This page is a list of popes by country of origin and nationality. There have been 265 popes, from the continents of Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, and North America. Since the office of pope has existed for almost two millennia, many of the countries of origin of popes no longer exist, and so they are grouped under three periods: the Roman Empire period, the Middle Ages to modernity, and since the creation of Vatican City with the 1929 Lateran Treaty. Countries are listed in chronological order within each section.
Statistical overview As of 2025, 265 men have been pope, with at least one pope hailing (in chronological order) from Asia (9), Europe (251), Africa (3), or the Americas (2). Every pope since Pope Pius XI has been a citizen of Vatican City (established in the 1929 Lateran Treaty).
217 popes are from contemporary Italy, starting with the second Pope Linus, including all popes with the names Pius, Boniface, and Paul, Pope Benedict IX, and most recently Pope John Paul I. Most of these were ethnic Italians, but 5 were ethnic Greeks (Pope Telesphorus, Pope Anterus, Pope Zosimus, Pope John VI, and Pope John VII). 4 Italian citizens later became naturalized citizens of Vatican City: Pope Pius XII, Pope John XXIII, Pope Paul VI, and Pope John Paul I. 17 from France and from the Holy Roman Empire in contemporary France, including Savoy: Pope Sylvester II, Pope Leo IX, Pope Stephen IX, Pope Nicholas II, Pope Urban II, Pope Callistus II, Pope Urban IV, Pope Clement IV, Pope Innocent V, Pope Martin IV, Pope Clement V, Pope John XXII, Pope Benedict XII, Pope Clement VI, Pope Innocent VI, Pope Urban V, and Pope Gregory XI. 9 ethnic Greeks, with 4 each from contemporary Greece and Italy, while Pope John VI was from contemporary Turkey. 4 from contemporary Greece: Pope Anacletus, Pope Hyginus, Pope Eleutherius, Pope Sixtus II. 4 from contemporary Italy: Pope Telesphorus, Pope Anterus, Pope Zosimus, and Pope John VII. 1 from contemporary Turkey: Pope John VI 6 from Provincia Syria or Bilad al-Sham, contemporary Syria and Lebanon: the first pope commonly known as Saint Peter, Pope Anicetus, Pope John V, Pope Sergius I, Pope Constantine, and Pope Gregory III. 4 from Germany and from the Holy Roman Empire in contemporary Germany: Pope Clement II, Pope Damasus II, Pope Victor II, and Pope Benedict XVI. 3 from Africa Proconsularis, contemporary Tunisia, western Libya, and eastern Algeria: Pope Victor I, Pope Miltiades, Pope Gelasius I. 2 from the Holy Land, contemporary Israel, Palestine, and Syria: Pope Evaristus and Pope Theodore I. 2 from Dalmatia in contemporary Croatia: Pope Caius and Pope John IV. 2 from Spain: Pope Callixtus III and Pope Alexander VI. 2 from Portugal: Pope Damasus I and Pope John XXI. 2 from Anatolia, contemporary Turkey: Pope Conon and Pope John VI. 1 from the Holy Roman Empire in contemporary Austria: Pope Gregory V. 1 from the Holy Roman Empire in the contemporary Netherlands: Pope Adrian VI. 1 from England in the contemporary United Kingdom: Pope Adrian IV. 1 from Poland: Pope John Paul II. 1 from Argentina: Pope Francis. 1 from the United States/Peru: Pope Leo XIV.
Table of popes by country CountryNumber of popesYear of last papacyAfrica Province (Roman Empire)3496Croatia (Kingdom of the Lombards)Dalmatia2642Judaea Province (Roman Empire)Byzantine Palestine3649Asia Minor 2705Roman Greece and Byzantine Greece5687Roman/Byzantine Syria, and Bilad al-Sham7741Austrian part of Holy Roman Empire1999England part of United Kingdom11159Lusitania (Roman Empire) and Portugal21277Kingdom of France (medieval)French part of Holy Roman Empire171378Spain (Valencia in the Crown of Aragon)21503Dutch part of Holy Roman Empire11523Italian Peninsula (see below)2171978Vatican City9currentPoland 12005German part of Holy Roman EmpireContemporary Germany42013Argentina 12025United States/Peru 1currentTotal265
Popes from the Roman Empire These subsections of popes from the Western and Eastern Roman Empires are listed in chronological order.
