 August 682). Leo was known as an eloquent preacher who was interested in music, and noted for his charity to the poor.
Elected shortly after the death of Agatho, Leo was not consecrated for over a year and a half. The reason may have been due to negotiations regarding imperial control of papal elections.
These negotiations were undertaken by Leo's predecessor Agatho between the Holy See and Emperor Constantine IV. They concerned the relations of the Byzantine Court to papal elections. Constantine had already promised Agatho to abolish or reduce the tax that the popes had had to pay to the imperial treasury on their consecration over the course of about a century.
Leo's short-lived pontificate did not allow him to accomplish much, but there was one achievement of major importance: he confirmed the acts of the Sixth Ecumenical Council (680–1). This council had been held in Constantinople against the Monothelite controversy, and had been presided over by the legates of Pope Agatho. After Leo had notified the Emperor that the decrees of the council had been confirmed, he made them known to the nations of the West. In letters written to the king, the bishops, and the nobles of Spain, he explained what the council had effected, and he called upon the bishops to subscribe to its decrees.
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Pope Leo III
Pope Saint Leo III (750 – 12 June 816) was Pope from 795 to his death in 816. Protected by Charlemagne from his enemies in Rome, he subsequently strengthened Charlemagne's position by crowning him as Roman Emperor.
Leo, who was of non-noble birth, had risen in the hierarchy of Rome and was elected Pope only one day after the burial of his predecessor, Pope Adrian I, who had worked for good relations between Rome and the Frankish Empire under Charlemagne. Leo announced his election to Charlemagne, sending him the keys of Saint Peter's tomb and the banner of Rome, requesting an envoy. Charlemagne's reply stated that it was his function to defend the Church, and the function of the Pope to pray for the realm and for the victory of his army.
Leo aroused the hostility of Rome's nobility, who saw the papal post as reserved only for noble candidates. During his rule, he was accused of adultery and perjury. In April 799, he was attacked by a gang who unsuccessfully attempted to gouge out his eyes and cut off his tongue for his earlier actions, only to be saved by Magnus Forteman and 700 Frisian nobles of his army. He was then formally deposed and sent to a monastery, but escaped and made his way to Paderborn, where he met Charlemagne.
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Pope Leo IV
Pope Saint Leo IV was pope from 10 April 847 to 17 July 855.
A Roman by birth, he was unanimously chosen to succeed Sergius II. When he was elected, on 10 April 847, he was cardinal of Santi Quattro Coronati and had been subdeacon of Gregory IV and archpriest under his predecessor. His pontificate was chiefly distinguished by his efforts to repair the damage done by the Saracens during the reign of his predecessor to various churches of the city, especially those of St Peter and St Paul.
The Saracens were besieging Gaeta, which led to Leo's order that the walls of the city be restored and strengthened between 848 and 849. When the Muslims approached Portus, he summoned the Repubbliche Marinare (or mariner cities of Italy) – Naples, Gaeta and Amalfi – to form a league. The command of the unified fleet was given to Cesarius, son of Duke Sergius I of Naples. The subsequent Battle of Ostia was one of the most famous in history of the papacy of the Middle Ages and is celebrated in a famous fresco by Raphael and his pupils in his Rooms of the Vatican Palace in the Vatican City. Another episode of Leo's life celebrated by the Urbinate in his series of frescoes for the Incendio di Borgo is the burning of the Anglo-Saxon district of Rome (the "Borgo"), which, according to the legend, was stopped by Leo simply making the sign of the cross.
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Pope Leo IX
Pope Saint Leo IX (21 June 1002 – 19 April 1054), born Bruno of Eguisheim-Dagsburg, was Pope from 12 February 1049 to his death. He was a German aristocrat and a powerful secular ruler of central Italy while holding the papacy. He is regarded as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, his feast day celebrated on April 19. Leo IX is widely considered the most historically significant German Pope of the Middle Ages. His citing of the Donation of Constantine in a letter to the Patriarch of Constantinople brought about the Great Schism between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.
He was born to Count Hugh and Heilwig and was a native of Eguisheim, Upper Alsace(present day France). His family was of noble rank, and his father, Count Hugh, was a cousin of Emperor Conrad II (1024–1039). He was educated at Toul, where he successively became canon and, in 1026, bishop. In the latter capacity he rendered important political services to his relative Conrad II, and afterwards to Emperor Henry III. He became widely known as an earnest and reforming ecclesiastic by the zeal he showed in spreading the rule of the order of Cluny.
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Pope Leo V
Pope Leo V, a native of Ardea, was Pope for some thirty days in 903 after the death of Pope Benedict IV (900–903). He was dethroned by antipope Christopher (903–904), who is sometimes considered a legitimate pope. Elected while a priest, Leo V's pontificate occurred in the darkest period of papal history. He was deposed and murdered, presumably strangled by Christopher, who was in turn executed by Pope Sergius III (904–911) in 904.
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Pope Leo VI
Pope Leo VI, a Roman, succeeded Pope John X (914–928) as Pope in 928. He reigned a little over seven months; the exact dates are not known. He was succeeded by Pope Stephen VII (928 or 929–931). Leo VI was son of the primicerius Christopher and held the title of Cardinal-Priest of St. Susanna before being elected Pope.
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Pope Leo VII
Pope Leo VII (died 13 July 939) was Pope from 3 January 936 until his death in 939. He was preceded by Pope John XI and followed by Pope Stephen VIII. Leo VII's election to the papacy was secured by Alberic II of Spoleto, the ruler of Rome at the time. Alberic wanted to choose the pope so that the papacy would continue to yield to his authority. Leo was the priest of the church of St. Sixtus in Rome, thought to be a Benedictine monk. He had little ambition towards the papacy, but consented under pressure.
As pope, Leo VII reigned for only three years. Most of his bulls were grants of privilege to monasteries, especially including the Abbey of Cluny. Leo called for Odo of Cluny to mediate between Alberic and Hugh of Italy, Alberic's stepfather, the King of Italy. Odo was successful in negotiating a truce after arranging a marriage between Hugh's daughter Alda and Alberic. Leo VII also appointed Frederick, Archbishop of Mainz, as a reformer in Germany. Leo allowed Frederick to drive out Jews that refused to be baptized, but he did not endorse the forced baptism of Jews.
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Pope Leo VIII
Pope Leo VIII (died 1 March 965), a Roman by birth, is considered by the Church an Antipope from 963 to 964 and a true Pope from 964 to 965. He held the lay office of protoserinus when he was elected pope, allegedly invalidly, by the Roman synod in December 963, when it also invalidly deposed Pope John XII, who was still alive. This occurred at the insistence of Emperor Otto I the Great, "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy", who on 2 February 962 had been crowned emperor by John XII to rule the territories that would later become known as the Holy Roman Empire.
Having been hurried with unseemly haste through all the intermediate orders, Leo received consecration two days after his election, which was unacceptable to the Roman populace. In February 964, after the Emperor withdrew from the city, Leo VIII found it necessary to seek safety in flight, whereupon he was deposed by a synod held under the presidency of the restored John XII. On the sudden death of John XII, the populace chose Pope Benedict V (964–966) as his successor. But Otto I, after returning and laying siege to the city, compelled its acceptance of Leo VIII.
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Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X (11 December 1475 – 1 December 1521), born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest (only a deacon) to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses. He was the second son of Lorenzo de' Medici, the most famous ruler of the Florentine Republic, and Clarice Orsini. His cousin, Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, would later succeed him as Pope Clement VII (1523–34).
Giovanni di Lorenzo de Medici was born in Italy, the second son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, head of the Florentine Republic, and Clarice Orsini.
From an very early age, he was destined for an ecclesiastical career. He received the tonsure at the age of seven and was soon loaded with rich benefices and preferments. His father prevailed on his relative Innocent VIII to name him cardinal-deacon of Santa Maria in Domnica on 8 March 1489, although he was not allowed to wear the insignia or share in the deliberations of the college until three years later. Meanwhile he received a distinguished education at Lorenzo's brilliant humanistic court under such men as Angelo Poliziano, Pico della Mirandola, Marsilio Ficino and Bernardo Dovizio Bibbiena. From 1489 to 1491 he studied theology and canon law at Pisa under Filippo Decio and Bartolomeo Sozzini.
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Pope Leo XI
Pope Leo XI (2 June 1535 – 27 April 1605), born Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici, was Pope from 1 April 1605 to 27 April of the same year.
He was born in Florence: his mother, Francesca Salviati, was a daughter of Jacopo Salviati and Lucrezia de' Medici, a sister of Leo X, while his father, Ottaviano, was a more distant scion of the Medici family. After a late start, he was ordained priest, and Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, sent him as an appropriate ambassador to Pope Pius V, a position which he held for fifteen years. Gregory XIII made him bishop of Pistoia in 1573, archbishop of Florence in 1574, and Cardinal-Priest of Santi Quirico e Giulitta in 1583.
In 1596, Clement VIII sent him as legate to France where Maria de' Medici was queen. Alessandro was a friend and disciple of St. Philip Neri.
On 14 March 1605, eleven days after the death of Clement VIII, 62 cardinals entered the conclave. Prominent among the candidates for the papacy were the great historian Baronius and the famous Jesuit controversialist Robert Bellarmine. But Pietro Aldobrandini, the leader of the Italian party among the cardinals, allied with the French cardinals and brought about the election of Alessandro against the express wish of King Philip III of Spain. King Henry IV of France is said to have spent 300,000 écus in the promotion of Alessandro's candidacy. On 1 April 1605, Alessandro ascended the papal throne with the name Leo XI after his uncle Pope Leo X, being then almost seventy years of age, but was taken ill immediately after his coronation and died within the month.
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Pope Leo XII
Pope Leo XII (22 August 1760 – 10 February 1829), born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiore Girolamo Nicola Sermattei della Genga, was Pope from 1823 to 1829.
Della Genga was born of a noble family from La Genga, a small town in what is now the province of Ancona, then part of the Papal States. The place of his birth is uncertain, the usual candidates being Genga, Ancona, and Spoleto. He was educated at the Accademia dei Nobili Ecclesiastici at Rome, where he was ordained priest in 1783. In 1790 the attractive and articulate della Genga attracted favourable attention by a tactful oration commemorative of the late Emperor Joseph II.
He was the uncle of Gabriele della Genga Sermattei who in the 19th century was the only nephew of a Pope to be elevated to cardinal.
In 1792 Pope Pius VI made him his private secretary, in 1793 creating him titular archbishop of Tyre and despatching him to Lucerne as nuncio. In 1794 he was transferred to the nunciature at Cologne, but owing to the war had to make his residence in Augsburg. During the dozen or more years he spent in Germany he was entrusted with several honourable and difficult missions, which brought him into contact with the courts of Dresden, Vienna, Munich and Württemberg, as well as with Napoleon I of France. It is, however, charged at one time during this period that his finances were disordered, and his private life was not above suspicion. After the Napoleonic abolition of the States of the Church (1798), he was treated by the French as a state prisoner, and lived for some years at the abbey of Monticelli, solacing himself with music and with bird-shooting, pastimes which he continued even after his election as Pope.
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Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII (2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903), born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903. He was the oldest pope (reigning until the age of 93), and had the third longest pontificate, behind his immediate predecessor Pius IX and John Paul II.
He is known for intellectualism, the development of social teachings with his encyclical Rerum Novarum and his attempts to define the position of the Church with regard to modern thinking. He influenced Roman Catholic Mariology and promoted both the rosary and the scapular. He issued a record eleven encyclicals on the rosary, approved two new Marian scapulars and was the first Pope to fully embrace the concept of Mary as mediatrix.
Born in Carpineto Romano, near Rome, he was the sixth of the seven sons of Count Ludovico Pecci and his wife Anna Prosperi Buzzi. Until 1818 he lived at home with his family, "in which religion counted as the highest grace on earth, as through her, salvation can be earned for all eternity". Together with his brother he studied in the Jesuit College in Viterbo, where he stayed until 1824. He enjoyed the Latin language and was known to write his own Latin poems at the age of eleven.
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Pope Liberius
Pope Liberius, pope from 17 May 352 to 24 September 366, was consecrated according to the Catalogus Liberianus on 22 May as the successor of Pope Julius I. He is not mentioned as a saint in the Roman Martyrology. His first recorded act was, after a synod had been held at Rome, to write to Emperor Constantius II, then in quarters at Arles (353–354), asking that a council might be called at Aquileia with reference to the affairs of Athanasius of Alexandria, but his messenger Vincentius of Capua was compelled by the emperor at a conciliabulum held in Arles to subscribe against his will to a condemnation of the orthodox patriarch of Alexandria.
At the end of an exile of more than two years in Thrace, the emperor recalled him, but, as the Roman See was officially occupied by Antipope Felix II, a year passed before Liberius was sent to Rome. It was the emperor's intention that Liberius should govern the Church jointly with Felix, but on the arrival of Liberius, Felix was expelled by the Roman people. Neither Liberius nor Felix took part in the Council of Rimini (359).
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Pope Linus
Pope Saint Linus (died c. 76) was, according to several early sources, Bishop of the Diocese of Rome after Saint Peter. This would make Linus the second Pope. According to other early sources Pope Clement I was the Pope after Peter. Linus is the only person specifically mentioned in the New Testament, other than Peter, considered by the Catholic Church to have held the position of Pope.
The earliest witness is Irenaeus, who in about the year 180 wrote: "The blessed apostles, then, having founded and built up the Church, committed into the hands of Linus the office of the episcopate." The Oxford Dictionary of Popes interprets Irenaeus as saying that Linus was the first bishop of Rome. Linus is presented by Jerome as "the first after Peter to be in charge of the Roman Church", by Eusebius, as "the first to receive the episcopate of the church at Rome, after the martyrdom of Paul and Peter"John Chrysostom says "This Linus, some say, was second Bishop of the Church of Rome after Peter", while the Liberian Catalogue presents Peter as the first Bishop of Rome and Linus as his successor in the same office. The Liber Pontificalis also presents a list that makes Linus the second in the line of bishops of Rome, after Peter; but at the same time it states that Peter ordained two bishops, Linus and Cletus, for the priestly service of the community, devoting himself instead to prayer and preaching, and that it was to Clement that he entrusted the Church as a whole, appointing him as his successor. Tertullian too makes Clement the successor of Peter. And while, in another of his works, Jerome gives Clement as "the fourth bishop of Rome after Peter" (i.e., fourth in a series that included Peter), he adds that "most of the Latins think that Clement was second after the apostle."
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Pope Lucius I
Pope Saint Lucius I was Pope from 25 June 253 to 5 March 254.
St. Lucius was born in Rome at an unknown date; nothing is known about his family except his father's name, Porphyrianus. He was elected probably on 25 June 253 and died on 5 March 254. His election took place during the persecution which caused the banishment of his predecessor Pope Cornelius, and he also was banished soon after his consecration, but succeeded in gaining permission to return.
He is praised in several letters of St. Cyprian (see Epist. lxviii. 5) for condemning the Novationists for their refusal to readmit to communion Christians who repented for having lapsed under persecution.
His feast day is 5 March, on which date he is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology in the following terms: "In the cemetery of Callistus on the Via Appia, Rome, burial of Saint Lucius, Pope, successor of Saint Cornelius. For his faith in Christ he suffered exile and acted as an outstanding confessor of the faith, with moderation and prudence, in the difficult times that were his."
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Pope Lucius II
Pope Lucius II (died 15 February 1145), born Gherardo Caccianemici dal Orso, was pope from 9 March 1144 until his death on 15 February 1145. His pontificate was notable for the unrest in Rome associated with the Commune of Rome and its attempts to wrest control of the city from the papacy.
Gherardo Caccianemici dal Orso, the son of Orso Caccianemici was born in Bologna. He was for many years a canon of the Basilica di San Frediano before his elevation by Pope Honorius II to cardinal priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in 1124. During this time there he renovated the basilica, attached a body of regular canons and improved its revenue stream. After he was elevated as pope, he presented to the church a copy of the Gospels bound with plates of gold and adorned with jewels, as well as an altar-cover and two chased silver-gilt ampullae for use at Mass. Honorius also appointed him the librarian of the Diocese of Rome before appointing him papal legate in Germany in 1125. While there, he helped support the candidacy of Holy Roman Emperor Lothair III as well as appointing Saint Norbert of Xanten as the Archbishop of Magdeburg. In 1128, Gherardo was sent to Benevento to govern the city, which had overthrown the previous rector.
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Pope Lucius III
Pope Lucius III (ca. 1100 – 25 November 1185), born Ubaldo, was pope from 1 September 1181 to his death.
A native of the independent republic of Lucca, he was born ca. 1100 (perhaps 1097) as Ubaldo, son of Orlando. He is commonly referred to as a member of the aristocratic family of Allucingoli, but this is not proven. He had close ties to the Cistercians, but it seems that he never joined the order. He was named cardinal by Pope Innocent II in December 1138, initially as cardinal-deacon of San Adriano, then (in May 1141) as cardinal-priest of Santa Prassede. Pope Adrian IV promoted him to the rank of Cardinal Bishop of Ostia and Velletri in December 1158. He was dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals and one of the most influential cardinals under his predecessor Pope Alexander III.
After being elected Pope in 1181, he lived at Rome from November 1181 to March 1182, but dissensions in the city compelled him to pass the remainder of his pontificate in exile, mainly at Velletri, Anagni and Verona.
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Pope Marcellinus
Pope Saint Marcellinus, according to the Liberian Catalogue, became bishop of Rome on 30 June 296; his predecessor was Pope St Caius
Marcellinus’ pontificate began at a time when Diocletian was Roman Emperor, but had not yet started to persecute the Christians. He left Christianity rather free and so the church’s membership grew. Caesar Galerius led the pagan movement against Christianity and arrived to bring up Diocletian against Christianity in the year 302: first Christian soldiers had to leave the army, later the Church's property was confiscated and Christian books were destroyed. After two fires in Diocletian’s palace he took harder measures against Christians: they had either to apostatize or they were sentenced to death.
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Pope Marcellus I
Pope Marcellus I, serving as pope from May or June 308 to 309, succeeded Pope Marcellinus after a considerable interval. Under Maxentius he was banished from Rome in 309 on account of the tumult caused by the severity of the penances he had imposed on Christians who had lapsed under the recent persecution. He died the same year, being succeeded by Pope Eusebius. His relics are under the altar of San Marcello al Corso in Rome. His third-class feast day is kept on January 16 in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite.
For some time after the death of Marcellinus in 304 the Diocletian persecution continued with unabated severity. After the abdication of Diocletian in 305, and the accession in Rome of Maxentius to the throne of the Caesars in October of the following year, the Christians of the capital again enjoyed comparative peace. Nevertheless, nearly two years passed before a new Bishop of Rome was elected. Then in 308, according to the Catalogus Liberianus, Pope Marcellus first entered on his office: "Fuit temporibus Maxenti a cons. X et Maximiano usque post consulatum X et septimum". This abbreviated notice is to be read: "A cons. Maximiano Herculio X et Maximiano Galerio VII [308] usque post cons. Maxim. Herc. X et Maxim. Galer. VII [309]". At Rome, Marcellus found the Church in the greatest confusion. The meeting-places and some of the burial-places of the faithful had been confiscated, and the ordinary life and activity of the Church was interrupted. Added to this were the dissensions within the Church itself, caused by the large number of weaker members who had fallen away during the long period of active persecution and later, under the leadership of an apostate, violently demanded that they should be readmitted to communion without doing penance.
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Pope Marcellus II
Pope Marcellus II (6 May 1501 – 1 May 1555), born Marcello Cervini degli Spannochi, was Pope from 9 April 1555 to 1 May 1555, succeeding Pope Julius III. Before his accession as Pope he had been Cardinal-Priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. He is the most recent Pope to choose to retain his birth name as his regnal name upon his accession. After his death, it would be 415 years before another Pope would choose a name with an ordinal number less than IV (John Paul I).
A native of Montefano, a small village near Macerata and Loreto he was the son of Ricardo Cervini who was the Apostolic Treasurer in Ancona. The family originated in Tuscany, in the town of Poliziano, which had once been subject to Siena, but later was under the control of Florence. Marcello had two half-brothers, Alexander and Romulus. One of his sisters, Cinzia Cervini, married Vinzenzo Bellarmino, parents of Roberto Bellarmino. Marcello was educated locally, and at Siena and Florence, where he became proficient in writing Latin, Greek, and Italian. He also received instruction in jurisprudence, philosophy, and mathematics. His father had an interest in astrology and upon discovering that his son's horoscope presaged high ecclesiastical honours, Riccardo set the young Cervini on a path to the priesthood. Marcello Cervini was ordained a priest in 1535.
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Pope Marinus I
Pope Marinus I (or Martin II), was Pope between 16 December 882 and 15 May 884. He succeeded John VIII in about the end of December 882.
Born the son of a priest, he was ordained as a deacon by Pope Nicholas I. Before his election as Pope, he served as Bishop of Caere, which made his election controversial, because, at this stage of history, a bishop was expected never to leave office to move to another see. On three separate occasions he had been employed by the three popes who preceded him as legate to Constantinople, his mission in each case having reference to the controversy started by Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople.
Among his first acts as pope were the restitution of Formosus as Cardinal Bishop of Portus and the anathematizing of Photius. Due to his respect for Alfred the Great (r. 871–899), he freed the Anglo-Saxons of Rome from tribute and taxation. He died in May or June 884, his successor being Adrian III.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Marinus (popes)". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Pope Marinus I". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.
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Pope Marinus II
Pope Marinus II (or Martin III), was Pope from 30 October 942 to May 946.
Marinus was born in Rome, and prior to becoming pope he was attached to the Church of Saint Cyriacus in the Baths of Diocletian. He was said to have encountered St. Ulrich on his visit to Rome in 909, and reportedly predicted Ulrich’s eventual appointment as Bishop of Augsburg after the devastation of the Hungarian invasion.
Marinus was elevated to the papacy on 30 October 942 through intervention of Alberic II of Spoleto, Prince of the Romans, and concentrated on administrative aspects of the papacy, and sought to reform both the secular and regular clergy. He extended the appointment of Frederick, Archbishop of Mainz as Papal Vicar and Missus dominicus throughout Germany and Francia. Marinus later intervened when the Bishop of Capua seized without authorization a church which had been given to the local Benedictine monks. In fact, throughout his pontificate, Marinus favoured various monasteries, issuing a number of Papal bulls in their favour.
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Pope Mark
Pope Saint Mark the apostle or Marcus was Pope from 18 January 336 to 7 October 336, the date of his death.
Little is known of his early life. According to the Liber Pontificalis, he was a Roman, and his father's name was Priscus. Some evidence suggests that the early lists of bishops and martyrs known as the Depositio episcoporum and Depositio martyrum were begun during his pontificate. Mark also issued a constitution confirming the power of the Bishop of Ostia to consecrate newly-elected popes. Mark is credited with the foundation of the Basilica of San Marco in Rome, and a cemetery church over the Catacomb of Balbina, just outside the city.
Mark died of natural causes and was buried in the catacomb of Balbina, where he had built the cemetery church. His feast day is celebrated on 7 October.
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Pope Martin I
Pope Martin I, born near Todi, Umbria, in the place now named after him (Pian di San Martino), was pope from 649 to 653, succeeding Pope Theodore I on 5 July 649. He was the only pope during the Byzantine Papacy whose election was not approved by a iussio from Constantinople. Martin I was abducted by Emperor Constans II and died in the Crimean peninsula. He is considered a martyr by the Catholic Church.
He was the last apocrisiarius to be elected pope.
He had previously acted as papal apocrisiarius or legate at Constantinople, and was held in high repute for his learning and virtue.
One of his first official acts was to summon the Lateran Council of 649 to deal with the Monothelites, whom the Church considered heretical. The Council met in the church of St. John Lateran. It was attended by 105 bishops (chiefly from Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia, with a few from Africa and other quarters), held five sessions or secretarii from 5 October to 31 October 649, and in twenty canons condemned Monothelitism, its authors, and the writings by which Monothelitism had been promulgated. In this condemnation were included not only the Ecthesis (the exposition of faith of the Patriarch Sergius for which the emperor Heraclius had stood sponsor), but also the typus of Paul, the successor of Sergius, which had the support of the reigning Emperor (Constans II).
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Pope Martin IV
Pope Martin IV, (c. 1210/1220 – 28 March 1285), born Simon de Brion, held the papacy from 21 February 1281 until his death.
Simon de Brion, son of Jean, sieur de Brion, was born at the château of Meinpincien,Île-de-France, France, in the decade following 1210. The seigneurial family of Brion, who took their name from Brion near Joigny, flourished in the Brie française. He spent time at the University of Paris, and is said to have then studied law at Padua and Bologna. Through papal favour he received a canonry at Saint-Quentin in 1238 and spent the period 1248–1259 as a canon of the cathedral chapter in Rouen, finally as archdeacon. At the same time he was appointed treasurer of the church of St. Martin in Tours by King Louis IX of France, an office he held until he was elected pope in 1281. In 1259, he was appointed to the council of the king, who made him keeper of the great seal, chancellor of France, one of the great officers in the household of the king.
In December 1261, the new French Pope, Urban IV made him cardinal-priest, with the titulus of the church of St. Cecilia. This entailed Simon de Brion's residence in Rome.
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Pope Martin V
Pope Martin V (c. 1368 – 20 February 1431), born Odo (or Oddone) Colonna, was Pope from 1417 to 1431. His election effectively ended the Western Schism (1378–1417).
He was born at Genazzano, the son of Agapito Colonna and Caterina Conti. He belonged to one of the oldest and most distinguished families of Rome. His brother Giordano became Prince of Salerno and Duke of Venosa, while his sister Paola was Lady of Piombino between 1441 and 1445.
Oddone most likely studied at the University of Perugia. He became apostolic protonotary under Pope Urban VI (1378–89), and was created Cardinal-Deacon of San Giorgio al Velabro by Pope Innocent VII in 1405. In 1409 he took part in the Council of Pisa, and was one of the supporters of Antipope Alexander V. Later he confirmed his allegiance to another antipope, John XXIII, by whom his family obtained several privileges, while Oddone obtained for himself the vicariate of Todi, Orvieto, Perugia and Umbria. He was excommunicated for this by Pope Gregory XII. Oddone was with John XXIII's entourage at the Council of Constance and followed him in his escape at Schaffhausen on 21 March 1415. Later he returned to Constance and took part in the process leading to the deposition of John XXIII.
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Pope Miltiades
Pope Miltiades, also called Melchiades (Μελχιάδης ὁ Ἀφρικανός in Greek), was Pope from 2 July 311 to 10 January 314.
According to the Liber Pontificalis, Miltiades was African, although McBrien states he was probably Roman.
His elections marked the end of a period sede vacante lasting from the death of Pope Eusebius on 17 August 310 or, according to others, 309, soon after the Emperor Maxentius had exiled Eusebius to Sicily.
During his pontificate, in October 312, Constantine defeated Maxentius and assumed control over Rome. Constantine presented the pope with the Lateran Palace which became the papal residence and seat of Christian governance. Early in 313, Constantine and fellow Emperor Licinius reached an agreement at Milan that they would grant freedom of religion to the Christians and other religions and restore church property.
Later in 313, Miltiades presided over the Lateran Synod in Rome, which acquitted Caecilian of Carthage and condemned Donatus as a schismatic (see Donatism). He was then invited to the Council of Arles but died before it was held.
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Pope Nicholas I
Pope Nicholas I (c. 800 – 13 November 867), or Saint Nicholas the Great, reigned from 24 April 858 until his death. He is remembered as a consolidator of papal authority and power, exerting decisive influence upon the historical development of the papacy and its position among the Christian nations of Western Europe. Nicholas asserted that the pope should have suzerain authority over all Christians, even royalty, in matters of faith and morals.
He is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, with a feast day on 13 November.
He refused to grant an annulment to King Lothair II of Lotharingia from Teutberga so that Lothar could marry his mistress Waldrada. When a Council pronounced in favor of annulment, Nicholas I declared the Council to be deposed, its messengers excommunicated, and its decisions void. Despite pressure from the Carolingians, who laid siege to Rome, his decision held. During his reign, relations with the Byzantine Empire soured over his support for Ignatius, Patriarch of Constantinople, who had been removed from his post in favor of Photius.
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Pope Nicholas II
Pope Nicholas II (died 27 July 1061), born Gérard de Bourgogne, was Pope from 1059 to July 1061. At the time of his election, he was Bishop of Florence.
Benedict X was elected in 1058, his election having been arranged by the Count of Tusculum. However, a number of Cardinals alleged that the election was irregular, and that votes had been bought; these cardinals were forced to flee Rome. Hildebrand, later Pope Gregory VII, when he heard of Benedict X's election, decided to oppose it, and obtained the support for the election of Gérard de Bourgogne instead. In December 1058, those cardinals who had opposed Benedict X's election met at Siena and elected Gérard as Pope instead. He then took the name Nicholas II.
Nicholas II proceeded towards Rome, along the way holding a synod at Sutri, where he pronounced Benedict X deposed and excommunicated. The supporters of Nicholas II then gained control of Rome and forced Benedict X to flee to the castle of Gerard of Galeria. Having arrived in Rome, Nicholas II then proceeded to wage war against Benedict X and his supporters with Norman assistance. An initial battle was fought in Campagna in early 1059, which was not wholly successful for Nicholas II. But later that same year, his forces conquered Praeneste, Tusculum and Numentanum, and then attacked Galeria, forcing Benedict X to surrender and renounce the Papacy.
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Pope Nicholas III
Pope Nicholas III (c. 1210/1220 – 22 August 1280), born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, was Pope from 25 November 1277 until his death. He was a Roman nobleman who had served under eight Popes, been made cardinal-deacon of St. Nicola in Carcere Tulliano by Pope Innocent IV (1243–54), protector of the Franciscans by Pope Alexander IV (1254–61), inquisitor-general by Pope Urban IV (1261–64), and succeeded Pope John XXI (1276–77) after a six-month vacancy in the Holy See resolved in the papal election of 1277, largely through family influence.
Nicholas' brief pontificate was marked by several important events. He greatly strengthened the papal position in Italy. He concluded a concordat with Rudolph I of Habsburg in May 1278, by which the Romagna and the exarchate of Ravenna were guaranteed to the Pope. According to the chronist Bartholomew of Lucca, he discussed with Rudolph, in general terms at least, of splitting the German Empire into four separate kingdoms - Lombardy, Burgundy, Tuscia and Germany, where Rudolph's kingdom would be made hereditary in addition to himself becoming emperor. In July 1278 Nicholas III issued an epoch-making constitution for the government of Rome that forbade foreigners from taking civil office.
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Pope Nicholas IV
Pope Nicholas IV (30 September 1227 – 4 April 1292), born Girolamo Masci, was Pope from 22 February 1288 until his death. Originally a Franciscan friar, he had been legate to the Greeks under Pope Gregory X in 1272, succeeded Bonaventure as Minister General of his religious order in 1274, and was made Cardinal Priest of Santa Prassede and Latin Patriarch of Constantinople by Pope Nicholas III, Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina by Pope Martin IV. He succeeded Pope Honorius IV in February 1288 at the end of a papal election that took ten months to conclude.
Masci was born at Lisciano, near Ascoli Piceno. He was a pious, peace-loving friar with no ambition save for the Church, the crusades and the extirpation of heresy. He steered a middle course between the factions at Rome and sought a settlement of the Sicilian question. In May 1289 he crowned King Charles II of Naples and Sicily after the latter had expressly recognized papal suzerainty, and in February 1291 concluded a treaty with Kings Alfonso III of Aragon and Philip IV of France looking toward the expulsion of James II of Aragon from Sicily. The loss of Acre in 1291 stirred Nicholas IV to renewed enthusiasm for a crusade. He sent missionaries, among them the celebrated Franciscan John of Monte Corvino, to labour among the Bulgarians, Ethiopians, Mongols, Tatars and Chinese.
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Pope Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V (Italian: Niccolò V) (15 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was Pope from 6 March 1447 until his death in 1455.
He was born at Sarzana, Liguria, where his father was a physician. His father died while he was young. Parentucelli later became a tutor, in Florence, to the families of the Strozzi and Albizzi, where he met the leading humanist scholars.
He studied at Bologna and Florence, gaining a degree in theology in 1422. Bishop Niccolò Albergati was so awe-struck with his capabilities that he took him into his service and gave him the chance to pursue his studies further by sending him on a tour through Germany, France and England. He was able to collect books, for which he had an intellectual's passion, wherever he went. Some of them survive with his marginal annotations.
He attended the Council of Florence and in 1444, when his patron died, he was appointed Bishop of Bologna in his place. Civic disorders at Bologna were prolonged, so Pope Eugene IV soon named him as one of the legates sent to Frankfurt. He was to assist in negotiating an understanding between the Papal States and the Holy Roman Empire, regarding undercutting or at least containing the reforming decrees of the Council of Basel (1431–1439).
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Pope Paschal I
Pope Saint Paschal I (baptismal name, Pascale Massimi) was pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 25 January 817 to 11 February 824.
A native of Rome and son of Bonosus, Paschal was serving as abbot of Santo Stefano Rotondo when he was raised to the pontificate by the acclamation of the clergy less than a day after the death of Pope Stephen IV. This decision occurred before the sanction of the emperor Louis the Pious had been obtained, and was a circumstance for which it was one of his first tasks to apologize. Paschal advised the emperor that the decision had been made to avoid factional strife in Rome, and his papal legate Theodore returned with a document titled Pactum cum Pashali pontiff, in which the Emperor congratulated Paschal, recognized his sovereignty over the Papal States and guaranteed the free election of future pontiffs. . This document was challenged by later historians as a forgery as Paschal’s relations with the imperial house never became cordial, and he was also unsuccessful in winning the sympathy of the Roman nobles.
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Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II (died 21 January 1118), born Ranierius, was Pope from 13 August 1099 until his death. A monk of the Cluniac order, he was created cardinal priest of the Titulus S. Clementi by Pope Gregory VII (1073–85) about 1076, and was consecrated pope in succession to Pope Urban II (1088–99) on 19 August 1099. His reign of almost twenty years was exceptionally long for a Pope of the Middle Ages.
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Pope Paul I
Pope Paul I (700 – 28 June 767) was pope from 29 May 757 to 28 June 767. He first served as a Roman deacon and was frequently employed by his brother, Pope Stephen II, in negotiations with the Lombard kings.
After Stephen's death on 26 April 757, Paul prevailed over a faction that wanted to place the Archdeacon Theophylact on the Holy See and was chosen his brother's successor by the majority that wished a continuation of the late pope's policy. The new pope's reign was dominated by relations with the Frankish and Lombard kings and with the Eastern emperor. He adopted an independent tone in informing the imperial Exarch in Ravenna of his election, but wrote to Pepin the Younger that the Frankish alliance should be maintained unimpaired, being possibly forced to this course by the Lombard king Desiderius. The Lombards held the cities of Imola, Osimo, Bologna, and Ancona, which were claimed by Rome, and in 758 seized upon the duchies of Spoleto and Benevento.
The same year he visited Rome and compelled Paul to write to Pepin asking him to concede all the Lombard Direct claims except that to Imola; another letter of exactly opposite tenor was sent by the same messenger. Pepin found it advisable to maintain good relations with Desiderius, and Paul apparently accomplished little by his double-dealing. Later, however, Pepin gave the pope some support and acted as arbiter between the Roman and Lombard claims.
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Pope Paul II
Pope Paul II (23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was Pope from 1464 until his death in 1471.
He was born in Venice, a nephew of Pope Eugene IV (1431–1447) through his mother. His adoption of the spiritual career, after having been trained as a merchant, was prompted by his uncle's election as pope. His consequent promotion was rapid; he became a cardinal in 1440 and gained popularity through his tender-hearted generosity.
He was elected to succeed Pope Pius II by the accessus in the first ballot of the papal conclave of 1464 with a majority of fourteen of the nineteen cardinals present. Beforehand, to secure to the cardinals a greater share of power than they had enjoyed under Pius II, a capitulation was subscribed by all except Ludovico Trevisan. It bound the future Pope to continue the Turkish war, but he was not to journey outside Rome without the consent of a majority of the cardinals, nor to leave Italy without the consent of all. The maximum number of cardinals was limited to twenty-four, and any new Pope was to be limited to only one cardinal-nephew. All creations of new cardinals and advancements to certain important benefices were to be made only with the consent of the College of Cardinals. Upon taking office, Paul II was to convene an ecumenical council within three years. But these terms of subscription were modified by Paul II at his own discretion, and this action lost him the confidence of the College of Cardinals. The justification for setting aside the capitulations, seen to be under way by the Duke of Milan's ambassador as early as 21 September, lay in connecting any abridgement of the Pope's absolute monarchy in the Papal States with a consequent abridgement of his sole authority in spiritual matters. Almost from his coronation, Paul withdrew and became inaccessible: audiences were only granted at night; even good friends waited a fortnight to see him; his suspiciousness was widely attested.
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Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III (29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation. During his reign, and in the spirit of the Counter-Reformation, new Catholic religious orders and societies, such as the Jesuits, the Theatines, the Barnabites and the Congregation of the Oratory, attracted a popular following and he convened the Council of Trent in 1545. He was a significant patron of the arts and employed nepotism to advance the power and fortunes of his family. It is to Pope Paul III that Nicolaus Copernicus dedicated De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres).
Born in 1468 at Canino, Latium (then part of the Papal States), Alessandro Farnese was the oldest son of Pier Luigi I Farnese, Signore di Montalto (1435–1487) and his wife Giovanna Caetani, a member of the Caetani family which had also produced Pope Boniface VIII. The Farnese family had prospered over the centuries but it was Alessandro’s ascendency to the papacy and his dedication to furthering family interests which saw the vastly significant increase in the family’s wealth and power.
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Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV, C.R. (28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559), né Giovanni Pietro Carafa, was Pope from 23 May 1555 until his death.
Giovanni Pietro Carafa was born in Capriglia Irpina, near Avellino, into a prominent noble family of Naples. His father Giovanni Antonio Carafa died in West Flanders in 1516 and his mother Vittoria Camponeschi was the daughter of Pietro Lalle Camponeschi, 5th Conte di Montorio, a Neapolitan nobleman, and wife Dona Maria de Noronha, a Portuguese noblewoman of the House of Pereira Senhores dos Lagares de El-Rei and Senhores de Paiva, Baltar e Cabeceiras de Basto. His title in the Prophecy of St. Malachy is "Of the Faith of Peter."
He was mentored by Cardinal Oliviero Carafa, his relative, who resigned the see of Chieti (Latin Theate) in his favour. Under the direction of Pope Leo X, he was ambassador to England and then papal nuncio in Spain, where he conceived a violent detestation of Spanish rule that affected the policies of his later papacy.
However, in 1524, Pope Clement VII allowed Carafa to resign his benefices and join the ascetic and newly founded Congregation of Clerks Regular, popularly called the Theatines, after Carafa's see of Theate. Following the sack of Rome in 1527, the order moved to Venice. But Carafa was recalled to Rome by the reform-minded Pope Paul III (1534–49), to sit on a committee of reform of the papal court, an appointment that forecast an end to a humanist papacy, and a revival of scholasticism, for Carafa was a thorough disciple of Thomas Aquinas.
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Pope Paul V
Pope Paul V (17 September 1552 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was Pope from 16 May 1605 until his death.
He was born into the noble Borghese family of Siena which had recently fled to Rome, and ROMANUS appears in most of his inscriptions. He began as a lawyer educated at Perugia and Padua.
In June 1596 he was made Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Eusebio and Cardinal Vicar of Rome by Pope Clement VIII, and had as secretary Niccolò Alamanni.
When Pope Leo XI died, 1605, Cardinal Borghese became Pope over a number of candidates including Caesar Baronius and Roberto Cardinal Bellarmine; his neutrality in the factional times made him an ideal compromise candidate. In character he was very stern and unyielding, a lawyer rather than diplomat, who defended the privileges of the Church to his utmost. His first act was to send home to their sees the bishops who were sojourning in Rome, for the Council of Trent had insisted that every bishop reside in his diocese. Soon after his accession as Pope Paul V, Borghese determined to humiliate Venice, as his predecessor had done, for attempting to preserve its independence from the papacy in the administration of its government.
