From a fisherman martyred in ancient Rome to the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, this episode traces the epic 2,000-year story of the papacy. We’ll explore how popes are chosen, why the Vatican exists, what a jubilee year means, and introduce a few of the most fascinating popes in history—scandalous, saintly, and everything in between. It’s a crash course in papal power, tradition, and the quirks that come with leading over a billion Catholics.