Syria These popes are from the Roman and Byzantine province of Syria, or the Umayyad Caliphate province of Bilad al-Sham, corresponding to the modern country of Syria. Pope Peter (c. 30 – c. 67) was a native of Bethsaida, in the contemporary Golan Heights, and became the first Bishop of Rome (Pope). Pope Sergius I (687–701) was born to a Syrian family in Sicily, and is also listed under Byzantine Italy. Pope Gregory III (731–741) was the last pope from outside Europe until Pope Francis (2013–2025). Pope Peter (64–68), of Bethsaida Pope Anicetus (c. 154–167), of Emesa (modern Homs) Pope John V (685–686), of Antioch Pope Sergius I (687–701), a Syrian Sicilian Pope Sisinnius (708); little is known about him, but his father was Syrian Pope Constantine (708–715), of Tyre, Lebanon Pope Gregory III (731–749), of Syria
Italy Roman Italy Pope Linus (64/67(?)–76/79 (?)) succeeded Peter as the second pope, becoming the first European pope.
Byzantine Italy
Byzantine Sicily Pope Conon (686–687), Greek ethnicity Pope Sergius I (687–701), Syrian ethnicity
Greeks These popes are considered ethnic Greeks, though most are from other parts of Magna Graecia, rather than modern Greece. Pope Anacletus (80–92), a native of Rome Pope Telesphorus (126–137), from Calabria, Italy Pope Hyginus (c. 138 – c. 142), from Athens Pope Eleuterus (174/175–189), from Epirus, Greece Pope Anterus (235–236), from Calabria Pope Sixtus II (257–258), possibly from Greece Pope Zosimus (417–418), from Calabria Pope John VI (701–705), from Ephesus (in modern Turkey) Pope John VII (705–707), from Calabria
Roman Judaea Pope Peter (c. 30 – c. 67) was born in Bethsaida, Roman Syria before the creation of Judaea Province, in the contemporary Golan Heights. Pope Evaristus (c. 99 – c. 107) was born in Bethlehem, in the contemporary West Bank. Pope Theodore I (642–649) was born in Jerusalem. Pope Peter (c. 30 – c. 67) Pope Evaristus (c. 99 – c. 107) Pope Theodore I (642–649)
Roman Africa
These popes are from the Roman province of Africa, which corresponds to the coastal parts of Tunisia, Libya and Algeria. Pope Victor I (189–199) was the first African pope and was of Berber origin. Pope Victor I (189–199) Pope Miltiades (311–314) Pope Gelasius I (492–496)
Roman Dalmatia Dalmatia was at the time part of the Roman and Byzantine Empires. It is now part of the contemporary Republic of Croatia. Pope Caius (283–296) Pope John IV (640–642)
Roman Lusitania Lusitania corresponds to present-day Portugal and the southwest part of Spain. Pope Damasus I (366–384)
Byzantine Anatolia Anatolia, or Asia Minor, was at the time part of the Roman and Byzantine Empires. All popes from here were born during the Byzantine period, in areas now part of the contemporary Republic of Turkey. Pope Conon (686–687) Pope John VI (655–705)
Popes from the Middle Ages to modernity The current concept of sovereignty emerged after the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, collectively known as Westphalian sovereignty. However, some historians have argued against this, suggesting that such views emerged during the nineteenth and twentieth century in relation to concerns about sovereignty during that time. These Westphalian states are listed below in chronological order.