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Pope Paul VI
Paul VI (Latin: Paulus PP. VI; Italian: Paolo VI), born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini (26 September 1897 – 6 August 1978), reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it. He fostered improved ecumenical relations with Orthodox and Protestants, which resulted in many historic meetings and agreements.
Montini served in the Vatican's Secretariat of State from 1922 to 1954. While in the Secretariat of State, Montini and Domenico Tardini were considered as the closest and most influential co-workers of Pope Pius XII, who named him in 1954 Archbishop of Milan, the largest Italian diocese, yet denying him the Cardinal designation that traditionally accompanies being Archbishop of Milan, a function which made him automatically Secretary of the Italian Bishops Conference. John XXIII elevated him to the College of Cardinals in 1958, and after the death of John XXIII, Montini was considered one of his most likely successors.
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Pope Pelagius I
Pope Pelagius I was Pope from 556 to 4 March 561. He was the second pope of the Byzantine Papacy, like his predecessor a former apocrisiarius to Constantinople.
He came from a Roman noble family. His father John seems to have been vicar of one of the two civil "dioceses", or districts, into which Italy was then divided.
Pelagius accompanied Pope Agapetus I to Constantinople and was appointed by him nuncio of the Roman Church to that city.[1]
When Pope Vigilius went to Constantinople on the orders of Emperor Justinian I, Pelagius stayed in Rome as the pope's representative. Totila, King of the Goths, had begun to blockade the city. Pelagius poured out his own fortune for the benefit of the famine-stricken people, and tried to induce the king to grant a truce. Though he failed, he afterwards induced Totila to spare the lives of the people when he captured Rome in December 546. Totila sent Pelagius to Constantinople in order to arrange a peace with Justinian I, but the emperor sent him back to say that his general Belisarius was in command in Italy.
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Pope Pelagius II
Pope Pelagius II was Pope from 579 to 590.
He was a native of Rome, but probably of Ostrogothic descent, as his father's name was Winigild.
Pelagius appealed for help from Emperor Maurice against the Lombards, but the Byzantines were of little help, forcing Pelagius to "buy" a truce and turn to the Franks, who invaded Italy, but left after being bribed by the Lombards.
Pelagius labored to promote the celibacy of the clergy, and he issued such stringent regulations on this matter that his successor Pope Gregory I thought them too strict, and modified them to some extent.
During his pontificate, the bishop of Milan, who had broken communion with Rome in the Schism of the Three Chapters, returned to full communion around 581, while other bishops in Northern Italy remained in schism.
Pelagius ordered the construction of the Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, a church shrine over the place where Saint Lawrence was martyred. During his reign, the Visigoths of Spain converted, but he also faced conflict with the See of Constantinople over the adoption of the title of "Ecumenical Patriarch," which Pelagius believed to undermine the authority of the papacy.
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Pope Pius I
Pope Saint Pius I was Bishop of Rome, according to the Annuario Pontificio, from 142 or 146 to 157 or 161, respectively. Others suggest that his pontificate was perhaps from 140 to 154.
Pius is believed to have been born at Aquileia, in Northern Italy, during the late 1st century. His father was called "Rufinus", who was also said to be of Aquileia according to the Liber Pontificalis.
It is stated in the 2nd century Muratorian Canon, and in the Liberian Catalogue, that he was the brother of Hermas, author of the text known as The Shepherd of Hermas. The writer of the later text identifies himself as a former slave. This has led to speculation that both Hermas and Pius were freedmen.
St Pius I governed the Church in the middle of the 2nd century during the reigns of the Emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He was the ninth successor of Saint Peter. He decreed that Easter should only be kept on a Sunday. Although being credited with ordering the publication of the Liber Pontificalis, compilation of that document was not started before the beginning of the 6th century. He is said to have built one of the oldest churches in Rome, Santa Pudenziana.
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Pope Pius II
Pope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Piccolomini (Latin Aeneas Sylvius; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464) was Pope from 19 August 1458 until his death in 1464. Pius II was born at Corsignano in the Sienese territory of a noble but decayed family. His longest and most enduring work is the story of his life, the Commentaries, which is the only autobiography ever written by a reigning Pope.
After studying at the universities of Siena and Florence, he settled in the former city as a teacher, but in 1431 accepted the post of secretary to Domenico Capranica, bishop of Fermo, then on his way to the Council of Basel (1431–39). Capranica was protesting against the new Pope Eugene IV's refusal of a cardinalate for him, which had been designated by Pope Martin V. Arriving at Basel after enduring a stormy voyage to Genoa and then a trip across the Alps, he successively served Capranica, who ran short of money, and then other masters.
In 1435 he was sent by Cardinal Albergati, Eugenius IV's legate at the council, on a secret mission to Scotland, the object of which is variously related even by himself. He visited England as well as Scotland, underwent many perils and vicissitudes in both countries, and left a valuable account of each. The journey to Scotland proved so tempestuous that Piccolomini swore that he would walk barefoot to the nearest shrine of Our Lady from their landing port. This proved to be Dunbar; the nearest shrine was 10 miles distant at Whitekirk. The journey through the ice and snow left Aeneas afflicted with pain in his legs for the rest of his life. In Scotland he fathered his second natural child, the other one having been born in Strasbourg.
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Pope Pius III
Pope Pius III (29 May 1439 – 18 October 1503), born Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini, was Pope from 22 September to 18 October 1503.
He was born in Siena, the nephew of Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, the future Pope Pius II, by his sister Laodamia. He was received as a boy into the household of Aeneas Silvius, who permitted him to assume the name and arms of the Piccolomini family (his brother Antonio being made Duke of Amalfi during the pontificate of Pius II). Pius II appointed him in 1460, when only 21 years of age, to the See of Siena, which he had just raised to an archbishopric, and made him a cardinal at his first consistory, on 5 March 1460. Within months he sent him as legate to the March of Ancona with the experienced Bishop of Marsico as his counsellor. He proved studious and effective.
Cardinal Piccolomini participated in the conclave that elected Pope Paul II (1464–71) in 1464, but was absent when Pope Sixtus IV (1471–84) was elected in 1471. He was employed in several important legations, as by Paul II at the Imperial diet at Regensburg/Ratisbon, and later by Sixtus IV to restore ecclesiastical authority in Umbria. He participated in the conclave of 1484 which elected Innocent VIII and in the conclave of 1492 which elected Alexander VI. The cardinal was involved in Alexander's short-lived effort to reform the Roman Curia following the murder of his son Giovanni Borgia in 1497.
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Pope Pius IV
Pius IV (31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was Pope from 1559 to 1565. He is notable for presiding over the culmination of the Council of Trent.
Giovanni Angelo Medici was born of humble parentage in Milan, distantly related to the Medicis of Florence. His early career connects itself in some measure with the rise of his elder brother, Gian Giacomo Medici, from the position of a mere bravo to that of Marchese di Marignano.
After studying at Bologna and acquiring a reputation as a jurist, he went in 1527 to Rome, and as the favourite of Pope Paul III was rapidly promoted to the governorship of several towns, the archbishopric of Ragusa, the vice-legateship of Bologna, and in April 1549, to the cardinalate. On the death of Pope Paul IV, he was elected Pope Pius IV on 25 December 1559, and installed on 6 January 1560. His first public acts of importance were to grant a general pardon to the participators in the riot which had closed the previous pontificate, and to bring to trial the nephews of his predecessor, of whom Cardinal Carlo Carafa was strangled, and Duke Giovanni Carafa of Paliano, with his nearest connections, beheaded.
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Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX (13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878), born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal infallibility. The Pope defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, meaning that Mary was conceived without original sin. Pius IX also granted the Marian title of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, a famous Byzantine icon from Crete entrusted to the Redemptorist priests. In addition to this, Pius IX was also the last Pope to rule as the Sovereign of the Papal States, which fell completely to Italian nationalist armies by 1870 and were incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy. He was beatified in 2000.
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Pope Pius V
Pope Pius V (17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was pope from 1566 to 1572 and is a saint of the Catholic Church. He is chiefly notable for his role in the Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation, and the standardization of the Roman rite within the Latin Church. Pius V declared Thomas Aquinas a Doctor of the Church and patronized prominent sacred music composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.
As a cardinal, Ghislieri gained a reputation for putting orthodoxy before personalities, prosecuting eight French bishops for heresy. He also stood firm against nepotism, rebuking his predecessor Pope Pius IV to his face when he wanted to make a 13-year old member of his family a cardinal and subsidise a nephew from the Papal treasury.
In affairs of state, Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth I of England for schism and persecutions of English Catholics during her reign. He also arranged the formation of the Holy League, an alliance of Catholic states. Although outnumbered, the Holy League famously defeated the Ottoman Empire, which had threatened to overrun Europe, at the Battle of Lepanto. This victory Pius V attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and instituted the feast of Our Lady of Victory.
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Pope Pius VI
Pope Pius VI (25 December 1717 – 29 August 1799), born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, was Pope from 1775 to 1799.
Braschi was born in Cesena. After completing his studies in the Jesuit college of Cesena and receiving his doctorate of law (1734), Braschi continued his studies at the University of Ferrara, where he became the private secretary of Tommaso Ruffo, papal legate, in whose bishopric of Ostia and Velletri he held the post of auditor until 1753. His skill in the conduct of a mission to the court of Naples won him the esteem of Pope Benedict XIV (1740–58), who appointed him one of his secretaries, 1753, and canon of St Peter's. In 1758, putting an end to an engagement to be married (Pastor 1952) he was ordained priest, and in 1766 appointed treasurer of the camera apostolica by Pope Clement XIII (1758–69). Those who suffered under his conscientious economies cunningly convinced Pope Clement XIV (1769–74) to make him Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Onofrio on 26 April 1773 – a promotion which rendered him, for a time, innocuous. In the four months' conclave which followed the death of Clement XIV Spain, France and Portugal at length dropped their objection to Braschi, who was after all one of the more moderate opponents of the anti-Jesuit policy of the previous Pope, and he was elected to the Holy See on 15 February 1775, taking the name of Pius VI.
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Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII (14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti, was a monk, theologian and bishop, who reigned as Pope from 14 March 1800 to 20 August 1823.
Chiaramonti was born at Cesena, the son of Count Scipione Chiaramonti; his mother, Giovanna, was the daughter of the Marquess Ghini and was related to the Braschi family. He joined the Benedictine Order in 1756 at the Abbey of St Maria del Monte of Cesena, where he received the monastic name Gregory. He then became a teacher at Benedictine colleges in Parma and Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood on 21 September 1765.
His career became a series of promotions following the election of his relative, Giovanni Angelo Braschi, as Pope Pius VI (1775–99). In 1776 Pius VI appointed the 34-year-old Dom Gregory, who had been teaching at the Monastery of Sant'Anselmo in Rome, as honorary abbot in commendam of his monastery. Though this was an ancient practice, this drew complaints from the monks of the community, as monastic communities generally felt it was not in keeping with the Rule of St. Benedict. In December 1782 the pope appointed Dom Gregory as the Bishop of Tivoli, near Rome. Pius VI soon named him, in February 1785, simultaneously both as a Cardinal-Priest, with his titular church being the Basilica of St. Callistus, and as the Bishop of Imola, an office he held until 1816.
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Pope Pius VIII
Pope Pius VIII (20 November 1761 – 30 November 1830), born Francesco Saverio Castiglioni was Pope in 1829 and 1830.
He was born in Cingoli, Marche, the son of Count Ottavio Castiglioni and his wife Sanzia Ghislieri. He studied Canon law and, in 1800 became bishop of Montalto. After he refused to swear allegiance to Napoleon I of France (1804–14, 1815) he was taken to France, but following the defeat of France, he was, in 1816, made a Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Traspontina. He held various high offices thereafter, including that of Major Penitentiary. He soon became cardinal bishop of the suburbicarian see of Frascati.
"As a Cardinal, Castiglione had continued to live modestly, made no enemies, and although his own private life had always been irreproachable, he had shown no signs of censoriousness where others were concerned. He suffered from a very painful and distressing complaint, having perpetually suppurating sores on his neck and body, and was far too ill and feeble to do more than sign the documents presented to him by Cardinal Giuseppe Albani, who ruled the Papal States as autocratically as though he had himself worn the triple crown."
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Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X (Ecclesiastical Latin: Pius PP. X) (2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914), born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox theology. His most important reform was to publish the first Code of Canon Law, which collected the laws of the Church into one volume for the first time. He was a pastoral pope, encouraging personal piety and a lifestyle reflecting Christian values. He was born in the town of Riese, which would later append "Pio X" (Pius X's name in Italian) to the town's name.
Pius was particularly devoted to Mary; his encyclical Ad Diem Illum expresses his desire through Mary to renew all things in Christ, which he had defined as his motto in his first encyclical. Pius believed that there is no surer or more direct road than by the Virgin Mary to achieve this goal. Pius X was the only Pope in the 20th century with extensive pastoral experience at the parish level,[citation needed] and pastoral concerns permeated his papacy; he favoured the use of the vernacular in catechesis. Frequent communion was a lasting innovation of his papacy. Pius X, like Pope Pius IX, was considered by some[who?] to be too outspoken or brusque. His direct style and condemnations did not gain him much support in the aristocratic societies of pre–World War I Europe.
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Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI (Latin: Pius PP. XI; Italian: Pio XI; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939. He issued numerous encyclicals including Quadragesimo Anno, highlighting capitalistic greed of international finance, and social justice issues, and Quas Primas, establishing the feast of Christ the King. He took as his papal motto, "Christ's peace in Christ's kingdom".
Achille Ratti was an accomplished scholar, librarian and priest. He celebrated his 60th birthday as a priest on 31 May 1917. Fewer than five years later, on 6 February 1922, he was elected Pope, succeeding Pope Benedict XV, who was only thirty months older and thus from the same generation as Ratti. In those five years, he had short stints as papal nuncio in Poland, which forced him to leave the country, and as Archbishop of Milan and Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Silvestro e Martino ai Monti, where he served for a few months before being elected Pope. He chose the name Pius, and his personality was strong, similar to Pius IX and Pius X. But as a scholar, he was open to science and research like no other Pope since Leo XIII.
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Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII (Latin: Pius PP. XII; Italian: Pio XII), born Eugenio Marìa Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (2 March 1876 – 9 October 1958), reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958.
Before election to the papacy, Pacelli served as secretary of the Department of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, papal nuncio and Cardinal Secretary of State, in which capacity he worked to conclude treaties with European and Latin American nations, most notably the Reichskonkordat with Nazi Germany. The concordat of 1933 which saw the self-destruction of the Centre (Catholic) Party, on the orders of the Holy See, and Pius' leadership of the Catholic Church during World War II, including his "decision to stay silent in public about the fate of the Jews", remain the subject of controversy.
After the war Pius XII advocated peace and reconciliation, including lenient policies towards Axis and Axis-satellite nations. The Church experienced severe persecution and mass deportations of Catholic clergy in the Eastern Bloc. In light of his overt involvement in Italian politics – anyone who voted for a Communist candidate in the 1948 elections was threatened with automatic excommunication – Pius XII became known as a staunch opponent of the Italian Communist Party. Pius XII explicitly invoked ex cathedra papal infallibility with the dogma of the Assumption of Mary in his 1950 Apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus. His magisterium includes almost 1,000 addresses and radio broadcasts. His forty-one encyclicals include Mystici Corporis, the Church as the Body of Christ; Mediator Dei on liturgy reform; and Humani generis on the Church's positions on theology and evolution. He eliminated the Italian majority in the College of Cardinals in 1946.
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Pope Pontian
Pope Pontian or Pontianus was Pope from 21 July 230 to 29 September 235.[citation needed]
A little more is known of Pontian than his predecessors, apparently from a lost papal chronicle that was available to the compiler of the Liberian Catalogue of bishops of Rome, made in the fourth century.
During his pontificate the schism of Hippolytus of Rome came to an end. Pontian and other church leaders (among them Hippolytus) were exiled by the emperor Maximinus Thrax to Sardinia, and in consequence of this sentence he resigned on 25 or 28 September 235. It is unknown how long he lived in exile: according to Liber Pontificalis he died due to the inhuman treatment and hardships he received in the Sardinian mines. According to tradition, he died on the island of Tavolara.
His feast day was 19 November, but he is now celebrated jointly with Hippolytus on 13 August.
His remains were brought to Rome by Pope Fabian and buried in the Catacomb of Pope Callixtus I. His epitaph was rediscovered in 1909 in the Catacomb of Callixtus, near the papal crypt, reading "PONTIANOS, EPISK.". The inscription "MARTUR" had been added in another hand.
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Pope Romanus
Pope Romanus was Pope from August to November 897.
He was born in Gallese, Italy near Civita Castellana.
He was elected to succeed the murdered Pope Stephen VI and was deposed a few months later by one of the factions, which then governed Rome. His short rule was regarded as a virtuous one by the historian Frodoard. He ended his days as a monk, although this may mean simply that he was deposed. His date of death is unknown.
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Pope Sabinian
Pope Sabinian (died 22 February 606) was pope from 604 to 606. He was born at Blera (Bieda) near Viterbo. Pope during the Byzantine Papacy, he was fourth former apocrisiarius to Constantinople elected pope.
He had been sent by Pope Gregory I as Apostolic nuncio, to Constantinople, but he apparently was not entirely satisfactory in that office. He returned to Rome in 597.
He was probably consecrated pope on 13 September 604.
He incurred unpopularity by his unseasonable economies, although the Liber Pontificalis states that he distributed grain during a famine at Rome under his pontificate. The erudite Italian Augustinian Onofrio Panvinio (1529–1568), in his Epitome pontificum Romanorum (Venice, 1557), attributes to him the introduction of the custom of ringing bells at the canonical hours and the celebration of the Eucharist. The first attribution was this was in Guillaume Durand's thirteenth-century Rationale Divinorum Officiorum.
During his reign, Sabinian was seen as a counterfoil to his predecessor Pope Gregory I. Whereas Gregory distributed grain to the Roman populace as invasion loomed, Sabinian sold it for high prices (though this may be a later interpolation by Gregory's biographers). The Liber Pontificalis praises him for "filling the church with clergy," in contrast to Gregory, who rose rapidly from simple monk to bishop of Rome.
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Pope Sergius I
Pope Saint Sergius I (c. 650 – 8 September 701) was pope from 687 to 701. Selected to end a schism between Antipope Paschal and Antipope Theodore, Sergius I ended the last disputed sede vacante of the Byzantine Papacy.
His papacy was dominated by his response to the Quinisext Council, whose canons he refused to accept. As a result of the dispute, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian II ordered Sergius I's abduction (as his predecessor Constans II had done with Pope Martin I), but with the assistance of the exarch of Ravenna, Sergius I was able to avoid trial in Constantinople.
Sergius I came from an Antiochene Syrian family which had settled at Palermo in Sicily. Sergius left Sicily and arrived in Rome during the pontificate of Pope Adeodatus II. A fellow Sicilian, Pope Leo II, ordained him cardinal-priest of Santa Susanna on 27 June 683, and he rose through the ranks of the clergy. He remained cardinal-priest of S. Susanna until his selection as pope.
Sergius I owed his election as Pope Conon's successor to skillful intrigues against Antipope Paschal and Antipope Theodore, the other candidates. The two armed factions entered into open combat before Sergius I was chosen by a group of judges, soldiers, clergy, and citizens. He was brought to the Palatine imperial palace and then the Lateran. The "numerical superiority" of this new faction forced Theodore from the patriarchium, whereafter he acknowledged Sergius I as pope.
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Pope Sergius II
Pope Sergius II was Pope from January 844 – 24 January 847.
On the death of Gregory IV, the archdeacon John was proclaimed pope by popular acclamation, while the nobility elected Sergius, a Roman of noble birth. The opposition was suppressed, with Sergius intervening to save John's life. Sergius was then consecrated immediately by the nobles (or the bishops)[citation needed], without seeking the ratification of the Frankish court.
The Holy Roman Emperor Lothair I, however, disapproved of this abandonment of the Constitutio Romana of 824, which included a statute that no pope should be consecrated until his election had the approval of the Frankish emperor. He sent an army under his son Louis, the recently appointed Viceroy of Italy, to re-establish his authority. The Church and the Emperor reached an accommodation, with Louis being crowned king of Lombardy by Sergius, although the Pope did not accede to all the demands made upon him.
Sergius contributed to urban redevelopment in Rome, relying on what some consider to be dubious means of gaining money. Simony is said to have flourished during the reign of Sergius II[citation needed].
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Pope Sergius III
Pope Sergius III was a pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 29 January 904 to 14 April 911. Because Sergius III was possibly the only pope known to have ordered the murder of another pope and the only pope to have fathered an illegitimate son who later became pope (John XI), his pontificate has been described as "dismal and disgraceful".
Sergius was the son of Benedictus and came from a noble Roman family. His tenure was part of a period of feudal violence and disorder in central Italy, when the Papacy was a pawn of warring aristocratic factions, often led by prominent women.
The pontificate of Sergius III, according to Liutprand of Cremona, was remarkable for the rise of what papal historians saw as a "pornocracy", or "rule of the harlots", a reversal of the natural order as they saw it, according to Liber pontificalis and a later chronicler who was also biased against Sergius III. This "pornocracy" was an age with women in power: Theodora, whom Liutprand characterized as a "shameless whore... [who] exercised power on the Roman citizenry like a man" and her daughter Marozia, the mother of Pope John XI (931–935) and reputed to be the mistress of Sergius III, largely upon a remark by Liutprand (see Brook link below).
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Pope Sergius IV
Pope Sergius IV (died 12 May 1012), born in Rome as Pietro Martino Buccaporci, was Pope from 31 July 1009 until his death. The date of his birth is unknown. His birth name is believed to have been Pietro Martino (Peter Martin) Buccaporci. This name essentially translates as "Peter Pig's Snout." Pietro adopted the name Sergius IV upon accession to the pontificate.
Buccaporci was the son of a shoemaker (also named Pietro). Despite his family's poor background, he performed well after entering the Church and rose quickly through the ranks. In 1004, he became Bishop of Albano. Upon the abdication of Pope John XVIII in 1009. he was elected pope and adopted the name Sergius IV.
The power held by Sergius IV was often overshadowed by John Crescentius III, the ruler of the city of Rome at the time. Some historians have claimed that Sergius IV was essentially a puppet ruler for Crescentius III. Others, however, claimed that the Pope resisted his power; there is some evidence that Sergius IV gave political backing to an anti-Crescentius faction in the city.
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Pope Severinus
Pope Severinus was pope in the year 640 who became caught up in a power struggle with the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius over the ongoing Monothelite controversy.
He was a Roman. His father was named Avienus, according to the Liber Pontificalis. The name of the father suggests descent from members of the Roman Senate. A previous Avienus was Roman consul in 501.
Severinus was elected on the third day after the death of his predecessor, Honorius I, and the Papal apocrisiarii went to Constantinople to obtain imperial confirmation of his election in October 638. But Emperor Heraclius refused to grant his confirmation unless Severinus signed his Ecthesis, a Monothelite profession of faith. The envoys were unwilling to agree to this demand, but they were also unwilling to allow the Roman See to remain vacant indefinitely, so they offered to show Severinus the document and ask him to sign it if he thought it was correct. This offer was apparently satisfactory, and imperial recognition of the papal election was granted.
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Pope Silverius
Pope Saint Silverius was Pope from 8 June 536 until March 537.
He was a legitimate son of Pope Hormisdas, born before his father entered the priesthood. Silverius was probably consecrated 8 June 536. He may have been married to a woman called Antonia before receiving holy orders, however this remains debated by historians.[citation needed] He was a subdeacon when king Theodahad of the Ostrogoths forced his election and consecration. Jeffrey Richards interprets his low rank prior to becoming pope as an indication that Theodahad was eager to put a pro-Gothic candidate on the throne on the eve of the Gothic War and "had passed over the entire diaconate as untrustworthy". The Liber Pontificalis alleges that Silverius had purchased his elevation from King Theodahad.
On 9 December 536, the Byzantine general Belisarius entered Rome with the approval of Pope Silverius. Theodahad's successor Witiges gathered together an army and besieged Rome for several months, subjecting the city to privation and starvation. In the words of Richards, "What followed is as tangled a web of treachery and double-dealing as can be found anywhere in the papal annals. Several different versions of the course of events following the elevation of Silverius exist." In outline, all accounts agree: Silverius was deposed by Belisarius in March 537 and sent into exile. Vigilius, who was in Constantinople as apocrisiarius or papal legate, was brought to Rome to replace him. They differ over the motivations of the parties involved.
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Pope Simplicius
Pope Saint Simplicius was Pope from 468 AD to 10 March 483 AD.
He was born in Tivoli, Italy, the son of a citizen named Castinus. Most of what is known of him is derived from the Liber Pontificalis.
Simplicius defended the action of the Council of Chalcedon against the Eutychian heresy, labored to help the people of Italy against the marauding raids of barbarian invaders, and saw the Heruli mercenaries revolt and proclaim Odoacer king of Italy in 476, having deposed Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor. Odoacer made few changes in the administration in Rome, firmly in the hands of its Bishop, St. Simplicius. He worked to maintain the authority of Rome in the West.
Simplicius is credited for the construction of a church named in memory of the virgin and martyr St. Bibiana.
St. Simplicius's feast day is celebrated on 10 March, the day of his death.
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Pope Siricius
Pope Saint Siricius, Bishop of Rome from December 384 (the date in December—15 or 22 or 29—is uncertain) until his death on 26 November 399, was successor to Damasus I and was himself succeeded by Anastasius I.
Siricius was elected Bishop of Rome unanimously, despite attempts by the Antipope Ursinus to promote himself. Tradition suggests that Siricius left his wife and children in order to become Pope.[citation needed] The number of Siricius' children is unknown, however. He was an active Pope, involved in the administration of the Church and the handling of various factions and viewpoints within it. He was the first Pope to issue decretals, the first of which was the Directa Decretal sent to Himerius of Tarragona. He was the author of two decrees concerning clerical celibacy. The decree of 385 stated that priests should stop cohabiting with their wives.
When the Spanish bishop and ascetic Priscillian, accused by his fellow bishops of heresy, was executed by the emperor Magnus Maximus under the charge of magic, Siricus—along with Ambrose of Milan and Martin of Tours—protested against this verdict.
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Pope Sisinnius
Pope Sisinnius (c. 650 – 4 February 708) was Pope for about three weeks in 708.
A Syrian by birth, Sisinnius' father's name was John. The paucity of donations to the papacy during his reign (42 pounds of gold and 310 pounds of silver, a fraction of the personal donations of other contemporary pontiffs) indicate that he was probably not from the aristocracy.
Sisinnius was selected as pope during the Byzantine Papacy. He succeeded Pope John VII after a sede vacante of three months. He was consecrated around 15 January 708.
Sisinnius remained pope for just twenty days. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "although he was so afflicted with gout that he was unable even to feed himself, he is nevertheless said to have been a man of strong character, and to have been able to take thought for the good of the city". Among his few acts as pope was the consecration of a bishop for Corsica. He also ordered "that lime be burned in order to restore portions" of the walls of Rome. The restoration of the walls planned by Sisinnius was carried out by Pope Gregory II. The book True Christianity: The Catholic Way credits him with defending the Church against the Lombards and Saracens.
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Pope Sixtus I
Pope Saint Sixtus I was bishop of Rome from about 114 or 119 to 124 or 128 C.E., succeeding Pope Alexander I and succeeded by Pope Telesphorus. In the oldest documents, Xystus is the spelling used for the first three popes of that name. Pope Sixtus I is also the sixth Pope after Peter.
The Holy See's Annuario Pontificio (2012) identifies him as a Roman who reigned from 117 or 119 to 126 or 128. According to the Liberian Catalogue of popes, he ruled the Church during the reign of Hadrian "a consulatu Negro et Aproniani usque Vero III et Ambibulo", that is, from 117 to 126.
Eusebius states in his Chronicon that Sixtus I was pope from 114 to 124, while his Historia Ecclesiastica, using a different catalogue of popes, claims his rule from 114 to 128. All authorities agree that he reigned about ten years.
Sixtus I is credited as having instituted several Roman Catholic liturgical and administrative traditions, but historians believe that these were attributed to him by later writers who were interested in bolstering the papacy's claims to ancient supremacy. Like most of his predecessors, Sixtus I was believed to be buried near Saint Peter's grave on Vatican Hill, although there are differing traditions concerning where his body lies today.
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Pope Sixtus II
Pope Sixtus II or Pope Saint Sixtus II (a corruption of Greek Ξυστος, Xystus, "polished") was Pope from 30 August 257 to 6 August 258. He died as a martyr during the persecution by Emperor Valerian.
According to the Liber Pontificalis, he was Greek by birth; however this is uncertain and disputed by modern western historians arguing that the authors of Liber Pontificalis confused him with that of the contemporary author Xystus who was Greek student of Pythagoreanism. He restored the relations with the African and Eastern Orthodox churches which had been broken off by his predecessor on the question of heretical baptism (see Novatianism).
In the persecutions under Emperor Valerian I in 258, numerous bishops, priests, and deacons were put to death. Pope Sixtus II was one of the first victims of this persecution, being beheaded on 6 August. He was martyred along with six deacons— Januarius, Vincentius, Magnus, Stephanus, Felicissimus and Agapitus. St. Lawrence of Rome, his most well-known deacon, suffered martyrdom on 10 August, 3 days after his master, as Sixtus had prophecied.
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Pope Sixtus III
Pope Saint Sixtus III was pope from 31 July 432 to 18 August 440.
The name of Sixtus is often connected with a great building boom in Rome: Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill was dedicated during his pontificate and he built Santa Maria Maggiore, whose dedication to Mary the Mother of God reflected his acceptance of the Ecumenical council of Ephesus which closed in 431. At that council the debate over Christ's human and divine natures turned on whether Mary could legitimately be called the "Mother of God" or only "Mother of Christ". The council gave her the Greek title Theotokos (literally "God-bearer", or "Mother of God"), and the dedication of the large church in Rome is a response to that.
Prior to being made Pope, Sixtus was a patron of Pelagius, who was later condemned as a heretic.
One of his main concerns was in restoring peace between Cyril of Alexandria and the Syrians.
He also maintained the rights of the Pope over Illyria and the position of the archbishop of Thessalonica as head of the local Illyrian church.
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Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was Pope from 1471 to 1484. His accomplishments as Pope included the establishment of the Sistine Chapel; the group of artists that he brought together introduced the Early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpiece of the city's new artistic age, the Vatican Archives. Sixtus also furthered the agenda of the Spanish Inquisition and annulled the decrees of the Council of Constance. He was famed for his nepotism and was personally involved in the infamous Pazzi Conspiracy.
Francesco was born to a family of modest means from Liguria, Italy, the son of Leonardo della Rovere and Luchina Monleoni. He was born in Celle Ligure, a town near Savona.
As a young man he joined the Franciscan Order, an unlikely choice for a political career, and his intellectual qualities were revealed while he was studying philosophy and theology at the University of Pavia. He went on to lecture at many eminent Italian universities.
In 1464, Francesco della Rovere was elected Minister General of the Franciscan order at the age of 50. In 1467, he was appointed Cardinal of San Pietro in Vincoli by Pope Paul II. Before his papal election, Cardinal della Rovere was renowned for his unworldliness and had even written learned treatises entitled On the Blood of Christ and On the Power of God. His pious reputation was one of the deciding factors that prompted the College of Cardinals to elect him pope upon the unexpected death of Paul II at the age of fifty-four.
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Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V (13 December 1520 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Pope from 1585 to 1590. OFM (Ordo Fratrum Minorum).
Felice Peretti was born in December 1520 at Grottammare, in the Papal States, to Piergentile, nicknamed "Peretto", and Marianna da Frontillo. His father came from Montalto, a nearby village. Rumors about a Croatian origin of the Peretti family are late and false: the Peretti family came from Piceno, today Marche, in Italy Felice later adopted "Peretti" as his family name in 1551, but was more generally known as "di Montalto". He was reared in poverty. Born in a shanty allegedly so ill-thatched that the sun shone through the roof, he later jested that he was "nato di casa illustre" — born of an illustrious (i.e. "illuminated") house.
At an early age he entered a Franciscan friary at Montalto and was known as Felice di Montalto. He soon gave evidence of rare ability as a preacher and a dialectician. A legend has it that while a friar he was approached by the ageing Nostradamus who knelt, kissed the friar's robe and then exclaimed he was kissing the robe of the future pope[citation needed].
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Pope Soter
Pope Saint Soter (died 174) was the Bishop of Rome during the latter half of the 2nd Century with his pontificate, according to the Annuario Pontificio, beginning between 162 and 168 then ending between 170 and 177. Although his name is derived from the Greek word "σωτήρ" (sōtēr), meaning a "saviour" or "deliverer", he was born in Fondi, Campania, Italy. Soter is known for declaring that marriage was valid only as a sacrament blessed by a priest and he also formally inaugurated Easter as an annual festival in Rome.
Saint Soter's feast day is celebrated on 22 April, as is that of Saint Caius. The Roman Martyrology, the official list of recognized saints, references Soter: "At Rome, Saint Soter, Pope, whom Dionysius of Corinth praises for his outstanding charity towards needy exiled Christians who came to him, and towards those who had been condemned to the mines."
It has often been supposed that all the earliest Popes suffered martyrdom; but the Roman Martyrology does not give Pope Soter the title of Martyr. The book detailing the 1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar states: "There are no grounds for including Saint Soter and Saint Caius among the martyrs."
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Pope Stephen I
Pope Saint Stephen I served as Bishop of Rome from 12 May 254 to 2 August 257.
Of Roman birth but of Greek ancestry, he became bishop of Rome in 254, having served as archdeacon of Pope Lucius I, who appointed Stephen his successor.
Following the Decian persecution of 250–251, there was disagreement about how to treat those who had lapsed from the faith, and Stephen was urged by Faustinus, Bishop of Lyon, to take action against Marcian, Bishop of Arles, who denied penance and communion to the lapsed who repented, the position called Novatianism, after Novatian, later declared a heretic, who held for the strictest approach.
Stephen held that converts who had been baptized by splinter groups did not need re-baptism, while Cyprian and certain bishops of the Roman province of Africa held rebaptism necessary for admission to the Eucharist. Stephen's view eventually won broad acceptance.
He is also mentioned as having insisted on the restoration of the bishops of León and Astorga, who had been deposed for unfaithfulness during the persecution but afterwards had repented.
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Pope Stephen II
Pope Stephen II (715 – 26 April 757) was Pope from 752 to 757, succeeding Pope Zachary following the death of Pope-elect Stephen. Stephen II marks the historical delineation between the Byzantine Papacy and the Frankish Papacy.
The Lombards to the north of Rome had captured Ravenna, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire Exarchate of Ravenna, in 751, and began to put pressure on the city of Rome.
Relations were very strained in the mid-8th century between the papacy and the Eastern Roman emperors over the support of the Isaurian Dynasty for iconoclasm. Likewise, maintaining political control over Rome became untenable as the Eastern Roman Empire itself was beset by the Abbasid Caliphate to the south and Bulgars to the northwest. As a result, Rome was unable to secure military support from Constantinople to push back Lombard forces.
Stephen turned to Pepin the Younger, the recently-crowned King of the Franks, and even traveled to Paris to plead for help in person. On 6 January 754, Stephen re-consecrated Pepin as king. In return, Pepin assumed the role of ordained protector of the Church and set his sights on the Lombards.
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Pope Stephen III
Pope Stephen III (c. 720 – 1 February 772) was pope from 1 August 768 to 1 February 772.
Born around the year 720 in Sicily, Stephen III was the son of a man named Olivus. Coming to Rome during the pontificate of Pope Gregory III, he was placed in the monastery of St. Chrysogonus, where he was ordained a Benedictine monk. During the pontificate of Pope Zachary, he was ordained a priest, after which the pope decided to keep him to work at the Lateran Palace. Gregory gradually rose to high office in the service of successive popes, and was at the bedside of the dying Pope Paul I as powerful factions began manoeuvring to ensure the election of their own candidate in late June 767.
The next year was consumed by the rival claims of antipopes Constantine II (installed by a faction of Tuscan nobles) and Philip (the candidate of the Lombards), who were forced out of office by the efforts of Christophorus, the Primicerius of the notaries, and his son Sergius, the Treasurer of the Roman church. With the capture of Constantine II, Christophorus set about organising a canonical election, and on August 1 he summoned not only the Roman clergy and army, but also the people to assemble before the Church of St. Adrian in the area of the old Comitium. Here the combined assembly elected Stephen as pope. They then proceeded to the Church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, where they acclaimed Stephen as pope-elect, and escorted him to the Lateran Palace.
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Pope Stephen IV
Pope Saint Stephen IV was Pope from June 816 to January 817.
The son of a Roman noble called Marinus, Stephen IV belonged to the same family which also produced the Popes Sergius II and Adrian II. At a young age he was raised at the Lateran Palace during the pontificate of Pope Adrian I, and it was under Stephen's predecessor Pope Leo III that he was first ordained a Subdeacon before he was subsequently made a Deacon. Very popular among the Roman people, within ten days of Leo III’s death, he was escorted to Saint Peter’s Basilica and consecrated Bishop of Rome on 22 June 816. It has been conjectured that his rapid election was an attempt by the Roman clergy to ensure that the Roman emperor could not interfere in the election.
Immediately after his consecration he ordered the Roman people to swear fidelity to the Frankish king and Roman emperor Louis the Pious, after which Stephen sent envoys to the emperor notifying him of his election, and to arrange a meeting between the two at the emperor’s convenience. With Louis’ invitation, Stephen left Rome in August 816, crossing the Alps together with Bernard, the King of the Lombards, who was ordered to accompany Stephen to the emperor. In early October, the Pope and Emperor met at Rheims, where Louis prostrated himself three times before Stephen. At Mass on Sunday, 5 October 816, Stephen consecrated and anointed Louis as emperor, placing a crown on his head that was claimed to belong to Constantine the Great. At the same time he also crowned Louis’ wife Ermengarde of Hesbaye, and saluted her as Augusta. This event has been seen as an attempt by the Papacy to establish a role in the creation of an emperor, which had been placed in doubt by Louis' self-coronation in 813.
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Pope Stephen IX
Pope Stephen IX (c. 1020 – 29 March 1058) was Pope from 3 August 1057 to 29 March 1058.
His baptismal name was Frederick of Lorraine (French: Frédéric de Lorraine), and he was a younger brother of Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine, who, as Margrave of Tuscany (by his marriage to Beatrice of Bar, widow of Boniface III of Tuscany), played a prominent part in the politics of the period.
Frederick, who had been raised to the cardinalate by Pope Leo IX, for some time discharged the function of papal legate at Constantinople. He was with Leo IX in his expedition against the Normans and at one time had to take refuge from Emperor Henry II in Monte Cassino. Five days after the death of Pope Victor II (who had made him cardinal-priest and abbot of Monte Cassino) he was chosen to succeed him as Pope Stephen IX. He enforced the policies of the Gregorian Reform as to clerical celibacy, was planning for the expulsion of the Normans from Italy and the elevation of his brother to the imperial throne, when he was seized by a severe illness, from which he only partially and temporarily recovered. Stephen IX died at Florence on 29 March 1058 and is considered by the current-day Roman Catholic Church to have been succeeded by Pope Nicholas II, though others consider his successor to be Pope Benedict X, officially regarded as an antipope.
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Pope Stephen V
Pope Stephen V was pope from 885 to 891. He succeeded Pope Adrian III, and was in turn succeeded by Pope Formosus. In his dealings with Constantinople in the matter of Photius, as also in his relations with the young Slavic Orthodox church, he pursued the policy of Pope Nicholas I.
His father Hadrian, who belonged to the Roman aristocracy, entrusted his education to his relative, Bishop Zachary, librarian of the Holy See. Stephen was created cardinal-priest of Santi Quattro Coronati by Marinus I, and his obvious holiness was the cause of his being chosen pope.
