From murder and bribery to putting a dead pope on trial—these scandalous popes took church corruption to shocking new heights ...

When Henry VII died in 1509, this popular eighteen-year ... Lord Chancellor. In 1521 Pope Leo X conferred the title of Defender of the Faith on Henry for his book 'Assertio Septem Sacramentorum ...

The pope could wake up tomorrow and allow priests ... great reforming popes like Leo IX and Gregory VII insisted that henceforth the priesthood would be celibate. This decision greatly ...

Explore the legacy of the Medici family through its most influential figures, from Cosimo the Elder to Catherine de' Medici.

It was in this role that Machiavelli made his name, carrying out diplomatic missions for the republic, including one to Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI ... and some fine comic plays. Popes Leo ...

Pope Leo XIII was the oldest pope to serve the Catholic church. He served until his death in 1903 at the age of 93. Pope Francis became the pope of the Roman Catholic Church on March 13 ...

In his article about the pope's letter to the U.S. bishops, my colleague Christopher White interviewed theology professor Massimo Faggioli who compared the current letter to Pope Leo XIII's 1899 ...

Or that at 88, he is one of the oldest popes ever. Francis still has a ways to go to outlive Pope Leo XIII, who died in 1903 at 93. But he’s on track to equal or surpass Pope Gregory XII ...