Culture | Rome and its popes

A history of the papacy and its relationship with Rome

The religious institution still influences politics today, as a new book shows

A Swiss Guard in Saint Peter's Square.
Image: Dani Salva/VWPics/Redux /Eyevine

The papacy is one of the world’s longest-running institutions. It may also be one of the strangest. There have been rival popes, an English pope and even, legend has it, a female pope.

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Pontificating pontiffs”

From the September 9th 2023 edition

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