The Clergy

... and other religious people (including saints, etc.)

Archbishops of Canterbury (recent–ish)

1928–42: in office at the time of the abdication crisis, and at the start of World War II		Cosmo Lang
1942–4: died in office, 26 October 1944 (the last to do so, to date)		William Temple
1945–61: took office on 2 January 1945; married Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip; crowned Elizabeth II; the first to visit the Pope for 600 years		Geoffrey Fisher
1961–74: the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury		Michael Ramsey
1974–80		Donald Coggan
1980–90: married Charles and Diana; Terry Waite – captured in Beirut 1987 – was his Special Envoy		Robert Runcie
1991–2002		George Carey
2002–12		Rowan Williams
2013–: previously (2011–13) Bishop of Durham		Justin Welby

Popes (similarly recent–ish)

Years	Birth name		Papal name
1922–39	Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti – signed the Lateran Treaty (1929), establishing the Vatican City as a sovereign state		Pius XI
1939–58	Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli		Pius XII
1958–63	Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli		John XXIII
1963–78	Giovanni Batista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini		Paul VI
Aug–Sep 1978	Albino Luciani		John Paul I
1978–2005	Karol Josef Wojtyla		John Paul II
2005–13	Joseph Aloysius Ratzinger		Benedict XVI
2013–	Jorge Mario Bergoglio		Francis (I)

The Oxford Martyrs

Hugh Latimer

Nicholas Ridley

Thomas Cranmer

Others

The most common papal name (see above)

