Pope Francis’ favorability rating among U.S. Catholics is now roughly equivalent to the rating Catholics gave Pope Benedict XVI following his visit to the country in April 2008. These are among the key findings of a new Pew Research survey, conducted Oct. 1-4, 2015, on landlines and cellphones among a national sample of 1,000 adults. Pope Benedict XVI steps down with an uptick in personal popularity and wide support for his decision to retire, according … Continued The Catholic Church must change Francis, the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church, was born on December 17, 1936 in Flores, a barrio of Buenos Aires. He is the first pope who has been named Francis. His birth name is Jorge Mario Bengolio. One of the biggest talking points has been the pope's penchant for Prada shoes and Gucci sunglasses. It has left some Catholics wondering where this papacy is heading. Known as the "good pope,” Pope John XXIII will be named saint on Sunday, April 27 after Pope Francis waived the customary rules requiring a second miracle after beatification. ... Benedict XVI is facing the biggest crisis of his reign as pope. Is the pope a reactionary or a prophet? Pope John Paul II, one of longest serving popes (1978-2005), riding … Pope Francis, by all accounts, seems determined to take the world by storm. So far, under Benedict XVI, there have been no great purges, and outwardly it looks like business as usual. Each of these Popes held the title for more than two decades, with the first and most famous Pope carrying the honor longer than any other. Pope Francis’ influence has been different from his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, in two major ways: his personality and his words. Longest Serving Popes In The History Of The Catholic Church. The Italian pope's biggest contribution to the Roman Catholic Church was the creation of the Second Vatican Council. The last pope who was TIME’s “Person of the Year” was Pope John Paul II in 1984. When Pope Benedict XVI announced that he would resign on Feb. 28, 2013, the unexpected news put the Roman Catholic Church and its global community in the media spotlight. While these popes differ in terms of …