Popes from religious orders: The standouts
A picture shows the statue of John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital in Rome. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse
MANILA, Philippines — They wore habits before the tiara. Meet the warrior monks, reformers, and thinkers from Catholic orders who left an indelible mark on Church history.
From battlefield champions to masters of doctrine, these popes and their kindred spirits from religious orders steered Catholicism through wars, reform, and global expansion.
1. St. Pius V (1566–1572) — Dominican, warrior and reformer
The great reformer and warrior pope who enforced the reforms of the Council of Trent and rallied Christian Europe to victory at the Battle of Lepanto against the Ottoman fleet.
READ: The 2025 Conclave: Electing a New Pope – Live Updates
2. Gregory XIII (1572–1585) — Jesuit sympathizer, calendar pope
Best known for launching the Gregorian Calendar still used today. Though not a Jesuit, his papacy strengthened Jesuit missions worldwide.
3. Sixtus V (1585–1590) — Franciscan, the builder pope
The iron-willed Capuchin who cleaned up Rome, overhauled Church administration, and built the Vatican Library into a Renaissance powerhouse.
4. Gregory XVI (1831–1846) — Camaldolese (Benedictine branch), the last monk pope
The last pope from a religious order before Francis. Reactionary and anti-modern, he condemned railways as “roads to hell” but defended papal states fiercely.
READ: Black smoke: Cardinals fail to elect new pope on first try
5. Nicholas V (1447–1455) — Franciscan connections, Renaissance pope
Patron of the early Renaissance, he kickstarted the rebuilding of St. Peter’s and bolstered Rome as a cultural capital.
6. John XXIII (1958–1963) — Secular priest with Franciscan spirit
Though not from an order, “Good Pope John” channeled Franciscan warmth in convening Vatican II and opening the Church to the modern world.
7. John Paul II (1978–2005) — Carmelite & Dominican sympathizer – The Philosopher-Pope
Wore the Carmelite scapular, credited Our Lady of Mount Carmel for his vocation, and drew deeply from St. Thomas Aquinas’ Dominican thought to shape his modern Catholic vision. /dl