He was consecrated in September 885 without waiting for the imperial confirmation; but when Charles the Fat found with what unanimity he had been elected he let the matter rest.
Stephen was called upon to face a famine caused by a drought and by locusts, and as the papal treasury was empty he had to fall back on his father's wealth to relieve the poor, to redeem captives, and to repair churches.
Following the death of Saint Methodius, a disciple of Methodius, Gorazd, became his successor. However, due to the influence of the German clergy, Stephen forbid the use of the Slavonic liturgy. Thus forcing the Slavs to join the Orthodox church.
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Pope Stephen VI
Pope Stephen VI (died August 897) was Pope from 22 May 896 to August 897.
He had been made bishop of Anagni by Pope Formosus. The circumstances of his election are unclear, but he was sponsored by one of the powerful Roman families, the house of Spoleto, that contested the papacy at the time.
Stephen is chiefly remembered in connection with his conduct towards the remains of Pope Formosus, his last predecessor but one. The rotting corpse of Formosus was exhumed and put on trial in the so-called Cadaver Synod (or Synodus Horrenda) in January 897. Pressure from the Spoleto contingent and Stephen's fury with his predecessor probably precipitated this extraordinary event. With the corpse propped up on a throne, a deacon was appointed to answer for the deceased pontiff, who was condemned for performing the functions of a bishop when he had been deposed and for receiving the pontificate while he was the bishop of Porto, among other revived charges that had been leveled against Formosus in the strife during the pontificate of John VIII. The corpse was found guilty, stripped of its sacred vestments, deprived of three fingers of its right hand (the blessing fingers), clad in the garb of a layman, and quickly buried; it was then re-exhumed and thrown in the Tiber. All ordinations performed by Formosus were annulled.
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Pope Stephen VII
Pope Stephen VII (?– 15 March 931). Stephen was a Roman by birth, the son of Theodemundus, and perhaps a member of the Gabrielli family.[citation needed] He was elected—probably handpicked—by Marozia from the Tusculani family, as a stop-gap measure until her own son John was ready to assume the throne of Peter. He had been before cardinal-priest of St Anastasia in Rome.
During his reign as Pope, he confirmed the privileges of a few religious houses in France and Italy. The validity of his papacy is disputed. Like his predecessor, Pope Leo VI, he was elected while Pope John X was still alive and in prison.
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Pope Stephen VIII
Pope Stephen VIII was pope from 14 July 939, until his death towards the end of October 942.
Stephen VIII was born of a Roman family, and prior to becoming pope was attached to the church of Saints Silvester and Martin. With his elevation as Bishop of Rome, Stephen gave his attention to the situation in West Francia, or as the Romans still referred to it, Gaul. In early 940, Stephen intervened on behalf of Louis IV of France, who had been trying to bring to heel his rebellious dukes, Hugh the Great and Herbert II, Count of Vermandois, both of whom had appealed for support from the German king Otto I. The Pope dispatched a Papal legate to the Frankish nobles, instructing them to acknowledge Louis, and to cease their rebellious actions against him, under threat of excommunication. Although the embassy did not achieve its stated objective, it did have the effect of removing the support of the Frankish bishops who had been backing Hugh and Herbert.
Emboldened by this, Stephen then sought to break up the alliance against Louis by offering Herbert’s son, Hugh of Vermandois, the office of Archbishop of Reims. Along with the Pallium (the symbol of office for the archbishop), Stephen sent another legate, with instructions to the Frankish nobility, insisting that they submit to Louis. This time they were informed that if the pope had not received their embassies by Christmas, notifying him of their intent to submit to the king, they would be excommunicated. This time, there was a shift in support to Louis, as a number of the more important nobles declared for him, and by the end of 942, all of the nobility had affirmed their loyalty to Louis, and notified the pope of their intent.
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Pope Sylvester I
Pope Sylvester I served as pope from 31 January 314 to 31 December 335, succeeding Pope Miltiades. He filled the See of Rome at an important era in the history of the Catholic Church, yet very little is known of him. The accounts of the papacy of Pope Sylvester I preserved in the Liber Pontificalis (7th or 8th century) are little else than a record of the gifts said to have been conferred on the Church by Constantine I, but it does say that he was the son of a Roman named Rufinus.
During his pontificate were built the great churches founded at Rome by Constantine, e.g. the Basilica of St. John Lateran, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, St. Peter's Basilica, and several cemeterial churches over the graves of martyrs.
Sylvester did not himself attend the First Council of Nicaea in 325, but he was represented by two legates, Vitus and Vincentius, and he approved the council's decision.
Part of the Symmachean forgeries, the Vita beati Sylvestri (c. 501–508), which has been preserved in Greek and Syriac, and in Latin in the Constitutum Sylvestri, is an apocryphal account of an alleged Roman council, introduced legends of Sylvester's close relationship with the first Christian emperor. They also appear in the Donation of Constantine.
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Pope Sylvester II
Pope Sylvester II (or Silvester II) (c. 946 – 12 May 1003), born Gerbert d'Aurillac, was a prolific scholar, teacher, and Pope. He endorsed and promoted study of Arab/Greco-Roman arithmetic, mathematics, and astronomy, reintroducing to Europe the abacus and armillary sphere, which had been lost to Europe since the end of the Greco-Roman era. He was the first French Pope, reigning from 999 until his death. Due to his efforts to root out simony and other corruption within the Church, and his connection with science and intellectualism, there were many rumors and legends spread of Sylvester II being a sorcerer in league with the devil.
Gerbert was born about 946 in the town of Belliac, near the present-day commune of Saint-Simon, Cantal, France. Around 963, he entered the monastery of St. Gerald of Aurillac. In 967, Borrell II of Barcelona (947–992), visited the monastery, and the abbot asked the Count to take Gerbert with him so that the lad could study mathematics in Spain and acquire there some knowledge of Arabic learning. In the following years, Gerbert studied under the direction of Atto, Bishop of Vic, some 60 km north of Barcelona, and probably also at the nearby Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll.
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Pope Sylvester III
Pope Sylvester III, né Giovanni dei Crescenzi–Ottaviani (died 1062 or 1063), born in Rome, was Pope for a short time in 1045. When Pope Benedict IX was driven from Rome in September 1044, John, bishop of Sabina, was elected after fierce and protracted infighting. He took the name Sylvester III in January 1045. He was later charged with having bribed his way into the election, a charge that was never confirmed. Benedict IX issued an excommunication of the new Pope and within three months returned to Rome and expelled his rival, who himself returned to Sabina to again take up his office of bishop in that diocese. Nearly two years later (in December 1046), the Council of Sutri deprived him of his bishopric and priesthood and ordered him sent to a monastery. This sentence was obviously suspended because he continued to function and was recognized as Bishop of Sabina until at least 1062, having occupied that see for over twenty years (from 1041). A successor bishop to the see of Sabina is recorded for October 1063, indicating that John must have died prior to that date.
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Pope Symmachus
Saint Symmachus was pope from 498 to 514. His tenure was marked by a serious schism over who was legitimately elected pope by the citizens of Rome.
He was born on Sardinia, the son of Fortunatus; Jeffrey Richards notes that he was born a pagan, and "perhaps the rankest outsider" of all the Ostrogothic Popes, most of whom were members of aristocratic families. Symmachus was baptized in Rome, where he became archdeacon of the Church under Pope Anastasius II.
Symmachus was elected pope on 22 November 498 in the Constantinian basilica. The archpriest of Santa Prassede, Laurentius, was elected pope that same day at the church of St. Mary's by a dissenting minority faction with Byzantine sympathies, who were supported by Emperor Anastasius. Both factions agreed to allow the Gothic King Theodoric the Great to arbitrate. He ruled that the one who was elected first and whose supporters were the most numerous should be recognized as pope. An investigation found the facts favored Symmachus and his election was recognized as proper. However, an early document known as the "Laurentian Fragment" claims that Symmachus obtained the decision by paying bribes, while deacon Magnus Felix Ennodius of Milan later wrote that 400 solidi were distributed amongst influential personages, whom it would be indiscreet to name.
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Pope Telesphorus
Pope Saint Telesphorus was Pope from 126 or 127 to 136 or 137 or 138, during the reigns of Roman Emperors Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. He was Greek by birth.
Telesphorus is traditionally reckoned as being the seventh Roman bishop in succession after Saint Peter. The Liber Pontificalis mentions that he had been an anchorite (or hermit) monk prior to assuming office. According to the testimony of Irenæus (Against Heresies III.3.3), he suffered a "glorious" martyrdom. Although all early popes are called martyrs by sources such as the Liber Ponificalis, Telesphorus is the first to whom Ireneaus, writing considerably earlier, gives this title.
Eusebius (Church History iv.7; iv.14) places the beginning of his pontificate in the twelfth year of the reign of Emperor Hadrian (128–129) and gives the date of his death as being in the first year of the reign of Antoninus Pius (138–139).
In the Roman Martyrology his feast is celebrated on 2 January; the Greek Church celebrates it on 22 February.
The tradition of Christmas Midnight Masses, the celebration of Easter on Sundays, the keeping of a seven-week Lent before Easter and the singing of the Gloria are usually attributed to his pontificate, but some historians doubt that such attributions are accurate.
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Pope Theodore I
Pope Theodore I (died 14 May 649), who was pope from 24 November 642 until his death, is considered a Greek, but was born in Jerusalem. He was made a cardinal deacon (possibly around 640) and a full cardinal by Pope John IV.
His election was supported by the exarch and he was installed on 24 November 642, succeeding John IV. The main focus of his pontificate was the continued struggle against the heretical Monothelites. He refused to recognize Paul as the Patriarch of Constantinople, because his predecessor, Pyrrhus, had not been correctly replaced. He pressed Emperor Constans II to withdraw the Ecthesis of Heraclius. While his efforts made little impression on Constantinople, it increased the opposition to the heresy in the West; Pyrrhus even briefly recanted his heresy (645), but was excommunicated in 648. Paul was excommunicated in 649. In response, Paul destroyed the Roman altar in the palace of Placidia and exiled or imprisoned the papal nuncios. But he also sought to end the issue with the Emperor by promulgating the Type of Constans, ordering that the Ecthesis be taken down and seeking to end discussion on the doctrine.
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Pope Urban I
Pope Saint Urban I was Pope from 14 October 222 to 230. He was born in Rome, Roman Empire and succeeded St. Callixtus I who had been martyred. For centuries it was believed that Urban too was martyred. However, recent historical discoveries now lead scholars to believe that he died of natural causes.
Much of Urban's life is shrouded in mystery, leading to many myths and misconceptions. Despite the lack of sources he is the first Pope whose reign can be definitely dated. Two prominent sources do exist for Urban's pontificate: Eusebius' history of the early Church and also an inscription in the Coemeterium Callisti which names the Pope.
Urban ascended to the Chair of Saint Peter in the year of the Roman Emperor Elagabalus' assassination and served during the reign of Alexander Severus. It is believed that Urban's pontificate was during a peaceful time for Christians in the Empire as Severus did not promote the persecution of Christianity.
Urban is a canonized saint of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
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Pope Urban II
Blessed Pope Urban II (ca. 1035 – 29 July 1099), born Otho de Lagery (alternatively: Otto, Odo or Eudes), was Pope from 12 March 1088 until his death on 29 July 1099. He is best known for starting the First Crusade (1096–1099) and setting up the modern-day Roman Curia in the manner of a royal court to help run the Church.
Pope Gregory VII named him cardinal-bishop of Ostia ca. 1080. He was one of the most prominent and active supporters of the Gregorian reforms, especially as legate in Germany in 1084 and was among the few whom Gregory VII nominated as possible successors to be Pope. Desiderius, abbot of Monte Cassino was first chosen Pope as Victor III when Gregory VII died in 1085, but after Victor's short reign, Otho was elected Pope Urban II by acclamation (March 1088) at a small meeting of cardinals and other prelates held in Terracina in March 1088. He took up the policies of Pope Gregory VII, and while pursuing them with determination, showed greater flexibility and diplomatic finesse. At the outset, he had to reckon with the presence of the powerful antipope Clement III in Rome, but a series of well-attended synods held in Rome, Amalfi, Benevento, and Troia supported him in renewed declarations against simony, Investiture Controversy, clerical marriages, and continued opposition to Emperor Henry IV.
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Pope Urban III
Pope Urban III (died 20 October 1187), born Uberto Crivelli, was Pope from 1185 to 1187. He was made cardinal and Archbishop of Milan by Pope Lucius III, whom he succeeded on 25 November 1185. He vigorously took up his predecessor's quarrels with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, including the standing dispute about the disposal of the territories of the countess Matilda of Tuscany. Even after his elevation to the papacy, Urban continued to hold the archbishopric of Milan, and in this capacity refused to crown as King of Italy Frederick I's son Prince Henry, who had married Constance of Sicily, the heiress of the kingdom of Sicily. While Henry in the south cooperated with the rebel Senate of Rome, Frederick I in the north blocked the passes of the Alps and cut off all communication between the Pope, then living in Verona, and his German adherents. Urban III now resolved on excommunicating Frederick I, but the Veronese protested against such a proceeding being resorted to within their walls. He accordingly withdrew to Ferrara, but died before he could give effect to his intentions. His successor was Gregory VIII.
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Pope Urban IV
Pope Urban IV (c. 1195 – 2 October 1264), born Jacques Pantaléon, was Pope from 1261 to 1264. He was not a cardinal, one of only a few popes since his time that have not been Cardinals, including Urban V and Urban VI.
Urban IV was the son of a cobbler of Troyes, France. He studied theology and common law in Paris and was appointed a canon of Laon and later Archdeacon of Liège. At the First Council of Lyon (1245) he attracted the attention of Pope Innocent IV, who sent him on two missions in Germany. One of the missions was to negotiate the Treaty of Christburg between the pagan Prussians and the Teutonic Knights. He became Bishop of Verdun in 1253. In 1255, Pope Alexander IV made him Patriarch of Jerusalem.
He had returned from Jerusalem, which was in dire straits, and was at Viterbo seeking help for the oppressed Christians in the East when Alexander IV died. After a three-month vacancy, Pantaléon was chosen by the eight cardinals of the Sacred College to succeed him in a papal election that concluded on 29 August 1261. He chose the regnal name of Urban IV.
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Pope Urban V
The Blessed Pope Urban V (1310 – 19 December 1370), born William de Grimoard, reigned as Pope from 1362 to 1370.
He was born in 1310 in the Castle of Grizac in the French region of Languedoc (today part of the commune of Le Pont-de-Montvert, department of Lozère), the son of William de Grimoard, Lord of Bellegarde, and of Amphélise de Montferrand.
As a young man, Grimoard became a Benedictine monk in the small Priory of Chirac, near his home, which was a dependency of the ancient Abbey of St. Victor near Marseille, and he was sent there for his novitiate. After his profession of monastic vows, he was ordained a priest in his own monastery in Chirac. Showing great academic talent, he was then sent to the great universities of Europe, earning a doctorate in Canon Law. He became acclaimed as a foremost canonist of the age, himself teaching at Montpellier, Paris and Avignon. In August 1361 he was elected as the abbot of the Abbey of St. Victor.
In September 1362, Abbot William arrived in Avignon, returning from Naples, where he had been sent by Pope Innocent IV as papal legate, only to learn that the pope had died. At that time, a conclave was already being held to elect a successor to the recently-deceased pope. In a surprise move, on the 28th of that month he himself was elected Pope. He then took the name of Urban, the fifth pope with that name to rule the Church.
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Pope Urban VI
Pope Urban VI (c. 1318 – 15 October 1389), born Bartolomeo Prignano, was Pope from 1378 to 1389. He was the last Pope to be elected from outside the College of Cardinals.
Born in Itri, he was a devout monk and learned casuist, trained at Avignon. On 21 March 1364 he was consecrated Archbishop of Acerenza in the Kingdom of Naples. He became Archbishop of Bari in 1377. On the death of Pope Gregory XI in 1378, a Roman mob surrounded the papal conclave to demand a Roman pope. The cardinals being under some haste and great pressure to avoid the return of the Papal seat to Avignon, Prignano was unanimously chosen Pope on 8 April 1378 as acceptable to the disunited majority of French cardinals, taking the name Urban VI. Not being a Cardinal, he was not well known. Immediately following the conclave, most of the cardinals fled Rome before the mob could learn that not a Roman (though not a Frenchman either), but a subject of Queen Joan I of Naples, had been chosen.
Prignano had developed a reputation for simplicity and frugality and a head for business when acting Vice-Chancellor. He also demonstrated a penchant for learning, and, according to Cristoforo di Piacenza, he was without famiglia in an age of nepotism, although once in the papal chair he elevated four cardinal-nephews and sought to place one of them in control of Naples. His great faults undid his virtues: Ludwig Pastor summed up his character: "He lacked Christian gentleness and charity. He was naturally arbitrary and extremely violent and imprudent, and when he came to deal with the burning ecclesiastical question of the day, that of reform, the consequences were disastrous."
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Pope Urban VII
Pope Urban VII (4 August 1521 – 27 September 1590), born Giovanni Battista Castagna, was Pope for thirteen days in September 1590, the shortest papal reign in history. He was of Genoese origin, although born in Rome. He was created Cardinal-Priest of S. Marcello in 1584. He was chosen successor of Pope Sixtus V (1585–1590) on 15 September 1590, but died of malaria (27 September 1590) before coronation, making his the shortest papal reign in history.
He had previously served as governor of Bologna and as archbishop of Rossano, and was for many years nuncio to Spain; his election to the papacy was largely backed by the Spanish faction.
Urban VII's short passage in office gave rise to the world's first known public smoking ban, as he threatened to excommunicate anyone who "took tobacco in the porchway of or inside a church, whether it be by chewing it, smoking it with a pipe or sniffing it in powdered form through the nose".
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Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII (baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Barberini, was pope from 1623 to 1644. He was the last pope to expand the papal territory by force of arms, and was a prominent patron of the arts and reformer of Church missions. However, the massive debts incurred during his papacy greatly weakened his successors, who were unable to maintain the papacy's longstanding political and military influence in Europe. He was also involved in a controversy with Galileo and his theory on heliocentrism during his reign.
Maffeo Barberini was born in 1568 into the wealthy merchant Barberini family in Florence, Italy. He was educated by the Jesuits and received a doctorate of law from the University of Pisa in 1589.
In 1601, Maffeo, through the influence of an uncle who had become apostolic protonotary, was able to secure from Clement VIII, the appointment as papal legate to the court of King Henry IV of France. In 1604 Clement VIII appointed him archbishop of Nazareth, although this was an honorary position as the Holy Land was under Turkish rule. On the death of his uncle, he inherited his riches, with which he bought a palace in Rome which he made a luxurious Renaissance residence.
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Pope Valentine
Pope Valentine, (in Latin: Valentinus), was elected pope for a short time in 827.
Born in Rome in the region of the Via Lata, Valentine was the son of a Roman noble called Leontius. Showing an early aptitude for learning, he was moved from the school attached to the Lateran Palace and, according to the Liber Pontificalis, was made a Deacon by Paschal I (817–824). Paschal grew attached to the young man, and soon raised him rank of Archdeacon. He also was clearly favoured by Paschal’s successor, Pope Eugene II, to the point where rumours were circulated that Valentine was really the son of Eugene. Other rumours declared that Valentine and Eugene were involved in an illicit relationship.
With the death of Eugene, the Roman clergy, nobility and people all acclaimed Valentine as being the most worthy to occupy the Apostolic See. They took him from the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, and installed him in the Lateran Palace, ignoring his protests. In their haste, they enthroned him before he was consecrated a priest; this was an unusual reversal of the normal proceedings, and in fact was the first time it had happened in the recorded history of the papacy, although it would be repeated during the pontificate of Pope Benedict III. On the following Sunday, he was formally consecrated bishop at St. Peter's Basilica. There were no imperial representatives present during the election, and Valentine had no opportunity to ratify his election with the emperor, as he was dead within five weeks, dying on 10 October 827.
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Pope Victor I
Pope Saint Victor I was Pope from 189 to 199 (the Vatican cites 186 or 189 to 197 or 201).
Pope Victor I was the first bishop of Rome born in the Roman Province of Africa: probably he was born in Leptis Magna (or Tripolitania). He was later canonized. His feast day is celebrated on 28 July as "St Victor I, Pope and Martyr".
Before his elevation to the Roman episcopacy, a difference in dating the celebration of the Christian Passover/Easter between Rome and the bishops of Asia Minor had been tolerated by both the Roman and Eastern churches. The churches in Asia Minor celebrated it on the 14th of the Jewish month of Nisan, the day before Jewish Passover, regardless of what day of the week it fell on, as the Crucifixion had occurred on the Friday before Passover. The Latins called them Quartodecimans. Rome and the West celebrated Easter on the Sunday following the 14th of Nisan. Victor is remembered for the great concern he displayed for order in the church by severing ties with bishops such as Polycrates of Ephesus who opposed his views on Easter. He also broke with Theodotus of Byzantium for his beliefs about Christ.
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Pope Victor II
Pope Victor II (c. 1018 – 28 July 1057), born Gebhard, Count of Calw, Tollenstein, and Hirschberg, was Pope from 1055 to 1057. He was one of a series of German reform Popes.
He was born Gebhard of Calw, a son of the Swabian Count Hartwig of Calw and a kinsman of Emperor Henry III. At the insistence of Gebhard, Bishop of Ratisbon, the 24-year-old Gebhard was appointed Bishop of Eichstätt. In this position, he supported the Emperor's interests and eventually became one of his closest advisors.
After the death of Pope Leo IX, a Roman delegation headed by Hildebrand, later Pope Gregory VII, travelled to Mainz and asked the Emperor for the nomination of a successor. He suggested Gebhard, who was duly nominated in September 1054. Gebhard, taking the name Victor II, moved to Rome and was enthroned in St. Peter's Basilica on 13 April 1055.
In June 1055, Victor met the Emperor at Florence and held a council, which reinforced Pope Leo IX's condemnation of clerical marriage, simony, and the loss of the church's properties. In the following year, he was summoned to the Emperor's side, and was with Henry III when he died at Bodfeld in the Harz on 5 October 1056. As guardian of Henry III's infant son Henry and adviser of the Empress Agnes, Henry IV's mother and regent, Victor II now wielded enormous power, which he used to maintain peace throughout the empire and to strengthen the papacy against the aggressions of the barons. He died shortly after his return to Italy, at Arezzo, on 28 July 1057.
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Pope Victor III
Pope Blessed Victor III (c. 1026 – 16 September 1087), born Daufer (Dauphar), Latinised Dauferius, was Pope as the successor of Pope Gregory VII from 24 May 1086, yet his pontificate is far less impressive in history than his time as Desiderius, the great Abbot of Monte Cassino.
He was born in 1026 or 1027 of a non-regnant branch of the Lombard dukes of Benevento as eldest son of Prince Landulf V of Benevento. As he was an only son, both parents opposed his desire to embrace the monastic state. After his father died in battle with the Normans in 1047, he fled from an arranged marriage and, though brought back by force, eventually fled again. He went to Cava de' Tirreni, where he obtained permission to enter the monastery of S. Sophia at Benevento, where he changed his name from Dauferius to Desiderius. The life at S. Sophia was not strict enough for the young monk, who betook himself first to the island monastery of Tremite in the Adriatic and in 1053 to some hermits at Majella in the Abruzzi. About this time he was brought to the notice of St. Leo IX, and it is probable that the pope employed him at Benevento to negotiate peace with the Normans after the fatal battle of Civitate.
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Pope Vigilius
Pope Vigilius (died 7 June 555) reigned as pope from 537 to 555, is considered the first pope of the Byzantine Papacy.
He belonged to an aristocratic Roman family; his father Johannes is identified as a consul in the Liber pontificalis, having received that title from the emperor. According to Procopius, his brother Reparatus was one of the senators taken hostage by Witigis, but managed to escape before the Ostrogothic king ordered their slaughter in 537.
Vigilius entered the service of the Roman Church and was ordained a deacon in 531, in which year the Roman clergy agreed to a decree empowering the pope to determine the succession to the Papal See (something theologians now consider invalid). Vigilius was chosen by Pope Boniface II as his successor and presented to the clergy assembled in St. Peter's Basilica. The opposition to such a procedure led Boniface in the following year to withdraw his designation of a successor and to burn the decree respecting it.
The second successor of Boniface, Pope Agapetus I (535–536), appointed Vigilius papal representative (apocrisiary) at Constantinople. Empress Theodora sought to win him as a confederate to revenge the deposition of the Monophysite Patriarch Anthimus I of Constantinople by Agapetus and also to gain aid for her efforts in behalf of the Monophysites. Vigilius is said to have agreed to the plans of the intriguing empress who promised him the Papal See and a large sum of money (700 pounds of gold).
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Pope Vitalian
Pope Saint Vitalian was Pope of the Catholic Church from 30 July 657 until 27 January 672.
He was born in Segni, Lazio, the son of Anastasius.
After the death of Pope Eugene I on 2 or 3 June 657, Vitalian was elected his successor, and was consecrated and enthroned on 30 July.
Like Eugene, Vitalian tried to restore the connection with Constantinople by making friendly advances to the Eastern Emperor Constans II and to prepare the way for the settlement of the Monothelite controversy. He sent letters (synodica) announcing his elevation to the Emperor and to Patriarch Peter of Constantinople, who was inclined to Monothelitism. The Emperor confirmed the privileges of the Holy See as head of the Catholic Church and sent to Rome a codex of the Gospels in a cover of gold richly ornamented with precious stones as a good-will gesture.
The Patriarch Peter also replied, although his answer was somewhat noncommittal as to Monothelitism, a belief he defended. In his letter, he gave the impression of being in accord with the pope, whose letter to Peter had expounded the Catholic Faith. Thus ecclesiastical intercourse between Rome and Constantinople was restored, but the mutual reserve over the dogmatic question of Monothelitism remained. Vitalian's name was entered on the diptychs of the churches in Byzantium—the only name of a pope so entered between the reign of Honorius I (d. 638) and the Sixth Ecumenical Council of 680–81.
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Pope Zachary
Pope Saint Zachary (Greek: Zacharias) was Pope of the Catholic Church from 741 to 752. A Greek from Calabria, he was the last pope of the Byzantine Papacy. Most probably he was a deacon of the Roman Church and as such signed the decrees of the Roman council of 732 and was on intimate terms with Gregory III, whom he succeeded on 10 December 741.
Zachary was a wise and subtle diplomat. Finding that his predecessor's alliance with the Lombard Duke of Spoleto was not protecting papal cities against the Lombard king, Zachary turned to Liutprand the Lombard directly. The contemporary history (Liber pontificalis) dwells chiefly on Zachary's great personal influence with Liutprand, and with his successor Ratchis. His tact in dealing with these princes in a variety of emergencies contributed to save the Exarchate of Ravenna from the Lombard attacks.
A correspondence of considerable extent and of great interest between Zachary and Saint Boniface, the apostle of Germany, survives, and shows how great was the influence of this pope on events in France and Germany. He encouraged the deposition of the last Merovingian king of the Franks, Childeric III, and it was with his sanction that Boniface crowned Pepin the Short as King of the Franks at Soissons in 752. Zachary is stated to have remonstrated with the Byzantine emperor Constantine V Copronymus on the part he had taken in the iconoclastic controversy. He died on 22 March 752 and was buried in St. Peter's Basilica. His successor was Stephen, who died soon before his consecration and is not considered a valid pope. He was then succeeded by another Stephen who became Stephen II.
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Pope Zephyrinus
Pope Saint Zephyrinus, born in Rome, was bishop of Rome from 199 to 217. His predecessor was bishop Victor I. Upon his death on 20 December 217, he was succeeded by his principal advisor, bishop Callixtus I.
During the 17-year pontificate of Zephyrinus, the young Church endured severe persecution under the Emperor Severus until his death in the year 211. To quote Butler (Ref. A. Butler: Lives of the Saints Vol VIII, 1866), St Zephyrinus was the support of his flock. He also endured the trials associated with new heresies and apostases. The chief among these were Marcion, Praxeas, Valentine and the Montanists. St. Optatus testifies that all of these were subdued by Zephyrinus, Bishop of Rome. (Ref. Optat. 1,1 De Schismate, n.9 et Albaspinæus, not.ib.) Eusebius insists that Zephyrinus fought vigorously against the blasphemies of the two Theodotuses, who in response treated him with contempt, but later called him the greatest defender of the divinity of Christ. Although he was not physically martyred for the faith, his suffering – both mental and spiritual – during his pontificate have earned him the title of martyr. (Ref. Berti in Sæc 3. Diss. 1.t. 2 p 158)
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Pope Zosimus
Pope Saint Zosimus was Pope from 18 March 417 to 26 December 418 (or 27 December).
He succeeded Innocent I and was followed by Boniface I. Zosimus took a decided part in the protracted dispute in Gaul as to the jurisdiction of the See of Arles over that of Vienne, giving energetic decisions in favour of the former, but without settling the controversy. His fractious temper coloured all the controversies in which he took part, in Gaul, Africa and Italy, including Rome, where at his death the clergy were very much divided.
According to the Liber Pontificalis, Zosimus was a Greek and his father's name was Abram. Historian Adolf von Harnack deduced from this that the family was of Jewish origin, but this cannot be certain.
Nothing is known of the life of Zosimus before his elevation to the Papal See. His consecration as Bishop of Rome took place on 18 March 417. The festival was attended by Patroclus, Bishop of Arles, who had been raised to that See in place of Bishop Heros of Arles, who had been forcibly and unjustly removed by the imperial general Constantine. Patroclus gained the confidence of the new pope at once; as early as 22 March he received a papal letter which conferred upon him the rights of a metropolitan over all the bishops of the Gallic provinces of Viennensis and Narbonensis I and II. In addition, he was made a kind of papal vicar for the whole of Gaul; no Gallic ecclesiastic being permitted to journey to Rome without bringing with him a certificate of identity from Patroclus.
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Ramiz Alia
Ramiz Tafë Alia (help·info) (18 October 1925 – 7 October 2011) was the second and last communist leader of Albania from 1985 to 1991, and the President of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1991 to 1992, and also the first President of the post communist Albania elected in 1991–92. He had been designated as successor by Enver Hoxha and took power after Hoxha died. Alia died on 7 October 2011 in Tirana due to lung disease, aged 85.
Alia was born in 1925. In the early part of World War II he was a member of a Fascist youth organization but joined the underground Albanian Communist Youth Organization in 1941. In 1943, he became member of the Albanian Communist Party. He had risen rapidly under Hoxha's patronage and by 1961 was a full member of the ruling Political Bureau (Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania).[citation needed]
Hoxha chose Alia for several reasons. First, Alia had long been a militant follower of Marxism-Leninism and supported Hoxha's policy of national self-reliance. Alia also was favored by Hoxha's wife Nexhmije, who had once been his instructor at the Institute of Marxism-Leninism. His political experience was similar to that of Hoxha; and inasmuch as he appeared to share Hoxha's views on most foreign and domestic issues, he accommodated himself to the totalitarian mode of ruling.[citation needed]
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Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961.
Nixon was born in Yorba Linda, California. After completing his undergraduate work at Whittier College, he graduated from Duke University School of Law in 1937, and returned to California to practice law. He and his wife, Pat Nixon, moved to Washington to work for the federal government in 1942. He subsequently served in the United States Navy during World War II. Nixon was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946 and to the Senate in 1950. His pursuit of the Hiss Case established his reputation as a leading anti-communist, and elevated him to national prominence. He was the running mate of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican Party presidential nominee in the 1952 election. Nixon served for eight years as vice president. He waged an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1960, narrowly losing to John F. Kennedy, and lost a race for Governor of California in 1962. In 1968, he ran again for the presidency and was elected.
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Robert Bellarmine
Robert Bellarmine (full name in Italian: Roberto Francesco Romolo Bellarmino) (4 October 1542 – 17 September 1621) was an Italian Jesuit and a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was one of the most important figures in the Counter-Reformation. He was canonized in 1930 and is a Doctor of the Church.
Bellarmine was born at Montepulciano to a noble if impoverished family, the son of Vincenzo Bellarmino and his wife Cinzia Cervini, who was sister of Pope Marcellus II. He never grew taller than five feet three inches. As a boy he knew Virgil by heart and composed a number of poems in Italian and Latin. One of his hymns, on Mary Magdalene, is included in the Breviary. He entered the Roman novitiate in 1560, remaining in Rome three years. He then went to a Jesuit house at Mondovì, in Piedmont, where he learned Greek. While at Mondovì, he came to the attention of Francesco Adorno, the local Jesuit Provincial Superior, who sent him to the University of Padua.
Bellarmine's systematic study of theology began at Padua in 1567 and 1568, where his teachers were Thomists. In 1569 he was sent to finish it at the University of Leuven in Flanders. There he was ordained, and obtained a reputation both as a professor and a preacher, drawing to his pulpit both Catholics and Protestants. He was the first Jesuit to teach at the university, where the subject of his course was the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas.
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Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara (June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, during which time he played a large role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War. Following that, he served as President of the World Bank from 1968 to 1981. McNamara was responsible for the institution of systems analysis in public policy, which developed into the discipline known today as policy analysis.
Prior to public service, McNamara was one of the "Whiz Kids" who helped rebuild Ford Motor Company after World War II, and briefly served as Ford's President before becoming Secretary of Defense.
Robert McNamara was born in San Francisco, California. His father was Robert James McNamara, sales manager of a wholesale shoe company. His mother was Clara Nell Strange McNamara. His father's family was Irish and in about 1850, following the Great Irish Famine, had emigrated to Massachusetts and later to California. He graduated from Piedmont High School in Piedmont, California in 1933 where he was president of the Rigma Lions boys club and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1937 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics with minors in mathematics and philosophy. He was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa his sophomore year and earned a varsity letter in crew. He was also a member of the UC Berkeley's Order of the Golden Bear which was a fellowship of students and leading faculty members formed to promote leadership within the student body. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1939.
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Robert Schuman
Robert Schuman (French pronunciation: [ʁɔbɛʁ ʃuman]; 29 June 1886 – 4 September 1963) was a noted Luxembourgish-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat (M.R.P.) and an independent political thinker and activist. Twice Prime Minister of France, a reformist Minister of Finance and a Foreign Minister, he was instrumental in building post-war European and trans-Atlantic institutions and is regarded as one of the founders of the European Union, the Council of Europe and NATO.
Schuman was a man of several cultures. His father, Jean-Pierre Schuman (1837–1900), was born in Évrange, Lorraine, just across the border with Luxembourg. Jean-Pierre Schuman was a French citizen, but after Alsace-Lorraine was annexed by the German Empire in 1871, he became a German citizen. Robert's mother, Eugénie Duren (1864–1911), a Luxembourger born in Bettembourg, became a German citizen by marriage in 1884.
Schuman was born in 1886 in Clausen, a suburb of Luxembourg as a German by virtue of the principle of jus sanguinis. His mother tongue was Luxembourgish but he was taught French and Standard German at school. Since he learned French only in school (which is mandatory in Luxembourg), he spoke it with a distinct accent.
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Roberto Calvi
Roberto Calvi (13 April 1920–17 June 1982) was an Italian banker dubbed "God's Banker" by the press because of his close association with the Holy See. A native of Milan, Calvi was Chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, which collapsed in one of modern Italy's biggest political scandals. A source of enduring controversy, his death in London in June 1982 was ruled a murder after two coroner's inquests and an independent investigation. In Rome, in June 2007, five people were acquitted of the murder.
Claims have been made that factors in Calvi's death were the Vatican Bank, Banco Ambrosiano's main shareholder; the Mafia, which may have used Banco Ambrosiano for money laundering; and the Propaganda Due or P2 clandestine Masonic Lodge.
Roberto Calvi was the chairman of Italy's second largest private bank, Banco Ambrosiano when it went bankrupt in 1982. In 1978, the Bank of Italy had produced a report on the Banco Ambrosiano, which found that several billion lire had been exported illegally,which led to criminal investigations. In 1981, Calvi was tried, given a four-year suspended sentence and fined $19.8 million for tranferring $27 million out of the country in violation of Italian currency laws. He was released on bail pending appeal and kept his position at the bank. During his short spell in jail he attempted suicide. Calvi's family maintains that he had been manipulated by others and was innocent of crimes attributed to him.
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Roman Herzog
Roman Herzog (born 5 April 1934) is a German politician as a member of the Christian Democratic Union, (CDU) and served as President of Germany from 1994 to 1999. He was the first President of the Federal Republic of Germany to be elected to office after the reunification of Germany that took place in 1990. Prior to office he served as a judge of the constitutional court.
Roman Herzog was born in Landshut, Bavaria in 1934 to a Protestant family.
He studied law in Munich and took his first juristic state exam in 1957. In 1958, he gained the title Doctor juris and worked as an assistant at the University of Munich until 1964, where he also passed his second juristic state exam. For his paper Die Wesensmerkmale der Staatsorganisation in rechtlicher und entwicklungsgeschichtlicher Sicht ("Characteristics of State Organization from a Juristic and Developmental-Historical Viewpoint"), in 1964 he was awarded the title of professor, a title of academic distinction in Germany, and taught at the University of Munich until 1966. From 1966 he taught state law and political science as a full professor at the Free University of Berlin (FUB). In 1969, he accepted a chair of public law at the German University of Administrative Sciences and was university president from 1971 to 1972.
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Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( /ˈrɒnəld ˈwɪlsən ˈreɪɡən/; February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States, serving from 1981 to 1989. Prior to that, he was the 33rd Governor of California from 1967 to 1975 and a radio, film and television actor.
Born in Tampico, Illinois and raised in Dixon, Reagan was educated at Eureka College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and sociology. After his graduation, Reagan moved first to Iowa to work as a radio broadcaster and then in to Los Angeles in 1937 where he began a career as an actor, first in films and later television. Some of his most notable films include Knute Rockne, All American, Kings Row, and Bedtime for Bonzo. Reagan served as president of the Screen Actors Guild, and later as a spokesman for General Electric (GE); his start in politics occurred during his work for GE. Originally a member of the Democratic Party, his positions began shifting rightward in the late 1950s, and he switched to the Republican Party in 1962. After delivering a rousing speech in support of Barry Goldwater's presidential candidacy in 1964, he was persuaded to seek the California governorship, winning two years later and again in 1970. He was defeated in his run for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968 as well as 1976, but won both the nomination and general election in 1980, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter.
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Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician.
The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in Harold Wilson's First Government. As Home Secretary from 1965–1967, he sought to build what he described as "a civilized society", with measures such as the effective abolition in Britain of capital punishment and theatre censorship, the decriminalisation of homosexuality, relaxing of divorce law, suspension of birching and the legalisation of abortion. As Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1967–1970, he pursued a tight fiscal policy later praised by Margaret Thatcher. In 1970, he was elected Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, but resigned in 1972 because he supported entry to the Common Market, while the party opposed it.
When Wilson re-entered government in 1974 Jenkins returned to the Home Office, but, increasingly disenchanted by the swing to the left of the Labour Party,[citation needed] he chose to leave British politics in 1976 and was appointed President of the European Commission in 1977, serving until 1981: he was the first and to date only British holder of this office. In 1981, dismayed with the Labour Party's continuing leftward drift, he was one of the "Gang of Four" - Labour moderates who formed the Social Democratic Party (SDP). In 1982 he won a famous by-election in a Conservative seat and returned to parliament; but after disappointment with the performance of the SDP in the 1983 election he resigned as SDP leader.
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Ruhollah Khomeini
Sayyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (روحاللّه مصطفوی موسوی خمینی, Persian pronunciation: [ruːholˈlɑːhe muːsæˈviːje xomeiˈniː], 22 or 24 September 1902 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian religious leader and politician, and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. Following the revolution, Khomeini became the country's Supreme Leader — a position created in the constitution as the highest ranking political and religious authority of the nation – until his death.