Italy Italy, from the beginning of the Middle Ages until the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, was divided into numerous city-states and other political entities. Among these, the Papal States were the birthplace of most of the popes. Other Italian states where more popes were born were the Republic of Venice, the Kingdom of Naples, the Republic of Genoa, the Duchy of Milan and the Florentine Republic and its successor the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
Ostrogothic Kingdom Pope Hormisdas (514–523) Pope John I (523–526) Pope Felix IV (526–530) Pope Boniface II (530–532) Pope John II (533–535) Pope Agapetus I (535–536) Pope Vigilius (537–555)
Papal States
Italy, Holy Roman Empire Pope John XIV (983–984) Pope Alexander II (1061–1073) Pope Gregory VII (1073–1085) Pope Eugene III (1145–1153) Pope Alexander III (1159–1181) Pope Lucius III (1181–1185) Pope Urban III (1185–1187) Pope Celestine IV (1241) Pope Gregory X (1271–1276) Pope Benedict XI (1303–1304)
Former Italian states with one pope Pope Victor III (1086–1087) (Duchy of Benevento) Pope Gelasius II (1118–1119) (Duchy of Gaeta) Pope Celestine V (1294) (Kingdom of Sicily) Pope Benedict XV (1914–1922) (Kingdom of Sardinia)
Republic of Genoa Pope Innocent IV (1243–1254) Pope Adrian V (1276) Pope Nicholas V (1447–1455) Pope Sixtus IV (1471–1484) Pope Innocent VIII (1484–1492) Pope Julius II (1503–1513)
Kingdom of Naples Pope Urban VI (1378–1389) Pope Boniface IX (1389–1404) Pope Innocent VII (1404–1406) Pope Paul IV (1555–1559) Pope Innocent XII (1691–1700) Pope Benedict XIII (1724–1730)
Republic of Venice
Pope Gregory XII (1406–1415) Pope Eugene IV (1431–1447) Pope Paul II (1464–1471) Pope Alexander VIII (1689–1691) Pope Clement XIII (1758–1769) Pope Gregory XVI (1831–1846)
Republic of Siena Pope Pius II (1458–1464) Pope Pius III (1503)
Republic of Florence, Duchy of Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany Pope Leo X (1513–1521) Pope Clement VII (1523–1534) Pope Leo XI (1605) Pope Urban VIII (1623–1644) Pope Alexander VII (1655–1667) Pope Clement IX (1667–1669) Pope Clement XII (1730–1740)
Duchy of Milan Pope Pius IV (1559–1565) Pope Pius V (1566–1572) Pope Gregory XIV (1590–1591) Pope Innocent XI (1676–1689)
Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia These two popes were born in the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom, part of the Austrian Empire until 1866 when it was ceded to Italy. Pope Pius X (1903–1914) Pope Pius XI (1922–1939)
Austria The medieval Duchy of Carinthia was part of the Holy Roman Empire. It is now largely part of contemporary Austria. The Salian, Pope Gregory V is sometimes referred to as "the first German pope" or as "the only Austrian pope".Gerhard Jelinek: Mutiger, klüger, verrückter: Frauen, die Geschichte machten, Amalthea Signum Verlag, 2020. (in German)Stephan Vajda: Die Babenberger: Aufstieg einer Dynastie, Orac, 1986, p. 26. (in German) However, German or Austrian national identities did not exist yet during the High Middle Ages. Pope Gregory V (996–999) (Duchy of Carinthia)
France France is the most common non-Italian papal country of origin. Seventeen popes were born in present-day France, all in the second half of the medieval era. The indicated seven popes of the Avignon Papacy were all from France. Since the end of the Avignon Papacy, no French person has been elected pope.
Kingdom of France (medieval)
Pope Sylvester II (999–1003): Gerbert of Aurillac Pope Urban II (1088–1099): Otho of Lagery (or Otto or Odo) Pope Urban IV (1261–1264): Jacques Pantaléon Pope Clement IV (1265–1268): Guy Foulques Pope Martin IV (1281–1285): Simon de Brie Pope Clement V (1305–1314): Bertrand de Got(A) Pope John XXII (1316–1334): Jacques d'Euse(A) Pope Benedict XII (1334–1342): Jacques Fournier(A) Pope Clement VI (1342–1352): Pierre Roger(A) Pope Innocent VI (1352–1362): Stephen Aubert(A) Pope Urban V (1362–1370): Guillaume de Grimoard(A) Pope Gregory XI (1370–1378): Pierre Roger de Beaufort(A)
Holy Roman Empire Pope Nicholas II and Pope Innocent V were from Savoy before it was annexed to France. Pope Leo IX (1049–1054) (Alsace, Duchy of Swabia): Bruno, Count of Dagsburg (sometimes referred to as German) Pope Stephen IX (1057–1058) (Duchy of Lorraine): Frederick of Lorraine (sometimes referred to as German) Pope Nicholas II (1059–1061) (Kingdom of Burgundy): Gerard of Burgundy Pope Callixtus II (1119–1124) (County of Burgundy): Guido of Vienne Pope Innocent V (1276) (Kingdom of Arles): Pierre de Tarentaise
Napoleonic France Pope Leo XIII was born in Rome while it was under Napoleonic French occupation and is also listed under Italy. Pope Leo XIII (1878–1903)
Germany