Our pope this week is in elite company in more ways than one – he was holy when sanctity was severely lacking in the halls of the Vatican, and he’s one of only FIVE men in history from the Order of Preachers to be elevated to the Chair of St. Peter.

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• Catholic Balm Co.: Fans of The Popecast get 10% off their entire order with the promo code POPE – visit catholicbalm.co to check out their entire supply of beard balms, oils, lotion bars, muscle and skincare rubs, and more. Promo Code: POPE

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• Become a Patron of The Popecast — Tiers start at $1 per episode
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• [NEW] Today in Papal History — Powered by The Popecast, a daily newsletter with key dates from the vast 2,000-year history of the papacy of the Roman Catholic Church. Click to sign up now!
• Blessed Pope Benedict XI – Popes in a Year
• Pope Benedict XI - Wikipedia
• Pope Benedict XI – Catholic Encyclopedia

The exclusive audiobook of Pope Francis' new Apostolic Letter, Lettera Apostolica Scripturae, commemorating the 1600th anniversary of the death of St. Jerome. Chapters included if you'd like to skip around.

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Support The Popecast: A History of the Papacy

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• Become a Patron of The Popecast
• Buy The Popecast a Coffee (if you'd rather be a one-time contributor)
• Apostolic Letter "Scripturae Sacrae affectus" on the sixteen hundredth Anniversary of the death of Saint Jerome (30 September 2020) | Francis

Our pope this week faced down an invading king, fought against a nasty heresy in the East, and has something in common with just FIVE other popes in all of Church history. Oh, and he’s not the St. Paul you’re probably thinking of.

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• Catholic Balm Co.: Fans of The Popecast get 10% off their entire order with the promo code POPE – visit catholicbalm.co to check out their entire supply of beard balms, oils, lotion bars, muscle and skincare rubs, and more. Promo Code: POPE

Support The Popecast: A History of the Papacy

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• Become a Patron of The Popecast
• Buy The Popecast a Coffee (if you'd rather be a one-time contributor)
• CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope Paul I
• Pope Paul I - Wikipedia
• Pope St. Paul I – Flocknote's Popes in a Year

Our pope this week was the first to hold the most popular papal name in Catholic Church history. A divisive figure in his early days, he repented of his old ways and went on to become so renowned that the emperor himself prostrated himself at this pope’s feet.

It just so happens that Episode #53 is on Pope #53. We swear we didn't realize this until after the episode was recorded.

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• Catholic Balm Co.: Fans of The Popecast get 10% off their entire order with the promo code POPE – visit catholicbalm.co to check out their entire supply of beard balms, oils, lotion bars, muscle and skincare rubs, and more. Promo Code: POPE

Support The Popecast: A History of the Papacy

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• Support The Popecast on Patreon
• CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope St. John I
• Popes in a Year - Pope St. John I
• St. John I, Pope (Catholic News Agency)
• Pope John I - Wikipedia

The pope we’re talking about today had to follow the Fisherman himself. He’s a man who not only knew the Apostles, but was taught and ordained by them. Not to mention he’s one of only two popes – not counting Peter himself – to be mentioned in Sacred Scripture.

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• Guadalupe Roastery: These guys are the real deal – not only is their coffee excellent, but their mission is to empower farmers to support themselves and their families by bringing you the most directly sourced cup of coffee possible.

Support The Popecast: A History of the Papacy

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• The Popecast on Patreon — Get early access to each episode and other sweet benefits depending on your per-episode patron tier (ask a question, get a mug, have Matt prank call your friends pretending to be the pope)
• Popes in a Year – Pope St. Linus
• Pope Linus - Wikipedia
• CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope St. Linus

This week on the Popecast we have a very special guest: Author Joe Heschmeyer. Joe is a fellow pope nerd like you and me who’s just written a great book on the papacy entitled Pope Peter: Defending the Church's Most Distinctive Doctrine in a Time of Crisis.

Joe was once a litigator living in Washington DC and then was a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, but he now teaches at the Holy Family School of Faith in Kansas City, Missouri and continues to run the popular blog Shameless Popery. We hope you enjoy this great conversation with Joe Heschmeyer.

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Special Guest: Joe Heschmeyer.

