There have been 266 papal leaders of the Catholic Church since Jesus Christ’s death in the AD 30s through Pope Francis – Jorge Mario Bergoglio – who died on Easter Monday at 88.

The most prominent pope is considered to be St. Peter, the first holder of the title.

Christ had appointed him the inaugural Bishop of Rome, and the papal church – St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City – is named in his honor.

St. Peter’s writings to persecuted people in the Asia Minor region are also chronicled in the New Testament’s epistles.

Pope Francis appears on the central lodge of St. Peter’s Basilica to bestow the Urbi et Orbi blessing at the end of the Easter Mass presided over by Cardinal Angelo Comastri in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Gregorio Borgia/AP)

Gregory was considered the treasurer of Rome, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, which chronicles his efforts to prevent sieges from groups like the Lombards.

He also repaired Roman infrastructure, sought détente with the Lombards and Gauls and enforced government laws he personally disagreed with and protested against – explaining that he did his duty to obey [Emperor Maurice] while not “restrain[ing] what ought to be said on God’s behalf.”

Pope Nicholas became pontiff in the mid 800s. He notably urged against the attempt by a king to divorce his wife and marry another woman. He also believed the Holy See was the head of the Catholic Church and urged the “supremacy of Rome,” according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Other popes may not have been monikered “the great” but have had lasting impact on the world and society.

One such pontiff was Pope Gregory XIII. 

Pope Francis meets President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump at the Apostolic Palace on May 24, 2017, in Vatican City. (Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

Purported miscalculations in the Julian calendar spurred Gregory XIII to decree a new calendar in 1582 – as the spring equinox had fallen back to early March over a span of 1,400 years.

On Oct. 4, 1582, Gregory XIII ordered the next day be considered Oct. 15, not Oct. 5 – therefore fixing the lunar discrepancy. By the end of the 16th century, most Western lands had come around to following the new “Gregorian calendar.”

Another historically influential pontiff was Pope Innocent III. Around 1200, Innocent III launched several “Crusades” against Muslim-held lands in what is now France, Spain and Portugal, as well as an effort to take back the historic Holy Land near today’s Israel and Jordan.

He also extended his power into personal affairs, ordering King Philip of France to return to his separated wife.

The most recent pope, Francis, was considered influential in that he was one of few to delve more into the political sphere than past pontiffs.

In 2015, Francis published the first papal encyclical to be focused on the environment: Laudato Si.

Pope Francis tours St. Peter’s Square in his popemobile after Easter Mass at the Vatican on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Andrew Medichini/AP)

Among its repercussions, it helped foreshadow that year’s U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris, which led to a global warming treaty between 196 countries, according to Vatican News.

He was also known for his critiques on Western market capitalism, once calling the “unfettered pursuit of money” the “dung of the devil” during a speech.