How to choose a pope

When the first wave of the Black Death finally subsided, what sort of world did it leave behind? How did societies adapt in the decades that followed? And what lessons did this medieval catastrophe hold for future generations? In this final episode of our Sunday Series on the dea ...  Show more

How did the union of England and Scotland come to fruition? From failed Scottish colonies to anti-independence espionage, Marc Mierowsky's book A Spy Amongst Us reveals how union wasn't inevitable, and how many Scottish people tried to choose their own future. In this episode of ...  Show more

Sex, scandal and ... the Sacraments? Renaissance Rome wasn't for the faint hearted. And the Vatican? For some that was the source of the drama.In this episode, Kate is joined by Catherine Fletcher to meet one of the Vatican's randiest residents - Pope Alexander VI. From saucy par ...  Show more

It has been 10 years since Pope Benedict XVI announced his shock resignation. It was the first time in almost 600 years that a pope had stepped down.

In this programme, we hear stories about the history of the papacy, including how a pope is chosen, the inception of Vati ...

In April 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI following the death of Pope John Paul II.The new leader of the Catholic Church was elected after four ballots of the papal conclave. The late Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor was one of 115 cardinals who took part.H ...  Show more

Pope Pius XII, the man who led the Church through WWII, has been maligned by history as the Pope that could have stood against Hitler, but remained silent. Recent archival revelations, however, tell a different story. What is the truth? How did he respond to the Nazi threat? And ...  Show more