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27. The Forged Donation
In 778, Pope Adrian I made a remarkable historical claim in a letter to Charlemagne, referencing how Emperor Constantine had granted the western Roman Empire to the papacy centuries earlier. What Adr…
Published on 10 hours ago
26. The Price Of Power
When Charlemagne died in 814, Pope Leo III's great triumph in creating the papal-imperial alliance began to reveal unexpected costs. His successors discovered that the power to crown emperors came wi…
Published on 1 week ago
25. The Crown
The events of Christmas Day 800 transformed Pope Leo III's desperate alliance with Charlemagne into a formal new order that would define European civilization for the next millennium. When Leo sudden…
Published on 2 weeks ago
24. The Attack
On a crisp April morning in 799, Pope Leo III walked through the streets of Rome leading a religious procession when armed men suddenly burst from the crowd, threw him to the ground, and attempted to…
Published on 3 weeks ago
Madonna asks Pope Leo to visit Gaza
Madonna has penned an emotional appeal to Pope Leo, urging the religious leader to make a pastoral journey to Gaza amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis. The pop superstar shared her plea through soci…
Published on 3 weeks, 3 days ago
23. Monks and Missionaries - The Papacy's Expansion North
From Rome's ancient center, a new papal strategy emerges through monastic missionaries dispatched to Europe's pagan frontiers. This episode follows how Pope Gregory the Great's vision of northern eva…
Published on 4 weeks ago
World's Most Popular Leader, Pope Leo, gets a pizza handed to him
Pope Leo XIV just topped global popularity polls while receiving epic pizza deliveries at the Vatican! Discover how America's first pope became the world's most beloved leader with a staggering 57% a…
Published on 1 month ago
22. The Barbarian Popes - Leading a Church in the Post-Roman World
When the last Western Roman Emperor was deposed in 476 CE, the papacy faced an existential crisis. This episode examines how popes from Simplicius to Gregory the Great transformed potential catastrop…
Published on 1 month ago
The Pope's Barber
Mario Reyes, a thirty seven year old barber from Ica, Peru, has been working near the Vatican walls for three years. His barbershop computer contains client records, and among his regular customers w…
Published on 1 month, 1 week ago
21. Theology and Power - The Papacy After Constantine
As Christianity became the empire's favored religion, theological debates took on political dimensions. This episode explores how popes from Julius I to Damasus I navigated the Arian controversy that…
Published on 1 month, 1 week ago