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In fact, the word "pope" itself comes from the Greek term meaning "father" - and indeed, the person who is the leader of the Holy See should be considered the spiritual father of millions and millions of Catholics around the world.
Well, the Pope’s other title, "pontiff," has its roots in the era of Ancient Rome, when this title was first borne by the high priest of Rome, and then it came to belong to the Roman emperors. The popes replaced the emperors at the head of the Holy City - so it’s not surprising that the term "pontiff" also came to belong to them.
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Now history knows for sure that it was Pedro Julião who was mistaken, but again, nothing was changed. So John XX is not on the long list of Popes, and after number 19 comes 21.
It is traditionally believed that the first Pope in a series of 267 pontiffs was the Apostle Peter himself, around the middle of the 1st century AD. By the way, this is where one of the symbols of the papacy comes from, which some people still perceive ambiguously. We are talking about the inverted cross that adorns the papal throne, and which many people wrongly associate with the devil.
In fact, there is nothing devilish here - just tradition and history. According to legend, St. Peter was crucified on an inverted cross, so this shape of the cross on the back of the Pope's throne simply reminds us of who was first in the long history of the papacy.
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Over the two thousand years of their history, the Popes were both the all-powerful rulers of the Christian world, whose every word was listened to attentively and with trepidation by emperors and kings, and literally the executors of the will of the powers-that-be. For example, like the Pope, who had no choice but to crown Napoleon Bonaparte Emperor of France in 1805...
Moreover, in the process of unification of Italy in the second half of the 19th century, the Holy See finally lost its status as real state, having given Rome and the surrounding territories (the so-called Papal States) to the newborn Italian Kingdom. This is how the Vatican arose - the smallest state in the world today.
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By the way, it is also quite interesting that the Swiss Guard of the Pope, traditionally hired from the natives of this country (a tribute to the times when the Swiss mercenary infantry was undoubtedly the best in Europe), even gave its name to a profession in several European languages.
For example, the gatekeeper in Ukrainian is "швейцар," which actually means "Swiss" in literal translation. So the traditions and centuries-old history of the papacy and the Holy See actually influence the world around us, and us as well.
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Today, the list of antipopes consists of 41 people, including Saint Hippolytus. The last antipope was Felix V, elected in 1434 by the Council of Basel. Later, however, he recognized his opponent Nicholas V as the true Pope, and even received the title of cardinal from him for doing so.
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In the modern world, every person has a choice - to believe in God or not, and to consider the Pope the successor of St. Peter or not. In fact, this is what makes our world so beautiful - free will.
But two thousand years of papal history really gives us so many exciting stories that are really worth reading. So, now, please feel free to read this list to the end - and maybe add something to the comments below.
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But bureaucracy won - and nothing was changed. Moreover, in 1368, another Pope was elected who took the name Martin - this time Martin V.
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Firstly, due to its precious stones and decorations, it weighed almost three times more than a regular tiara. Secondly, the base of the tiara was too narrow to put on the head properly. And thirdly, the entire tiara was decorated with images glorifying Napoleon - not the Pope.
However, after Napoleon was finally banished, the tiara was "repaired" - and even used for several coronations of Popes in the 19th century.
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The king turned out to be stronger - and up until 1377, when Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome, seven popes in a row lived in Avignon. This period in the history of the Catholic Church is called the "Avignon Papacy".