Has there ever been a female pope

A.
Legend says there was one called Popess Joan. History says it's just a legend. There are lots of versions of it. I expect you want to hear 'em

Q. Too right.

A. Here goes. In the 11th Century, a woman came to Rome with high ambitions in the church, and, disguising herself as a man, became a priest. She was successful, rising to become a cardinal and eventually Pope. One day, while riding horseback, she gave birth to a boy; her secret out, she was tied to the tail of the horse, dragged around the city and stoned to death by a mob.

Q. Is that it

A. Of course not. The story reappears in a different form. This time, after the reign of Pope Leo IV (847-855), an Englishman - John of Mainz - occupied the papal throne for two years. Mainz was, according to this story, a woman of high learning and talent. But she became pregnant by one of her attendants and gave birth during a papal procession from St Peter's Basilica to the Lateran, dying in the process.

Q. What do the Catholic authorities say about these myths

A. Best authority for that, short of calling the Holy Father, is the Catholic Encyclopaedia. It refers to the story as a fable - so presumably there must be a moral to it somewhere. (Don't pretend you're God's representative on earth, otherwise you'll die in embarrassing circumstances, perhaps ) The first version is supposed to have been written by the Dominican chronicler Jean de Mailly and later adapted into a tale called Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost.

Q. And the other version

A. Written by Martin of Troppau (died 1278), who was a papal chaplain. One manuscript of his chronicle says Joan (also known as Johanna) survived the birth of her child but was deposed. Her son became Bishop of Ostia. Later versions say the child was a girl called either Agnes or Gilberta.

Q. Did anybody believe all this

A. Yes. By the 14th and 15th Centuries, the popess was already counted as an historic figure and a carved bust of her stood in Siena Cathedral. Pope Clement VIII (1592-1605) transformed her into Pope Zacharias. She is not, however, found among the papal portraits in Rome. Protestant reformers also used her in their attacks on the Vatican.

Q. Is there proof she didn't exist

A. Plenty:

• No contemporaneous historical source in papal histories knows anything about her.
• She is never mentioned until the 13th Century.
• In the history of the popes, there is no gap where Joan can fit in: She was placed between Leo IV and Benedict III. However, Leo IV died on 17 July, 855, and Benedict III was elected immediately afterwards. Dated coins back up these dates.
  

Q. So where did the story come from And why

A. This fable of a Roman popess seems to refer to Pope John VIII (872-82), who was noted for his effeminateness. Other historians say many popes bore the name John in the 10th Century, so the name Joan was a fitting one in a satire on the female influence on the papacy then.

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By Steve Cunningham