Sponsored By:

• Catholic Balm Co.: Fans of The Popecast get 10% off their entire order with the promo code POPE – visit catholicbalm.co to check out their entire supply of beard balms, oils, lotion bars, muscle and skincare rubs, and more. Promo Code: POPE

Support The Popecast: A History of the Papacy

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• [BLOG] Shameless Popery
• [BOOK] Pope Peter: Defending the Church's Most Distinctive Doctrine in a Time of Crisis — The papacy is no stranger to controversy. In many ways it's Catholicism's defining doctrine but also its most divisive. From medieval pontiffs who acted like princes to a modern pope whose every casual statement sets off a social-media firestorm, there has been plenty for non-Catholics to criticize and for the faithful to feel anxious about. We profess that Jesus made St. Peter the visible head of his Church on earth and that his successors throughout the ages are guided by the Holy Spirit to govern, teach, and sanctify it. How can we strengthen this belief in the papacy in the face of challenges (both outside the Church and within it) and so strengthen our faith in the One who instituted it? In Pope Peter, Joe Heschmeyer says that papal flaws are an opportunity to understand what the papacy really means, not to abandon it (or the Church). Drawing deeply on the scriptural and historical witness, he offers a thorough but accessible defense of the papal office and an edifying picture of the extent-and limits-of its authority. Jesus made Peter the Rock of the Church and promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Pope Peter will confirm your faith in that promise and help you proclaim its truth to others.

This time around we’re doing a little something different – a topic that’s more foundational to the very papacy itself – to celebrate the 50th episode of The Popecast. It's the only truly secret meeting left on the planet. Where all the red hats gather for a Catholic cage match, and the world waits, holding its breath, for that fateful white smoke.

IN THIS EPISODE

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• Catholic Balm Co.: Fans of The Popecast get 10% off their entire order with the promo code POPE – visit catholicbalm.co to check out their entire supply of beard balms, oils, lotion bars, muscle and skincare rubs, and more. Promo Code: POPE

Support The Popecast: A History of the Papacy

Our pope this week had barely been a priest 10 years before being elected at age 55, had one of Catholicism’s great Renaissance saints as his confessor for 3 decades and, oh yeah, he’s the one who brought coffee to the Western World.

It’s fitting that our sponsor for this week is Guadalupe Roastery! These guys are the real deal – not only is their coffee excellent, but their mission is to empower farmers to support themselves and their families by bringing you the most directly sourced cup of coffee possible.

So head on over to guadaluperoastery.com and get a couple pounds for you and a friend. Be sure to use the promo code POPE at checkout to get 10% off your entire order!

Click here to become a patron of The Popecast: patreon.com/thepopecast

Sponsored By:

• Guadalupe Roastery: These guys are the real deal – not only is their coffee excellent, but their mission is to empower farmers to support themselves and their families by bringing you the most directly sourced cup of coffee possible.

Support The Popecast: A History of the Papacy

Our pope this week is one unlike any other of the 265 successors of St. Peter. Smart and eloquent with a pen though he was, for most of his life he was best known as a smooth-talking womanizer and deadbeat dad whose only goal was elevating his own career, all the way up to being crowned as the emperor’s imperial poet.

And then he met the pope (who he hated), and everything changed.

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They’ve got Pope Francis & St. John Paul II themed socks along with a ton of other excellent designs that make for awesome birthday presents or honestly just a nice treat-yo-self gift.

So head over to sockreligious.com and say The Popecast sent you!

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• Sock Religious: Today’s episode is sponsored by our friends over at Sock Religious, where you’ll find all sorts of different saint-themed socks to spice up your Sunday best. They’ve got Pope Francis & St. John Paul II themed socks along with a ton of other excellent designs that make for awesome birthday presents or honestly just a nice treat-yo-self gift. So head over to sockreligious.com and say The Popecast sent you!

Support The Popecast: A History of the Papacy

Our pope today, the first and only British pope in history, is a man who came from nothing and was elevated to the papacy. A monk who would’ve rather not been pope, he faced down emperors and kings and shut down the entire Eternal City when a heretic threatened to hold it hostage.

Since it's another bearded pope this week, an extra special thanks again to our friends at Catholic Balm Co. for sponsoring this episode of The Popecast. Check out their beard balms and other great stuff at catholicbalm.co and be sure to enter "POPE" at checkout to get 10% off your entire order!

BECOME A PATRON of The Popecast at patreon.com/thepopecast to support our mission and get some nice perks

Sponsored By:

• Catholic Balm Co.: Fans of The Popecast get 10% off their entire order with the promo code POPE – visit catholicbalm.co to check out their entire supply of beard balms, oils, lotion bars, muscle and skincare rubs, and more. Promo Code: POPE

Support The Popecast: A History of the Papacy