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Pat Ehnes wrote:

Hi, guys —

I have a few questions regarding former Popes.

  • Who were the Pope/Pope(s) who convened and closed Vatican Council II?
  • Finally, would you be able to tell me one significant fact about the last five Popes?

Thank you,

Pat

  { What Popes convened/closed Vatican II and is there anything significant about the prior (5) Popes? }

John replied:

Hi, Pat —

Pope Saint John XXIII opened the Council and Pope Saint Paul VI closed the Council.

As for a significant fact, I personally think that knowing they are the Vicars of Christ on Earth and they were all commissioned by Our Lord to be the Supreme Juridical Leader of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church is a significant fact.

This fact goes for all Popes: past, present and future.  In my eyes, this is an awesome responsibility before God.

Thanks for writing,

John

Mike replied:

Hi, Pat —

Popes, past, present and future do many, many things that mark their Papacy as unique so to give you one significant fact about the past five Popes would be based on ones personal opinion.

I can't give you one thing that stands out, but I can give you the resources to look into each of the past eleven (11) Popes backgrounds. The following was taken from the Vatican website. Each Pope's web page have links to an array of:

  • Encyclicals
  • Apostolic Constitutions
  • Apostolic Exhortations
  • Apostolic Letters
  • Audience speeches, and more.

Some are in English, some are not.

1. Pope Francis [biography]
2. Pope Benedict XVI [biography]
3. Pope Saint John Paul II [biography] — [biographical profile] — [important dates]
4. Venerable Pope John Paul I [biography]
5. Pope Saint Paul VI [biography]
6. Pope Saint John XXIII [biography]
7. Pope Pius XII [biography] [In Italian only.]
8. Pope Pius XI [biography] [In Italian only.]
9. Pope Benedict XV [biography] [In Italian only.]
10. Pope Saint Pius X [No Biography present.]
11. Pope Leo XIII [No Biography present.]


I hope this helps,

Mike

Please report any and all typos or grammatical errors.
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