Pope Joan

The story of modern Iran is a collision between a monarchy with a history dating back to the Persian Empire and a frustrated nation with massive oil reserves historically coveted by Western powers. Governed by an authoritarian monarch in the mid-20th century who welcomed Western ...  Show more

Every February 2nd, a small ceremony takes place in the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. A crowd will gather to see if a rodent can see its shadow. The results of said shadow seeing are supposed to have implications for the long-term weather forecast. If all of that sounds a b ...  Show more

Pope Paul VI was in charge of the Catholic Church in a tumultuous time. Communists are locking up Catholic priests, the Vietnam War is raging on, and free love is in full swing. Does he modernise and change with the time? Or does he batten the hatches and stick to the status quo? ...  Show more

Giovanni de' Medici was a shrewd strategist who became pope before the age of 40. As a cardinal, he ended the Medicis’ exile in Florence, returning the dynasty to their seat of power. As pope, he would nearly bankrupt the Vatican — and upend the Christian world. Learn more about ...  Show more

A Pope of great renown once reigned during chaotic years for the medieval Church: she was an extraordinary figure, from a time when women were forbidden from even becoming priests - indeed she is History’s only female Pope. But did this “Popess" really exist, and if so, who was t ...  Show more

Robert of Geneva was elected Pope Clement VII on 20th September, 1378. Inconveniently, there was already a pope: Urban VI. Cue three decades of confusion and division, as citizens and nations had to choose which pope to support - the one in Rome, or the one Avignon - the situatio ...  Show more