John

In 2020, Stephen Cottrell replaced John Sentamu as

Archbishop of York

The only English (or British) Pope (1154–9, real name Nicholas Breakspear)		Adrian IV
The last non–Italian Pope, before John Paul II (1522–3; real name Adriaan Florenszoon Boeyens, he came from Utrecht which is in the Netherlands)		Adrian VI
Italian Dominican friar, one of the Catholic Church's greatest theologians and philosophers (1225–74); canonised in 1323; also known as the Angelic Doctor; nicknamed 'the Dumb Ox' by his fellow–students (in Cologne), who thought him slow because he didn't say much; known by the name of the county in present–day Lazio where his family held land until 1137		Thomas Aquinas
Founder of the monastery on Lindisfarne (635 AD)		St. Aidan
The first British (English) martyr		St. Alban
Said to have been crucified on a diagonal cross		St. Andrew
4th–century Greek monk, whose supernatural temptation while living as a hermit in the Egyptian desert has been the subject of works by Michelangelo, Hieronymus Bosch, Salvador Dali and Max Ernst, amongst others		St. Anthony
The first Archbishop of Canterbury		St. Augustine
English theologian and historian, c. 673–735: entered Monkwearmouth Monastery at age 7, becoming a priest at Jarrow in 703; the only native of Great Britain to be given the title Doctor of the Church; a skilled linguist and translator, making the Latin and Greek writings of the early Church Fathers much more accessible to his fellow Anglo–Saxons		(The Venerable) Bede
Founder of the monastery at Monte Cassino (529 AD); one of three patron saints of Europe declared by Pope John Paul II in 1980		St. Benedict (of Nursia)
Papal name of Theophylactus of Tusculum (c. 1012 to c. 1056) – one of the youngest popes in history (aged approximately 20 at his first election); the only man to have been Pope on more than one occasion, and the only man ever to have sold the papacy		Benedict IX
The first reigning Pope to make a state visit to Britain (2010)		Benedict XVI
The first Pope to renunciate (resign), since Gregory XII in 1415 – and the first to do so of his own volition since Celestine V in 1294
Saw a vision of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes, 1858		St. Bernadette
German Lutheran pastor, theologian, anti–Nazi dissident, hanged by the Nazis on 9 April 1945 after being found guilty of involvement in a plot to assassinate Hitler		Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Spanish–born Pope Alexander VI (1492–1503), popularly believed to have used his great wealth to buy the papacy; illegitimate children include Cesare and Lucretia; great patron of the arts; executed Savonarola, who preached against him		Rodrigo Borgia
6th century Irish monk (a contemporary of St. Columba), famous for his legendary voyage to the "Isle of the Blessed" – some believe that he discovered America. Sometimes known as "the Navigator"		St. Brendan
French–born Swiss reformer (1509–64): forced to leave Paris in 1534, established a rigorous theocracy (rule by priests) in Geneva; had the Spanish theologian Servetus burned for heresy; supported the Huguenots in their struggle in France, and the English Protestants persecuted by Queen Mary I; various Congregational, Reformed and Presbyterian churches, throughout the world (including the Church of Scotland), look to him as the chief expositor of their beliefs		John Calvin
4th century martyr, sentenced to be broken on a wheel, giving her name to a firework		St. Catherine of Alexandria
The only Pope to abdicate (1296)		Celestine V
Founder of the monastery on Iona (AD 563)		St. Columba
The most important saint in northern England, in the Middle Ages, after his death in 687 – with a cult centred on his tomb in Durham Cathedral		St. Cuthbert
First person to translate the complete Bible into English (1535)		Miles Coverdale
The first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury (1533–56): wrote and compiled the first two editions of the Book of Common Prayer; annulled Henry VIII's first two marriages, and divorced him from Anne of Cleves; burned as a heretic under Mary I (one of the so–called Oxford Martyrs)		Thomas Cranmer
10th–century Archbishop of Canterbury: according to legend, seized the Devil's nose with a pair of red–hot tongs; gave his name (by a rather circuitous route) to the charity that supports vision–impaired ex–Armed Forces and National Service personnel in the UK (now known as Blind Veterans UK)		St. Dunstan
Dutch philosopher and Christian scholar, born in Rotterdam around 1466: said (originally by Catholic monks in the early days of the Reformation) to have "laid the egg that Luther hatched"		Desiderius Erasmus
7th–century Irish monk: fled to France seeking solitude, as his fame as a healer grew in Ireland; gave his name to a type of horse–drawn carriage (known in English as a Hackney cab) – via the name of a hospice that he established in northern France, which hired them out from about 1650		St. Fiacre
Bishop of Rochester executed in 1535		St. John Fisher
Giovanni Bernardone: said to be the first person to receive the stigmata, as a result of a vision in 1224; the prayer paraphrased by Margaret Thatcher to reporters on the steps of No. 10 Downing St., after being elected PM ("Where there is discord, may we bring harmony …") is attributed to		St. Francis of Assisi
'The Apostle of the Indies'		St. Francis Xavier
12th–Century Welsh bishop; author of Historia Regum Britannia – chief source of Arthurian legend		Geoffrey of Monmouth
First pope to come from a monastic background (590–604); famous for his prolific writings		Gregory I (the Great)
Pope who issued the Gregorian calendar (1582)		Gregory XIII
German abbess, writer and composer (1098–1179): her Liber Simplicis Medicinae (1150–60) is the earliest surviving scientific book by a woman		Hildegard of Bingen
Parish priest of Knock, Co. Mayo, from 1967 until his death in 1986 (while on a pilgrimage to Lourdes): known for his successful campaign to bring an airport to Knock, and his work on Knock Basilica; also credited with facilitating the visit of Pope John Paul II to Knock Shrine in 1979		Monsignor James Horan
Archbishop of Westminster from 1976 until his death in 1999		Basil Cardinal Hume
Czech priest, burned at the stake in 1451 for heresy against Catholic doctrines; considered the first Church reformer, as he lived before Luther, Calvin and Zwingli; a monument (unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of his martyrdom) stands in Old Town Square, Prague		Jan Hus
16th–century Spanish priest and theologian (1491–1556): founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), and author of the Spiritual Exercises (a set of Christian meditations, prayers and mental exercises)		St. Ignatius of Loyola
Outspoken Bishop of Durham, 1984–94: perceived by some to have described the Resurrection as "a conjuring trick with bones"; criticised the policies of both Thatcher and Blair; York Minster was struck by lightning three days after his consecration		David Jenkins
Paul VI's predecessor as Pope (1958–63) – the John after whom John Paul I was named		John XXIII
The first reigning Pope to visit Britain (1982) – see also Benedict XVI		John Paul II