Khomeini was a marja ("source of emulation") in Twelver Shi'a Islam, author of more than forty books, but is primarily known for his political activities. He spent more than 15 years in exile for his opposition to the last Shah. In his writings and preachings he expanded the Shi'a Usuli theory of velayat-e faqih, the "guardianship of the jurisconsult (clerical authority)" to include theocratic political rule by the Islamic jurists. This principle (though not known to the wider public before the revolution) was installed in the new Iranian constitution after being put to a referendum.
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Rómulo Betancourt
Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello (22 February 1908 – 28 September 1981), known as "The Father of Venezuelan Democracy", was President of Venezuela from 1945 to 1948 and again from 1959 to 1964, as well as leader of Accion Democratica, Venezuela's dominant political party in the 20th century. He survived an assassination attempt ordered by Rafael Trujillo, dictator of the Dominican Republic. Betancourt, one of Venezuela's most important political figures, led a tumultuous and highly controversial career in Latin American politics. Periods of exile brought Betancourt in contact with various Latin American countries as well as the United States, securing his legacy as one of the few real international leaders to emerge from 20th-century Latin America. Scholars credit Betancourt as the Founding Father of modern democratic Venezuela.
Rómulo Betancourt was born in Guatire, a town near Caracas, son of Luis Betancourt Bello (from Canary origins) and Venezuelan Virginia Bello Milano, being the middle brother between his older sister Teresa and younger sister Helena. Living along with his maternal grandmother Maria Milano Bello and his uncle Luis Bello Milano.
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Sacred Heart
The Sacred Heart (also known as Most Sacred Heart of Jesus) is one of the most famous religious devotions to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of his divine love for humanity.
This devotion is predominantly used in the Catholic Church and among some high-church Anglicans and Lutherans. The devotion especially emphasizes the unmitigated love, compassion, and long-suffering of the heart of Christ towards humanity. The origin of this devotion in its modern form is derived from a French Roman Catholic nun, Marguerite Marie Alacoque, who said she learned the devotion from Jesus during a mystical experience. Predecessors to the modern devotion arose unmistakably in the Middle Ages in various facets of Catholic mysticism.
In the Roman Catholic tradition, the Sacred Heart has been closely associated with Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ. In his encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor, Pope Pius XI stated: "the spirit of expiation or reparation has always had the first and foremost place in the worship given to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus". The Golden Arrow Prayer directly refers to the Sacred Heart.
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Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (Arabic: صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي Ṣaddām Ḥusayn ʿAbd al-Maǧīd al-Tikrītī; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutionary Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, and later, the Baghdad-based Ba'ath Party and its regional organisation Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region, which espoused ba'athism, a mix of Arab nationalism and Arab socialism, Saddam played a key role in the 1968 coup, later referred to as the 17 July Revolution, that brought the party to long-term power of Iraq.
As vice president under the ailing General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, and at a time when many groups were considered capable of overthrowing the government, Saddam created security forces through which he tightly controlled conflict between the government and the armed forces. In the early 1970s, Saddam nationalized oil and other industries. The state-owned banks were put under his control, leaving the system eventually insolvent mostly due to the Iran–Iraq War, the Gulf War, and UN sanctions. Through the 1970s, Saddam cemented his authority over the apparatuses of government as oil money helped Iraq's economy to grow at a rapid pace. Positions of power in the country were filled with Sunnis, a minority that made up only a fifth of the population.
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Saint Boniface
Saint Boniface (Latin: Bonifacius) (c. 680 – 5 June 754), the Apostle of the Germans, born Winfrid, Wynfrith, or Wynfryth in the kingdom of Wessex, probably at Crediton (now in Devon, England), was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He is the patron saint of Germany and the first archbishop of Mainz. He was killed in Frisia in 755, along with 52 others. His remains were returned to Fulda, where they rest in a sarcophagus which became a site of pilgrimage. Facts about Boniface's life and death as well as his work became widely known, since there is a wealth of material available—a number of vitae, especially the near-contemporary Vita Bonifatii auctore Willibaldi, and legal documents, possibly some sermons, and above all his correspondence.
Norman F. Cantor notes the three roles Boniface played that made him "one of the truly outstanding creators of the first Europe, as the apostle of Germany, the reformer of the Frankish church, and the chief fomentor of the alliance between the papacy and the Carolingian family." Through his efforts to reorganize and regulate the church of the Franks, he helped shape Western Christianity, and many of the dioceses he proposed remain until today. After his martyrdom, he was quickly hailed as a saint in Fulda and other areas in Germany and in England. His cult is still notably strong today. Boniface is celebrated (and criticized) as a missionary; he is regarded as a unifier of Europe, and he is seen (mainly by Catholics) as a German national figure.
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Saint Florian
Saint Florian (Latin: Florianus; civil name: Florian von Lorch) (died ca. 304) is a Christian saint, and the patron saint of Linz, Austria; chimney sweeps; soapmakers, and firefighters. His feast day is May 4. St. Florian is also the patron of Upper Austria, jointly with Saint Leopold.
Florian lived in the time of the Roman emperors Diocletian and Maximian, and was commander of the imperial army in the Roman province of Noricum. In addition to his military duties, he was also responsible for organizing firefighting brigades.
The Roman regime sought to eradicate Christianity, and sent Aquilinus to persecute Christians. When Aquilinus ordered Florian to offer sacrifice to the Roman gods in accordance with Roman religion, he refused, and cheerfully accepted the beatings of the soldiers, who used clubs, spikes and fire to torture him. He was executed by drowning in the Enns River with a stone tied around his neck.
Later a woman named Valeria had a vision in which she saw him; Florian, in this vision, declared his intent to be buried in a more appropriate location.
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Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader and one of the twelve apostles of Jesus who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles and who is venerated as a saint. The son of John or of Jonah, he was from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee or Gaulanitis. His brother Andrew was also an apostle. Peter is venerated in multiple churches and is regarded as the first Pope by the Catholic Church. After working to establish the church of Antioch, presiding for seven years as the leader of the city's Christian community, he preached to scattered communities of believers, Jews, Hebrew Christians and the gentiles, in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia Minor and Bithynia.[citation needed] He then went to Rome, where in the second year of Claudius, it is claimed, he overthrew Simon Magus and held the Sacerdotal Chair for 25 years.[citation needed] He is said to have been put to death at the hand of Emperor Nero.
Peter wrote two General epistles. The Gospel of Mark is also ascribed to him (as Mark was his disciple and interpreter). On the other hand, several books bearing his name—the Acts of Peter, Gospel of Peter, Preaching of Peter, Revelation of Peter, and Judgement of Peter—are rejected by the Catholic Church as Apocryphal.
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Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen (Koine Greek: Στέφανος, Stephanos; sometimes spelled "Stephan"), the protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran,Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches.
Stephen's name is derived from the Greek language Stephanos, meaning "crown". Traditionally, Stephen is invested with a crown of martyrdom; he is often depicted in art with three stones and the martyrs' palm. In Eastern Christian iconography, he is shown as a young, beardless man with a tonsure, wearing a deacon's vestments, and often holding a miniature church building or a censer. Rembrandt depicted his martyrdom in his work The Stoning of Saint Stephen.
History approximates Stephen's story around A.D. 34-35, shortly after Jesus' crucifixion[citation needed]. According to Chapter 6 of The Acts of the Apostles, Stephen was among seven men of the early church at Jerusalem appointed to serve as deacon. However, he is depicted as also successfully preaching to his fellow Jews and bringing many to accept Jesus as the Messiah. After a dispute with the members of a synagogue of "Roman Freedmen," he is denounced for blasphemy against God and Moses (Acts 6:11) and speaking against the Temple and the Law. Stephen is tried before the Sanhedrin. His defense is presented as accusing the Jews of persecuting the prophets who had spoken out against the sins of the nation:
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Salah Jadid
Salah Jadid (1926 – 19 August 1993, Arabic: صلاح جديد) was a Syrian general and political figure in the Arab Socialist Baath Party in Syria, and the country's de facto leader from 1966 until 1970.
Jadid was born in 1926 in the village of Duwayr B'abda, near the coastal city of Jableh, which in turn was close to Lattakia, to a Alawite family. He studied at the Homs Military Academy, and entered the Syrian Army in 1946. Jadid was originally a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), but later became a member of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, led by Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-Bitar, in the 1950s through an associate of Akram al-Hawrani. Even so, Jadid remained close to the SNPP; his brother, Ghassan, was one of its most prominent members in Syria. He changed allegiance again in the 1950s, when he became a member of the Arab Liberation Movement, a party supporting Gamal Abdel Nasser's ideological beliefs. Jadid supported Syria's ascension into the United Arab Republic (UAR), a union republic consisting of Egypt and Syria.
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Salgueiro Maia
Fernando José Salgueiro Maia, GOTE, GCL (born July 1, 1944 in Castelo de Vide, Portugal; died April 4, 1992 in Santarém), commonly known just by Salgueiro Maia (Portuguese pronunciation: [saɫˈɡɐjɾu ˈmajɐ]) was a captain of the Portuguese army. He made a significant contribution to the Carnation Revolution, which resulted in the fall of the then ruling dictatorship.
Salgueiro Maia was one of the captains of the Portuguese Army who led the revolutionary forces during the Carnation Revolution. He was a son of Francisco da Luz Maia, a railway worker, and Francisca Silvéria Salgueiro. He attended the Primary School in São Torcato, Coruche, and would later relocate to Tomar where he studied at Colégio Nun'Álvares, but would finish his Secondary School education in the National Liceu of Leiria. Maia later graduated in Social and Political Sciences and Ethnological and Anthropological Sciences.
In 1983 he received the Grand Cross of the Order of Liberty; in 1992, posthumously, the degree of Grand Officer of the Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of Valour, Loyalty and Merit; and in 2007, the Gold Medal of the city of Santarém.
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Sali Berisha
Sali Ram Berisha (help·info), (Albanian pronunciation: [saˈli bɛˈɾiʃa]; born 15 October 1944) is an Albanian politician and incumbent prime minister since 2005. A cardiologist by profession, Berisha leads the Democratic Party of Albania (PD) and served as President of Albania from 1992 to 1997. To date, he is the longest-serving democratically-elected leader and the only President of the Republic elected to a second term.
A former secretary of the committee of the Party of Labor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tirana, he abandoned his career as a cardiologist and university professor to become the leader of the Democratic Party in the 1990s. From 1992, after the fall of communism, he served as the President of Albania until his government collapsed in 1997 in the wake of the collapse of pyramid schemes. From 1997 to 2005, Albania was governed by the Socialist Party (PS) for two mandates, while he stayed in opposition.
In 2005, the Democratic Party won the general elections, and he became the Prime Minister after his coalition formed the new government. In 2009, he was re-elected Prime Minister, after the Democrats declared a narrow win of general elections but were forced into a coalition with the Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI) through not winning enough seats on its own for the first time since the start of multi-party democracy in 1991.
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Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens (Spanish pronunciation: [salβaˈðoɾ aˈʝende ˈɣosens]; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America.
Allende's involvement in Chilean political life spanned a period of nearly forty years. As a member of the Socialist Party, he was a senator, deputy and cabinet minister. He unsuccessfully ran for the presidency in the 1952, 1958, and 1964 elections. In 1970, he won the presidency in a close three-way race, formally elected by Congress as no candidate had gained a majority.
Allende adopted the policy of nationalization of industries and collectivization. On 11 September 1973 the military, citing a call by the Chilean Congress to end his presidency, staged a coup against Allende. As the armed forces surrounded La Moneda Palace, Allende gave his last speech vowing not to resign, and committed suicide thereafter. After Allende's ouster, Chile was led by a military junta, and then as a dictatorship by General Augusto Pinochet.
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Saparmurat Niyazov
Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov (19 February 1940 – 21 December 2006; Russian: Сапармурат Атаевич Ниязов; Turkmen: Saparmyrat Ataýewiç Nyýazow) was a Turkmen politician who served as President (later President for Life) of Turkmenistan from 2 November 1990 until his death in 2006. He was First Secretary of the Turkmen Communist Party from 1985 until 1991 and continued to lead Turkmenistan for 15 years after independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. His name in English is a romanization of the Russian spelling Сапармурат Атаевич Ниязов, his Turkmen name.
Turkmen media referred to him using the title "His Excellency Saparmurat Türkmenbaşy, President of Turkmenistan and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers".[citation needed] His self-given title Türkmenbaşy, or Turkmenbashi (pronounced [tyɾkmenbaʃɯ]), meaning Leader of Turkmens, referred to his position as the founder and president of the Association of Turkmens of the World.
Foreign media criticized him as one of the world's most totalitarian and repressive dictators, highlighting his reputation of imposing his personal eccentricities upon the country, which extended to renaming months, which had been borrowed Russian words, after members of his family.Global Witness, a London-based human rights organization, reported that money under Niyazov's control and held overseas may be in excess of US$3 billion, of which between $1.8–$2.6 billion was supposedly situated in the Foreign Exchange Reserve Fund at Deutsche Bank in Germany.
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Serbs
The Serbs (Serbian: Срби, Srbi, pronounced [sr̩̂bi]) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs live mainly in Serbia and the disputed territory of Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form significant minorities in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in Romania, Hungary, Albania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. There is also a large Serbian diaspora in Western Europe, particularly in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. More than a million people of Serbian origin live in German-speaking countries, including Luxembourg (1%), Austria (1.8%), Switzerland (1%), and Germany (~1%). Outside Europe, there are significant Serbian communities in the United States (198,000 Serbian plus additional 326,000 "Yugoslav" nationals),Canada (72,690 in 2006) and Australia (95,000 in 2006).
The Serbs are a Slavic people, specifically of the South Slavic subgroup, which has its origins in the 6th and 7th century communities developed in Southeastern Europe (see Great Migration). Slav raids on Eastern Roman territory are mentioned in 518, and by the 580s they had conquered large areas referred to as Sclavinia (transl. Slavdom, from Sklavenoi – Σκλαυηνοι, the early South Slavic tribe which is eponymous to the current ethnic and linguistic Indo-European people). In 649, Constantine III relocates conquered Slavs "from the Vardar" to Gordoservon (Serb habitat). Among communities part in the Serb ethnogenesis are the Romanized Paleo-Balkan tribes of Illyrians, Thracians and Dacians, Celts, Greek colonies and Romans.
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Shigeru Yoshida
Shigeru Yoshida (吉田 茂, Yoshida Shigeru?) (September 22, 1878 – October 20, 1967) was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1946 to 1947 and from 1948 to 1954.
Yoshida was born in Yokosuka near Tokyo and educated at Tokyo Imperial University. He entered Japan's diplomatic corps in 1906 just after Japan's victory against Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. He was Japan's ambassador to Italy and the United Kingdom during the 1930s and finally retired from his last appointment as ambassador to London in 1938. Throughout the 1930s and before the war ended in the 1940s, Yoshida continued to participate in Japan's imperialist movement. After several months' imprisonment in 1945, he became one of Japan's key postwar leaders.
Yoshida became the 45th prime minister on May 22, 1946. His pro-American and pro-British ideals and his knowledge of Western societies, gained through education and political work abroad are what made him the perfect candidate in the eyes of the postwar Allied occupation. He is de facto the last prime minister of the Empire of Japan, before it was abolished following the signing of the constitution.
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Siad Barre
Mohamed Siad Barre (Somali: Maxamed Siyaad Barre, Arabic: محمّد زياد بري) (October 6, 1919 – January 2, 1995) was the military dictator and President of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 1991. During his rule, he styled himself as Jaalle Siyaad ("Comrade Siad").
At the time of independence in 1960, Somalia was touted in the West as the model of a democracy in Africa. However, clanism and extended family loyalties and conflicts were social problems the civilian government failed to eradicate and eventually succumbed to itself.
The Barre-led military junta that came to power after a coup d'état in 1969 said it would adapt scientific socialism to the needs of Somalia. It drew heavily from the traditions of China. Volunteer labour harvested and planted crops, and built roads and hospitals. Almost all industry, banks and businesses were nationalised, and cooperative farms were promoted. The government forbade clanism and stressed loyalty to the central authorities. A new writing script for the Somali language was also adopted. To spread the new language and the methods and message of the revolution, secondary schools were closed in 1974 and 25,000 students from fourteen to sixteen years of age and an additional 3,000 military and civil service employees were sent to rural areas to educate their nomadic relatives.
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Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi (Italian pronunciation: [ˈsilvjo berluˈskoːni] ( listen); born 29 September 1936) is an Italian politician and media tycoon who served three times as Prime Minister of Italy from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the controlling shareholder of Mediaset and owner of A.C. Milan. He is nicknamed Il Cavaliere (The Knight) for his knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour, which he received in 1977.
Berlusconi is the longest-serving post-war Prime Minister of Italy, and third longest-serving since Italy's unification, after Benito Mussolini and Giovanni Giolitti, holding three separate terms. Technically, he has been sworn in four times because after a cabinet reshuffle, as happened with Berlusconi in 2005, the new ministry is sworn in and subjected to a vote of confidence. He is the leader of the People of Freedom political movement, a centre-right party he founded in 2009. From November 2009 to November 2011, he was the most senior leader of the G8 countries. In 2012, Forbes magazine ranked him as the 169th richest man in the world with a net worth of US$5.9 billion.
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Simone Veil
Simone Veil, DBE (French pronunciation: [simɔn vɛj]; born 13 July 1927) is a French lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Health under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, President of the European Parliament and member of the Constitutional Council of France.
A survivor from the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp where she lost part of her family, she is the Honorary President of the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah.
She was elected to the Académie française in November 2008.
Veil was born Simone Annie Liline Jacob, the daughter of a Jewish architect in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France. In March 1944, Veil's family was deported, Simone, her mother and one sister to Auschwitz-Birkenau then Bergen-Belsen where her mother died shortly before the camp's 15 April 1945 liberation. Veil's father and brother also died; they are last known to have been sent on a transport to Lithuania. Veil's other sister who had been arrested as a member of the Resistance survived her imprisonment in Ravensbrück. Veil returned to speak at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 2005 for the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the camps.
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Stanisław Dziwisz
Stanisław Dziwisz (born 27 April 1939) is a Polish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been Archbishop of Kraków since 2005, and was created a cardinal in 2006. He was a longtime and influential aide to Pope John Paul II (he was one of the few people mentioned in the Pope's will, where he was thanked for his almost 40 years of service to the Pontiff), a friend of the current Pope, Benedict XVI, and an ardent supporter of the late Pope's eventual beatification.
Dziwisz was born in the village of Raba Wyżna to Stanisław Dziwisz, a railroad worker, and his wife, Zofia Bielarczyk . The fifth of seven children, he has four brothers and two sisters. During World War II, the family hid a Jewish man in their house. When the younger Stanisław was only nine, his father died after being struck by a train while crossing the railroad tracks. He attended the classical Secondary School (Liceum) in Nowy Targ, passing the exam of maturity in 1957.
Dziwisz then entered the Major Seminary of Kraków, where he completed his studies in philosophy and theology. On 23 June 1963, he was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Kraków by its auxiliary bishop, Bishop Karol Wojtyła. His first assignment was as a curate at a parish in Maków Podhalański, where he served for two years. He then continued his studies at the Faculty of Theology of Kraków, specialising in liturgy and earning a Licentiate of Sacred Theology in 1967. In October 1966, he was appointed by Archbishop Wojtyła, who had since been elevated to Archbishop of Kraków, to serve as his personal secretary; Dziwisz would remain in this position until Wojtyła's death in 2005.
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Stefan Wyszyński
Stefan Wyszyński (3 August 1901 – 28 May 1981) was a Polish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the bishop of Lublin from 1946 to 1948, archbishop of Warsaw and archbishop of Gniezno from 1948 to 1981. Appointed cardinal on 12 January 1953 by Pope Pius XII, he assumed the title of Primate of Poland. Stefan Wyszyński was often called the Primate of the Millennium.
The cause for his beatification and canonization has many proponents in the Vatican and in his native Poland, where he is well known for his heroic and principled stand against Nazism and Communism and because of his connections to Pope John Paul II (he had told him of his first episcopal appointment and, much later in 1978, ultimately urged him to accept his nomination as Supreme Pontiff), though their relationship was not as close as some others in the Polish hierarchy.
Wyszyński was born in a village Zuzela, on the Bug River. In outcome of the Partitions in the late 18th century, these territories were part of the Russian Empire until the end of the First World War. In those areas directly incorporated in the Russian Empire there was an intensive campaign to make the Polish population abandon their traditions and lose their national awareness.
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Suharto
Suharto (help·info) (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was the second President of Indonesia, having held the office for 31 years from 1967 following Sukarno's removal until his resignation in 1998.
Suharto was born in a small village, Kemusuk, in the Godean area near Yogyakarta, during the Dutch colonial era. He grew up in humble circumstances. His Javanese peasant parents divorced not long after his birth, and he was passed between foster parents for much of his childhood. During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, Suharto served in Japanese-organised Indonesian security forces. Indonesia's independence struggle saw him joining the newly formed Indonesian army. Suharto rose to the rank of Major General following Indonesian independence. An attempted coup on 30 September 1965 was countered by Suharto-led troops and was blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party. The army subsequently led an anti-communist purge, and Suharto wrested power from Indonesia's founding president, Sukarno. He was appointed acting president in 1967 and President the following year. Support for Suharto's presidency was strong throughout the 1970s and 1980s but eroded following a severe financial crisis that led to widespread unrest and his resignation in May 1998. Suharto died in 2008.
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Sukarno
Sukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was the first President of Indonesia.
Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967. He was replaced by one of his generals, Suharto (see Transition to the New Order), and remained under house arrest until his death.
The spelling "Sukarno" is frequently used in English as it is based on the newer official spelling in Indonesia since 1947 but the older spelling Soekarno, based on Dutch orthography, is still frequently used, mainly because he signed his name in the old spelling. Official Indonesian presidential decrees from the period 1947–1968, however, printed his name using the 1947 spelling. The Soekarno–Hatta International Airport which serves near Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia for example, still uses the older spelling.
Indonesians also remember him as Bung Karno or Pak Karno. Like many Javanese people, he had only one name; in religious contexts, he was occasionally referred to as "Achmed Sukarno". The name Soekarno means "Good Karna" in Javanese.
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Syngman Rhee
Syngman Rhee or Yi Seungman (Hangul: 이승만; Hanja: 李承晩; Korean pronunciation: [i sɯŋman]; March 26, 1875 – July 19, 1965) was the first president of South Korea. His presidency, from August 1948 to April 1960, remains controversial, affected by Cold War tensions on the Korean peninsula and elsewhere.
Rhee was regarded as an anti-Communist and a strongman, and he led South Korea through the Korean War. His presidency ended in resignation following popular protests against a disputed election. He died in exile in Hawaii.
Syngman Rhee was born on March 26, 1875 into a rural family of modest means in Hwanghae Province, Korea. Rhee was the youngest of five siblings, though his elder brothers died prematurely. Rhee's family traced its lineage back to the third king of the Chosŏn Dynasty. When Rhee was two years old, the family moved to Seoul. His early education involved primarily classic Chinese literature; though he attempted civil service examinations, he failed them multiple times. When reforms abolished traditional systems of education, Rhee enrolled in Paejae School, an institution which had been established by a missionary from the United States. Rhee learned English and began a school newspaper, Maeil Sinmun.
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Sōsuke Uno
Sōsuke Uno (宇野 宗佑, Uno Sōsuke?, August 27, 1922 – May 19, 1998) was a Japanese politician and the 75th Prime Minister of Japan from June 3, 1989 to August 10, 1989.
He was born in Shiga Prefecture and attended the Kobe University of Commerce. After serving in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, he entered politics, winning election to the Diet of Japan in 1960.
Uno's main action as prime minister was to institute the country's first consumption tax, which immediately caused an uproar among many voters and led to the Japan Socialist Party's victory in the Tokyo metropolitan legislative election of 1989. Uno's government was also hurt by repercussive effects from the Recruit Scandal of 1988. Uno assumed office on June 3, 1989.
Uno eventually had to resign after less than three months amid a sex scandal revealed by a geisha.[citation needed] The controversy surrounding Uno's extramarital affair was more focused on irresponsibility rather than immorality; Uno supposedly did not support his mistress, at the least not with an appropriate amount, which led her to complain publicly. The story was not widely publicized in Japan until a Washington Post reporter picked up the story from the Mainichi Shimbun, bringing international attention to Uno.
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Tad Szulc
Tadeusz Witold Szulc (July 25, 1926 – May 21, 2001) was a reporter and writer of non-fiction books.
Szulc was born in Warsaw, the son of Seweryn and Janina Baruch Szulc. He attended school in Switzerland. In 1940 he emigrated from Poland to join his family (who had left Poland in the mid-1930s) in Brazil. There he studied at the University of Brazil, but in 1945 he abandoned his studies to work as a reporter for the Associated Press in Rio de Janeiro.
In 1949 he moved to New York City, and in 1954 he became an American citizen.
Married for 52 years, he had a son and daughter.
Szulc died of hepatocellular carcinoma and lung cancer, aged 74.
From 1953 to 1972 Szulc was a foreign and Washington correspondent for The New York Times.
On 6 April 1961, nine days before the CIA-supported Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba, Szulc wrote a New York Times article stating that an invasion of Cuba was "imminent." Prior to its publication, President Kennedy became aware of the article and personally telephoned the New York Times' publisher. The Times yielded to the President's demand that the story be reduced in prominence and detail.
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Takeo Fukuda
Takeo Fukuda (福田 赳夫, Fukuda Takeo?, January 14, 1905 – July 5, 1995) was a Japanese politician and the 42d Prime Minister of Japan (67th administration) from December 24, 1976 to December 7, 1978.
He was born in Gunma Prefecture and attended Tokyo Imperial University. Before and during World War II, he served as a bureaucrat in the Finance Ministry and as Chief Cabinet Secretary. After the war, he directed Japan's general accounting office.
In 1952, Fukuda was elected to the House of Representatives representing the third district of Gunma. He was elected party secretary in 1957 and served as Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (1959–69), Minister of Finance (1969–71), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1971–73), and Director of the Economic Planning Agency (1974–76). He was a candidate for prime minister in 1972 but lost to Kakuei Tanaka.
He took over the presidency of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from Takeo Miki after the party's poor showing in the 1976 election. It remained in office, but relied on the support of minor parties to maintain a parliamentary majority. Although he was regarded as a conservative and a hawk on foreign policies, Fukuda drew international criticism when he caved in to the demands of a group of terrorists who hijacked Japan Airlines Flight 472, saying "Jinmei wa chikyû yori omoi (The value of a human life outweighs the Earth)."
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Takeo Miki
Takeo Miki (三木 武夫, Miki Takeo?, March 17, 1907 – November 4, 1988) was a Japanese politician and the 41st Prime Minister of Japan.
Born in Awa, Tokushima, Miki graduated from Meiji University in Tokyo. He attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and was awarded an honorary doctorate in law from the institution in 1966.
Miki was elected to the Diet in 1937 and remained there until his death in 1988, during which he was elected a representative for 19 times over 51 years. He took over from Kakuei Tanaka as Prime Minister on December 9, 1974, following the latter's implication in the corruptions concerning real-estate and construction companies. Miki's attraction was particularly due his reputed political cleanness, and his weak power base from his small faction. In fact, he was not prepared to be prime minister at all, as was reflected when upon his election he murmured "a bolt from the blue".
After being elected, Miki attempted to reform the LDP, relentlessly investigating the Lockheed bribery scandals, which made him a large number of enemies within the party. A campaign literally called "Down with Miki" ("Miki oroshi") was started by influential faction leaders. Despite Miki's personal popularity with the public, the Lockheed scandal reflected poorly on the party, which lost its overall majority in the 1976 election to the Diet and had to make deals with minor parties to remain in power. Embarrassed by the result, Miki resigned and was succeeded on December 24, 1976, by Takeo Fukuda.
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Tank Man
Tank Man, or the Unknown Rebel, is the nickname of an anonymous man who stood in front of a column of Chinese Type 59 tanks the morning after the Chinese military forcibly removed protestors from in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. The man achieved widespread international recognition due to the videotape and photographs taken of the incident. Despite his anonymity, he is commonly (though not necessarily correctly) referred to in Chinese as Wang Weilin (王維林), as dubbed by a Sunday Express article.
The incident took place near Tiananmen on Chang'an Avenue, which runs east-west along the south end of the Forbidden City in Beijing, on June 5, 1989, one day after the Chinese government's violent crackdown on the Tiananmen protests. The man placed himself alone in the middle of the street as the tanks approached, directly in the path of the armored vehicles (39°54′23.5″N 116°23′59.8″E / 39.906528°N 116.399944°E / 39.906528; 116.399944). He held two shopping bags, one in each hand. As the tanks came to a stop, the man gestured towards the tanks with his bags. In response, the lead tank attempted to drive around the man, but the man repeatedly stepped into the path of the tank in a show of nonviolent action. After repeatedly attempting to go around rather than crush the man, the lead tank stopped its engines, and the armored vehicles behind it seemed to follow suit. There was a short pause with the man and the tanks having reached a quiet, still impasse.
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Tarcisio Bertone
Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone, S.D.B. (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate and diplomat. A cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, he currently serves as Cardinal Secretary of State and Camerlengo, having previously served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, when Cardinal Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, was Prefect, and Archbishop of Genoa from 2002 to 2006. Bertone was elevated to the cardinalate in 2003. On 10 May 2008, he was named Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati. Besides his native Italian, Bertone speaks fluent French, Spanish, German and Portuguese. He has some knowledge of English, although he is not fluent, and he can read Polish (and he has a Polish secretary), Latin, Greek and Hebrew.
Bertone was born in Romano Canavese, Piedmont, the fifth of eight children. Bertone has stated that his mother was a determined anti-Fascist militant of the Italian People's Party, and later a Christian Democrat.
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Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television. As a philanthropist, he is known for his $1 billion gift to support UN causes, which created the United Nations Foundation, a public charity to broaden support for the UN. Turner serves as Chairman of the United Nations Foundation board of directors.
Turner's media empire began with his father's billboard business, which he took over at 24 after his father's suicide. The business, Turner Outdoor Advertising, was worth $1 million when Turner took it over in 1963. Purchase of an Atlanta UHF station in 1970 began the Turner Broadcasting System. Cable News Network revolutionized news media, covering the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986 and the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Turner turned the Atlanta Braves baseball team into a nationally popular franchise and launched the charitable Goodwill Games. He helped reinvent interest in professional wrestling when he owned one of the most popular wrestling companies of the middle to late 1990s known as World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The Monday night show that it put on was the highest rated on cable and helped boost Turner's channels of TNT and WTBS.
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Teoctist Arăpaşu
Teoctist (Romanian pronunciation: [te.okˈtist], born Toader Arăpaşu; February 7, 1915 – July 30, 2007) was the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church from 1986 to 2007.
Teoctist served his first years as patriarch under the Romanian Communist regime, and was accused by some of collaboration. He offered his resignation after the Romanian Revolution of 1989, but was soon restored to office and served a further 17 years.
A promoter of ecumenical dialogue, Patriarch Teoctist invited Pope John Paul II to visit Romania in 1999. It was the first visit of a Pope to a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the East-West Schism of 1054.
He was born as the tenth of eleven children of Dumitru and Marghioala Arăpaşu, of Tocileni, Botoşani County. He attended the primary school in Tocileni (1921–1927).
In 1928, Arăpaşu became a novice at Sihăstria Voronei Hermitage, and later at Vorona Monastery. He became a monk on 6 August 1935 at the Bistriţa-Neamţ Monastery. In 1940, he began his studies at Theology School at the University of Bucharest, from which he graduated in 1945. On March 1, 1945, he was sent to Iaşi, where he was ordained hieromonk on 25 March 1945, and archimandrite in 1946. Between 1946 and 1947, he studied Literature and Philosophy at the University of Iaşi.
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Tertullian
Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 225 AD), was a prolific early Berber Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He is the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature. He also was a notable early Christian apologist and a polemicist against heresy. Tertullian has been called "the father of Latin Christianity" and "the founder of Western theology." Though conservative, he did originate and advance new theology to the early Church. He is perhaps most famous for being the oldest extant Latin writer to use the term Trinity (Latin trinitas), and giving the oldest extant formal exposition of a Trinitarian theology. Other Latin formulations that first appear in his work are "three Persons, one Substance" as the Latin "tres Personae, una Substantia" (itself from the Koine Greek "treis Hypostases, Homoousios"). He wrote his trinitarian formula after becoming a Montanist; his ideas were at first rejected as heresy by the church at large, but later accepted as Christian orthodoxy.
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Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. ( /əˈkwaɪnəs/ ə-KWY-nəs; 1225 – 7 March 1274), also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Roman Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus ([the] Angelic Doctor), Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis. "Aquinas" is not a surname, but is a Latin demonym for a resident of Aquino, his place of birth. He was the foremost classical proponent of natural theology, and the father of Thomism. His influence on Western thought is considerable, and much of modern philosophy was conceived as a reaction against, or as an agreement with, his ideas, particularly in the areas of ethics, natural law, metaphysics, and political theory.
Thomas is held in the Catholic Church to be the model teacher for those studying for the priesthood. The works for which he is best-known are the Summa Theologica and the Summa Contra Gentiles. As one of the 33 Doctors of the Church, he is considered the Church's greatest theologian and philosopher. Pope Benedict XV declared: "This (Dominican) Order ... acquired new luster when the Church declared the teaching of Thomas to be her own and that Doctor, honored with the special praises of the Pontiffs, the master and patron of Catholic schools."
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Thomas More
Sir Thomas More ( /ˈmɔr/; 7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More since 1935, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and was Lord Chancellor from October 1529 to 16 May 1532. He is commemorated by the Church of England as a "Reformation martyr". He was an opponent of the Protestant Reformation and in particular of Martin Luther and William Tyndale.
More coined the word "utopia" – a name he gave to the ideal and imaginary island nation, the political system of which he described in Utopia published in 1516. He opposed the King's separation from the Catholic Church and refused to accept the King as Supreme Head of the Church of England, a title which had been given by parliament through the Act of Supremacy of 1534. He was imprisoned in 1534 for his refusal to take the oath required by the First Succession Act, because the act disparaged papal power and Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon. In 1535, he was tried for treason, convicted on perjured testimony and beheaded.
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Todor Zhivkov
Todor Hristov Zhivkov (Bulgarian: Тодор Христов Живков); IPA: [ˈtɔdɔr ˈxristɔf ˈʒifkɔf]) (7 September 1911 – 5 August 1998) was the communist president of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB) from March 4, 1954 until November 10, 1989.
He became First Secretary of the Bulgarian Communist Party in 1954 and remained on this position for 35 years, until 1989, thus becoming the longest-serving leader of any Eastern Bloc nation, and one of the longest ruling non-royal leaders in history. His rule marked a period of unprecedented political and economic stability for Bulgaria, marked both by complete submission of Bulgaria to Soviet rule and a desire for expanding ties with the West. His rule remained unchallenged until the deterioration of East-West relations in the 1980s, when a stagnating economic situation, a worsening international image and growing careerism and corruption in the BCP weakened his positions. He resigned on November 10, 1989, under pressure by senior BCP members due to his refusal to recognize problems and deal with public protests. Only two months later, in January 1990, the People's Republic of Bulgaria and its Communist system ceased to exist.
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Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He resigned from all of these positions in June 2007.
Blair was elected Leader of the Labour Party in the leadership election of July 1994, following the sudden death of his predecessor, John Smith. Under his leadership, the party used the phrases "New Labour" and "New Socialism" to define its policy, and moved away from its support of state socialism since the 1960s and created a new version of the ethical socialism that was last pursued by Clement Attlee. Critics of Blair claim that "New Labour" did not adhere to socialism as claimed, and that it effectively advocated capitalism. Blair subsequently led Labour to a landslide victory in the 1997 general election. At 43 years old, he became the youngest Prime Minister since Lord Liverpool in 1812. In the first years of the New Labour government, Blair's government implemented a number of 1997 manifesto pledges, introducing the minimum wage, Human Rights Act and Freedom of Information Act, and carrying out devolution, establishing the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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Toshiki Kaifu
Toshiki Kaifu (海部 俊樹, Kaifu Toshiki?, born 2 January 1931) is a Japanese politician who was the 76th and 77th Prime Minister of Japan from 1989 to 1991.
He was born in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, and was educated at Chuo University and Waseda University. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Kaifu ran successfully for the Diet in 1960 and served for sixteen terms totaling 49 years. He was education minister before rising to lead the party after the resignations of Takeshita Noboru and Sōsuke Uno, elected on the platform of "clean leadership." Kaifu became the 76th Prime Minister of Japan in August 1989, but his faction was too small to push through the reforms Kaifu sought, and the continuing repercussions of the Sagawa Express scandal caused problems. He resigned in February 1991 and was replaced by Kiichi Miyazawa.
In 1994, he left the LDP to become head of the newly founded Shinshinto (New Frontier Party). He left Shinshinto in 1998, then returned to LDP in 2003. He was defeated in the election of 2009 by DPJ candidate Mitsunori Okamoto, which witnessed the end of almost uninterrupted LDP dominance since 1955. At the time of his defeat, he was the longest-serving member of the lower house of the Diet, and he was also the first former prime minister to be defeated at a re-election since 1963.
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U Nu
U Nu (Burmese: ဦးနု; pronounced: [ʔú nṵ]; also Thakin Nu; 25 May 1907 – 14 February 1995) was a leading Burmese nationalist and political figure of the 20th century. He was the first Prime Minister of Burma under the provisions of the 1947 Constitution of the Union of Burma, from 4 January 1948 to 12 June 1956, again from 28 February 1957 to 28 October 1958, and finally from 4 April 1960 to 2 March 1962.
He was born to U San Tun and Daw Saw Khin of Wakema, Myaungmya District, British Burma. He attended Myoma High School in Yangon. In 1929 he got a B.A. from Rangoon University. In 1935 he married Mya Yi while entering the exam of LLB.
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Ukrainians
Ukrainians (Ukrainian: Українці, Ukrayintsi, [ukrɑˈjinʲtsʲi]) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens. According to some dictionary definitions, a descriptive name for the "inhabitants of Ukraine" is Ukrainian or Ukrainian people.Russians and Belarusians are considered the closest relatives of Ukrainians, while Rusyns are either considered another closely related group, or an ethnic subgroup of Ukrainians.
Ethnonym Ukrainians became widely accepted only in the 20th century, so modern Ukrainians identify their ancestry with differently named historical Slavic groups, who are often called Ukrainians too, in retrospect. The oldest recorded ethnonyms used for Ukrainian ancestors are Rusy, Rusyny, and Rusychi (from term Rus'). From the 9th to 12th centuries those names applied to the population of Kievan Rus', as the united state of Rusy is restrospectively called. Similar names were adopted by the proto-Russian and proto-Belarusian inhabitants of the northern principalities of Rus', reflecting the common origin of all those East Slavic peoples.
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Urho Kekkonen
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (Finnish pronunciation: [urhɔ kɑlɛʋɑ kekːɔnɛn] ( listen); 3 September 1900 - 31 August 1986), was a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland (1950–1953, 1954–1956) and later as the eighth and longest-serving President of Finland (1956–1982). Kekkonen continued the “active neutrality” policy of his predecessor President Juho Kusti Paasikivi, a doctrine which came to be known as the “Paasikivi–Kekkonen line”. Under it, Finland retained its independence while being able to trade with both NATO members and those of the Warsaw Pact.
The son of Juho Kekkonen and Emilia Pylvänäinen, Kekkonen was born in Pielavesi, in the Savo region of Finland and spent his childhood in Kainuu. His family were farmers (though not poor tenant farmers, as some of his supporters later claimed). His father was originally a farm-hand and forestry worker who rose to become a forestry manager and stock agent at Halla Ltd. Claims made that Kekkonen's family had lived in a rudimentary farmhouse with no chimney were later proved to be false—a photograph of Kekkonen's childhood home had been retouched to remove the chimney. His school years did not go smoothly. During the Finnish Civil War, Kekkonen fought for the White Guard (Kajaani chapter), fighting in Kuopio, Varkaus, Mouhu and Viipuri, and taking part in mop-up operations, including leading a firing squad in Hamina. He later admitted to having killed a man in battle, but wrote in his memoirs that he was randomly selected by his company commander to follow a squad escorting ten prisoners, where the squad turned out to be a firing squad, and then to give the actual order to aim and fire.
