Canonized Popes
There have been 266 popes since the beginning of the church. Eighty-three of them have been canonized. And almost all of them were canonized in the first millennium of Christianity.
The only pope from the church’s first five centuries who was not canonized was Pope Liberius (352-366). This pope is known to have condemned St. Athanasius, the theologian who composed the Nicene Creed, which we profess Sunday at mass.
Of the last most recently deceased popes, Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903), Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922), and Pope Pius XI (1922-1939) have not been made saints nor being considered for sainthood.
The following popes have been beatified:
Pope Benedict XI
Pope Eugene III
Pope Gregory X
Pope Innocent V
Pope Innocent XI
Pope Pius IX
Pope Urban II
Pope Urban V
Pope Victor III
Pope Benedict XIII and Pope Pius VII have been both declared “Servant of God”.
