The items on this page can provide basic biographical and historical information about popes and the Papacy. For documents or books written by a particular Pope, please consult the LibrarySearch. Most works are listed under Papal names. For example, works by Joseph Ratzinger will be attributed to Benedict XVI, Pope, even if they were written before he became Pope.
The Oxford dictionary of Popes / J.N.D. Kelly.
Encyclopedia of the Vatican and Papacy
The Papacy: An Encyclopedia
The history of the popes : from the close of the middle ages : drawn from the secret archives of the Vatican and other original sources / from the German of Dr. Ludwig Pastor ; edited by Frederick Ignatius Antrobus.
Acta Apostolicae Sedis; commentarium officiale.Acta
Apostolicae Sedis is the official, polyglot chronological commentary on the
actions of the popes.
The Great Popes through History: An Encyclopedia
For Papal documents, try the Vatican Website and sets of monographs listed below. For more recent encyclicals in paper format, search LibrarySearch. For texts and commentary on recent ones, try the Vatican Web site and use our online theological databases. For older articles try using the historic Catholic Periodical and Literature Index (CPLI) in Ireland Library's Reference Room to locate articles in the Osservatore Romano, Origins, or other Catholic publications.
Pope Saint Gregory the Great.
(76 Popes have been canonized as saints.)