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Uri Geller
Uri Geller (Hebrew: אורי גלר; born 20 December 1946) is a self-proclaimed psychic known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other supposed psychic effects. Throughout the years, Geller has been accused of using simple conjuring tricks to simulate the effects of psychokinesis and telepathy. Geller's career as an entertainer has spanned almost four decades, with television shows and appearances in many countries. Geller used to call his abilities "psychic" but now prefers to refer to himself as a "mystifier" and entertainer.
Born in Tel Aviv, British Mandate of Palestine, to Hungarian Jewish parents, Geller is the son of Itzhaak Geller (Gellér Izsák), a retired army sergeant major, and Manzy Freud (Freud Manci). It is claimed that Geller is a distant relative of Sigmund Freud on his mother's side.
At the age of 11, Geller's family moved to Nicosia, Cyprus, where he attended a high school, The Terra Santa College and learned English. At the age of 18 he served in the a Israeli Army's Paratroopers Brigade, and was wounded in action during the 1967 Six-Day War. He worked as a photographic model in 1968 and 1969; during that time, he began to perform for small audiences as a nightclub entertainer, becoming well known in Israel.
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Vasco Gonçalves
General Vasco dos Santos Gonçalves (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvaʃku ɡõˈsaɫvɨʃ]; Lisbon 3 May 1922 – 11 June 2005) was a Portuguese army officer in the Engineering Corps who took part in the Carnation Revolution and later served as the 104th Prime Minister from 18 July 1974 to 19 September 1975.
He was best known for his controversial left-wing positions, including nationalization of banks and insurance companies after the events of 11 March 1975. The matter of fact is that those nationalizations were provoked by the bank conglomerates' huge debt to the Portuguese State and their directors' escape to Brazil.
In parallel, other measures implemented by his Government, such as imposing a minimum wage and the attribution of the "Christmas subsidy" (equal to one month's pay), were hardly radical in democratic Europe, even by today's standards.
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Viacheslav Chornovil
Viacheslav Chornovil (Ukrainian: В'ячесла́в Макси́мович Чорнові́л) (born December 24, 1937 in Yerky, Katerynopil Raion, Kiev Oblast - died March 25, 1999, near Boryspil, Kiev Oblast) was a Ukrainian politician. A prominent Ukrainian dissident to the Soviet policies, he was arrested multiple times in the 1960s and 1970s for his political views. A long-time advocate of Ukrainian independence, he was one of the most prominent political figures of the late 1980s and early 1990s who paved the path of the contemporary Ukraine to its independence.
Chornovil enrolled into the University of Kiev initially at the College of Philology (faculty), but after the first semester transferred to the College of Journalism. In 1958 due to conflict in the university he took a break from studying and went for construction project in Zhdanov of a blast furnace and later worked for the "Kiev Komsomolets". Chornovil was a member of the Komsomol of Ukraine. He graduated in 1960 with honors and defended his diploma with a thesis "Publicistic work of Borys Hrinchenko".
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Violeta Chamorro
Violeta Barrios Torres de Chamorro (born October 18, 1929) is a Nicaraguan political leader, former president and publisher. She became president of Nicaragua on April 25, 1990, when she unseated Daniel Ortega. She was supported by many, including a fourteen-party anti-Sandinista alliance known as the National Opposition Union (Unión Nacional Oppositora, UNO), an alliance that ranged from conservatives and liberals to communists. She left office on January 10, 1997. Chamorro was the first and only woman to hold that position in Nicaragua. Chamorro was the first elected female head of state in the Americas, the second in the Western Hemisphere after Iceland's Vigdís Finnbogadóttir and the fifth in the world after the elections of Agatha Barbara in Malta, Elisabeth Kopp in Switzerland and Corazon Aquino in the Philippines. She is the first and only woman in the world to defeat an incumbent president.
Chamorro was born in 1929 to a wealthy family in Rivas, a small city near the Nicaraguan border with Costa Rica. She was educated in private Catholic schools in Granada and Managua. Chamorro's parents wanted her to perfect her English and sent her to an American boarding school. She first attended Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas, and then transferred to Blackstone College for Girls in Virginia. In June 1947, her father was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and after her father's death she returned to Nicaragua, cutting her schooling in the United States short. She met Pedro Joaquín Chamorro in 1949 and they married in 1950, with whom she had five children. In 1952, Chamorro's husband, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, took over the anti-Somoza newspaper La Prensa and was frequently jailed for its content. She took over the newspaper after her husband's assassination on January 10, 1978.
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Vladimir Bukovsky
Vladimir Konstantinovich Bukovsky (Russian: Влади́мир Константи́нович Буко́вский; born December 30, 1942) is a leading member of the dissident movement of the 1960s and 1970s, writer,neurophysiologist, and political activist.
Bukovsky was one of the first to expose the use of psychiatric imprisonment against political prisoners in the Soviet Union. He spent a total of twelve years in Soviet prisons, labor camps and in psikhushkas, forced-treatment psychiatric hospitals used by the government as special prisons.
He is a member of the international advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
Vladimir Bukovsky was born in the town of Belebey, Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (now Bashkortostan), Russian SFSR, USSR, where his family was evacuated from Moscow during World War II. In 1959 he was expelled from his Moscow school for creating and editing an unauthorized magazine.
From June 1963 to February 1965, Bukovsky was convicted (Article 70-1 of the Penal Code of the RSFSR) and sent to a psikhushka for organizing poetry meetings in the center of Moscow (next to the Mayakovsky monument). The official charge was an attempt to copy anti-Soviet literature, namely The New Class by Milovan Djilas.
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Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Russian: Влади́мир Влади́мирович Пу́тин; IPA: [vɫɐˈdʲimʲɪr vɫɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ ˈputʲɪn] (
listen); born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician who has been the President of Russia since 7 May 2012. Putin previously served as President from 2000 to 2008 and as Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000, and again from 2008 to 2012. Putin also serves as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when president Boris Yeltsin resigned in a surprising move. Putin won the 2000 presidential election; in 2004 he was re-elected for a second term lasting until 7 May 2008.
Because of constitutionally mandated term limits, Putin was ineligible to run for a third consecutive presidential term. After his successor Dmitry Medvedev won the 2008 presidential election, Putin was nominated by Medvedev to be Russia's Prime Minister; Putin took office on 8 May 2008 and a period of so-called "tandemocracy" followed. In September 2011, Putin and Medvedev agreed he should seek a third, non-consecutive term in the 2012 presidential election, which he won in the first round on 4 March 2012.
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Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov (Russian: Вячесла́в Миха́йлович Мо́лотов; 9 March [O.S. 25 February] 1890 – 8 November 1986) was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium (Politburo) of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev. He served as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (Premier) from 1930 to 1941, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1939 to 1949 and from 1953 to 1956. Molotov served for several years as First Deputy Premier in Joseph Stalin's cabinet. He retired in 1961 after several years of obscurity.
Molotov was the principal Soviet signatory of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact of 1939 (also known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact), after Britain and France repeatedly failed to join the Soviets in an anti-Nazi alliance, was involved in post-war negotiations where he became noted for his diplomatic skills, and knew of the Katyn massacre committed by the Soviet authorities. Following the aftermath of World War II (Great Patriotic War) Molotov kept his place, until 1949, as a leading Soviet diplomat and politician. In March 1949, after losing Stalin's favour, he lost the foreign affairs ministry to Andrei Vyshinsky. Molotov's relationship with Stalin deteriorated further, with Stalin complaining about Molotov's mistakes in a speech to the 19th Party Congress. However, after Stalin's death in 1953 Molotov was staunchly opposed to Khrushchev's de-Stalinisation policy. He defended his policies and the legacy of Stalin until his death in 1986, and harshly criticized Stalin's successors, especially Nikita Khrushchev.
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Vytautas Landsbergis
Professor Vytautas Landsbergis pronunciation (help·info) (born 18 October 1932) is a Lithuanian conservative politician and Member of the European Parliament. He was the first head of state of Lithuania after its independence declaration from the Soviet Union, and served as the Head of the Lithuanian Parliament Seimas. Professor Landsbergis is an intellectual who has been active in Lithuania's political arena for almost two decades, and is a notable politician who helped contribute to the demise of the Soviet Union. He has written twenty books on a variety of topics, including a biography of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, as well as works on politics and music. He is a founding signatory of the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism, and a member of the international advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
Vytautas Landsbergis was born in Kaunas, Lithuania. His father was the famous architect Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis and his mother, ophthalmologist Dr. Ona Jablonskytė-Landsbergienė, was a Righteous Among the Nations who in 1944 sheltered a Jewish teenager in the family home. In 1952 he placed third in the Lithuanian chess championship, after Ratmir Kholmov and Vladas Mikėnas. In 1955, he graduated from the Lithuanian Conservatory of Music (now Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre). In 1969, he wrote his thesis for his PhD degree. In 1978, he became a Professor at the Lithuanian Conservatory. From 1978 to 1990, he was a professor at both the Lithuanian Conservatory and the Vilnius Pedagogical University. In 1994, he wrote a thesis for his doctor habilitus degree.
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Václav Havel
Václav Havel (Czech pronunciation: [ˈvaːt͡slaf ˈɦavɛl] ( listen); 5 October 1936 – 18 December 2011) was a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician.
Havel was the ninth and last president of Czechoslovakia (1989–1992) and the first president of the Czech Republic (1993–2003). He wrote more than 20 plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally.
Havel was voted 4th in Prospect magazine's 2005 global poll of the world's top 100 intellectuals. At the time of his death he was Chairman of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation. He was the founder of the VIZE 97 Foundation and the principal organizer of the Forum 2000 annual global conference.
Havel was one of the signatories of the Charter 77 manifesto, a founding signatory of the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism, and a council member of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Havel received many recognitions, including the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Gandhi Peace Prize, the Philadelphia Liberty Medal, the Order of Canada, the freedom medal of the Four Freedoms Award, and the Ambassador of Conscience Award.
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Walter Hallstein
Walter Hallstein (17 November 1901 – 29 March 1982) was a German politician and professor.
He was one of the key figures of European integration after World War II, becoming the first President of the Commission of the European Economic Community, serving from 1958 to 1967. He famously defined his position as "a kind of Prime Minister of Europe". His name is associated with the Hallstein Doctrine, a key doctrine in West German foreign policy during the Cold War.
Hallstein was born in Mainz, Germany, the son of a government building officer. He studied law in Bonn, Munich and Berlin and graduated in 1925 with a doctoral dissertation on the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles with regard to insurance policies. From 1926 he worked at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Foreign Private and International Private Law in Berlin. In 1930, at the age of 28, he was appointed professor for private law and company law at the University of Rostock (Rostock), where he remained until 1941. During Nazism Hallstein was a member of National Socialist People's Welfare and national socialist professional associations for lawyers and judges. In 1941 he was appointed professor of civil law at the University of Frankfurt (Frankfurt am Main). He was also, at the same time, director of the university's Institute for Comparative Law and Commercial Law.
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Walter Scheel
Walter Scheel (German pronunciation: [ˈvaltɐ ˈʃeːl]; born 8 July 1919) is a German politician (FDP). He served as Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development from 1961 to 1966, Foreign Minister of Germany and Vice Chancellor from 1969 to 1974, acting Chancellor of Germany from 7 May to 16 May 1974 (following the resignation of Willy Brandt after the Guillaume Affair), and finally as President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1974 to 1979.
He is currently the oldest former German president alive and the longest-lived German head of state.
Scheel was born in Solingen (now in North Rhine-Westphalia). During World War II, he served in the Luftwaffe, the last years of the war as a radar operator on a Bf 110 night fighter.
When his Free Democratic Party reentered government in a coalition with Konrad Adenauer's Christian Democratic Union in 1961, Scheel was appointed federal minister of economic cooperation and development. He continued in that office under Chancellor Ludwig Erhard but brought about the downfall of the latter in late 1966 of which he had become the leader, out of the coalition government. A Christian Democratic / Social Democratic Grand Coalition followed. During this time, in 1968, Scheel took over the party presidency from right wing liberal Erich Mende.
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Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht (30 June 1893 – 1 August 1973) was a German communist politician. As First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971 (and then Honorary "Chairman" until his death), he played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and later (spending the years of Nazi rule in exile in the Soviet Union) in the early development and establishment of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). From President Wilhelm Pieck's death in 1960 he was the East German head of state until his own death in 1973.
Ulbricht was born in Leipzig, Saxony, where his father worked as a tailor. He spent eight years in primary school (Volksschule). After leaving school, he trained to be a joiner. Both his parents worked actively for the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Walter Ulbricht joined the party in 1912.
Ulbricht served in World War I from 1915 to 1917 in Galicia on the Eastern Front, and in the Balkans. He deserted in 1917, as he had opposed the war from the beginning. Imprisoned in Charleroi, in 1918 he was released during the German Revolution of 1918–1919. In 1917 he became a member of the Independent Social Democratic Party (USPD) after it split off from the Social Democratic Party (SPD) over support of Germany's participation in World War I. During the German Revolution he became a member of the soldier's soviet of his army corps and later a member of the KPD in 1920, joining its Central Committee in 1923. Ulbricht attended the International Lenin School of the Comintern in Moscow in 1924/1925. The electors subsequently voted him into the regional parliament of Saxony (Sächsischer Landtag) in 1926. He became a Member of the Reichstag for South Westphalia from 1928 to 1933 and served as KPD chairman in Berlin from 1929.
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Wang Dan
Wang Dan (born February 26, 1969), a leader of the Chinese democracy movement, was one of the most visible of the student leaders in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Wang holds a Ph.D. in history from Harvard University. From August 2009 to February 2010, Wang taught cross-strait history at Taiwan's National Chengchi University, as a visiting scholar. Besides conducting research on related topics, Wang is still active in promoting democracy and freedom for China. He travels the world to garner support from overseas Chinese communities as well as from the general public at large.
Wang Dan is a friend of fellow activist Wang Juntao.
Wang Dan was born in 1969. He was a politically active student at the Peking University department of history, organizing "Democracy Salons" at his school. When he participated in the student movement that led to the 1989 protest, he joined the movement's organizing body as the representative from Peking University. As a result, after the Tiananmen Square protests, he immediately became the "most wanted" on the list of 21 fugitives issued. Wang went into hiding but was arrested on July 2 the same year, and sentenced to four years imprisonment in 1991. After being released on parole in 1993, he continued to write publicly (to publications outside of mainland China) and was re-arrested in 1995 for conspiring to overthrow the Communist Party of China and was sentenced in 1996 to 11 years. However he was released early and exiled to the United States of America (see below).
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Wikipedia Persondata
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Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt (born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; German pronunciation: [ˈvɪli ˈbʁant]; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician, Mayor of West Berlin 1957–1966, Chancellor of West Germany 1969–1974, and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) 1964–1987.
Brandt's most important legacy was Ostpolitik, a policy aimed at improving relations with East Germany, Poland, and the Soviet Union. This policy caused considerable controversy in West Germany, but won Brandt the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971.
In 1974, Brandt resigned as Chancellor after Günter Guillaume, one of his closest aides, was exposed as an agent of the Stasi, the East German secret service.
Willy Brandt was born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm in the Free City of Lübeck (German Empire) to Martha Frahm, an unwed mother who worked as a cashier for a department store. His father was an accountant from Hamburg named John Möller, whom Brandt never met. As his mother worked six days a week, he was mainly brought up by his mother's stepfather Ludwig Frahm and his second wife Dora.
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Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, PC, DL, FRS, Hon. RA (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British Conservative politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century, he served as Prime Minister twice (1940–45 and 1951–55). A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, a writer, and an artist. He is the only British prime minister to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature, and was the first person to be made an Honorary Citizen of the United States.
Churchill was born into the aristocratic family of the Dukes of Marlborough. His father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a charismatic politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer; his mother, Jenny Jerome, was an American socialite. As a young army officer, he saw action in British India, the Sudan, and the Second Boer War. He gained fame as a war correspondent and wrote books about his campaigns.
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Wojciech Jaruzelski
Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski (pronounced [ˈvɔi̯t͡ɕɛx jaruˈzɛlskʲi] ( listen); born 6 July 1923) is a retired Polish military officer and Communist politician. He was the last Communist leader of Poland from 1981 to 1989, Prime Minister from 1981 to 1985 and the country's head of state from 1985 to 1990. He was also the last commander-in-chief of the Polish People's Army (LWP). He resigned from power after the Polish Round Table Agreement in 1989 led to democratic elections in Poland.
Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski was born on 6 July 1923 in Kurów, into a family of gentry. He was raised on the family estate near Wysokie (in the vicinity of Białystok). He was educated in a Catholic school during the 1930s.
On 1 September 1939, the September Campaign started when Poland was invaded by Germany, with the latter country aided by another invasion begun sixteen days later by the Soviet Union. The invasions resulted in the defeat of Poland by the following month, and its partition between Soviet and German control. Jaruzelski and his family fled to Lithuania and stayed with some friends there. However, a few months later, after Lithuania and the other Baltic states were forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union, Jaruzelski and his family were captured by the army of the Soviet Union, and deported to Siberia. In 1940 at the age of sixteen, Jaruzelski was sent to the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, where he performed forced labour in the Karaganda coal mines. During his labour work, having experienced snow blindness, developed permanent damage to his eyes and back. The damage to his eyes forced him to wear dark sunglasses most of the time, which became his trademark.
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Wolfgang Schäuble
Wolfgang Schäuble [ˈvɔlfɡaŋ ˈʃɔʏblə] (born 18 September 1942) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), currently serving as the Federal Minister of Finance in the Second Cabinet Merkel.
From 1984 to 1991 he was a member of Helmut Kohl's cabinet, first as Federal Minister for Special Affairs of Germany and Chief of the Chancellery and then as Federal Minister of the Interior. Between 1991 and 2000, he was chairman of the CDU/CSU group in the parliament, and from 1998 to 2000 also CDU party chairman. He served again as Federal Minister of the Interior in the First Cabinet Merkel from 2005 to 2009.
Schäuble was born in Freiburg im Breisgau as the son of a tax finance advisor. After completing his Abitur in 1961, Schäuble studied law and economics in Freiburg im Breisgau and Hamburg, which he completed in 1966 and 1970 by passing the First and Second State Examinations respectively, becoming a fully qualified lawyer.
In 1971 Schäuble obtained his doctorate in law, with a dissertation called "The public accountant's professional legal situation within accountancy firms".
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Władysław Gomułka
Władysław Gomułka (Polish pronunciation: [vwaˈdɨswaf ɡɔˈmuwka]; 6 February 1905, Krosno – 1 September 1982, Konstancin) was a Polish Communist leader. He was the de facto leader of Poland from 1945 to 1948, and again from 1956 to 1970.
Gomułka was a member of the Communist Party of Poland (Komunistyczna Partia Polski, KPP) starting in 1926.
In 1934 Gomułka went to Moscow, where he lived for a year. Upon his return to Poland he was arrested and spent most of his time in prison until the beginning of World War II. During the war, Gomułka became an influential Polish Communist and in 1943 convinced Stalin to allow the reformation of the local Communist party under the name Polish Workers' Party (Polska Partia Robotnicza). He was a Deputy Prime Minister in the Provisional Government of Republic of Poland - Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, from January to June 1945, and in the Provisional Government of National Unity (Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej), from 1945 to 1947. Using his position in the government, he crushed all meaningful resistance to the Communists. He also helped the Communists in winning the 3 x Tak (3 Times Yes) referendum of 1946. A year later, he played a key role in the 1947 parliamentary elections, which saw the Communists and their allies win an overwhelming majority. It later emerged that the Communists had only won both of these votes through massive fraud.
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Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini (Arabic: محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني; 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat (Arabic: ياسر عرفات) or by his kunya Abu Ammar (Arabic: أبو عمار, 'Abū `Ammār), was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), and leader of the Fatah political party, which he founded in 1959. Arafat spent much of his life fighting against Israel in the name of Palestinian self-determination. Originally opposed to Israel's existence, he modified his position in 1988 when he accepted UN Security Council Resolution 242. Arafat and his movement operated from several Arab countries. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Fatah faced off with Jordan in a brief civil war. Forced out of Jordan and into Lebanon, Arafat and Fatah were major targets of Israel's 1978 and 1982 invasions of that country.
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Yasuhiro Nakasone
Yasuhiro Nakasone (中曽根 康弘, Nakasone Yasuhiro?, born 27 May 1918) is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from November 27, 1982 to November 6, 1987. A contemporary of Brian Mulroney, Ronald Reagan, Helmut Kohl, François Mitterrand, Margaret Thatcher, and Mikhail Gorbachev, he is best known for pushing through the privatization of state-owned companies, and for helping to revitalize Japanese nationalism during and after his term as prime minister. Nakasone is currently the oldest living Japanese prime minister.
Nakasone was born in Takasaki, in Gunma, a poor mountainous prefecture where his father was a lumber dealer. He attended Tokyo Imperial University. During World War II, he was a commissioned officer and paymaster in the Imperial Japanese Navy.
In 1947, he gave up a promising career in an elite government ministry to run for Parliament with the belief that in its postwar remorse, Japan was in danger of discarding its traditional values (according to a 2010 profile). He entered the Diet of Japan as a member of the House of Representatives for the Democratic Party. "As a freshman lawmaker in 1951, he delivered a 28-page letter to General MacArthur criticizing the occupation, a brazen move. The general angrily threw the letter in the wastebasket, Mr. Nakasone was later told. This stand established [Nakasone's] credentials as a right-wing politician." He gained brief notoriety in 1952 for blaming Emperor Hirohito for Japan's defeat in the war. In 1955, at Nakasone's urging, the government granted the equivalent of 14 million dollars to the Agency for Industrial Science and Technology to begin nuclear power research.[1] Nakasone rose through the LDP's ranks, becoming Minister of Science in 1959 under the government of Nobusuke Kishi, then Minister of Transport in 1967, head of the Agency of Defense in 1970, Minister of International Trade and Industry in 1972 and Minister of Administration in 1981.
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Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin (help·info) (Hebrew: יִצְחָק רַבִּין IPA: [jitsˈχak ʁaˈbin]; March 1, 1922 – November 4, 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995.
In 1994, Rabin won the Nobel Peace Prize together with Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat. He was assassinated by right-wing Israeli radical Yigal Amir, who was opposed to Rabin's signing of the Oslo Accords. Rabin was the first native-born prime minister of Israel, the only prime minister to be assassinated and the second to die in office after Levi Eshkol.
Rabin was born in Jerusalem, British Mandate of Palestine to Nehemiah and Rosa (née Cohen), two immigrants of the Third Aliyah, the third wave of Jewish immigration to Israel from Europe. Nehemiah Rubitzov was born in the Ukrainian village Sydorovychi near Ivankiv in 1886. His father died when he was a child, and he worked to support his family from a young age. At the age of 18, he emigrated to the United States, where he joined the Poale Zion party and changed his surname to Rabin. In 1917, Nehemiah went to the British Mandate of Palestine with a group of volunteers from the Jewish Legion.
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Yuri Andropov
Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov (Russian: Ю́рий Влади́мирович Андро́пов, tr. Yuriy Vladimirovich Andropov; IPA: [ˈjʉrʲɪj vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ ɐnˈdropəf]; 15 June [O.S. 2 June] 1914 – 9 February 1984) was a Soviet politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 12 November 1982 until his death fifteen months later.
Andropov was the son of a railway official Vladimir Konstantinovich Andropov, who was a member of a Don Cossack noble family. His mother was Yevgenia Karlovna Fleckenstein, a daughter of a wealthy Moscow businessman, Karl Franzovich Fleckenstein, a German Russian from Vyborg. Andropov was educated at the Rybinsk Water Transport Technical College.
Andropov joined the Komsomol in 1930. He became a member of the Communist Party in 1939 and was First Secretary of the Central Committee of Komsomol in the Soviet Karelo-Finnish Republic from 1940 to 1944.
During World War II, Andropov took part in partisan guerrilla activities in Finland. From 1944 onwards, he left Komsomol for Communist Party work. In 1947, he was elected Second Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Karelo-Finnish SSR.
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Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang (pronounced [tʂɑ̂ʊ tsɨ̀jɑ̌ŋ]; 17 October 1919 – 17 January 2005) was a high-ranking politician in the People's Republic of China (PRC). He was the third Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1987 to 1989.
As a senior government official, Zhao was critical of Maoist policies and instrumental in implementing free-market reforms, first in Sichuan, subsequently nationwide. He emerged on the national scene due to support from Deng Xiaoping after the Cultural Revolution. He also sought measures to streamline the bureaucracy and fight corruption, which was severely affecting the Party's legitimacy in the 1980s. Zhao Ziyang was also an advocate of the privatization of state-owned enterprises, the separation of the Party and the state, and general market economic reforms. Many of these views were shared by then-General Secretary Hu Yaobang.
His economic reform policies and sympathies to student demonstrators during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 placed him at odds with some members of the party leadership, including Premier Li Peng. Zhao also began to lose favour with paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. In the aftermath of the events, Zhao was purged politically and effectively placed under house arrest for the next 15 years. He died in Beijing in 2005, but because of his political fall from grace he was not given the funeral rites generally accorded to senior Chinese officials.
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Zhelyu Zhelev
Zhelyu Mitev Zhelev (Bulgarian: Желю Митев Желев) (born March 3, 1935) is a Bulgarian politician and former dissident who was the first democratically elected President of Bulgaria. He was elected for his first mandate by the Parliament for the period 1990 to 1992. In January 1992 general elections were held, and he was reelected for his second term for the period of 1992 to 1997.
Zhelyu Zhelev was born March 3, 1935 in Veselinovo village, Shumen. He graduated with a degree in philosophy from the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" in 1958, and later earned a Ph.D. in 1974.
Zhelev was a member of the Bulgarian Communist Party, but was expelled from it for political reasons in 1965. He was also expelled from Sofia the following year and was unemployed for six years since all employment in Bulgaria was state-regulated.
In 1982 he published his controversial work The Fascism (Bulgarian: Фашизмът; Fashizmat). Three weeks after publication in 1982, the book was banned and removed from bookstores and libraries as it likened Bulgaria's socialist state to the country's fascist administration of World War II.
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Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai (pinyin: Zhōu Ēnlái; Wade-Giles: Chou En-lai; IPA: [tʂóʊ ə́nlǎɪ]; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976. Zhou served under Mao Zedong and was instrumental in consolidating the control of the Communist Party's rise to power, forming foreign policy, and developing the Chinese economy.
A skilled and able diplomat, Zhou served as the Chinese foreign minister from 1949 to 1958. Advocating peaceful coexistence with the West after the stalemated Korean War, he participated in the 1954 Geneva Conference and helped orchestrate Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China. He helped devise policies regarding the bitter disputes with the U.S., Taiwan, the Soviet Union (after 1960), India and Vietnam. Zhou is best known as the long-time top aide to Mao Zedong, specializing in foreign policy. Their contrasting personalities made them an effective team, according to Henry Kissinger, the American diplomat who had extensive dealings with both men:
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Zianon Pazniak
Zianon Pazniak (Belarusian: Зянон Пазьняк, born April 24, 1944) is a Belarusian nationalist politician, one of the founders of the Belarusian Popular Front and leader of the Christian Conservative Party of the BPF. He has lived in emigration since 1996.
Zianon Pazniak was born in the village of Subotniki in Grodno region.
He graduated from the Belarusian State Institute of Theatre and Arts in 1967 and completed his postgraduate studies at the Institute of Ethnography, Art and Folklore in 1972. In 1981, Pazniak defended his doctoral dissertation on the history of the Belarusian theatre in Leningrad. He worked as a manager of village club, photographer, scientific worker at the Institute of History.
In 1988, Zianon Pazniak made public his researches of alleged NKVD mass executions in the forest of Kurapaty near Minsk. At that time, he became a leader of the Belarusian nationalistic movement. In 1988, he was one of the founders of the Belarusian Popular Front and the Belarusian Martyrologue.
From May 1990 until January 1996, Pazniak was a deputy of the Belarusian parliament. As parliamentary deputy, he was the leader of the fraction of the BPF. In 1996, Zianon Pazniak chose to leave Belarus after his party had suffered a devastating defeat in parliamentary elections. He was granted political asylum in the United States.
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Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (Urdu: ذوالفقار علی بھٹو, Sindhi: ذوالفقار علي ڀُٽو, IPA: [zʊlfɪqɑːɾ ɑli bʱʊʈːoː]) (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and served as its chairman until his execution in 1979. His elder daughter, Benazir Bhutto, later also served as Prime Minister, while his son Murtaza Bhutto served as member of Parliament of Pakistan.
Educated at the University of Southern California and University of California, Berkeley in the United States and the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, Bhutto was noted for his progressive economic initiatives, industrialisation, education, and foreign policy, and his intellectualism. In addition to national security issues, Bhutto promoted his policies on nationalisation, health care, and social reforms. Under his premiership, Pakistan's Parliament gave approval and passed unanimously the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan, a supreme law that provides a parliamentary system to Pakistan, strengthened Sino-Pakistani and Saudi-Pakistani relations, recognised East-Pakistan as Bangladesh, and hosted the second Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in 1974 where he delegated and invited leaders from the Muslim world to Lahore, Punjab Province of Pakistan. In July 1972, Bhutto successfully proceeded the Shimla treaty, signed with Indira Gandhi of India, brought 93,000 Prisoners of War back to Pakistan, and secured 5,000 sq mi (13,000 km2) held by India. In 20 January 1972, weeks after the Indo-Pakistani 1971 winter war, Bhutto orchestrated, authorised, and administrated the scientific research on nuclear weapons; for this, he is colloquially known in the world as "Father of the Pakistan's nuclear deterrent programme".
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Álvaro Cunhal
Álvaro Barreirinhas Cunhal, who used the name Álvaro Cunhal (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈaɫvɐɾu kuˈɲaɫ]; Sé Nova, Coimbra, 10 November 1913 — Lisbon, 13 June 2005), was a Portuguese politician. He was one of the major opponents of the dictatorial regime of Estado Novo. He served as secretary-general of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) from 1961 to 1992. He was one of the most pro-Soviet of all western Europe communist leaders, often supporting USSR world policies, including the intervention in Czechoslovakia in 1968.
Cunhal was born in Coimbra, the third child of Avelino Henriques da Costa Cunhal (Seia, Seia, October 28, 1887 – Coimbra, Sé Nova, December 19, 1966) and wife (m. Coimbra, Sé Nova, August 22, 1908) Mercedes Simões Ferreira Barreirinhas (Coimbra, Sé Nova, May 5, 1888 – Lisbon, September 12, 1971). His father was a lawyer in Coimbra and Seia, and later on in Lisbon, and came from a family of rural bourgeoisie, related to a rich and more aristocratic family, the Cunhal Patrício. His mother was a devout Catholic who wished her son had also become one. He also studied Law at the University of Lisbon, where he joined the PCP, then an illegal organization, in 1931. The deaths of his younger sister Maria Mansueta Barrerinhas Cunhal (Coimbra – Seia, January 13, 1921) and of his older brother António José Barreirinhas Cunhal (Coimbra, 1910 – Lisbon, 1932) struck the grief of both his parents and brothers, but specially of his mother and Álvaro, of whom they had always been close. He visited the Soviet Union for the first time in 1935 to attend the Seventh World Congress of the Comintern in Moscow. He joined the Central Committee of the PCP in 1936 at the age of 24. His first arrest occurred in 1937.
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Óscar Romero
Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (15 August 1917 – 24 March 1980) was a bishop of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He became the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador, succeeding Luis Chávez. He was assassinated on 24 March 1980.
After his assassination, Romero was succeeded by Monsignor Arturo Rivera. In 1997, a cause for beatification and canonization into sainthood was opened for Romero, and Pope John Paul II bestowed upon him the title of Servant of God. The canonization process continues. He is considered by some the unofficial patron saint of the Americas and El Salvador and is often referred to as "San Romero" by Catholics in El Salvador. Outside of Catholicism, Romero is honored by other religious denominations of Christendom, including the Church of England through the Calendar in Common Worship. He is one of the ten 20th century martyrs who are depicted in statues above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey in London, a testament to his wide respect even beyond the Catholic Church. In 2008, he was chosen as one of the 15 Champions of World Democracy by the Europe-based magazine A Different View.
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The last days of Pope John Paul II - The untold stories (Cnn)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 88:12
- Updated: 31 Dec 2012
Visit the official website of the Beatification of John Paul II - www.karol-wojtyla.org - ©riproduzione riservata
http://wn.com/The_last_days_of_Pope_John_Paul_II_The_untold_stories_Cnn
Visit the official website of the Beatification of John Paul II - www.karol-wojtyla.org - ©riproduzione riservata
Pope John Paul II - Part 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:01
- Updated: 29 Dec 2012
His October 1979 visit to Washington, DC and the CUA Campus
http://wn.com/Pope_John_Paul_II_Part_1
His October 1979 visit to Washington, DC and the CUA Campus
- published: 15 Dec 2006
- views: 200773
- author: 29bairdr
In Loving Memory: Pope John Paul II
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:26
- Updated: 30 Dec 2012
A loving tribute to His Holiness Pope John Paul II.
http://wn.com/In_Loving_Memory_Pope_John_Paul_II
A loving tribute to His Holiness Pope John Paul II.
- published: 25 Jan 2008
- views: 111063
- author: mortoneast1
John Paul II, WE LOVE YOU
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:47
- Updated: 30 Dec 2012
Persone speciali.....
http://wn.com/John_Paul_II,_WE_LOVE_YOU
Pope John Paul II - in Hell- Proved by God.......
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:20
- Updated: 31 Dec 2012
The Kingdoms of Heaven and Hell and the Return of CHRIST. For a period of 23 hours, a young Ecuadorian girl named Angelica was shown the Kingdoms of Heaven and Hell, and the Return of Christ. She witnessed Jesus weeping as He overlooked multitudes of souls lost forever, a world that has rejected Him, a Church that is mostly unprepared for Him, a people that have stopped witnessing to the lost, and an entertainment industry that even lures children to satan. She witnessed many of our esteemed cultural icons suffering in the Pit; singers, entertainers, and even a pope. Angelica was also shown how the Kingdom of Heaven is all wonderfully prepared and ready, an unimaginable glorious place, where no evil exists. Though Jesus is ONLY coming back for a Holy People, and many of God's children will NOT be ready on that day, and will be left behind in a world that will fall apart. -aka.23 Horas Muertra This video is sure to be controversial, it has started a firestorm of discussions and argument all over South America. Now, finally translated into English.......Angelica Zambrano (ReEdited Video)
http://wn.com/Pope_John_Paul_II_in_Hell_Proved_by_God
The Kingdoms of Heaven and Hell and the Return of CHRIST. For a period of 23 hours, a young Ecuadorian girl named Angelica was shown the Kingdoms of Heaven and Hell, and the Return of Christ. She witnessed Jesus weeping as He overlooked multitudes of souls lost forever, a world that has rejected Him, a Church that is mostly unprepared for Him, a people that have stopped witnessing to the lost, and an entertainment industry that even lures children to satan. She witnessed many of our esteemed cultural icons suffering in the Pit; singers, entertainers, and even a pope. Angelica was also shown how the Kingdom of Heaven is all wonderfully prepared and ready, an unimaginable glorious place, where no evil exists. Though Jesus is ONLY coming back for a Holy People, and many of God's children will NOT be ready on that day, and will be left behind in a world that will fall apart. -aka.23 Horas Muertra This video is sure to be controversial, it has started a firestorm of discussions and argument all over South America. Now, finally translated into English.......Angelica Zambrano (ReEdited Video)
- published: 05 Mar 2012
- views: 108574
- author: SVILENMAN
Pope John Paul II Dies
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:22
- Updated: 30 Dec 2012
On 2nd April 2005 Pope John Paul II died after a prolonged struggle with ill health. Thousands of pilgrims queued for the chance to see him lying for public viewing at Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican in Rome, Italy. www.itnsource.com
http://wn.com/Pope_John_Paul_II_Dies
On 2nd April 2005 Pope John Paul II died after a prolonged struggle with ill health. Thousands of pilgrims queued for the chance to see him lying for public viewing at Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican in Rome, Italy. www.itnsource.com
- published: 16 Jul 2007
- views: 875118
- author: itnsource
John Paul The Great: A Pope Who Made History (Trailer 1)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:48
- Updated: 23 Dec 2012
When he was elected Pope John Paul II in 1978, Karol Wotyla became the first Slav ever to take the seat of St. Peter. Over the next 26 years, he would change the image of the papacy forever. John Paul the Great takes you through the extraordinary life of one of the 21st century's greatest men.Karol Jozef Wojtyla, known as John Paul II since his October 1978 election to the papacy, was born in the Polish town of Wadowice, a small city 50 kilometers from Krakow, on May 18, 1920. Throughout his early twenties, and during World War II, he had to work in a Nazi-run rock quarry to earn a living and to avoid being deported to Germany. For more information please visit Janson Media: www.janson.com
http://wn.com/John_Paul_The_Great_A_Pope_Who_Made_History_Trailer_1
When he was elected Pope John Paul II in 1978, Karol Wotyla became the first Slav ever to take the seat of St. Peter. Over the next 26 years, he would change the image of the papacy forever. John Paul the Great takes you through the extraordinary life of one of the 21st century's greatest men.Karol Jozef Wojtyla, known as John Paul II since his October 1978 election to the papacy, was born in the Polish town of Wadowice, a small city 50 kilometers from Krakow, on May 18, 1920. Throughout his early twenties, and during World War II, he had to work in a Nazi-run rock quarry to earn a living and to avoid being deported to Germany. For more information please visit Janson Media: www.janson.com
- published: 18 Jan 2011
- views: 7751
- author: jansonmedia
Man who shot Pope John Paul II released
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:19
- Updated: 30 Jul 2012
After spending nearly 30 years behind bars, the Turkish man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 has been released from prison. Mehmet Ali Agca was pardoned 11 years ago in Italy and then extradited to Turkey to serve sentences for murder and armed robbery committed there. Anita McNaught reports. (Jan 18, 2010)
http://wn.com/Man_who_shot_Pope_John_Paul_II_released
After spending nearly 30 years behind bars, the Turkish man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 has been released from prison. Mehmet Ali Agca was pardoned 11 years ago in Italy and then extradited to Turkey to serve sentences for murder and armed robbery committed there. Anita McNaught reports. (Jan 18, 2010)
- published: 18 Jan 2010
- views: 19563
- author: AlJazeeraEnglish
BIOGRAPHY OF POPE JOHN PAUL II #2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:01
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
JESUS SAID: "I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE, NOONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME"
http://wn.com/BIOGRAPHY_OF_POPE_JOHN_PAUL_II_2
JESUS SAID: "I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE, NOONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME"
- published: 17 Aug 2008
- views: 22874
- author: jesusismerciful
Carl Bernstein on why Pope John Paul II threatened communism
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 17:19
- Updated: 31 Oct 2012
Journalist Carl Bernstein on his book "His Holiness: John Paul II and the Hidden History of our Time", which deals with whyt the Soviets saw Pope John Paul II as a serious threat to their survival. (Original broadcast October 1996)
http://wn.com/Carl_Bernstein_on_why_Pope_John_Paul_II_threatened_communism
Journalist Carl Bernstein on his book "His Holiness: John Paul II and the Hidden History of our Time", which deals with whyt the Soviets saw Pope John Paul II as a serious threat to their survival. (Original broadcast October 1996)
- published: 27 Apr 2011
- views: 3039
- author: AllanGregg
Pope John Paul II On Path To Sainthood
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:34
- Updated: 02 Dec 2012
The late Pope is credited with a modern miracle - one more and he'll be sainted.
http://wn.com/Pope_John_Paul_II_On_Path_To_Sainthood
The late Pope is credited with a modern miracle - one more and he'll be sainted.
