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Welcome to our Pope Quiz Questions - Trivia About Popes


Quiz I

  1. Can you name the first and only English pope?




  2. Which pope was the first to resign the papacy since Pope Celestine V in 1294?
  3. What colour smoke comes from the Sistine Chapel's chimney to signify that a new pope has been chosen?
  4. Pope Francis was the first pope to be born outside Europe since the 8th century, in which country was he born?
  5. Name the independent city-state enclaved within Rome which is ruled by the pope?
  6. Can you name the first ever pope?
  7. John Paul II in 1978 became the first non-Italian pope since the 16th century, in which country was John Paul II born?
  8. Joseph Ratzinger became pope after the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005, what was his papal name?
  9. In which Italian town is The Papal Palace, the summer residence and vacation retreat for the pope?
  10. The current pope is Pope Francis, in which year did he succeed Benedict XVI?
  11. Where in the past might you have seen "SCV 1"? (Hint: It replaced the sedia gestatoria outdoors.)
  12. Can you name the palace that is the official residence of the pope?
  13. An official part of the regalia worn by the Pope, by what name is the Piscatory Ring better known?
  14. Just before his death in 1534 who did Pope Clement VII commission to paint a fresco of The Last Judgement on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel?
  15. In which square was an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II made on Wednesday, 13 May 1981?
  16. Give the most recent year in which there were three popes?
  17. What is the proper way to address the pope?
  18. What is the name of the well known guard that has been protecting the pope since 1506?
  19. As of 2019, can you name the last pope to officially visit the UK?
  20. Which English monarch declared themselves the Supreme Head of the Church because of conflicts with Pope Clement VII?
  21. Who was pope from 1939 to his death in 1958?
  22. In 1590, Pope Urban VII ordered the world's first known public ban on what?

Answers:

  1. Adrian IV or Nicholas Breakspear (December 1154 – September 1159)
  2. Benedict XVI
  3. White smoke
  4. Argentina
  5. Vatican City
  6. St Peter
  7. Poland
  8. Pope Benedict XVI (16th)
  9. Castel Gandolfo
  10. 2013
  11. On the popemobile (the vehicle registration plates of Vatican City all begin with the letters "SCV")
  12. The Apostolic Palace (or Palace of the Vatican)





  13. The Ring of the Fisherman
  14. Michelangelo
  15. St. Peter's Square (in Vatican City)
  16. 1978 (Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II)
  17. Your Holiness
  18. The Swiss Guard
  19. Pope Benedict XVI (visited the UK on a four-day tour from 16-19 September 2010)
  20. Henry VIII (8th)
  21. Pope Pius XII
  22. Smoking