German–Dutch canon, c. 1380–1471: wrote in The Imitation of Christ (c. 1420), "Man proposes, but God disposes"		Thomas à Kempis
(Former) Catholic priest: General Secretary 1980–5, and Chair 1987–90, of CND. Resigned from the priesthood in 1987, rather than comply with Cardinal Basil Hume's instruction to desist from involvement in the general election		Bruce Kent
Scottish religious reformer, wrote First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Women (1558) alluding in particular to the rule of Mary Tudor (in England); said to have been responsible for turning the Scots against Mary		John Knox
The Church of England's first female bishop – appointed suffragan Bishop of Stockport in 2015		Elizabeth 'Libby' Lane
Italian–born Archbishop of Canterbury, 1070–89		Lanfranc
Archbishop of Canterbury, c. 1207–1228; led the barons in forcing King John to sign the Magna Carta (John's refusal to recognise him as Archbishop, despite his consecration by Pope Innocent III, was one of the major factors in the crisis that led to it)		Stephen Langton
Archbishop of Canterbury executed in 1645		William Laud
Said to have been burnt to death on a gridiron, Rome 258 AD		St. Lawrence
The second Pope		St. Linus
Famously nailed his '95 Theses', denouncing the sale of indulgences, to the door of All Saints' Church, Wittenberg, in 1517; defended them at the Diet of Worms in 1521		Martin Luther
Claimed to have become a monk after narrowly missing being struck by lightning, aged 21, shortly after graduating; excommunicated in 1521 by Pope Leo X
Puritan minister, author and pamphleteer: born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1663; his Bonifacius: Essays to Do Good (1710) was a major influence on Benjamin Franklin (he was a family friend of the Franklins, and Ben Franklin's father owned a copy)		Cotton Mather
Popes Leo X, Clement XII, Leo XI: family		Medici
Founder of the 7th century religious community that became Paisley Abbey (in Renfrewshire, Scotland); patron saint of the town, whose football club is named after him		St. Mirin (Mirren)
Succeeded Jonathan Sacks as Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth in 2013		Ephraim Mirvis
Founder and patron saint of Glasgow: its cathedral was built on the spot where he was buried (614) and is named after him; his shrine can be seen there, and his remains are thought to lie in the crypt. Also founded the cathedral at Llanelwy (St. Asaph) – he appointed Asaph to succeed him as bishop when he returned to Glasgow		St. Mungo (Kentigern)
Installed as Archbishop of Westminster, 2000, to replace the late Basil Hume		Cormac Murphy–O'Connor
The first Christian bishop known to have visited Scotland (c. 400 AD)		St. Ninian
Regarded as the founder of Christianity in Ireland, from where he is said to have banished all the snakes (although in reality there never were any); said to have died on March 17th, some time in the 5th century (possibly c. 460 or c. 493)		St. Patrick
John Paul I's predecessor as Pope (1963–78)		Paul VI
The first Pope (Bishop of Rome): traditionally believed to have asked to be crucified head down, when martyred by the Roman Emperor Nero, believing himself to be unworthy of dying in the same way as Jesus		St. Peter
Joint founders of the Church of Rome; both imprisoned by King Herod; both martyred during the reign of Emperor Nero; jointly commemorated on 29 June		St. Peter & St. Paul
Longest–reigning Pope (32 years, 1846–78)		Pius IX
Pope from March 1939 until 1958, and thus throughout World War II (real name Eugenio Pacelli)		Pius XII
Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland: hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn in 1681 after being found guilty of involvement in the fictitious Popish Plot – the last Catholic martyr to die in England		Oliver Plunkett
The last Roman Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury (1556–8)		Reginald Pole
Founded the Sunday Schools movement, in Gloucester (1780)		Robert Raikes
Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, 1991–2013		Jonathan Sacks
Italian Domenican friar, led the revolt (1494) that expelled the Medicis and established a republic in Florence; arranged the original "bonfire of the vanities"; burned as a heretic 1498 by Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia)		Girolamo Savonarola
Early Christian martyr, suffered under Roman emperor Diocletian, 3rd century AD; commonly depicted in art and literature tied to a post and shot with arrows		St. Sebastian
Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, 1975–93: previously (1950–63) played cricket 23 times for England; died in 2005		David Sheppard
Archbishop of Manila (Philippines), 1974–2003 (d. 2005)		Cardinal Jaime Sin
Minister of Kingsway Hall (Methodist Central Hall, London) 1936–78; "Soap Box King" of Hyde Park Corner (d. 1998 aged 95)		Lord (Donald) Soper
The first Christian martyr (stoned to death 35 AD)		St. Stephen
Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, from 1714 until his death in 1745 (he failed to find a church position in England under Queen Anne, because of his Tory leanings); the proceeds from the first performance of Handel's Messiah (1742) were donated, at his request, to local charities and hospitals for the mentally ill; left the bulk of his fortune (£12,000) to found a mental hospital		Jonathan Swift
Pope 314–335: New Year's Eve (31 December) is his feast day (died on New Year's Eve 335)		St. Sylvester
First head of the Spanish Inquisition (1483–98)		Tomas de Torquemada
Appointed Bishop of Gloucester in 2015: the Church of England's first female dioscesan bishop, which means she was the first female bishop to sit in the House of Lords		Rachel Treweek
Gloucestershire–born Protestant and humanist; translated the New Testament into English (the first printed version); burnt as a heretic at Vilvoorde, near Brussels, in 1536, while working on the Old Testament (he had translated the Pentateuch and the Book of Jonah)		William Tyndale
Anglo–Saxon princess of Mercia, c. 650–700; instrumental in English convent reform, patron saint of Chester		St. Werburgh
Virtually ruled England as Lord Chancellor, 1515–29 (preceded Thomas More)		Cardinal (Thomas) Wolsey
English religious reformer, c. 1320–1384; dismissed from Oxford University in 1381 for criticising the traditional Church; translated the New Testament into English; his body was dug up and burnt in 1428, after the Council of Constance (1415) declared him a heretic		John Wycliffe
Bishop of Winchester (1366–1404), and Chancellor of England (1317–71): founded New College, Oxford (1379), and Winchester College (1382); previously clerk of works for much of the building of Windsor Castle (1350–77); began rebuilding the nave of Winchester Cathedral in 1394; at his death in 1404 he was one of the richest men in England; left much of his fortune to a nephew, from whom Rannulph Fiennes and Ralph Fiennes are descended		William of Wykeham
Swiss reformer: wrote the 67 Articles in 1523, which prompted rapid reform in Zurich after they were adopted as the city's official doctrine (Article 1 states "All who say that the Gospel is invalid without the confirmation of the church err and slander God."		Ulrich Zwingli

© Haydn Thompson 2017–23