- published: 15 Jan 2011
- views: 15077
- author: ABCNews
Pope Assassination Attempt
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:06
- Updated: 01 Jan 2013
World News Tonight broadcast from May 13th 1981, when Pope John Paul was shot in Vatican Square. ABC News broadcast on affiliate KTVK in Phoenix, AZ. All TV news clips, remain the sole property of the respective copyright holders. No videos are for sale, nor do they imply challenge to ownerships. They are intended strictly for entertainment, educational, and historical purposes, and fall under the "Fair Use" guideline
http://wn.com/Pope_Assassination_Attempt
World News Tonight broadcast from May 13th 1981, when Pope John Paul was shot in Vatican Square. ABC News broadcast on affiliate KTVK in Phoenix, AZ. All TV news clips, remain the sole property of the respective copyright holders. No videos are for sale, nor do they imply challenge to ownerships. They are intended strictly for entertainment, educational, and historical purposes, and fall under the "Fair Use" guideline
- published: 10 Jan 2008
- views: 684824
- author: NewsbugAZ
Pope John Paul II on Love in Chicago 1979
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:53
- Updated: 14 Dec 2012
Pope John Paul II preaches on Love In Chicago during his visit there in 1979
http://wn.com/Pope_John_Paul_II_on_Love_in_Chicago_1979
Pope John Paul II preaches on Love In Chicago during his visit there in 1979
- published: 21 Apr 2007
- views: 111943
- author: John Boguta
Pope John Paul II Meets Holocaust Survivors At Yad Vashem
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:06
- Updated: 21 Dec 2012
Pope John Paul II visited Yad Vashem on March 23, 2000. During this historic visit, the Pope participated in a memorial ceremony in Yad Vashem's Hall of Remembrance. This clip shows the Pope meeting Holocaust survivors during the ceremony. For more information on the Pope's visit, click www1.yadvashem.org For more information on the Pope's visit, click www1.yadvashem.org
http://wn.com/Pope_John_Paul_II_Meets_Holocaust_Survivors_At_Yad_Vashem
Pope John Paul II visited Yad Vashem on March 23, 2000. During this historic visit, the Pope participated in a memorial ceremony in Yad Vashem's Hall of Remembrance. This clip shows the Pope meeting Holocaust survivors during the ceremony. For more information on the Pope's visit, click www1.yadvashem.org For more information on the Pope's visit, click www1.yadvashem.org
- published: 22 Apr 2008
- views: 66215
- author: YadVashem
Venerable John Paul II: The record breaking pope
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:31
- Updated: 26 Nov 2012
John Paul II is without a doubt the pope who has broken the most records in the Churchs history. First, his pontificate is on the longest on record. He was the head of the Catholic Church for 26 years: only Pius IX and Saint Peters pontificates lasted longer than John Paul II. Then he is also the most travelled pope. He left the Vatican more than 1500 times for official trips. He visited 129 countries and travelled more than 1 million kilometers. Thats like going around the globe 30 times. If you a sum up the time he was on trips, you could say he lived outside of Rome for more than 2 ½ years. He also held huge summits in both big cities and small islands with less than 100 inhabitants. The powerful, needy, the healthy and the sick, the young and, old all paid close attention to Pope John Paul II.
http://wn.com/Venerable_John_Paul_II_The_record_breaking_pope
John Paul II is without a doubt the pope who has broken the most records in the Churchs history. First, his pontificate is on the longest on record. He was the head of the Catholic Church for 26 years: only Pius IX and Saint Peters pontificates lasted longer than John Paul II. Then he is also the most travelled pope. He left the Vatican more than 1500 times for official trips. He visited 129 countries and travelled more than 1 million kilometers. Thats like going around the globe 30 times. If you a sum up the time he was on trips, you could say he lived outside of Rome for more than 2 ½ years. He also held huge summits in both big cities and small islands with less than 100 inhabitants. The powerful, needy, the healthy and the sick, the young and, old all paid close attention to Pope John Paul II.
- published: 18 Dec 2009
- views: 28867
- author: romereports
Sue Ann Pinner Sings at Historic Dodger Stadium Papal Mass
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:17
- Updated: 29 Nov 2012
See Sue Ann Pinner perform as the principal soloist at Pope John Paul II's historic Dodger Stadium mass.
http://wn.com/Sue_Ann_Pinner_Sings_at_Historic_Dodger_Stadium_Papal_Mass
See Sue Ann Pinner perform as the principal soloist at Pope John Paul II's historic Dodger Stadium mass.
- published: 12 Jan 2008
- views: 6945
- author: wilderbrothers
Blessed Pope John Paul II's Remains Moved to Chapel of St. Sebastian
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:59
- Updated: 14 Jul 2012
This morning the casket with the remains of Blessed John Paul II was placed in the Chapel of St. Sebastian in the Basilica of St. Peter's. The wooden casket was placed in its permanent location last night in a ceremony attended by the College of Confessors and the Chapter of the Basilica, together with nine cardinals, and archbishops and bishops. John Paul II's postulator, Monsignor Oder, also attended and among the religious was of courseSister Tobiana and other nuns of the papal apartment. After an initial pause for prayer before the Altar of St. Peter, and singing the litany of canonized popes, the procession arrived at the altar of Saint Sebastian. The brief ceremony ended at a quarter to eight i ...
http://wn.com/Blessed_Pope_John_Paul_II's_Remains_Moved_to_Chapel_of_St_Sebastian
This morning the casket with the remains of Blessed John Paul II was placed in the Chapel of St. Sebastian in the Basilica of St. Peter's. The wooden casket was placed in its permanent location last night in a ceremony attended by the College of Confessors and the Chapter of the Basilica, together with nine cardinals, and archbishops and bishops. John Paul II's postulator, Monsignor Oder, also attended and among the religious was of courseSister Tobiana and other nuns of the papal apartment. After an initial pause for prayer before the Altar of St. Peter, and singing the litany of canonized popes, the procession arrived at the altar of Saint Sebastian. The brief ceremony ended at a quarter to eight i ...
- published: 03 May 2011
- views: 23655
- author: vatican
John Paul II - Habemus Papam
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:54
- Updated: 31 Dec 2012
John Paul II - Habemus Papam My mind is blown by the amount of idiotic comments some people post. Any hateful, discriminatory, troll, unnecessary comments will be deleted. Repeated trolls will be banned.
http://wn.com/John_Paul_II_Habemus_Papam
John Paul II - Habemus Papam My mind is blown by the amount of idiotic comments some people post. Any hateful, discriminatory, troll, unnecessary comments will be deleted. Repeated trolls will be banned.
- published: 21 Jun 2007
- views: 533449
- author: Disc0v3ry
CATHOLICISM Preview: Pope John Paul II
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:37
- Updated: 07 Nov 2012
See www.CatholicismProject.org. Father Robert Barron, as part of the upcoming CATHOLICISM series, speaks about Pope John Paul II and his provocative non-violence. Reserve your copy of this groundbreaking production today.
http://wn.com/CATHOLICISM_Preview_Pope_John_Paul_II
See www.CatholicismProject.org. Father Robert Barron, as part of the upcoming CATHOLICISM series, speaks about Pope John Paul II and his provocative non-violence. Reserve your copy of this groundbreaking production today.
- published: 27 Apr 2011
- views: 10472
- author: wordonfirevideo2
Papal Liturgy - Pope John Paul II celebrating Ukrainian Divine Liturgy
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:55
- Updated: 21 Dec 2012
Photos are from: - easterncatholichymns.homestead.com - easterncatholichymns.homestead.com --- www.caeremonialeromanum.com
http://wn.com/Papal_Liturgy_Pope_John_Paul_II_celebrating_Ukrainian_Divine_Liturgy
Photos are from: - easterncatholichymns.homestead.com - easterncatholichymns.homestead.com --- www.caeremonialeromanum.com
- published: 09 May 2010
- views: 57816
- author: CaeremonialeRomanvm
A Letter From Heaven - Pope John Paul II
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:26
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
A tribute in words and pictures to Pope John Paul II. Poem "A Letter From Heaven" by Ruth Ann Mahaffey as read by CFRB Toronto & CJAD Montreal radio host, Father John Walsh
http://wn.com/A_Letter_From_Heaven_Pope_John_Paul_II
A tribute in words and pictures to Pope John Paul II. Poem "A Letter From Heaven" by Ruth Ann Mahaffey as read by CFRB Toronto & CJAD Montreal radio host, Father John Walsh
- published: 08 Sep 2006
- views: 190162
- author: Iain Grant
Pope John Paul II
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:46
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
Video Power Point
http://wn.com/Pope_John_Paul_II
Pope John Paul II Funeral 2005
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:00
- Updated: 23 Dec 2012
Blessed Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan Paweł II), born Karol Józef Wojtyła (Polish: [ˈkarɔl ˈjuzɛf vɔjˈtɨwa]; 18 May 1920 -- 2 April 2005), served as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at 84 years and 319 days of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted 26 years and 168 days; only Pope Pius IX (1846--1878) who served 31 years, has reigned longer. Pope John Paul II is the only Slavic or Polish pope to date and was the first non-Italian Pope since Dutch Pope Adrian VI (1522--1523). John Paul II has been acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century. It is widely held that he was instrumental in ending communism in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. Conversely, he denounced the excesses of capitalism. John Paul II is widely said to have significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. Though criticised by progressives for upholding the Church's teachings against artificial contraception and the ordination of women and by traditionalists for his support of the Church's Second Vatican Council and its reform, he was also widely praised[1] for his firm, orthodox Catholic stances. He was one of the most-travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. He spoke Italian ...
http://wn.com/Pope_John_Paul_II_Funeral_2005
Blessed Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan Paweł II), born Karol Józef Wojtyła (Polish: [ˈkarɔl ˈjuzɛf vɔjˈtɨwa]; 18 May 1920 -- 2 April 2005), served as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at 84 years and 319 days of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted 26 years and 168 days; only Pope Pius IX (1846--1878) who served 31 years, has reigned longer. Pope John Paul II is the only Slavic or Polish pope to date and was the first non-Italian Pope since Dutch Pope Adrian VI (1522--1523). John Paul II has been acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century. It is widely held that he was instrumental in ending communism in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. Conversely, he denounced the excesses of capitalism. John Paul II is widely said to have significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. Though criticised by progressives for upholding the Church's teachings against artificial contraception and the ordination of women and by traditionalists for his support of the Church's Second Vatican Council and its reform, he was also widely praised[1] for his firm, orthodox Catholic stances. He was one of the most-travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. He spoke Italian ...
- published: 25 Feb 2012
- views: 4972
- author: jacko37778
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The last days of Pope John Paul II - The untold stories (Cnn)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 88:12
- Updated: 12 Jan 2013
Visit the official website of the Beatification of John Paul II - www.karol-wojtyla.org - ©riproduzione riservata
http://wn.com/The_last_days_of_Pope_John_Paul_II_The_untold_stories_Cnn
Visit the official website of the Beatification of John Paul II - www.karol-wojtyla.org - ©riproduzione riservata
- published: 22 Jan 2012
- views: 44932
- author: adminkarol
In Loving Memory: Pope John Paul II
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:26
- Updated: 13 Jan 2013
A loving tribute to His Holiness Pope John Paul II.
http://wn.com/In_Loving_Memory_Pope_John_Paul_II
A loving tribute to His Holiness Pope John Paul II.
- published: 25 Jan 2008
- views: 112214
- author: mortoneast1
Pope John Paul II - Part 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:01
- Updated: 12 Jan 2013
His October 1979 visit to Washington, DC and the CUA Campus
http://wn.com/Pope_John_Paul_II_Part_1
His October 1979 visit to Washington, DC and the CUA Campus
- published: 15 Dec 2006
- views: 202192
- author: 29bairdr
Father Guido Sarducci interviews Pope John Paul II about jet lag.
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:01
- Updated: 11 Jan 2013
Classic interview circa 1983
http://wn.com/Father_Guido_Sarducci_interviews_Pope_John_Paul_II_about_jet_lag
Nine Days that Changed the World | Trailer
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:19
- Updated: 12 Jan 2013
Pope John Paul II's historic nine-day pilgrimage to Poland in June of 1979 created a revolution of conscience that transformed Poland and fundamentally reshaped the spiritual and political landscape of the 20th Century. Newt and Callista Gingrich, along with a Polish, American, and Italian cast, explore what transpired during these nine days that moved the Polish people to renew their hearts, reclaim their courage, and free themselves from the shackles of Communism. Millions of Poles, almost one third of the nation, turned out to see the Holy Father in person, while the rest of the country followed his pilgrimage on television and radio. Within sixteen months, Solidarity became the first officially recognized free trade union in the Communist bloc, with over 10 million members. The momentum of this dramatic nine-day visit would eventually lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November of 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Featuring exclusive interviews with George Weigel, Michael Novak, John O'Sullivan, Jerzy Kluger, Fr. Adam Boniecki, Fr. Thomas Williams, Fr. Wojciech Giertych, President Lech Walesa, President Vaclav Havel, Former CIA Director James Woolsey, and many more. Nine Days that Changed the World is a powerful, inspiring story of human liberation, revealing the extraordinary power of Pope John Paul II's worldwide message of freedom through faith. Purchase this film at www.ignatius.com
http://wn.com/Nine_Days_that_Changed_the_World_|_Trailer
Pope John Paul II's historic nine-day pilgrimage to Poland in June of 1979 created a revolution of conscience that transformed Poland and fundamentally reshaped the spiritual and political landscape of the 20th Century. Newt and Callista Gingrich, along with a Polish, American, and Italian cast, explore what transpired during these nine days that moved the Polish people to renew their hearts, reclaim their courage, and free themselves from the shackles of Communism. Millions of Poles, almost one third of the nation, turned out to see the Holy Father in person, while the rest of the country followed his pilgrimage on television and radio. Within sixteen months, Solidarity became the first officially recognized free trade union in the Communist bloc, with over 10 million members. The momentum of this dramatic nine-day visit would eventually lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November of 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Featuring exclusive interviews with George Weigel, Michael Novak, John O'Sullivan, Jerzy Kluger, Fr. Adam Boniecki, Fr. Thomas Williams, Fr. Wojciech Giertych, President Lech Walesa, President Vaclav Havel, Former CIA Director James Woolsey, and many more. Nine Days that Changed the World is a powerful, inspiring story of human liberation, revealing the extraordinary power of Pope John Paul II's worldwide message of freedom through faith. Purchase this film at www.ignatius.com
- published: 19 Jan 2011
- views: 16815
- author: ignatiuspress
Pope John Paul II, Meeting and filming him in the Vatican
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:24
- Updated: 30 Mar 2012
Click right above on the blue: jjlightning to SEE ALL my OTHER videos. Interview with John Koterba about filming Pope John Paul II. This interview aired on April 2nd, 2005, 3 times. John has videotaped 13 private audiences and 13 public audiences with The Holy Father. A True Blessing.
http://wn.com/Pope_John_Paul_II,_Meeting_and_filming_him_in_the_Vatican
Click right above on the blue: jjlightning to SEE ALL my OTHER videos. Interview with John Koterba about filming Pope John Paul II. This interview aired on April 2nd, 2005, 3 times. John has videotaped 13 private audiences and 13 public audiences with The Holy Father. A True Blessing.
- published: 12 Jan 2008
- views: 6290
- author: jjlightning
John Paul The Great: A Pope Who Made History (Trailer 1)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:48
- Updated: 23 Dec 2012
When he was elected Pope John Paul II in 1978, Karol Wotyla became the first Slav ever to take the seat of St. Peter. Over the next 26 years, he would change the image of the papacy forever. John Paul the Great takes you through the extraordinary life of one of the 21st century's greatest men.Karol Jozef Wojtyla, known as John Paul II since his October 1978 election to the papacy, was born in the Polish town of Wadowice, a small city 50 kilometers from Krakow, on May 18, 1920. Throughout his early twenties, and during World War II, he had to work in a Nazi-run rock quarry to earn a living and to avoid being deported to Germany. For more information please visit Janson Media: www.janson.com
http://wn.com/John_Paul_The_Great_A_Pope_Who_Made_History_Trailer_1
When he was elected Pope John Paul II in 1978, Karol Wotyla became the first Slav ever to take the seat of St. Peter. Over the next 26 years, he would change the image of the papacy forever. John Paul the Great takes you through the extraordinary life of one of the 21st century's greatest men.Karol Jozef Wojtyla, known as John Paul II since his October 1978 election to the papacy, was born in the Polish town of Wadowice, a small city 50 kilometers from Krakow, on May 18, 1920. Throughout his early twenties, and during World War II, he had to work in a Nazi-run rock quarry to earn a living and to avoid being deported to Germany. For more information please visit Janson Media: www.janson.com
- published: 18 Jan 2011
- views: 8053
- author: jansonmedia
Pope John Paul II Dies
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:22
- Updated: 04 Jan 2013
On 2nd April 2005 Pope John Paul II died after a prolonged struggle with ill health. Thousands of pilgrims queued for the chance to see him lying for public viewing at Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican in Rome, Italy. www.itnsource.com
http://wn.com/Pope_John_Paul_II_Dies
On 2nd April 2005 Pope John Paul II died after a prolonged struggle with ill health. Thousands of pilgrims queued for the chance to see him lying for public viewing at Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican in Rome, Italy. www.itnsource.com
- published: 16 Jul 2007
- views: 877395
- author: itnsource
John Paul II, WE LOVE YOU
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:47
- Updated: 14 Jan 2013
Persone speciali.....
http://wn.com/John_Paul_II,_WE_LOVE_YOU
Blessed Pope John Paul II's Remains Moved to Chapel of St. Sebastian
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:59
- Updated: 14 Jul 2012
This morning the casket with the remains of Blessed John Paul II was placed in the Chapel of St. Sebastian in the Basilica of St. Peter's. The wooden casket was placed in its permanent location last night in a ceremony attended by the College of Confessors and the Chapter of the Basilica, together with nine cardinals, and archbishops and bishops. John Paul II's postulator, Monsignor Oder, also attended and among the religious was of courseSister Tobiana and other nuns of the papal apartment. After an initial pause for prayer before the Altar of St. Peter, and singing the litany of canonized popes, the procession arrived at the altar of Saint Sebastian. The brief ceremony ended at a quarter to eight i ...
http://wn.com/Blessed_Pope_John_Paul_II's_Remains_Moved_to_Chapel_of_St_Sebastian
This morning the casket with the remains of Blessed John Paul II was placed in the Chapel of St. Sebastian in the Basilica of St. Peter's. The wooden casket was placed in its permanent location last night in a ceremony attended by the College of Confessors and the Chapter of the Basilica, together with nine cardinals, and archbishops and bishops. John Paul II's postulator, Monsignor Oder, also attended and among the religious was of courseSister Tobiana and other nuns of the papal apartment. After an initial pause for prayer before the Altar of St. Peter, and singing the litany of canonized popes, the procession arrived at the altar of Saint Sebastian. The brief ceremony ended at a quarter to eight i ...
- published: 03 May 2011
- views: 23809
- author: vatican
Pope John Paul II (the whole film)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 183:34
- Updated: 13 Jan 2013
This is polish television version of the film, but in English.
http://wn.com/Pope_John_Paul_II_the_whole_film
This is polish television version of the film, but in English.
- published: 23 Jun 2012
- views: 20073
- author: szarak1995
Pope John Paul II On Path To Sainthood
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:34
- Updated: 14 Jan 2013
The late Pope is credited with a modern miracle - one more and he'll be sainted.
http://wn.com/Pope_John_Paul_II_On_Path_To_Sainthood
The late Pope is credited with a modern miracle - one more and he'll be sainted.
- published: 15 Jan 2011
- views: 15176
- author: ABCNews
Venerable John Paul II: The record breaking pope
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:31
- Updated: 26 Nov 2012
John Paul II is without a doubt the pope who has broken the most records in the Churchs history. First, his pontificate is on the longest on record. He was the head of the Catholic Church for 26 years: only Pius IX and Saint Peters pontificates lasted longer than John Paul II. Then he is also the most travelled pope. He left the Vatican more than 1500 times for official trips. He visited 129 countries and travelled more than 1 million kilometers. Thats like going around the globe 30 times. If you a sum up the time he was on trips, you could say he lived outside of Rome for more than 2 ½ years. He also held huge summits in both big cities and small islands with less than 100 inhabitants. The powerful, needy, the healthy and the sick, the young and, old all paid close attention to Pope John Paul II.
http://wn.com/Venerable_John_Paul_II_The_record_breaking_pope
John Paul II is without a doubt the pope who has broken the most records in the Churchs history. First, his pontificate is on the longest on record. He was the head of the Catholic Church for 26 years: only Pius IX and Saint Peters pontificates lasted longer than John Paul II. Then he is also the most travelled pope. He left the Vatican more than 1500 times for official trips. He visited 129 countries and travelled more than 1 million kilometers. Thats like going around the globe 30 times. If you a sum up the time he was on trips, you could say he lived outside of Rome for more than 2 ½ years. He also held huge summits in both big cities and small islands with less than 100 inhabitants. The powerful, needy, the healthy and the sick, the young and, old all paid close attention to Pope John Paul II.
- published: 18 Dec 2009
- views: 29131
- author: romereports
Pope John Paul II on Love in Chicago 1979
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:53
- Updated: 14 Dec 2012
Pope John Paul II preaches on Love In Chicago during his visit there in 1979
http://wn.com/Pope_John_Paul_II_on_Love_in_Chicago_1979
Pope John Paul II preaches on Love In Chicago during his visit there in 1979
- published: 21 Apr 2007
- views: 112133
- author: John Boguta
Pope Assassination Attempt
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:06
- Updated: 14 Jan 2013
World News Tonight broadcast from May 13th 1981, when Pope John Paul was shot in Vatican Square. ABC News broadcast on affiliate KTVK in Phoenix, AZ. All TV news clips, remain the sole property of the respective copyright holders. No videos are for sale, nor do they imply challenge to ownerships. They are intended strictly for entertainment, educational, and historical purposes, and fall under the "Fair Use" guideline
http://wn.com/Pope_Assassination_Attempt
World News Tonight broadcast from May 13th 1981, when Pope John Paul was shot in Vatican Square. ABC News broadcast on affiliate KTVK in Phoenix, AZ. All TV news clips, remain the sole property of the respective copyright holders. No videos are for sale, nor do they imply challenge to ownerships. They are intended strictly for entertainment, educational, and historical purposes, and fall under the "Fair Use" guideline
- published: 10 Jan 2008
- views: 686488
- author: NewsbugAZ
BIOGRAPHY OF POPE JOHN PAUL II #2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:01
- Updated: 06 Jan 2013
JESUS SAID: "I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE, NOONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME"
http://wn.com/BIOGRAPHY_OF_POPE_JOHN_PAUL_II_2
JESUS SAID: "I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE, NOONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME"
- published: 17 Aug 2008
- views: 23112
- author: jesusismerciful
Pope John Paul II Meets Holocaust Survivors At Yad Vashem
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:06
- Updated: 21 Dec 2012
Pope John Paul II visited Yad Vashem on March 23, 2000. During this historic visit, the Pope participated in a memorial ceremony in Yad Vashem's Hall of Remembrance. This clip shows the Pope meeting Holocaust survivors during the ceremony. For more information on the Pope's visit, click www1.yadvashem.org For more information on the Pope's visit, click www1.yadvashem.org
http://wn.com/Pope_John_Paul_II_Meets_Holocaust_Survivors_At_Yad_Vashem
Pope John Paul II visited Yad Vashem on March 23, 2000. During this historic visit, the Pope participated in a memorial ceremony in Yad Vashem's Hall of Remembrance. This clip shows the Pope meeting Holocaust survivors during the ceremony. For more information on the Pope's visit, click www1.yadvashem.org For more information on the Pope's visit, click www1.yadvashem.org
- published: 22 Apr 2008
- views: 66563
- author: YadVashem
A Letter From Heaven - Pope John Paul II
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:26
- Updated: 09 Jan 2013
A tribute in words and pictures to Pope John Paul II. Poem "A Letter From Heaven" by Ruth Ann Mahaffey as read by CFRB Toronto & CJAD Montreal radio host, Father John Walsh
http://wn.com/A_Letter_From_Heaven_Pope_John_Paul_II
A tribute in words and pictures to Pope John Paul II. Poem "A Letter From Heaven" by Ruth Ann Mahaffey as read by CFRB Toronto & CJAD Montreal radio host, Father John Walsh
- published: 08 Sep 2006
- views: 190714
- author: Iain Grant
Pope John Paul II - Funeral Part 1 of 11
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:06
- Updated: 14 Jan 2013
Never to forget such a great man as the one projected by the late Pop John Paul II. Thank you for shearing your self with us all. God bless your soul.
http://wn.com/Pope_John_Paul_II_Funeral_Part_1_of_11
Never to forget such a great man as the one projected by the late Pop John Paul II. Thank you for shearing your self with us all. God bless your soul.
- published: 16 Feb 2009
- views: 286441
- author: erdeepspace
Headline News - on the Death of Pope John Paul II, 2005
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:12
- Updated: 12 Jan 2013
From April 2, 2005, here is a short Headline News story on the death of Pope John Paul II.
http://wn.com/Headline_News_on_the_Death_of_Pope_John_Paul_II,_2005
From April 2, 2005, here is a short Headline News story on the death of Pope John Paul II.
- published: 29 Nov 2009
- views: 68154
- author: videoholic2000s
Pope John Paul II Funeral 2005
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:00
- Updated: 14 Jan 2013
Blessed Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan Paweł II), born Karol Józef Wojtyła (Polish: [ˈkarɔl ˈjuzɛf vɔjˈtɨwa]; 18 May 1920 -- 2 April 2005), served as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at 84 years and 319 days of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted 26 years and 168 days; only Pope Pius IX (1846--1878) who served 31 years, has reigned longer. Pope John Paul II is the only Slavic or Polish pope to date and was the first non-Italian Pope since Dutch Pope Adrian VI (1522--1523). John Paul II has been acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century. It is widely held that he was instrumental in ending communism in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. Conversely, he denounced the excesses of capitalism. John Paul II is widely said to have significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. Though criticised by progressives for upholding the Church's teachings against artificial contraception and the ordination of women and by traditionalists for his support of the Church's Second Vatican Council and its reform, he was also widely praised[1] for his firm, orthodox Catholic stances. He was one of the most-travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. He spoke Italian ...
http://wn.com/Pope_John_Paul_II_Funeral_2005
Blessed Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan Paweł II), born Karol Józef Wojtyła (Polish: [ˈkarɔl ˈjuzɛf vɔjˈtɨwa]; 18 May 1920 -- 2 April 2005), served as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at 84 years and 319 days of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted 26 years and 168 days; only Pope Pius IX (1846--1878) who served 31 years, has reigned longer. Pope John Paul II is the only Slavic or Polish pope to date and was the first non-Italian Pope since Dutch Pope Adrian VI (1522--1523). John Paul II has been acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century. It is widely held that he was instrumental in ending communism in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. Conversely, he denounced the excesses of capitalism. John Paul II is widely said to have significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. Though criticised by progressives for upholding the Church's teachings against artificial contraception and the ordination of women and by traditionalists for his support of the Church's Second Vatican Council and its reform, he was also widely praised[1] for his firm, orthodox Catholic stances. He was one of the most-travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. He spoke Italian ...
- published: 25 Feb 2012
- views: 5270
- author: jacko37778
John Paul II - Habemus Papam
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:54
- Updated: 13 Jan 2013
John Paul II - Habemus Papam My mind is blown by the amount of idiotic comments some people post. Any hateful, discriminatory, troll, unnecessary comments will be deleted. Repeated trolls will be banned.
http://wn.com/John_Paul_II_Habemus_Papam
John Paul II - Habemus Papam My mind is blown by the amount of idiotic comments some people post. Any hateful, discriminatory, troll, unnecessary comments will be deleted. Repeated trolls will be banned.
- published: 21 Jun 2007
- views: 536582
- author: Disc0v3ry
Papal Liturgy - Pope John Paul II celebrating Ukrainian Divine Liturgy
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:55
- Updated: 04 Jan 2013
Photos are from: - easterncatholichymns.homestead.com - easterncatholichymns.homestead.com --- www.caeremonialeromanum.com
http://wn.com/Papal_Liturgy_Pope_John_Paul_II_celebrating_Ukrainian_Divine_Liturgy
Photos are from: - easterncatholichymns.homestead.com - easterncatholichymns.homestead.com --- www.caeremonialeromanum.com
- published: 09 May 2010
- views: 58355
- author: CaeremonialeRomanvm
88:12
The last days of Pope John Paul II - The untold stories (Cnn)
Visit the official website of the Beatification of John Paul II - www.karol-wojtyla.org - ...
published: 22 Jan 2012
author: adminkarol
The last days of Pope John Paul II - The untold stories (Cnn)
Visit the official website of the Beatification of John Paul II - www.karol-wojtyla.org - ©riproduzione riservata
- published: 22 Jan 2012
- views: 44932
- author: adminkarol
5:26
In Loving Memory: Pope John Paul II
A loving tribute to His Holiness Pope John Paul II....
published: 25 Jan 2008
author: mortoneast1
In Loving Memory: Pope John Paul II
A loving tribute to His Holiness Pope John Paul II.
- published: 25 Jan 2008
- views: 112214
- author: mortoneast1
2:01
Father Guido Sarducci interviews Pope John Paul II about jet lag.
Classic interview circa 1983...
published: 10 Dec 2008
author: Coolestmovies
Father Guido Sarducci interviews Pope John Paul II about jet lag.
Classic interview circa 1983
- published: 10 Dec 2008
- views: 68714
- author: Coolestmovies
3:19
Nine Days that Changed the World | Trailer
Pope John Paul II's historic nine-day pilgrimage to Poland in June of 1979 created a revol...
published: 19 Jan 2011
author: ignatiuspress
Nine Days that Changed the World | Trailer
Pope John Paul II's historic nine-day pilgrimage to Poland in June of 1979 created a revolution of conscience that transformed Poland and fundamentally reshaped the spiritual and political landscape of the 20th Century. Newt and Callista Gingrich, along with a Polish, American, and Italian cast, explore what transpired during these nine days that moved the Polish people to renew their hearts, reclaim their courage, and free themselves from the shackles of Communism. Millions of Poles, almost one third of the nation, turned out to see the Holy Father in person, while the rest of the country followed his pilgrimage on television and radio. Within sixteen months, Solidarity became the first officially recognized free trade union in the Communist bloc, with over 10 million members. The momentum of this dramatic nine-day visit would eventually lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November of 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Featuring exclusive interviews with George Weigel, Michael Novak, John O'Sullivan, Jerzy Kluger, Fr. Adam Boniecki, Fr. Thomas Williams, Fr. Wojciech Giertych, President Lech Walesa, President Vaclav Havel, Former CIA Director James Woolsey, and many more. Nine Days that Changed the World is a powerful, inspiring story of human liberation, revealing the extraordinary power of Pope John Paul II's worldwide message of freedom through faith. Purchase this film at www.ignatius.com
- published: 19 Jan 2011
- views: 16815
- author: ignatiuspress
2:24
Pope John Paul II, Meeting and filming him in the Vatican
Click right above on the blue: jjlightning to SEE ALL my OTHER videos. Interview with John...
published: 12 Jan 2008
author: jjlightning
Pope John Paul II, Meeting and filming him in the Vatican
Click right above on the blue: jjlightning to SEE ALL my OTHER videos. Interview with John Koterba about filming Pope John Paul II. This interview aired on April 2nd, 2005, 3 times. John has videotaped 13 private audiences and 13 public audiences with The Holy Father. A True Blessing.
- published: 12 Jan 2008
- views: 6290
- author: jjlightning
6:48
John Paul The Great: A Pope Who Made History (Trailer 1)
When he was elected Pope John Paul II in 1978, Karol Wotyla became the first Slav ever to ...
published: 18 Jan 2011
author: jansonmedia
John Paul The Great: A Pope Who Made History (Trailer 1)
When he was elected Pope John Paul II in 1978, Karol Wotyla became the first Slav ever to take the seat of St. Peter. Over the next 26 years, he would change the image of the papacy forever. John Paul the Great takes you through the extraordinary life of one of the 21st century's greatest men.Karol Jozef Wojtyla, known as John Paul II since his October 1978 election to the papacy, was born in the Polish town of Wadowice, a small city 50 kilometers from Krakow, on May 18, 1920. Throughout his early twenties, and during World War II, he had to work in a Nazi-run rock quarry to earn a living and to avoid being deported to Germany. For more information please visit Janson Media: www.janson.com
- published: 18 Jan 2011
- views: 8053
- author: jansonmedia
3:22
Pope John Paul II Dies
On 2nd April 2005 Pope John Paul II died after a prolonged struggle with ill health. Thous...
published: 16 Jul 2007
author: itnsource
Pope John Paul II Dies
On 2nd April 2005 Pope John Paul II died after a prolonged struggle with ill health. Thousands of pilgrims queued for the chance to see him lying for public viewing at Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican in Rome, Italy. www.itnsource.com
- published: 16 Jul 2007
- views: 877395
- author: itnsource
0:59
Blessed Pope John Paul II's Remains Moved to Chapel of St. Sebastian
This morning the casket with the remains of Blessed John Paul II was placed in the Chapel ...
published: 03 May 2011
author: vatican
Blessed Pope John Paul II's Remains Moved to Chapel of St. Sebastian
This morning the casket with the remains of Blessed John Paul II was placed in the Chapel of St. Sebastian in the Basilica of St. Peter's. The wooden casket was placed in its permanent location last night in a ceremony attended by the College of Confessors and the Chapter of the Basilica, together with nine cardinals, and archbishops and bishops. John Paul II's postulator, Monsignor Oder, also attended and among the religious was of courseSister Tobiana and other nuns of the papal apartment. After an initial pause for prayer before the Altar of St. Peter, and singing the litany of canonized popes, the procession arrived at the altar of Saint Sebastian. The brief ceremony ended at a quarter to eight i ...
- published: 03 May 2011
- views: 23809
- author: vatican
183:34
Pope John Paul II (the whole film)
This is polish television version of the film, but in English....
published: 23 Jun 2012
author: szarak1995
Pope John Paul II (the whole film)
This is polish television version of the film, but in English.
- published: 23 Jun 2012
- views: 20073
- author: szarak1995
7:34
Pope John Paul II On Path To Sainthood
The late Pope is credited with a modern miracle - one more and he'll be sainted....
published: 15 Jan 2011
author: ABCNews
Pope John Paul II On Path To Sainthood
The late Pope is credited with a modern miracle - one more and he'll be sainted.
- published: 15 Jan 2011
- views: 15176
- author: ABCNews
2:31
Venerable John Paul II: The record breaking pope
John Paul II is without a doubt the pope who has broken the most records in the Churchs hi...
published: 18 Dec 2009
author: romereports
Venerable John Paul II: The record breaking pope
John Paul II is without a doubt the pope who has broken the most records in the Churchs history. First, his pontificate is on the longest on record. He was the head of the Catholic Church for 26 years: only Pius IX and Saint Peters pontificates lasted longer than John Paul II. Then he is also the most travelled pope. He left the Vatican more than 1500 times for official trips. He visited 129 countries and travelled more than 1 million kilometers. Thats like going around the globe 30 times. If you a sum up the time he was on trips, you could say he lived outside of Rome for more than 2 ½ years. He also held huge summits in both big cities and small islands with less than 100 inhabitants. The powerful, needy, the healthy and the sick, the young and, old all paid close attention to Pope John Paul II.
- published: 18 Dec 2009
- views: 29131
- author: romereports
0:53
Pope John Paul II on Love in Chicago 1979
Pope John Paul II preaches on Love In Chicago during his visit there in 1979...
published: 21 Apr 2007
author: John Boguta
Pope John Paul II on Love in Chicago 1979
Pope John Paul II preaches on Love In Chicago during his visit there in 1979
- published: 21 Apr 2007
- views: 112133
- author: John Boguta
Vimeo results:
4:37
Song For Karol
A moving and powerful tribute to John Paul II by Catholic songwriter and evangelist, Mark ...
published: 29 Sep 2008
author: Mark Mallett
Song For Karol
A moving and powerful tribute to John Paul II by Catholic songwriter and evangelist, Mark Mallett, with Raylene Scarrott.
2:23
Pope John Paul II
“Who Else Wants A Unique Limited Edition 24″ Bronze Statue Of The Icon Of The Century?”
A...
published: 02 Jul 2010
author: Oliver Greene
Pope John Paul II
“Who Else Wants A Unique Limited Edition 24″ Bronze Statue Of The Icon Of The Century?”
Announcing: Launch of 4 Limited “Collectors Edition” Pieces of
Pope John Paul II
From: Oliver Greene ~ The Artist “Fergus Rivers”
RE: Urgent: Unique Pope John Paul II Bronze Statues
2:23
Pope John Paul II
“Who Else Wants A Unique Limited Edition 24″ Bronze Statue Of The Icon Of The Century?”
A...
published: 02 Jul 2010
author: chris
Pope John Paul II
“Who Else Wants A Unique Limited Edition 24″ Bronze Statue Of The Icon Of The Century?”
