The first pope of the Catholic Church is traditionally considered to be Saint Peter, one of Jesus’s twelve apostles and the early leader of the Christian community in Rome.

Who was the first pope?

  • Catholics hold that Peter was chosen by Jesus to lead the Church, often linked to the passage where Jesus calls him the “rock” and gives him the “keys of the kingdom.”
  • Early Christian tradition says Peter eventually went to Rome, led the Christian community there, and was martyred under the emperor Nero in the 60s AD.
  • Because the bishop of Rome became the head of the Church, Peter is counted as the first in the line of popes that continues to this day.

Do all Christians agree?

  • The Roman Catholic Church firmly teaches that Peter was the first pope and first bishop of Rome, with a special authority among the apostles.
  • Some Protestant groups question the idea of Peter as “pope” in the later, formal sense, arguing that the New Testament does not use that title for him and that leadership was more shared.
  • Historians also point out that the word “pope” (from “papa,” meaning “father”) developed over time and was not a fixed office with all the later powers during Peter’s lifetime.

Quick historical snapshot

  • Name: Saint Peter (also called Simon Peter or Cephas).
  • Role: Apostle of Jesus, leader in the early Church, regarded by Catholics as first pope.
  • Place: Ministry associated strongly with Rome, where he is believed to have died.
  • Legacy: Seen as the starting point of an unbroken list of bishops of Rome (popes) from Peter onward.

In short, if you ask “who was the first pope of the Catholic Church,” the mainstream Catholic and historical answer is Saint Peter, even though the formal institution of the papacy evolved gradually over the first centuries.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.