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50 free Popes trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Popes trivia for church history buffs, Conclave fans and anyone who watched the chimney in 2025 and wanted to know what the smoke meant. The quiz starts with the office itself: the Greek word for father, the Keys of Heaven, the titles from Supreme Pontiff to Servant of the Servants of God, the Fisherman's Ring that is cut in two when a pope dies, and the Lateran Treaty that created Vatican City in 1929. From there it covers how popes are made: the two-thirds majority, the age-80 cutoff for electors, the three-year deadlock at Viterbo that gave us the locked-in conclave, and 'Habemus Papam' from the balcony. Then the wild history: the seven French popes at Avignon, three rival popes at once during the Western Schism, the corpse put on trial at the Cadaver Synod, the legend of Pope Joan, the hermit who resigned after five months, the Borgias, the Warrior Pope who hired Michelangelo, and the pope who banned tobacco in a 12-day reign. Later questions cover infallibility, the longest and shortest reigns, why popes change their names, John Paul II's break with 455 years of Italians, Benedict XVI's resignation and Leo XIV, the first American pope. Questions run from easy to expert and every answer was checked against a reference page and carries its source. See also our Catholic Church, Vatican and Pope Francis quizzes.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The pope is, by definition, the bishop of which city?
Rome
The word 'pope' comes from the Greek for 'father' and was once used for many bishops before being reserved for Rome's.
Q 02Catholic tradition holds the papacy descends from which apostle, given the Keys of Heaven?
Peter
By tradition he headed the church for 35 years, still the longest reign of any pope; he was martyred in Rome under Nero.
Q 03The word 'pope' derives from the Ancient Greek word for what?
father
'Pontiff', by contrast, comes from the Latin for bridge-builder; the title was reserved for Rome's bishop from Leo I's time.
Q 04Which 1929 Italy-Holy See agreement established Vatican City as an independent state?
the Lateran Treaty
It was signed between Fascist Italy and the Holy See, 59 years after Italy annexed the Papal States.
Q 05The pope's sovereignty over the Papal States ended in which year, when Italy annexed them?
1870
Pius IX refused to leave the Vatican afterwards, calling himself a 'prisoner in the Vatican'.
Q 06Where has every papal election taken place since 1878?
the Sistine Chapel
The cardinals are theoretically locked in, 'cum clave', which is where the word conclave comes from.
Q 07What majority of cardinal electors is needed to elect a pope?
Two-thirds
The requirement was formalised by Gregory XV's 1621 bull Aeterni Patris Filius.
Q 08Cardinals lose the right to vote in a conclave once they reach what age?
80
The cutoff applies as of the day before the pope dies or resigns.
Q 09What colour smoke from the conclave chimney announces that a pope has been elected?
white
The ballots are burned in a special stove; a failed vote produces black smoke.
Q 10With what two words does the Latin proclamation of a new pope from St Peter's balcony end?
Habemus Papam
'I announce to you a great joy: we have a pope!'
Q 11The 1268-71 deadlock that led to the locked-in conclave rules took place in which Italian town?
Viterbo
The frustrated magistrates locked the cardinals up; Gregory X's 1274 decree then rationed their food after the fourth and ninth days.
Q 12The gold ring given to a new pope, cut in two by the camerlengo when he dies, is the Ring of the what?
Fisherman
It depicts St Peter casting his net, and was once used to seal papal documents.
Q 13What Latin term names the period between a pope's death or resignation and his successor's election?
sede vacante
It means 'the seat being vacant'; the camerlengo runs the Vatican's day-to-day affairs meanwhile.
Q 21During the Western Schism, rival popes sat in Rome, southern France and, from 1409, which third city?
Pisa
The Council of Constance finally ended it by electing Martin V.
Q 22Which church gathering of 1414-18 finally ended the Western Schism?
the Council of Constance
The Avignon claimant Benedict XIII was excommunicated and Martin V elected to reign from Rome.
Q 23At the Cadaver Synod of 897, Pope Stephen VI put the exhumed corpse of which predecessor on trial?
Formosus
The corpse was found guilty, stripped of three fingers and eventually thrown in the Tiber; Stephen was strangled soon after.
Q 14The pope's summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, stands on the site of which ancient city?
Alba Longa
Legend makes Alba Longa the mother city of Rome, founded by Aeneas's son Ascanius.
Q 15Which of these is one of the pope's official titles?
Servant of the servants of God
Others include Vicar of Jesus Christ, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church and Primate of Italy.
Q 16The dogma of papal infallibility, when the pope speaks 'ex cathedra', was proclaimed in which year?
1870
Pius IX's First Vatican Council defined it in the document Pastor aeternus; 'ex cathedra' means 'from the chair'.
Q 17Whose nearly 32-year reign is the longest verified of any pope, after Saint Peter?
Pius IX
He convened the First Vatican Council and lost the Papal States to Italy in 1870.
Q 18Urban VII, pope for just 12 days in 1590, is remembered for the world's first known ban on what?
public smoking
He threatened excommunication for using tobacco in or near a church, then died of malaria before he could be crowned.
Q 19From 1309 to 1376, seven successive popes resided not in Rome but in which city?
Avignon
All seven were French; the exile is nicknamed the 'Babylonian captivity' of the papacy.
Q 20Which French king pressured the conclave into electing Clement V, who moved the papacy to Provence?
Philip IV
His agents had earlier arrested and mistreated Boniface VIII, who died soon after.
Q 24The legend of Pope Joan says her sex was revealed when she did what during a procession?
gave birth
The story first appeared in 13th-century chronicles, was widely believed for centuries and is now regarded as fiction.
Q 25The hermit Pietro da Morrone became Celestine V in 1294 and did what after five months?
abdicated
His successor Boniface VIII annulled nearly all his acts except, conveniently, the decree confirming a pope's right to resign.
Q 26Alexander VI, whose reign made his family name a byword for nepotism, was born into which family?
the Borgias
Born Roderic de Borja in Valencia, he backed his son Cesare's military career and fathered Lucrezia.
Q 27Which 'Warrior Pope' founded the Swiss Guard and commissioned Michelangelo's chapel ceiling?
Julius II
He also began rebuilding St Peter's and may have chosen his name in emulation of Julius Caesar; Erasmus satirised him being turned away from heaven.
Q 28Which pope launched the First Crusade with his preaching at the Council of Clermont in 1095?
Urban II
He died before news of the capture of Jerusalem in 1099 could reach him.
Q 29The calendar used by most of the world today is named after which pope, who introduced it in 1582?
Gregory XIII
The astronomer Aloysius Lilius drew it up and the Jesuit Christopher Clavius made the final tweaks.
Q 30Nicholas Breakspear, elected in 1154 as Adrian IV, remains the only pope from which country?
England
His reign is 'largely remembered as the answer to a trivia question', as one reviewer put it.