Were there any female popes?

Pope Joan (Ioannes Anglicus, 855–857) was, according to legend, a woman who reigned as pope for a couple of years during the Middle Ages. … In the most common accounts, due to her abilities, she rose through the church hierarchy and was eventually elected pope.

Papal coats of arms are traditionally shown with an image of the papal tiara and the keys of Peter as an external ornament of the escutcheon. The tiara is usually set above the escutcheon, while the keys are in saltire, passing behind it (formerly also en cimier, below the tiara and above the shield).

Coat of arms, the principal part of a system of hereditary symbols dating back to early medieval Europe, used primarily to establish identity in battle. Arms evolved to denote family descent, adoption, alliance, property ownership, and, eventually, profession.

Inspired by true events, the movie centers around Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce), the soon-to-be elected Pope Francis, and the aging Pope Benedict XVI (Anthony Hopkins).

Despite her medieval celebrity, most historians now dismiss Pope Joan as a myth. There are no reliable references to her during her lifetime, and her supposed reign overlaps with those of two well-documented pontiffs, Leo IV and Benedict III./span>

According to a report published by Britain’s website Express, a Vatican source said, Pope Francis, 83, will serve the church for only seven years and will resign after Christmas this year./span>

The lightning touched the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, one of the holiest Catholic churches, after the Pope’s shock admission he lacks strength to do the job. The Vatican stressed that no specific medical condition prompted Benedict’s decision to quit – the first pontiff to do so in 600 years./span>

Western Schism, also called Great Schism or Great Western Schism, in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, the period from 1378 to 1417, when there were two, and later three, rival popes, each with his own following, his own Sacred College of Cardinals, and his own administrative offices./span>

A look back at the dramatic year that saw three different popes over three months – Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II. The sequence of extraordinary events started with the death of Pope Paul VI on 6 August 1978.