Announcing: Launch of 4 Limited “Collectors Edition” Pieces of
Pope John Paul II
From: Oliver Greene ~ The Artist “Fergus Rivers”
RE: Urgent: Unique Pope John Paul II Bronze Statues
24:19
Beatification of Pope John Paul II
Biography and formula of Beatification for Pope John Paul II -- St Peter's Square, Rome, 1...
published: 01 May 2011
author: Rocco Palmo
Beatification of Pope John Paul II
Biography and formula of Beatification for Pope John Paul II -- St Peter's Square, Rome, 1 May 2011
Youtube results:
4:06
Pope Assassination Attempt
World News Tonight broadcast from May 13th 1981, when Pope John Paul was shot in Vatican S...
published: 10 Jan 2008
author: NewsbugAZ
Pope Assassination Attempt
World News Tonight broadcast from May 13th 1981, when Pope John Paul was shot in Vatican Square. ABC News broadcast on affiliate KTVK in Phoenix, AZ. All TV news clips, remain the sole property of the respective copyright holders. No videos are for sale, nor do they imply challenge to ownerships. They are intended strictly for entertainment, educational, and historical purposes, and fall under the "Fair Use" guideline
- published: 10 Jan 2008
- views: 686488
- author: NewsbugAZ
10:01
BIOGRAPHY OF POPE JOHN PAUL II #2
JESUS SAID: "I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE, NOONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH...
published: 17 Aug 2008
author: jesusismerciful
BIOGRAPHY OF POPE JOHN PAUL II #2
JESUS SAID: "I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE, NOONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME"
- published: 17 Aug 2008
- views: 23112
- author: jesusismerciful
4:06
Pope John Paul II Meets Holocaust Survivors At Yad Vashem
Pope John Paul II visited Yad Vashem on March 23, 2000. During this historic visit, the Po...
published: 22 Apr 2008
author: YadVashem
Pope John Paul II Meets Holocaust Survivors At Yad Vashem
Pope John Paul II visited Yad Vashem on March 23, 2000. During this historic visit, the Pope participated in a memorial ceremony in Yad Vashem's Hall of Remembrance. This clip shows the Pope meeting Holocaust survivors during the ceremony. For more information on the Pope's visit, click www1.yadvashem.org For more information on the Pope's visit, click www1.yadvashem.org
- published: 22 Apr 2008
- views: 66563
- author: YadVashem
4:26
A Letter From Heaven - Pope John Paul II
A tribute in words and pictures to Pope John Paul II. Poem "A Letter From Heaven" by Ruth ...
published: 08 Sep 2006
author: Iain Grant
A Letter From Heaven - Pope John Paul II
A tribute in words and pictures to Pope John Paul II. Poem "A Letter From Heaven" by Ruth Ann Mahaffey as read by CFRB Toronto & CJAD Montreal radio host, Father John Walsh
- published: 08 Sep 2006
- views: 190714
- author: Iain Grant
photo: AP / Lee Jin-man
24 Jan 2013
North Korea threatened to conduct a nuclear weapons test “targeted” at the U.S. after the Obama administration pushed through new United Nations sanctions against the totalitarian state for last month’s rocket launch. “In a new phase of the anti-U.S ... The UN Security Council imposed additional restrictions on North Korea on Jan ... The U.S ... ....(size: 2.2Kb)
photo: AP / Anis Belghoul
22 Jan 2013
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. When then-Vice President Dick Cheney stated. "If there's a 1% chance that Pakistani scientists are helping al-Qaeda build or develop a nuclear weapon, we have to treat it as a certainty in terms of our response ... "America you lost ... 11 ... 52 Weekly Reflections On Modern-Day Imperialism, Militarism, And Consumerism in the Context of John's Apocalyptic Vision, and The Other Side Of Christianity....(size: 9.1Kb)
photo: White House / Pete Souza
24 Jan 2013
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. In the world of politics and imagination, theater usually trumps theology while history is most often vanquished by histrionics ... Martin Luther King Jr. and another used only by Abraham Lincoln ... Modern science belittles the supernatural ... 52 Weekly Reflections On Modern-Day Imperialism, Militarism, And Consumerism in the Context of John's Apocalyptic Vision, and The Other Side Of Christianity....(size: 7.3Kb)
photo: AP / Patric Schneider
23 Jan 2013
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Three people were wounded, one critically, on Tuesday when gunfire erupted during an altercation between two people on a community college campus near Houston, police said, the latest in a series of shootings on U.S. college and school campuses. Two people "of interest" in the Lone Star College shooting were detained for questioning, including one with a student identification, according to authorities....(size: 3.7Kb)
photo: AP / Burhan Ozbilici
21 Jan 2013
Germany has sent 240 soldiers to southern Turkey as part of a NATO mission using Patriot missiles to deter cross-border airstrikes from war-torn Syria. Units are also being provided by the Netherlands and the US. The main German contingent flew out of Berlin Sunday, headed for Kahramanmaras, 100 kilometers (62 miles) inside Turkey's border with Syria, where two German Patriot units are to be fully operational by early February ... DW.DE ... ....(size: 2.4Kb)
Palm Beach Post
24 Jan 2013
BOYS BASKETBALL. All games at 7.30 p.m ... SAGEMONT ... American Heritage at Pope John Paul II ... John I ... Berean Christian at John Carroll, 1 p.m ... Village Academy at Pope John Paul II ... Pope John Paul II 48, North Broward Prep 21. POPE JOHN PAUL II ... Pope John Paul II 10 11 16 11 — 48 ... Three-point goals — Pope John Paul II ... Pope John Paul II at Westminster Academy, 4 p.m ... John I ... John I ... John Raich Tournament, 4 p.m ... John Raich Tournament, 9 a.m....(size: 9.0Kb)
Denver Post
24 Jan 2013
His reluctance, before he finally obeyed orders from Polish-born Pope John Paul II, earned him the label of anti-Semite in much of the world ... His years of leadership largely coincided with the papacy of the Polish-born Pope John Paul II, who was elected pope in 1979 and died in 2005, and whose words and first visit to Poland as pope in 1979 had inspired the Solidarity movement....(size: 4.1Kb)
The Guardian
24 Jan 2013
Glemp's other big problem was simply that, from the time of his appointment until 2005, there was a Polish pope – John Paul II – to whom he constantly deferred ... Much of his energy in the early 80s was devoted to making possible Pope John Paul's second visit to Poland ... His deeper disappointment – shared with John Paul II – was that his fellow ......(size: 7.8Kb)
STL Today
24 Jan 2013
He was the primate for most of the papacy of the Polish-born Pope John Paul II, who was elected pope in 1979. The church then enjoyed huge influence in Poland, with John Paul inspiring the Solidarity movement of Lech Walesa that helped topple communism in 1989 ... Paul Pohlman • A senior faculty member at The Poynter Institute has died after a brief illness....(size: 1.9Kb)
Seattle Post
24 Jan 2013
He was 83 ... His reluctance, before he finally obeyed orders from Polish-born Pope John Paul II, earned him the label of anti-Semite in much of the world ... His years of leadership largely coincided with the papacy of the Polish-born Pope John Paul II, who was elected pope in 1979 and died in 2005, and whose words and first visit to Poland as pope in 1979 had inspired the Solidarity movement ... John's Arch Cathedral in Warsaw, Nycz said. ....(size: 3.3Kb)
Star Tribune
24 Jan 2013
He was 83 ... His reluctance, before he finally obeyed orders from Polish-born Pope John Paul II, earned him the label of anti-Semite in much of the world ... His years of leadership largely coincided with the papacy of the Polish-born Pope John Paul II, who was elected pope in 1979 and died in 2005, and whose words and first visit to Poland as pope in 1979 had inspired the Solidarity movement ... John's Arch Cathedral in Warsaw, Nycz said. ....(size: 3.5Kb)
Lexington Herald-Leader
24 Jan 2013
He was the primate for most of the papacy of the Polish-born Pope John Paul II, who was elected pope in 1979. The church then enjoyed huge influence in Poland, with John Paul inspiring the Solidarity movement of Lech Walesa that helped topple communism in 1989 ... ....(size: 1.4Kb)
Chicago Sun-Times
24 Jan 2013
Updated ... He was the primate for most of the papacy of the Polish-born Pope John Paul II, who was elected pope in 1979. The church then enjoyed huge influence in Poland, with John Paul inspiring the Solidarity movement of Lech Walesa that helped topple communism in 1989 ... AP ....(size: 1.5Kb)
The Washington Post
24 Jan 2013
Map ... His reluctance, before he finally obeyed orders from Polish-born Pope John Paul II, earned him the label of anti-Semite in much of the world ... His years of leadership largely coincided with the papacy of the Polish-born Pope John Paul II, who was elected pope in 1979 and died in 2005, and whose words and first visit to Poland as pope in 1979 had inspired the Solidarity movement ... John’s Arch Cathedral in Warsaw, Nycz said ... ....(size: 5.4Kb)
The Los Angeles Times
24 Jan 2013
He was the primate for most of the papacy of the Polish-born Pope John Paul II, who was elected pope in 1979. The church then enjoyed huge influence in Poland, with John Paul inspiring the Solidarity movement of Lech Walesa that helped topple communism in 1989 ... Johns Hopkins head ... He also presided over the expansion and modernization of Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and the establishment of the Krieger Mind-Brain Institute....(size: 33.4Kb)
Voa News
24 Jan 2013
Palm Beach Post
24 Jan 2013
Malaysia Robinson’s two free throws with 0.5 seconds lifted No. 10 Pahokee to a 43-42 upset of second-ranked Lake Worth on Wednesday night in Lake Worth. Robinson scored a game-high 21 points for the Blue Devils (16-4). Paudra Leslie scored 13 points for Lake Worth (18-2). No. 1 Dwyer 62, Cardinal Newman 52 ... Tytionia Adderly scored 19 points for Newman. No ... Pope John Paul II 48, Coconut Creek-North Broward Prep 21 ... ....(size: 2.0Kb)
noodls
24 Jan 2013
(They are always made of metal, ceramic, mosaic, or books, prints, or medals…) The National Geographic article recalls a gift that would have been made by Pope John Paul II to President Reagan over 25 years ago ... (They are always made of metal, ceramic, mosaic, or books, prints, or medals…) The National Geographic article recalls a gift that would have been made by Pope John Paul II to President Reagan over 25 years ago....(size: 32.9Kb)
For other uses, see Pope John Paul II (disambiguation).
| John Paul II | |
|---|---|
 John Paul II in 1993 |
|
| Papacy began | 16 October 1978 |
| Papacy ended | 2 April 2005 |
| Predecessor | John Paul I |
| Successor | Benedict XVI |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1 November 1946 by Adam Stefan Sapieha |
| Consecration | 28 September 1958 by Eugeniusz Baziak |
| Created Cardinal | 26 June 1967 |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Karol Józef Wojtyła |
| Born | (1920-05-18)18 May 1920 Wadowice, Republic of Poland |
| Died | 2 April 2005(2005-04-02) (aged 84) Apostolic Palace, Vatican City |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Previous post |
|
| Motto | Totus Tuus meaning "totally yours" |
| Signature |  |
| Coat of arms |  |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | 22 October |
| Beatified | 1 May 2011 Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope Benedict XVI |
| Patronage | World Youth Day (Co- Patron) |
| Other Popes named John Paul | |
Blessed Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan Paweł II), born Karol Józef Wojtyła (Polish: [ˈkarɔl ˈjuzɛf vɔjˈtɨwa]; 18 May 1920, Wadowice, Republic of Poland – 2 April 2005, Apostolic Palace, Vatican City), reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005. He was the second-longest serving Pope in history and the first non-Italian since 1523.
John Paul II was acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century. He was instrumental in ending communism in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe.[1] John Paul II significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. Though criticised by progressives for upholding the Church's teachings against artificial contraception and the ordination of women, and by traditionalists for his support of the Church's Second Vatican Council and its reform, he was also widely praised for his firm, orthodox Catholic stances.
He was one of the most-travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. As part of his special emphasis on the universal call to holiness, he beatified 1,340 people and canonised 483 saints, more than the combined tally of his predecessors during the preceding five centuries. He named most of the present College of Cardinals, consecrated or co-consecrated a large number of the world's past and current bishops, and ordained many priests.[2] A key goal of his papacy was to transform and reposition the Catholic Church. His wish was "to place his Church at the heart of a new religious alliance that would bring together Jews, Muslims and Christians in a great [religious] armada".[3][4] 19 December 2009, John Paul II was proclaimed venerable by his successor Pope Benedict XVI and was beatified on 1 May 2011.
Early life[link]
Main article: Early life of Pope John Paul II
Karol Józef Wojtyła (Anglicised: Charles Joseph Wojtyla) was born in the Polish town of Wadowice[5][6] and was the youngest of three children of Karol Wojtyła, an ethnic Pole,[7] and Emilia Kaczorowska, who is described as being of Lithuanian[7] and possibly Ukrainian ancestry.[8] Emilia died on 13 April 1929,[9] when Wojtyła was eight years old.[10] His elder sister Olga had died before his birth, but he was close to his brother Edmund, nicknamed Mundek, who was 14 years his senior. Edmund's work as a physician eventually led to his death from scarlet fever, which affected Wojtyła.[7][10]
As a boy, Wojtyła was athletic, often playing football as goalkeeper.[11] During his childhood, Wojtyła had contact with Wadowice's large Jewish community. School football games were often organised between teams of Jews and Catholics, and Wojtyła often played on the Jewish side.[7][11] "I remember that at least a third of my classmates at elementary school in Wadowice were Jews. At elementary school there were fewer. With some I was on very friendly terms. And what struck me about some of them was their Polish patriotism." [12] Wojtyła’s first, and possibly only, love affair was with a Jewish girl, Ginka Beer, who was described as "slender", "a superb actress" and "having stupendous dark eyes and jet black hair".[4] On 13 April 1929, Wojtyla's mother died in childbirth.[8]
In mid-1938, Wojtyła and his father left Wadowice and moved to Kraków, where he enrolled at Jagiellonian University. While studying such topics as philology and various languages, he worked as a volunteer librarian and was required to participate in compulsory military training in the Academic Legion, but he refused to fire a weapon. He performed with various theatrical groups and worked as a playwright.[13] During this time, his talent for language blossomed, and he learned as many as 12 foreign languages, nine of which he used extensively as Pope.[5]
In 1939, Nazi German occupation forces closed the university after invading Poland.[5] Able-bodied males were required to work, so from 1940 to 1944 Wojtyła variously worked as a messenger for a restaurant, a manual labourer in a limestone quarry and for the Solvay chemical factory, to avoid deportation to Germany.[6][13] His father, a non-commissioned officer in the Polish Army, died of a heart attack in 1941,[8] leaving Wojtyła as the immediate family's only surviving member.[7][9][14] "I was not at my mother's death, I was not at my brother's death, I was not at my father's death," he said, reflecting on these times of his life, nearly forty years later, "At twenty, I had already lost all the people I loved."[14]
After his father's death, he started thinking seriously about the priesthood.[15] In October 1942, while the war continued, he knocked on the door of the Archbishop's Palace in Kraków and asked to study for the priesthood.[15] Soon after, he began courses in the clandestine underground seminary run by the Archbishop of Kraków, Adam Stefan Cardinal Sapieha. On 29 February 1944, Wojtyła was knocked down by a German truck. German Wehrmacht officers tended to him and sent him to a hospital. He spent two weeks there recovering from a severe concussion and a shoulder injury. It seemed to him that this accident and his survival was confirmation of his vocation. On 6 August 1944, ‘Black Sunday’,[16] the Gestapo rounded up young men in Kraków to avoid an uprising similar[16] to the recent uprising in Warsaw.[17][18] Wojtyła escaped by hiding in the basement of his uncle's house at 10 Tyniecka Street, while the German troops searched above.[15][17][18] More than eight thousand men and boys were taken that day, while Wojtyła escaped to the Archbishop's Palace,[15][16][17] where he remained until after the Germans had left.[7][15][17]
On the night of 17 January 1945, the Germans fled the city, and the students reclaimed the ruined seminary. Wojtyła and another seminarian volunteered for the task of clearing away piles of frozen excrement from the toilets.[19] Wojtyła also helped a 14-year-old Jewish refugee girl named Edith Zierer,[20] who had run away from a Nazi labour camp in Częstochowa.[20] Edith had collapsed on a railway platform, so Wojtyła carried her to a train and stayed with her throughout the journey to Kraków. Edith credits Wojtyła with saving her life that day.[21][22][23] B'nai B'rith and other authorities have said that Wojtyła helped protect many other Polish Jews from the Nazis. In Wojtyła's last book Memory and Identity he described the 12 years of the Nazi régime as 'bestiality',[24] quoting from Polish theologian and philosopher Konstanty Michalski.[25]
Priesthood[link]
On finishing his studies at the seminary in Kraków, Wojtyła was ordained as a priest on All Saints' Day, 1 November 1946,[9] by the Archbishop of Kraków, Cardinal Sapieha.[6][26][27] He then studied theology in Rome, at the Pontifical International Athenaeum Angelicum,[26][27] where he earned a licentiate and later a doctorate in sacred theology.[5] This doctorate, the first of two, was based on the Latin dissertation The Doctrine of Faith According to Saint John of the Cross.
He returned to Poland in the summer of 1948 with his first pastoral assignment in the village of Niegowić, fifteen miles from Kraków. He arrived at Niegowić at harvest time, where his first action was to kneel and kiss the ground.[28] This gesture, which he adapted from French saint Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney,[28] would become a ‘trademark’ action during his Papacy.
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In March 1949, Wojtyła was transferred to the parish of Saint Florian in Kraków. He taught ethics at Jagiellonian University and subsequently at the Catholic University of Lublin. While teaching, he gathered a group of about 20 young people, who began to call themselves Rodzinka, the "little family". They met for prayer, philosophical discussion, and to help the blind and sick. The group eventually grew to approximately 200 participants, and their activities expanded to include annual skiing and kayaking trips.[29]
In 1954, he earned a second doctorate, in philosophy,[30] evaluating the feasibility of a Catholic ethic based on the ethical system of phenomenologist Max Scheler, a German philosopher who founded a broad philosophical movement which emphasised the study of conscious experience. However, the Communist authorities intervened to prevent him from receiving the degree until 1957.[27] Wojtyła developed a theological approach which combined traditional Catholic Thomism with the ideas of personalism, a philosophical approach deriving from phenomenology, which was popular amongst Catholic intellectuals in Kraków during Wojtyła's intellectual development. He translated Scheler's Formalism and the Ethics of Substantive Values.[31]
During this period, Wojtyła wrote a series of articles in Kraków's Catholic newspaper Tygodnik Powszechny ("Universal Weekly") dealing with contemporary church issues.[32] He focused on creating original literary work during his first dozen years as a priest. War, life under Communism, and his pastoral responsibilities all fed his poetry and plays. Wojtyła published his work under two pseudonyms – Andrzej Jawień and Stanisław Andrzej Gruda[13][32] – to distinguish his literary from his religious writings, (under his own name) and also so that his literary works would be considered on their merits.[13][32] In 1960, Wojtyła published the influential theological book Love and Responsibility, a defence of traditional Church teachings on marriage from a new philosophical standpoint.[13][33]
Bishop and cardinal[link]
On 4 July 1958,[27] while Wojtyła was on a kayaking holiday in the lakes region of northern Poland, Pope Pius XII appointed him as the auxiliary bishop of Kraków. He was then summoned to Warsaw to meet the Primate of Poland, Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński, who informed him of his appointment.[34][35] He agreed to serve as Auxiliary Bishop to Kraków's Archbishop Eugeniusz Baziak, and he was ordained to the Episcopate (as Titular Bishop of Ombi) on 28 September 1958. Baziak was the principal consecrator. Then-Auxiliary Bishop Boleslaw Kominek (Titular Bishop of Sophene and Vaga; of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wroclaw and future Cardinal Archbishop of Wroclaw) and then-Auxiliary Bishop Franciszek Jop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sandomierz (Titular Bishop of Daulia; later Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Wroclaw and then Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Opole) were the principal co-consecrators.[27] At the age of 38, Wojtyła became the youngest bishop in Poland. Baziak died in June 1962 and on 16 July Wojtyła was selected as Vicar Capitular (temporary administrator) of the Archdiocese until an Archbishop could be appointed.[5][6]
In October 1962, Wojtyła took part in the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965),[5][27] where he made contributions to two of its most historic and influential products, the Decree on Religious Freedom (in Latin, Dignitatis Humanae) and the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes).[27] Wojtyła and the Polish bishops contributed a draft text to the Council for Gaudium et Spes. According to the historian John W. O'Malley, the draft text Gaudium et Spes which Wojtyła and the Polish delegation sent "had some influence on the version that was sent to the council fathers that summer but was not accepted as the base text".[36] According to John F. Crosby, as Pope, John Paul II used the words of Gaudium et Spes later to introduce his own views on the nature of the human person in relation to God: man is "the only creature on earth that God has wanted for its own sake", but man "can fully discover his true self only in a sincere giving of himself".[37]
He also participated in the assemblies of the Synod of Bishops.[5][6] On 13 January 1964, Pope Paul VI appointed him Archbishop of Kraków.[38] On 26 June 1967, Paul VI announced Archbishop Karol Wojtyła's promotion to the Sacred College of Cardinals.[27][38] Wojtyła was named Cardinal-Priest of the titulus of San Cesareo in Palatio.
In 1967, he was instrumental in formulating the encyclical Humanae Vitae, which dealt with the same issues that forbid abortion and artificial birth control.[27][39][40]
Election to the papacy[link]
Main article: Papal conclave, October 1978
In August 1978, following the death of Pope Paul VI, Cardinal Wojtyła voted in the Papal conclave which elected Pope John Paul I, who at 65 was considered young by papal standards. John Paul I died after only 33 days as Pope, triggering another conclave.[6][27][41]
The second conclave of 1978 started on 14 October, ten days after the funeral. It was split between two strong candidates for the papacy: Giuseppe Cardinal Siri, the conservative Archbishop of Genoa, and the liberal Archbishop of Florence, Giovanni Cardinal Benelli, a close friend of John Paul I.[42]
Supporters of Benelli were confident that he would be elected, and in early ballots, Benelli came within nine votes of success.[42] However, both men faced sufficient opposition that neither was likely to prevail. Franz Cardinal König, Archbishop of Vienna suggested to his fellow electors a compromise candidate: the Polish Cardinal, Karol Józef Wojtyła.[42] Wojtyła won on the eighth ballot on the second day with, according to the Italian press, 99 votes from the 111 participating electors. He subsequently chose the name John Paul II[27][42] in honour of his immediate predecessor, and the traditional white smoke informed the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square that a pope had been chosen.[41] He accepted his election with these words: ‘With obedience in faith to Christ, my Lord, and with trust in the Mother of Christ and the Church, in spite of great difficulties, I accept.’[43][44] When the new pontiff appeared on the balcony, he broke tradition by addressing the gathered crowd:[43]
Dear brothers and sisters, we are saddened at the death of our beloved Pope John Paul I, and so the cardinals have called for a new bishop of Rome. They called him from a faraway land – far and yet always close because of our communion in faith and Christian traditions. I was afraid to accept that responsibility, yet I do so in a spirit of obedience to the Lord and total faithfulness to Mary, our most Holy Mother. I am speaking to you in your – no, our Italian language. If I make a mistake, please ‘kirrect’ [sic] me...[43][45]
Wojtyła became the 264th Pope according to the chronological list of popes, the first non-Italian in 455 years.[46] At only 58 years of age, he was the youngest pope since Pope Pius IX in 1846, who was 54.[27] Like his predecessor, Pope John Paul II dispensed with the traditional Papal coronation and instead received ecclesiastical investiture with the simplified Papal inauguration on 22 October 1978. During his inauguration, when the cardinals were to kneel before him to take their vows and kiss his ring, he stood up as the Polish prelate Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński knelt down, stopped him from kissing the ring, and simply hugged him.[47]
Pastoral trips[link]
During his pontificate, Pope John Paul II made trips to 129 countries,[49] travelling more than 1,100,000 kilometres (680,000 mi) whilst doing so. He consistently attracted large crowds, some amongst the largest ever assembled in human history, such as the Manila World Youth Day, which gathered up to 4 million people, the largest Papal gathering ever, according to the Vatican.[50][51]John Paul II's earliest official visits were to the Dominican Republic and Mexico in January 1979.[52] While some of his trips (such as to the United States and the Holy Land) were to places previously visited by Pope Paul VI, John Paul II became the first pope to visit the White House in October 1979, where he was greeted warmly by then-President Jimmy Carter. He was the first Pope ever to visit several countries, starting in 1979 with Mexico[53] and Ireland.[54] He was the first reigning pope to travel to the United Kingdom, in 1982, where he met Queen Elizabeth II, the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. He travelled to Haiti in 1983, where he spoke in Creole to thousands of impoverished Catholics gathered to greet him at the airport. His message, "things must change in Haiti", referring to the disparity between the wealthy and the poor, was met with thunderous applause.[55] In 2000, he was the first modern pope to visit Egypt,[56] where he met with the Coptic pope, Pope Shenouda III[56] and the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria.[56] He was the first Catholic pope to visit and pray in an Islamic mosque, in Damascus, Syria, in 2001. He visited the Umayyad Mosque, a former Christian church where John the Baptist is believed to be interred,[57] where he made a speech calling for Muslims, Christians and Jews to live together.[57]
On 15 January 1995, during the X World Youth Day, he offered mass to an estimated crowd of between five and seven million in Luneta Park,[51] Manila, Philippines, which was considered to be the largest single gathering in Christian history.[51] In March 2000, while visiting Jerusalem, John Paul became the first pope in history to visit and pray at the Western Wall.[58][59] In September 2001, amid post-11 September concerns, he travelled to Kazakhstan, with an audience largely consisting of Muslims, and to Armenia, to participate in the celebration of 1,700 years of Armenian Christianity.[60]
Trip to Poland[link]
In June 1979, Pope John Paul II travelled to Poland where ecstatic crowds constantly surrounded him.[61] This first trip to Poland uplifted the nation's spirit and sparked the formation of the Solidarity movement in 1980, which later brought freedom and human rights to his troubled homeland.[39] While Poland's Communist leaders intended to use the Pope's visit to show the people that even though the Pope was Polish it did not alter their capacity to govern, oppress, and distribute the goods of society. They also hoped that if the Pope abided by the rules they set, that the Polish people would see his example and follow them as well. If the Pope's visit inspired a riot, the Communist leaders of Poland were prepared to crush the uprising and blame the suffering on the Pope.[62]
"The Pope won that struggle by transcending politics. His was what Joseph Nye calls ‘soft power’– the power of attraction and repulsion. He began with an enormous advantage, and exploited it to the utmost: He headed the one institution that stood for the polar opposite of the Communist way of life that the Polish people hated. He was a Pole, but beyond the regime’s reach. By identifying with him, Poles would have the chance to cleanse themselves of the compromises they had to make to live under the regime. And so they came to him by the millions. They listened. He told them to be good, not to compromise themselves, to stick by one another, to be fearless, and that God is the only source of goodness, the only standard of conduct. ‘Be not afraid,’ he said. Millions shouted in response, ‘We want God! We want God! We want God!’ The regime cowered. Had the Pope chosen to turn his soft power into the hard variety, the regime might have been drowned in blood. Instead, the Pope simply led the Polish people to desert their rulers by affirming solidarity with one another. The Communists managed to hold on as despots a decade longer. But as political leaders, they were finished. Visiting his native Poland in 1979, Pope John Paul II struck what turned out to be a mortal blow to its Communist regime, to the Soviet Empire, [and] ultimately to Communism.”[63]
On later trips to Poland, he gave tacit support to the organisation.[39] Successive Polish trips reinforced this message and contributed to the collapse of East European Communism that took place between 1989/1990 with the reintroduction of democracy in Poland, and which then spread through Eastern Europe (1990–1991) and South-Eastern Europe (1990–1992).[45][49][61][64][65]
Teachings[link]
As pope, John Paul II wrote 14 papal encyclicals and taught about "The Theology of the Body". Some key elements of his strategy to "reposition the Catholic Church" were encyclicals such as Ecclesia de Eucharistia, Reconciliatio et Paenitentia and Redemptoris Mater. In his At the beginning of the new millennium (Novo Millennio Ineunte), he emphasised the importance of "starting afresh from Christ": "No, we shall not be saved by a formula but by a Person." In The Splendour of the Truth (Veritatis Splendor), he emphasised the dependence of man on God and His Law ("Without the Creator, the creature disappears") and the "dependence of freedom on the truth". He warned that man "giving himself over to relativism and scepticism, goes off in search of an illusory freedom apart from truth itself". In Fides et Ratio (On the Relationship between Faith and Reason) John Paul promoted a renewed interest in philosophy and an autonomous pursuit of truth in theological matters. Drawing on many different sources (such as Thomism), he described the mutually supporting relationship between faith and reason, and emphasised that theologians should focus on that relationship. John Paul II wrote extensively about workers and the social doctrine of the Church, which he discussed in three encyclicals: Laborem Exercens, Solicitudo Rei Socialis, and Centesimus Annus. Through his encyclicals and many Apostolic Letters and Exhortations, John Paul II talked about the dignity of women and the importance of the family for the future of humanity.[39] Other encyclicals include The Gospel of Life (Evangelium Vitae) and Ut Unum Sint (That They May Be One). Though critics accused him of inflexibility, he explicitly re-asserted Catholic moral teachings against capital punishment, euthanasia and abortion that have been in place for well over a thousand years.[39]
Social and political stances[link]
Main article: Social and political stances of Pope John Paul II
John Paul II was considered a conservative on doctrine, and issues relating to sexual reproduction and the ordination of women.[66]
While the Pope was visiting the United States of America he said, "All human life, from the moments of conception and through all subsequent stages, is sacred."[67]
A series of 129 lectures given by John Paul II during his Wednesday audiences in Rome between September 1979 and November 1984 were later compiled and published as a single work entitled ‘Theology of the Body’, an extended meditation on human sexuality. He extended it to the condemnation of abortion, euthanasia and virtually all capital punishment,[68] calling them all a part of the "culture of death" that is pervasive in the modern world. He campaigned for world debt forgiveness and social justice.[39][66] He coined the term "social mortgage", which related that all private property had a social dimension, namely, that "the goods of this are originally meant for all."[69]In 2000, he publicly endorsed the Jubilee 2000 campaign on African debt relief fronted by Irish rock stars Bob Geldof and Bono, once famously interrupting a U2 recording session by telephoning the studio and asking to speak to Bono.[70]
Pope John Paul II, who was present and very influential at the Vatican II (1962–65), affirmed the teachings of that Council and did much to implement them. Nevertheless, his critics often wished that he would embrace the so-called "progressive" agenda that some hoped would evolve as a result of the Council. In fact, the Council did not advocate "progressive" changes in these areas; for example, they still condemned abortion as an unspeakable crime. Pope John Paul II continued to declare that contraception, abortion, and homosexual acts were gravely sinful, and, with Joseph Ratzinger (future Pope Benedict XVI), opposed Liberation theology.
Following the Church's exaltation of the marital act of sexual intercourse between a baptised man and woman within sacramental marriage as proper and exclusive to the sacrament of marriage, John Paul II believed that it was, in every instance, profaned by contraception, abortion, divorce followed by a 'second' marriage, and by homosexual acts. His beliefs were often assumed to be a rejection of women. In 1994 John Paul II asserted the Church's lack of authority to ordain women to the priesthood, claiming that without such authority ordination is not legitimately compatible with fidelity to Christ. This was also deemed a repudiation of calls to break with the constant tradition of the Church by ordaining women to the priesthood.[71] In addition, John Paul II chose not to end the discipline of mandatory priestly celibacy, although in a small number of unusual circumstances, he did allow certain married clergymen of other Christian traditions who later became Catholic to be ordained as Catholic priests.
Evolution[link]
On 22 October 1996, in a speech to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences plenary session at the Vatican, Pope John Paul II said of evolution that "this theory has been progressively accepted by researchers, following a series of discoveries in various fields of knowledge. The convergence, neither sought nor fabricated, of the results of work that was conducted independently is in itself a significant argument in favour of this theory." The Pope qualified this by noting that, "rather than the theory of evolution, we should speak of several theories of evolution." Some of these theories, he noted, have a purely materialistic philosophical underpinning which is not compatible with the Catholic faith: "Consequently, theories of evolution which, in accordance with the philosophies inspiring them, consider the mind as emerging from the forces of living matter, or as a mere epiphenomenon of this matter, are incompatible with the truth about man".[72][73][74][75]
Although generally accepting the theory of evolution, John Paul II made one major exception – the human soul. "If the human body has its origin in living material which pre-exists it, the spiritual soul is immediately created by God".[72][74][75]
Liberation theology[link]
In 1984 and 1986, through Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), then-leader of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, John Paul II officially condemned aspects of Liberation theology, which had many followers in South America. Visiting Europe, Óscar Romero unsuccessfully attempted to obtain a Vatican condemnation of El Salvador's regime, for violations of human rights and its support of death squads. In his travel to Managua, Nicaragua in 1983, John Paul II harshly condemned what he dubbed the "popular Church"[76] (i.e. "ecclesial base communities" supported by the CELAM), and the Nicaraguan clergy's tendencies to support the leftist Sandinistas, reminding the clergy of their duties of obedience to the Holy See.[76] During that visit Ernesto Cardenal, a priest and minister in the Sandinista government, knelt to kiss his hand. John Paul withdrew it, wagged his finger in Cardenal's face, and told him, "You must straighten out your position with the church."[77]
Views on sexuality[link]
While taking a traditional position on sexuality, defending the Church's moral opposition to marriage for same-sex couples, Pope John Paul II asserted that persons with homosexual inclinations possess the same inherent dignity and rights as everybody else.[78] In his book, Memory and Identity, he referred to the "strong pressures" by the European Parliament to recognise homosexual unions as an alternative type of family, with the right to adopt children. In the book, as quoted by Reuters, he wrote: "It is legitimate and necessary to ask oneself if this is not perhaps part of a new ideology of evil, more subtle and hidden, perhaps, intent upon exploiting human rights themselves against man and against the family [sic]."[39][79] A 1997 study determined that 3% of the pope's statements were about the issue of sexual morality.[80]
Relations with other faiths[link]
Pope John Paul II travelled extensively and met with believers from many divergent faiths. At the World Day of Prayer for Peace, held in Assisi on 27 October 1986, more than 120 representatives of different religions and Christian denominations spent a day together with fasting and praying.[81]
Anglicanism[link]
Pope John Paul II had good relations with the Church of England, referred to by his predecessor Pope Paul VI, as "our beloved Sister Church".[82] He preached in Canterbury Cathedral during his visit to London, and received the Archbishop of Canterbury with friendship and courtesy. However, John Paul II was disappointed by the Church of England's decision to offer the Sacrament of Holy Orders to women and saw it as a step in the opposite direction from unity between the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church.[82]
In 1980 John Paul II issued a Pastoral Provision allowing married former Episcopal priests to become Catholic priests, and for the acceptance of former Episcopal Church parishes into the Catholic Church. He allowed the creation of the Anglican Use form of the Latin Rite, which incorporates the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. John Paul II helped establish 'Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church', together with Archbishop Patrick Flores of San Antonio, Texas, as a place where Anglicans and Catholics could worship together.[83]
Buddhism[link]
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, visited Pope John Paul II eight times, more than any other single dignitary. The Pope and the Dalai Lama held many similar views and understood similar plights, both coming from nations damaged by communism and both serving as heads of major religious bodies.[84][85]
Eastern Orthodox Church[link]
In May 1999, John Paul II visited Romania on the invitation from Patriarch Teoctist Arăpaşu of the Romanian Orthodox Church. This was the first time a Pope had visited a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism in 1054.[86] On his arrival, the Patriarch and the President of Romania, Emil Constantinescu, greeted the Pope.[86] The Patriarch stated, "The second millennium of Christian history began with a painful wounding of the unity of the Church; the end of this millennium has seen a real commitment to restoring Christian unity."[86]
On 23–27 June 2001 John Paul II visited Ukraine, another heavily Orthodox nation, at the invitation of the President of Ukraine and bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.[87] The Pope spoke to leaders of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations, pleading for "open, tolerant and honest dialogue".[87] About 200 thousand people attended the liturgies celebrated by the Pope in Kiev, and the liturgy in Lviv gathered nearly one and a half million faithful.[87] John Paul II stated that an end to the Great Schism was one of his fondest wishes.[87] Healing divisions between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches regarding Latin and Byzantine traditions was clearly of great personal interest. For many years, John Paul II sought to facilitate dialogue and unity stating as early as 1988 in Euntes in mundum that "Europe has two lungs, it will never breathe easily until it uses both of them".
During his 2001 travels, John Paul II became the first Pope to visit Greece in 1291 years.[88][89] In Athens, the Pope met with Archbishop Christodoulos, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church.[88] After a private 30 minute meeting, the two spoke publicly. Christodoulos read a list of "13 offences" of the Roman Catholic Church against the Eastern Orthodox Church since the Great Schism,[88] including the pillaging of Constantinople by crusaders in 1204, and bemoaned the lack of apology from the Roman Catholic Church, saying "Until now, there has not been heard a single request for pardon" for the "maniacal crusaders of the 13th century."[88]
The Pope responded by saying "For the occasions past and present, when sons and daughters of the Catholic Church have sinned by action or omission against their Orthodox brothers and sisters, may the Lord grant us forgiveness," to which Christodoulos immediately applauded. John Paul II said that the sacking of Constantinople was a source of "profound regret" for Catholics.[88] Later John Paul II and Christodoulos met on a spot where Saint Paul had once preached to Athenian Christians. They issued a ‘common declaration’, saying "We shall do everything in our power, so that the Christian roots of Europe and its Christian soul may be preserved. … We condemn all recourse to violence, proselytism and fanaticism, in the name of religion".[88] The two leaders then said the Lord's Prayer together, breaking an Orthodox taboo against praying with Catholics.[88]
The Pope had said throughout his pontificate that one of his greatest dreams was to visit Russia, but this never occurred. He attempted to solve the problems that had arisen over centuries between the Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches, and in 2004 gave them a 1730 copy of the lost icon of Our Lady of Kazan.
Islam[link]
Pope John Paul II made considerable efforts to improve relations between Catholicism and Islam.[90]
On 6 May 2001, Pope John Paul II became the first Catholic pope to enter and pray in a mosque. Respectfully removing his shoes, he entered the Umayyad Mosque, a former Byzantine era Christian church dedicated to John the Baptist (who was believed to be interred there) in Damascus, Syria, and gave a speech including the statement: "For all the times that Muslims and Christians have offended one another, we need to seek forgiveness from the Almighty and to offer each other forgiveness."[57] He kissed the Qur’an in Syria,[91] an act which made him popular amongst Muslims but which disturbed many Catholics.[91]
In 2004, Pope John Paul II hosted the "Papal Concert of Reconciliation", which brought together leaders of Islam with leaders of the Jewish community and of the Catholic Church at the Vatican for a concert by the Kraków Philharmonic Choir from Poland, the London Philharmonic Choir from the United Kingdom, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from the United States, and the Ankara State Polyphonic Choir of Turkey.[92][93][94][95] The event was conceived and conducted by Sir Gilbert Levine, KCSG and was broadcast throughout the world.[92][93][94][95]
John Paul II oversaw the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church which makes a special provision[clarification needed] for Muslims; therein, it is written, "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in 'the first place amongst whom are the Muslims'; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."[96]
Judaism[link]
Relations between Catholicism and Judaism improved during the pontificate of John Paul II.[39][59] He spoke frequently about the Church's relationship with the Jewish faith.[39]
In 1979, John Paul II became the first pope to visit the German Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, where many of his compatriots (mostly Polish Jews) had perished during the Nazi occupation in World War II. In 1998 he issued "We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah" which outlined his thinking on the Holocaust.[97] He became the first pope known to have made an official papal visit to a synagogue, when he visited the Great Synagogue of Rome on 13 April 1986.[98][99]
In 1994, John Paul II established formal diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the State of Israel, acknowledging its centrality in Jewish life and faith.[98] In honour of this event, Pope John Paul II hosted ‘The Papal Concert to Commemorate the Holocaust’. This concert, which was conceived and conducted by American Maestro Gilbert Levine, was attended by the Chief Rabbi of Rome, the President of Italy, and survivors of the Holocaust from around the world.[100][101]
In March 2000, John Paul II visited Yad Vashem, the national Holocaust memorial in Israel, and later made history by touching one of the holiest sites in Judaism, the Western Wall in Jerusalem,[59] placing a letter inside it (in which he prayed for forgiveness for the actions against Jews).[58][59][98] In part of his address he said: "I assure the Jewish people the Catholic Church... is deeply saddened by the hatred, acts of persecution and displays of anti-Semitism directed against the Jews by Christians at any time and in any place", he added that there were "no words strong enough to deplore the terrible tragedy of the Holocaust".[58][59] Israeli cabinet minister Rabbi Michael Melchior, who hosted the Pope's visit, said he was "very moved" by the Pope's gesture.[58][59]
It was beyond history, beyond memory.[58]
We are deeply saddened by the behaviour of those who in the course of history have caused these children of yours to suffer, and asking your forgiveness we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the Covenant.[102]
In October 2003, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) issued a statement congratulating John Paul II on entering the 25th year of his papacy. In January 2005, John Paul II became the first Pope in history known to receive a priestly blessing from a rabbi, when Rabbis Benjamin Blech, Barry Dov Schwartz, and Jack Bemporad visited the Pontiff at Clementine Hall in the Apostolic Palace.[103]
Immediately after John Paul II's death, the ADL issued a statement that Pope John Paul II had revolutionised Catholic-Jewish relations, saying that "more change for the better took place in his 27 year Papacy than in the nearly 2,000 years before."[104] In another statement issued by the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, Director Dr Colin Rubenstein said, "The Pope will be remembered for his inspiring spiritual leadership in the cause of freedom and humanity. He achieved far more in terms of transforming relations with both the Jewish people and the State of Israel than any other figure in the history of the Catholic Church".[98]
With Judaism, therefore, we have a relationship which we do not have with any other religion. You are our dearly beloved brothers, and in a certain way, it could be said that you are our elder brothers.[105]
Lutheranism[link]
On 15–19 November 1980 John Paul II visited the Federal Republic of Germany[106] on his first trip to a country with a large Lutheran population. In Mainz he met with leaders of the Lutheran and other Protestant Churches, and with representatives of other Christian denominations.
On 11 December 1983 John Paul II participated in an ecumenical service in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Rome,[107] the first papal visit ever to a Lutheran church. The visit took place 500 years after the birth of Martin Luther, the German Augustinian monk who initiated the Lutheran reformation.
