Methodology

This site maps 267 popes and 266 immediate succession links from Peter to the current pope. The core source is the Holy See's public Pontiffs table, which lists papal name, beginning and end of pontificate, secular name, birthplace, and century.

What the dates mean

Timeline bars show pontificates, not lifespans. When the Holy See gives a date range with alternatives or ellipses, this site keeps that notation in the visible label and uses a single year only for chart placement. Peter's beginning is shown as c. 30 because the Holy See table leaves the beginning blank while giving the end as 64 or 67.

Evidence labels

• Documented (237). Later succession links are drawn as documented because the Holy See table supplies the ordered list and pontificate dates.
• Tradition (29). The earliest Roman succession is marked as tradition. The sequence is ancient and official, but the first centuries contain thinner documentary evidence and more date uncertainty.

Scope

This first version is popes only. The data model still uses people and relationships, so it can be expanded later to include other bishops, sees, disputed claimants, councils, or ordination links without throwing away the timeline and pope pages.

Source

Source data is generated by scripts/build-pope-data.mjs from The Holy See, Pontiffs.