In his apostolic pilgrimage to Norway, Iceland, Finland, Denmark and Sweden of June 1989,[108] John Paul II became the first pope to visit countries with Lutheran majorities. In addition to celebrating Mass with Catholic believers, he participated in ecumenical services at places that had been Catholic shrines before the 16th century Lutheran reformation: Nidaros Cathedral in Norway; near St. Olav's Church at Thingvellir in Iceland; Turku Cathedral in Finland; Roskilde Cathedral in Denmark; and Uppsala Cathedral in Sweden.
On 31 October 1999 (the 482nd anniversary of Reformation Day, Martin Luther's posting of the 95 Theses), representatives of the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) signed a Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, as a gesture of unity. The signing was a fruit of a theological dialogue that had been going on between the LWF and the Vatican since 1965.
Role in the fall of Communism[link]
Main article: Holy See–Soviet Union relations
John Paul II has been credited with being instrumental in bringing down communism in Central and Eastern Europe,[39][45][49][64][65][109] by being the spiritual inspiration behind its downfall and catalyst for "a peaceful revolution" in Poland. Lech Wałęsa, the founder of ‘Solidarity’, credited John Paul II with giving Poles the courage to demand change.[39] According to Wałęsa, "Before his pontificate, the world was divided into blocs. Nobody knew how to get rid of communism. In Warsaw, in 1979, he simply said: 'Do not be afraid', and later prayed: 'Let your Spirit descend and change the image of the land... this land'."[109] It has also been widely alleged that the Vatican Bank covertly funded Solidarity.[110][111]
President Ronald Reagan's correspondence with the pope reveals "a continuous scurrying to shore up Vatican support for U.S. policies. Perhaps most surprisingly, the papers show that, as late as 1984, the pope did not believe the Communist Polish government could be changed."[112]
In December 1989, John Paul II met with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at the Vatican and each expressed his respect and admiration for the other. Gorbachev once said "The collapse of the Iron Curtain would have been impossible without John Paul II".[45][64] On John Paul's death, Mikhail Gorbachev said: "Pope John Paul II's devotion to his followers is a remarkable example to all of us."[65][109]
In February 2004, Pope John Paul II was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize honouring his life's work in opposing Communist oppression and helping to reshape the world.[113]
President George W. Bush presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honour, to Pope John Paul II during a ceremony at the Vatican 4 June 2004. The president read the citation that accompanied the medal, which recognised "this son of Poland" whose "principled stand for peace and freedom has inspired millions and helped to topple communism and tyranny."[114] After receiving the award, John Paul II said, "May the desire for freedom, peace, a more humane world symbolised by this medal inspire men and women of goodwill in every time and place."[115]
Warsaw, Moscow, Budapest, Berlin, Prague, Sofia and Bucharest have become stages in a long pilgrimage toward liberty. It is admirable that in these events, entire peoples spoke out – women, young people, men, overcoming fears, their irrepressible thirst for liberty speeded up developments, made walls tumble down and opened gates.[116]
Assassination attempts[link]
Main articles: 1981 Pope John Paul II assassination attempt, Juan María Fernández y Krohn, and The Bojinka Plot
As he entered St. Peter's Square to address an audience on 13 May 1981,[117] Pope John Paul II was shot and critically wounded by Mehmet Ali Ağca,[5][49][118] an expert Turkish gunman who was a member of the militant fascist group Grey Wolves.[119] The assassin used a Browning 9 mm semi-automatic pistol,[120] shooting the pope in the abdomen and perforating his colon and small intestine multiple times.[45] John Paul II was rushed into the Vatican complex and then to the Gemelli Hospital. En route to the hospital, he lost consciousness. Even though the two bullets missed his mesenteric artery and abdominal aorta, he lost nearly three-quarters of his blood. He underwent five hours of surgery to treat his wounds.[121] Surgeons performed a colostomy, temporarily rerouting the upper part of the large intestine to let the damaged lower part heal.[121] When he briefly gained consciousness before being operated on, he instructed the doctors not to remove his Brown Scapular during the operation.[122] The pope stated that Our Lady of Fátima helped keep him alive throughout his ordeal.[49][118][123]
Could I forget that the event in St. Peter’s Square took place on the day and at the hour when the first appearance of the Mother of Christ to the poor little peasants has been remembered for over sixty years at Fátima, Portugal? For in everything that happened to me on that very day, I felt that extraordinary motherly protection and care, which turned out to be stronger than the deadly bullet.[124]
Ağca was caught and restrained by a nun and other bystanders until police arrived. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. Two days after Christmas in 1983, John Paul II visited Ağca in prison. John Paul II and Ağca spoke privately for about twenty minutes.[49][118] John Paul II said, "What we talked about will have to remain a secret between him and me. I spoke to him as a brother whom I have pardoned and who has my complete trust.″
On 2 March 2006 the Italian parliament's Mitrokhin Commission, set up by Silvio Berlusconi and headed by Forza Italia senator Paolo Guzzanti, concluded that the Soviet Union was behind the attempt on John Paul II's life,[119][125] in retaliation for the pope's support of Solidarity, the Catholic, pro-democratic Polish workers' movement, a theory which had already been supported by Michael Ledeen and the United States Central Intelligence Agency at the time.[119][125] The Italian report stated that Communist Bulgarian security departments were utilised to prevent the Soviet Union's role from being uncovered.[125] The report stated that Soviet military intelligence (Glavnoje Razvedyvatel'noje Upravlenije), not the KGB, were responsible.[125] Russian Foreign Intelligence Service spokesman Boris Labusov called the accusation ‘absurd’.[125] The Pope declared during a May 2002 visit to Bulgaria that the country's Soviet bloc-era leadership had nothing to do with the assassination attempt.[119][125] However, his secretary, Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, alleged in his book A Life with Karol, that the pope was convinced privately that the former Soviet Union was behind the attack.[126] It was later discovered that many of John Paul II's aides had foreign government attachments;[127] Bulgaria and Russia disputed the Italian commission's conclusions, pointing out that the Pope had publicly denied the Bulgarian connection.[125] A second assassination attempt took place on 12 May 1982, just a day before the anniversary of the first attempt on his life, in Fátima, Portugal when a man tried to stab John Paul II with a bayonet.[128][129][130] He was stopped by security guards, although Stanisław Dziwisz later claimed that John Paul II had been injured during the attempt but managed to hide a non-life threatening wound.[128][129][130] The assailant, a traditionalist Spanish priest named Juan María Fernández y Krohn,[128] was ordained as a priest by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre of the Society of Saint Pius X and was opposed to the changes caused by the Second Vatican Council, claiming that the pope was an agent of Communist Moscow and of the Marxist Eastern Bloc.[131] Fernández y Krohn subsequently left the priesthood and served three years of a six-year sentence.[129][130][131] The ex-priest was treated for mental illness and then expelled from Portugal to become a solicitor in Belgium.[131]
Pope John Paul II was also a target of the Al-Qaeda-funded Bojinka plot during a visit to the Philippines in 1995. The first plan was to kill him in the Philippines during World Youth Day 1995 celebrations. On 15 January 1995, a suicide bomber was planning to dress as a priest, while John Paul II passed in his motorcade on his way to the San Carlos Seminary in Makati City. The would-be-assassin intended to get close and detonate the bomb. The assassination was supposed to divert attention from the next phase of the operation. However, a chemical fire inadvertently started by the cell alerted police to their whereabouts, and all were arrested a week before the Pope's visit, confessing to the plot.[132]
In 2009 journalist and former army intelligence officer John Koehler published Spies in the Vatican: The Soviet Union's Cold War Against the Catholic Church.[133] Mining mostly East German and Polish secret police archives, Koehler says the assassination attempts were "KGB-backed" and gives details.[134] During John Paul II's reign there were many clerics within the Vatican who on nomination, declined to be ordained, and then mysteriously left the church. There is wide speculation that they were, in reality, KGB agents.
Health[link]
Main article: Pope John Paul II's health
When he became pope in 1978, John Paul II was still an avid sportsman. At the time, the 58-year old was extremely healthy and active, jogging in the Vatican gardens, weight training, swimming, and hiking in the mountains. He was fond of football. The media contrasted the new Pope's athleticism and trim figure to the poor health of John Paul I and Paul VI, the portliness of John XXIII and the constant claims of ailments of Pius XII. The only modern pope with a fitness regimen had been Pope Pius XI (1922–1939) who was an avid mountaineer.[135][136] An Irish Independent article in the 1980s labelled John Paul II the keep-fit pope.
However, after over twenty-five years on the papal throne, two assassination attempts (one of which resulted in severe physical injury to the Pope), and a number of cancer scares, John Paul's physical health declined. In 2001 he was diagnosed as suffering from Parkinson's disease.[137] International observers had suspected this for some time but it was only publicly acknowledged by the Vatican in 2003. Despite difficulty speaking more than a few sentences at a time, trouble hearing and severe osteoarthrosis, he continued to tour the world, although rarely walking in public.
Death and funeral[link]
Main article: Funeral of Pope John Paul II
On 31 March 2005 following a urinary tract infection,[138] Pope John Paul II developed septic shock, a form of infection with a high fever and low blood pressure, but was not hospitalised. Instead, he was monitored by a team of consultants at his private residence. This was taken as an indication that the pope and those close to him believed that he was nearing death; it would have been in accordance with his wishes to die in the Vatican.[138] Later that day, Vatican sources announced that John Paul II had been given the Anointing of the Sick by his friend and secretary Stanisław Dziwisz. During the final days of the Pope's life, the lights were kept burning through the night where he lay in the Papal apartment on the top floor of the Apostolic Palace. Tens of thousands of people assembled and held vigil in St. Peter's Square and the surrounding streets for two days. Upon hearing of this, the dying pope was said to have stated: "I have searched for you, and now you have come to me, and I thank you."[139]
On Saturday 2 April 2005, at about 15:30 CEST, John Paul II spoke his final words, "Pozwólcie mi odejść do domu Ojca", ("Let me depart to the house of the Father"), to his aides, and fell into a coma about four hours later.[139][140] The mass of the vigil of the Second Sunday of Easter commemorating the canonisation of Saint Maria Faustina on 30 April 2000, had just been celebrated at his bedside, presided over by Stanisław Dziwisz and two Polish associates. Present at the bedside was a cardinal from Ukraine who served as a priest with John Paul in Poland, along with Polish nuns of the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, who ran the papal household. He died in his private apartment, at 21:37 CEST[140][141][142] (19:37 UTC) of heart failure from profound hypotension and complete circulatory collapse from septic shock, 46 days short of his 85th birthday. John Paul had no close family by the time he died, and his feelings are reflected in his words, as written in 2000, at the end of his Last Will and Testament.[143]
The death of the pontiff set in motion rituals and traditions dating back to medieval times. The Rite of Visitation took place from 4 to 7 April at St. Peter's Basilica. The Testament of Pope John Paul II published on 7 April[144] revealed that the pontiff contemplated being buried in his native Poland but left the final decision to The College of Cardinals, which in passing, preferred burial beneath St. Peter's Basilica, honouring the pontiff's request to be placed "in bare earth". The Mass of Requiem on 8 April was said to have set world records both for attendance and number of heads of state present at a funeral.[145][146][147][148] (See: List of Dignitaries). It was the single largest gathering of heads of state in history, surpassing the funerals of Winston Churchill (1965) and Josip Broz Tito (1980). Four kings, five queens, at least 70 presidents and prime ministers, and more than 14 leaders of other religions attended alongside the faithful.[146] It is likely to have been the largest single pilgrimage of Christianity ever, with numbers estimated in excess of four million mourners gathering in Rome.[145][147][148][149] Between 250,000 and 300,000 watched the event from within the Vatican walls.[148] The Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became the next pope, conducted the ceremony. John Paul II was interred in the grottoes under the basilica, the Tomb of the Popes. He was lowered into a tomb created in the same alcove previously occupied by the remains of Pope John XXIII. The alcove had been empty since Pope John's remains had been moved into the main body of the basilica after his beatification.
Posthumous recognition[link]
Title "the Great"[link]
Upon the death of John Paul II, a number of clergy at the Vatican and laymen throughout the world[45][145][150] began referring to the late pontiff as "John Paul the Great"—only the fourth pope to be so acclaimed, and the first since the first millennium.[45][150][151][152] Scholars of Canon Law say that there is no official process for declaring a pope "Great"; the title simply establishes itself through popular and continued usage,[145][153][154] as was the case with celebrated secular leaders (for example, Alexander III of Macedon became popularly known as Alexander the Great). The three popes who today commonly are known as "Great" are Leo I, who reigned from 440–461 and persuaded Attila the Hun to withdraw from Rome; Gregory I, 590–604, after whom the Gregorian Chant is named; and Pope Nicholas I, 858–867.[150]
His successor, Pope Benedict XVI, referred to him as "the great Pope John Paul II" in his first address[155] from the loggia of St. Peter's Church, and Angelo Cardinal Sodano referred to Pope John Paul II as "the Great" in his published written homily for the Mass of Repose.[156]
Since giving his homily at the funeral of Pope John Paul, Pope Benedict XVI has continued to refer to John Paul II as "the Great." At the 20th World Youth Day in Germany 2005, Pope Benedict XVI, speaking in Polish, John Paul's native language, said, "As the Great Pope John Paul II would say: keep the flame of faith alive in your lives and your people." In May 2006, Pope Benedict XVI visited John Paul's native Poland. During that visit, he repeatedly made references to "the great John Paul" and "my great predecessor".[157]
In addition to the Vatican calling him "the great," numerous newspapers have done so. For example, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera called him "the Greatest" and the South African Catholic newspaper, The Southern Cross, has called him "John Paul II The Great".[158] and many Catholic schools worldwide have been named after him using this title, for example recently renamed John Paul the Great Catholic University and John Paul the Great Catholic High School.
Beatification[link]
Main article: Beatification and canonisation of Pope John Paul II
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Inspired by calls of "Santo Subito!" ("[Make him a] Saint Immediately!") from the crowds gathered during the funeral mass which he performed,[145][161][162][163][164][165] Benedict XVI began the beatification process for his predecessor, bypassing the normal restriction that five years must pass after a person's death before beginning the beatification process.[162][163][166][167] In an audience with Pope Benedict XVI, Camillo Ruini, Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome who was responsible for promoting the cause for canonisation of any person who died within that diocese, cited "exceptional circumstances" which suggested that the waiting period could be waived.[6][145][168] This decision was announced on 13 May 2005, the Feast of Our Lady of Fátima and the 24th anniversary of the assassination attempt on John Paul II at St. Peter's Square.[169]
In early 2006, it was reported that the Vatican was investigating a possible miracle associated with John Paul II. Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, a French nun and a member of the Congregation of Little Sisters of Catholic Maternity Wards, confined to her bed by Parkinson's Disease,[163][170] was reported to have experienced a "complete and lasting cure after members of her community prayed for the intercession of Pope John Paul II".[110][145][161][163][171][172] As of May 2008[update], Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre, then 46,[161][163] was working again at a maternity hospital run by her order.[167][170][173][174]
"I was sick and now I am cured," she told reporter Gerry Shaw. "I am cured, but it is up to the church to say whether it was a miracle or not."[170][173]
On 28 May 2006, Pope Benedict XVI said Mass before an estimated 900,000 people in John Paul II's native Poland. During his homily, he encouraged prayers for the early canonisation of John Paul II and stated that he hoped canonisation would happen "in the near future."[170][175]
In January 2007, Stanisław Cardinal Dziwisz of Kraków, his former secretary, announced that the interview phase of the beatification process, in Italy and Poland, was nearing completion.[145][170][176] In February 2007, relics of Pope John Paul II—pieces of white papal cassocks he used to wear—were freely distributed with prayer cards for the cause, a typical pious practice after a saintly Catholic's death.[177][178] On 8 March 2007, the Vicariate of Rome announced that the diocesan phase of John Paul's cause for beatification was at an end. Following a ceremony on 2 April 2007 – the second anniversary of the Pontiff's death – the cause proceeded to the scrutiny of the committee of lay, clerical, and episcopal members of the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints, to conduct a separate investigation.[170][176][162] On the fourth anniversary of Pope John Paul's death, 2 April 2009, Cardinal Dziwisz, told reporters of a presumed miracle that had recently occurred at the former pope's tomb in St. Peter's Basilica.[173][179][180][181] A nine year-old Polish boy from Gdańsk, who was suffering from kidney cancer and was completely unable to walk, had been visiting the tomb with his parents. On leaving St. Peter's Basilica, the boy told them, "I want to walk," and began walking normally.[179][180][181][182] On 16 November 2009, a panel of reviewers at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints voted unanimously that Pope John Paul II had lived a life of virtue.[183][184] On 19 December 2009, Pope Benedict XVI signed the first of two decrees needed for beatification and proclaimed John Paul II "Venerable", asserting that he had lived a heroic, virtuous life.[183][184] The second vote and the second signed decree certify the authenticity of his first miracle, the curing of Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, a French nun, from Parkinson's disease. Once the second decree is signed, the positio (the report on the cause, with documentation about his life and writings and with information on the cause) is complete.[184] He can then be beatified.[183][184] Some speculated that he would be beatified sometime during (or soon after) the month of the 32nd anniversary of his 1978 election, in October 2010. As Monsignor Oder noted, this course would have been possible if the second decree were signed in time by Benedict XVI, stating that a posthumous miracle directly attributable to his intercession had occurred, completing the positio.
The Vatican announced on 14 January 2011 that Pope Benedict XVI had confirmed the miracle involving Sister Marie Simon-Pierre and that John Paul II was to be beatified on 1 May, the Feast of Divine Mercy.[185] 1 May is commemorated in former communist countries, such as Poland, and some Western European countries as May Day, and Pope John Paul II was well-known for his contributions to communism's relatively peaceful demise.[45][64] In March 2011 the Polish mint issued a gold 1,000 Polish złoty coin (equivalent to US$350), with the Pope's image to commemorate his beatification.[186]
On 29 April 2011, Pope John Paul II's coffin was exhumed from the grotto beneath St. Peter's Basilica ahead of his beatification, as tens of thousands of people arrived in Rome for one of the biggest events since his funeral.[187] John Paul II's remains (in a closed coffin) were placed in front of the Basilica's main altar, where believers could pay their respect before and after the beatification mass in St. Peter's Square on 1 May. On 3 May 2011 Blessed Pope John Paul II was given a new resting place in the marble altar in Pier Paolo Cristofari's Chapel of St. Sebastian, which is where Pope Innocent XI was buried. This more prominent location, next to the Chapel of the Pieta, the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament and statues of Popes Pius XI and Pius XII, was intended to allow more pilgrims to view his memorial.
Criticism and controversy[link]
Main articles: Criticism of Pope John Paul II and Criticism of the Catholic Church
John Paul II was widely criticised, amongst other things,[188] for his views against the ordination of women and contraception, his support for the Second Vatican Council and its reform of the Liturgy, and his stance on the sanctity of marriage.[5][189]
Opposition to his beatification[link]
Some Catholic theologians disagree with the call for beatification of Pope John Paul II. Eleven dissident theologians, including Jesuit professor Jose Maria Castillo and Italian theologian Giovanni Franzoni raised seven points, including his stance against contraception and the ordination of women as well as the Church scandals that presented "facts which according to their consciences and convictions should be an obstacle to beatification".
Child sex abuse scandals[link]
Main article: Catholic sex abuse cases
John Paul II was also criticised for failing to respond quickly enough to the sex abuse crisis. In his response, he stated that "there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young".[190] The Church instituted reforms to prevent future abuse by requiring background checks for Church employees[191] and, because a significant majority of victims were teenage boys, disallowing ordination of men with "deep–seated homosexual tendencies".[192][193] They now require dioceses faced with an allegation to alert the authorities, conduct an investigation and remove the accused from duty.[191][194] In 2008, the Church asserted that the scandal was a very serious problem and estimated that it was "probably caused by 'no more than 1 per cent' " (or 5,000) of the over 500,000 Catholic priests worldwide.[195][196]
In April 2002, John Paul II, despite being frail from Parkinson’s disease, read a statement intended for the American cardinals, calling the sex abuse "an appalling sin" and said the priesthood had no room for such men.[197]
In 2003 John Paul II reiterated that "there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young".[190] and in April 2003, the Pontifical Academy for Life organised a three-day conference, entitled "Abuse of Children and Young People by Catholic Priests and Religious", where eight non-Catholic psychiatric experts were invited to speak to near all Vatican dicasteries' representatives. The panel of experts overwhelmingly opposed implementation of policies of "zero-tolerance" such as was proposed by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. One expert called such policies a "case of overkill" since they do not permit flexibility to allow for differences among individual cases.[198]
In 2004 Pope John Paul II appointed Bernard Francis Law as Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome. Law had previously resigned as archbishop of Boston in 2002 in response to the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal after Church documents were revealed which suggested he had covered up sexual abuse committed by priests in his archdiocese.[199] Law resigned from this position in November 2011.[197]
Opus Dei controversies[link]
Main article: Controversies about Opus Dei
John Paul II was criticised for his support of the Opus Dei prelature and the 2002 canonisation of its founder, Josemaría Escrivá, whom he called 'the saint of ordinary life.'[200][201] Other movements and religious organisations of the Church went decidedly under his wing (Legion of Christ, the Neocatechumenal Way, Schoenstatt, the charismatic movement, etc.) and he was accused repeatedly of waving a soft hand on them, especially in the case of Rev. Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legion of Christ.[202] In 1984 Pope John Paul II appointed Joaquín Navarro-Valls, a member of Opus Dei, as Director of the Vatican Press Office. An Opus Dei spokesman says "the influence of Opus Dei in the [Vatican] has been exaggerated."[203] Of the nearly 200 cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church, only two are known to be members of Opus Dei.[204]
Banco Ambrosiano scandal[link]
Main article: Banco Ambrosiano
Pope John Paul was alleged to have links with Banco Ambrosiano, an Italian bank which collapsed in 1982.[110] At the centre of the bank's failure was its chairman, Roberto Calvi and his membership in the illegal Masonic Lodge Propaganda Due (aka P2). The Vatican Bank was Banco Ambrosiano's main shareholder, and the death of Pope John Paul I in 1978 is rumoured to be linked to the Ambrosiano scandal.[111]
Calvi, often referred to as "God's Banker", was also involved the Vatican Bank, Istituto per le Opere di Religione, in his dealings, and was close to Bishop Paul Marcinkus, the bank's chairman. Ambrosiano also provided funds for political parties in Italy, and for both the Somoza dictatorship in Nicaragua and its Sandinista opposition. There are also rumours that it provided money for Solidarity in Poland. It has been widely alleged that the Vatican Bank funded Solidarity.[110][111]
Calvi used his complex network of overseas banks and companies to move money out of Italy, to inflate share prices, and to secure massive unsecured loans. In 1978, the Bank of Italy produced a report on Ambrosiano that predicted future disaster.[111] On 5 June 1982, two weeks before the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano, Calvi had written a letter of warning to Pope John Paul II, stating that such a forthcoming event would “provoke a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions in which the Church will suffer the gravest damage."[205] On 18 June 1982 Calvi's body was found hanging from scaffolding beneath Blackfriars Bridge in the financial district of London. Calvi's clothing was stuffed with bricks, and contained cash valued at US$14,000, in three different currencies.[206]
Birth control and gender roles[link]
Main article: Women in Christianity
John Paul II's defence of traditional moral teachings of the Catholic Church regarding gender roles, sexuality, euthanasia, artificial contraception and abortion came under attack. Some feminists criticised his traditional positions on the roles of women, which included rejecting women priests. According to Aisha Taylor, coordinator of the Young Feminist Network:
The legacy of Pope John Paul II is vibrant and extraordinary, yet painfully inconsistent. The contradiction in his legacy lies in his teaching and actions on the dignity of women. John Paul II called for women to be included as decision makers in secular governments. However, when it came to bringing women into the decision making bodies of his church, he slammed the door in our faces, barring us from ordination and locking the door by stating the discussion about women’s ordination is closed.[207]
Gay rights activists[link]
Main article: Christianity and homosexuality
Many gay rights activists and others criticised him for maintaining the Church's unbroken opposition to homosexual behaviour and same-sex marriage. During John Paul II's reign, the Vatican described homosexuality as an "objective disorder" and in his own book Memory and Identity John Paul II describes the concept of gay families as an "ideology of evil",[79] phrases which incensed many parts of the LGBT community.[208]
Problems with Traditionalists[link]
In addition to all the criticism from those demanding modernisation, traditionalist Catholics sometimes denounced him as well. These issues included demanding a return to the Tridentine Mass[209] and repudiation of the reforms instituted after the Second Vatican Council, such as the use of the vernacular language in the formerly Latin Roman Rite Mass, ecumenism, and the principle of religious liberty. He was also accused by these critics for allowing and appointing liberal bishops in their sees and thus silently promoting Modernism, which was firmly condemned as the "synthesis of all heresies" by his predecessor Pope St. Pius X. In 1988, the controversial traditionalist Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the Society of St. Pius X (1970), was excommunicated under John Paul II because of the unapproved ordination of four bishops, which was called by the Holy See a "schismatic act".
The World Day of Prayer for Peace,[210] with a meeting in Assisi, Italy, in 1986, in which the Pope prayed only with the Christians,[211] was heavily criticised as giving the impression that syncretism and indifferentism were openly embraced by the Papal Magisterium. When a second ‘Day of Prayer for Peace in the World’[212] was held, in 2002, it was condemned as confusing the laity and compromising to "false religions". Likewise criticised was his kissing[213] of the Qur'an in Damascus, Syria, on one of his travels on 6 May 2001. His call for religious freedom was not always supported; bishops like Antônio de Castro Mayer promoted religious tolerance, but at the same time rejected the Vatican II principle of religious liberty as being liberalist and already condemned by Pope Pius IX in his ‘Syllabus errorum’ (1864) and at the First Vatican Council.[citation needed]
Some Catholics oppose his beatification and potential canonisation for the above reasons.[214]
Religion and AIDS[link]
Main article: Religion and AIDS
John Paul's position against artificial birth control, including the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV,[189] was harshly criticised by doctors and AIDS activists, who said that it led to countless deaths and millions of AIDS orphans.[215] Critics have also claimed that large families are caused by lack of contraception and exacerbate Third World poverty and problems such as street children in South America. The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development published a paper stating, "Any strategy that enables a person to move from a higher-risk towards the lower end of the continuum, [we] believe, is a valid risk reduction strategy."[216]
Centralisation[link]
He was criticised for recentralising power back to the Vatican following what some viewed as a decentralisation by Pope John XXIII. As such he was regarded by some as a strict authoritarian. Conversely, he was also criticised for spending far too much time preparing for and undertaking foreign travel. The frequency of his trips, it was said, not only undermined the "specialness" of papal visits, but took him away from important business at the Vatican and allowed the Church, administratively speaking, to drift. Especially in South America, he was criticised for conservative bias in his appointments of bishops; with an unusually long reign of over 25 years, the majority of bishops in place at his death had been appointed by him.
Social programs[link]
There was strong criticism of the pope for the controversy surrounding the alleged use of charitable social programs as a means of converting people in the Third World to Catholicism.[217][218] The Pope created an uproar in the Indian subcontinent when he suggested that a great harvest of faith would be witnessed on the subcontinent in the third Christian millennium.[219]
Protestant fundamentalists[link]
In 1988, when Pope John Paul II was delivering a speech to the European Parliament, then-leader of the Democratic Unionist Party and Moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, Ian Paisley, shouted "I denounce you as the antichrist!"[220] and held up a red banner reading "Pope John Paul II ANTICHRIST". Archduke Otto of Austria, the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary snatched Lord Paisley's banner and, along with other MEPs, helped eject him from the chamber.[221][222][223][224] The Pope continued with his address after Lord Paisley had been ejected.[221][225][226]
Apologies[link]
Main article: Apologies by Pope John Paul II
John Paul II apologised to almost every group who had suffered at the hands of the Catholic Church through the years.[39][227] Even before he became Pope, he was a prominent editor and supporter of initiatives like the Letter of Reconciliation of the Polish Bishops to the German Bishops from 1965. As Pope, he officially made public apologies for over 100 wrongdoings, including:
- The legal process on the Italian scientist and philosopher Galileo Galilei, himself a devout Catholic, around 1633 (31 October 1992).[145][228]
- Catholics' involvement with the African slave trade (9 August 1993).
- The Church Hierarchy's role in burnings at the stake and the religious wars that followed the Protestant Reformation (May 1995, in the Czech Republic).
- The injustices committed against women, the violation of women's rights and the historical denigration of women (10 July 1995, in a letter to "every woman").
- The inactivity and silence of many Catholics during the Holocaust (see the article Religion in Nazi Germany) (16 March 1998).
On 20 November 2001, from a laptop in the Vatican, Pope John Paul II sent his first e-mail apologising for the Catholic sex abuse cases, the Church-backed "Stolen Generations" of Aboriginal children in Australia, and to China for the behaviour of Catholic missionaries in colonial times.[229]
Medjugorje apparitions[link]
A number of quotes about the apparitions of Medjugorje have been attributed to John Paul II.[230] In 1998, when a certain German gathered various statements which were supposedly made by the Pope and Cardinal Ratzinger, and then forwarded them to the Vatican in the form of a memorandum, Ratzinger responded in writing on 22 July 1998: "The only thing I can say regarding statements on Medjugorje ascribed to the Holy Father and myself is that they are complete invention."[231]
See also[link]
References[link]
Sources[link]
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Further reading[link]
Main article: Bibliography of Pope John Paul II
- For a comprehensive list of books written by and about Pope John Paul II, please see Bibliography of Pope John Paul II
- For other references see Cultural References to Pope John Paul II
- Works by or about Pope John Paul II in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
External links[link]
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- John Paul the Great Catholic University
- The Holy See – The Holy Father – John Paul II
- A Tribute to Pope John Paul II on the Occasion of his Beatification
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Eugeniusz Baziak |
Archbishop of Kraków 1963–1978 |
Succeeded by Franciszek Macharski |
| Preceded by John Paul I |
Pope 16 October 1978 – 2 April 2005 |
Succeeded by Benedict XVI |
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | John Paul II, Pope |
| Alternative names | Wojtyła, Karol Józef; Ioannes Paulus II; Giovanni Paolo II; Jan Paweł II |
| Short description | 264th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church |
| Date of birth | 18 May 1920 |
| Place of birth | Wadowice, Poland |
| Date of death | 2 April 2005 |
| Place of death | Apostolic Palace, Vatican City |
http://wn.com/Pope_John_Paul_II
Related pages:
http://de.wn.com/Johannes Paul II.
http://es.wn.com/Juan Pablo II
http://ru.wn.com/Иоанн Павел II
http://cs.wn.com/Jan Pavel II.
http://pt.wn.com/Papa João Paulo II
http://pl.wn.com/Jan Paweł II
http://it.wn.com/Papa Giovanni Paolo II
http://id.wn.com/Paus Yohanes Paulus II
http://nl.wn.com/Paus Johannes Paulus II
http://fr.wn.com/Jean-Paul II
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Carl Bernstein | |
|---|---|
 Bernstein at the 2007 Texas Book Festival |
|
| Born | (1944-02-14) February 14, 1944 (age 68) Washington, D.C., USA |
| Education | University of Maryland (did not graduate) |
| Occupation | Journalist, Writer |
| Employer | Vanity Fair |
| Known for | Reporting on Watergate scandal |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Spouse | Nora Ephron (1976-1980) Christine (present) |
| Children | Jacob Bernstein, Max Bernstein |
| Parents | Alfred Bernstein and Sylvia Walker |
Carl Bernstein ( /ˈbɜrnstiːn/ BURN-steen; born February 14, 1944) is an American investigative journalist who, at The Washington Post, teamed up with Bob Woodward; the two did the majority of the most important news reporting on the Watergate scandal. These scandals led to numerous government investigations, the indictment of a vast number of White House Officials such as H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, Charles Colson, and John Mitchell, and the eventual resignation of President Richard Nixon. For his role in breaking the scandal, Bernstein received many awards; his work helped earn the Post a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 1973.
In a 1977 Rolling Stone article, Bernstein revealed that over 400 US journalists had been employed by the Central Intelligence Agency (Operation Mockingbird), secretly carrying out assignments and publishing news stories for them.[1]
Contents |
Career[link]
| Watergate |
|---|
 |
| Events |
| Timeline "White House horrors" 1972 presidential election Watergate burglaries White House tapes "Saturday Night Massacre" United States v. Nixon Inauguration of Gerald Ford |
| People |
|
Committee to Re-Elect the President:
Jeb Magruder John N. Mitchell Robert Mardian Fred LaRue Kenneth Parkinson Maurice Stans The White House:
John Dean E. Howard Hunt Egil Krogh G. Gordon Liddy John Ehrlichman H. R. Haldeman Charles Colson Gordon C. Strachan Alexander Butterfield Richard Nixon Intelligence Community:
Richard Helms James Schlesinger L. Patrick Gray W. Mark Felt ("Deep Throat") |
| Groups |
|
"White House Plumbers" Senate Watergate Committee The Washington Post |
Bernstein began working for The Washington Post in 1966 and played an integral role in his partnership with Bob Woodward during the Watergate scandal. Bernstein was the first to suspect that Nixon played a part, and Bernstein found the laundered check that linked Nixon to the burglary.[2]
Bernstein quit The Washington Post in 1976. He did not realize the same level of post-Watergate success that Woodward did; his frequent appearances in gossip columns resulting from the book written by his second wife, screenwriter Nora Ephron (see below), his arrest for drunk driving,[3] and his dating of Hollywood celebrities overshadowed his journalistic accomplishments.[2] Notably, Washington Post owner Katharine Graham did not invite him to the newspaper's 70th birthday gala, which was widely regarded as a snub, given Bernstein's contributions toward bringing the Post to international stature.[2]
After leaving the Post, he worked as the Washington Bureau Chief and as a senior correspondent for ABC News, taught at New York University, and contributed to Time. Bernstein authored two books with Woodward: All the President's Men, which details the successes and failures of their journalistic efforts against the backdrop of the unfolding scandal, and The Final Days, a recounting of the concluding months of the Nixon presidency, although Woodward questioned Bernstein's contributions to the latter book and reportedly did not want to list Bernstein as a co-author.[2] Woodward said, "It was not the most productive time for Carl."[2] Woodward reportedly turned down offers to again work with Bernstein on an investigative column or any further books.[2]
He co-authored the book His Holiness: John Paul II & the History of Our Time with Marco Politi. In it, he stated that he believed the Soviets saw Pope John Paul II as a serious threat to their survival and to that of communism in general, and believed that the downfall of communism in Europe was due to the Pope's underground work.[4]
Following the May 2005 revelation of the identity of Deep Throat, Bernstein contributed to Woodward's book The Secret Man, which pertains to Woodward's relationship with Mark Felt.
Bernstein wrote a memoir, a "pained, loving, intensely felt account of his parents' ordeal, and his own emotional upheaval, during President Harry Truman's loyalty purges."[5] He has also written a biography of Hillary Rodham Clinton, A Woman In Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton, published by Alfred A. Knopf on June 5, 2007.
He is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair magazine.
Personal[link]
In his 1989 memoir Loyalties, Bernstein revealed that his parents had been members of the Communist Party, which shocked some because even J. Edgar Hoover had tried and been unable to prove that Bernstein's parents were party members.[2] Bernstein's parents were allegedly persecuted during the 1950s. The FBI conducted surveillance on his family over a 30 year period producing over 2,500 pages of documents, including notes taken by agents staking out his bar mitzvah.[6]
Bernstein graduated from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland. He subsequently attended the University of Maryland, College Park, but did not graduate. Bernstein, who is Jewish, is a lifetime member of the Aleph Zadik Aleph, and B'nai B'rith, and once was President of B'nai B'rith's Northern Region.[citation needed]
Bernstein met Margaret Jay, daughter of British Prime Minister James Callaghan and wife of Peter Jay, then UK ambassador to the United States. They had a much-publicised extramarital relationship in 1979. Margaret later became a government minister in her own right.[7] Bernstein and his second wife, screenwriter Nora Ephron, already had an infant son, Jacob, and she was pregnant with their second son, Max, in 1979 when she learned of her husband's affair with Jay. Ephron delivered Max prematurely after finding out.[8] Writer Ephron was inspired by the events to write the 1983 novel Heartburn,[7] which was made into a 1986 film starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep. In the thinly fictionalized book, Ephron gave unflattering depictions of both Jay and Bernstein, writing of a husband who was “capable of having sex with a Venetian blind"[8] and saying that Jay looked like a giraffe with "big feet."[8]
Bernstein then became known for dating Bianca Jagger, Martha Stewart and Elizabeth Taylor.[2]
He currently resides in New York with his wife, Christine. He has also been seen strolling around the Hamptons in Sag Harbor, NY.
Portrayals[link]
- Bernstein was portrayed by Dustin Hoffman in the film version of All the President's Men.
- Bernstein was portrayed by Bruce McCulloch in the 1999 comedy film Dick.
- In the film Heartburn, Jack Nicholson's role was a thinly-veiled portrayal of Bernstein.
Books authored[link]
- All the President's Men - With Bob Woodward (1974) ISBN 0-671-21781-X,
- The Final Days - With Bob Woodward (1976) ISBN 0-671-22298-8
- Loyalties: A Son's Memoir - (1989)
- His Holiness: John Paul II & the History of Our Time - With Marco Politi (1996)
- The Secret Man - With Bob Woodward (2005) ISBN 0-7432-8715-0
- A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton - (2007) ISBN 0-375-40766-9
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ Bernstein, Carl (October 20, 1977). "The CIA and the Media". Rolling Stone. http://www.carlbernstein.com/magazine_cia_and_media.php. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "HE WENT FROM WATERGATE TO `HEARTBURN,' FROM INVESTIGATIVE SUPERSTAR TO CELEBRITY DINNER GUEST. NOW BERNSTEIN'S BACK WITH AN EVOCATIVE BOOK ON HIS EMBATTLED CHILDHOOD, BUT HE'S Still Carl After All These Years". The Washington Post. March 19, 1989. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1180677.html. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
- ^ Arrest for drunk driving
- ^ Cathnews. "Carl Bernstein on John Paul II's great victory". Cathnews. http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=25974. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
- ^ (Publisher's Weekly), entitled "Loyalties: A Son's Memoir," (Simon & Schuster, 1989)
- ^ "Carl Bernstein interview with Don Swaim". http://wiredforbooks.org/carlbernstein/. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
- ^ a b "Baroness Jay's political progress". BBC News. July 31, 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/1466811.stm. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
- ^ a b c "Get real – ageing’s not all Helen Mirren". London: The Times. March 4, 2007. http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/article1466183.ece. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
External links[link]
 |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Carl Bernstein |
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Carl Bernstein |
- Carl Bernstein official site
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Carl Bernstein on Charlie Rose
- Carl Bernstein at the Internet Movie Database
- Carl Bernstein collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- Works by or about Carl Bernstein in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
- Carl Bernstein at the Notable Names Database
- Profile at Random House
- Proffile at Simon and Schuster
- Profile at The Washington Post
- Watergate Papers Web Exhibition at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, with inventory
- Articles
- Carl Bernstein. The CIA and the Media, Rolling Stone Magazine, October 20, 1977
- 'Deep Throat' brings Watergate pair together again, a New York Times story from the International Herald Tribune, June 3, 2005
- Carl Bernstein takes an in-depth look at the fascinating life and career of Hillary Rodham Clinton in his book "A Woman in Charge", October 18, 2007
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bernstein, Carl |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | American journalist |
| Date of birth | February 14, 1944 |
| Place of birth | Washington, D.C., USA |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Carl_Bernstein
Related pages:
http://ru.wn.com/Бернстин, Карл
http://fr.wn.com/Carl Bernstein
http://nl.wn.com/Carl Bernstein
http://pt.wn.com/Carl Bernstein
http://de.wn.com/Carl Bernstein
http://it.wn.com/Carl Bernstein
http://pl.wn.com/Carl Bernstein
http://cs.wn.com/Carl Bernstein
http://es.wn.com/Carl Bernstein
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Bernstein
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
