I would have liked to get an episode of the bracket out during the actual NCAA tournament, but I was asked to give two talks at a confirmation retreat, so I'm giving those to you as bonus episodes.

Stay tuned later in April for an episode featuring the name Sixtus...only five of them but quite the history.

--Paul

Image credit for Christ, the Man of Sorrows: https://www.wga.hu/html/c/ceccarel/sorrows.html

SHOW NOTES FOR “A CALENDAR OF GREGORIES”

1. The bracket is back! Paul’s application of March Madness oddsmaking to the name and fame of popes throughout history returns in this episode. Co-hosts Paul and Bill, after completing a tour of popes called Leo, now look at Pope Gregory, a popular name that appeared in sixteen iterations. This makes for an informative roller coaster ride through the past.

2. This chain started out with a man actually born as Gregory. He chose to be Pope Gregory I and ruled in the Vatican in the years 590-604, but the Catholic Church has chosen to call him Gregory the Great. He did much to shape the Church of the Dark Ages and Medieval times. He was a great administrator, even helping to “orchestrate” the development of Gregorian Chant. He is a canonized saint.

3. Gregory II reigned in 715-731. He was one of the popes dealing with warring European factions and with the rise of Islam. He is a canonized saint.

4. Gregory III, whose term was 731-741, addressed issues such as iconoclasm, a penchant among some European Catholic factions as well as in Islam.

5. Paul goes on to tell tales of Gregory IV (827-844) and of Gregory V (996-999), who was the first German pope, and of Gregory VI (1045-1046). This simoniac resigned a year before his death.

6. Gregory VII (1073-1085) was born Hildebrand of Sovana. This great reformer is a canonized saint. Gregory VIII ruled for two months in 1187.

7. Gregory IX (1227-1241) was followed by Gregory X (1271-1276) and by Gregory XI (1370-1378), who was the last French pope and the last pope to reign in Avignon as the holy see.

8. Gregory XII (1406-1415) He was the last of the Roman line during the Western Schism (1378–1417), when the papacy was contested by antipopes in Avignon (France) and in Pisa (Italy).

9. Gregory XIII (1572-1585) promulgated the Gregorian Calendar.

10. Gregory XIV had a short tenure in 1590-1591. Then came Gregory XV (1621-1623).

11. Gregory XVI (1831-1846) presided over debates on how to handle the future of the papal states, and he supported traditional monarchies in Europe, says Britannica. He was the last pope named Gregory.

12. The classic papal name Gregory provides a throughline for viewing immense change between the secular and the sacred, spanning conflict and continuity in the first and second millennia of the Common Era. The calendar changed, but the Church is still here.

Photo: Unidentified, San Gregorio Magno, 18th century, carved and painted wood, 27 1⁄2 x 9 5⁄8 x 9 1⁄4 in. (69.8 x 24.5 x 23.6 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1996.91.58A-B

Leo - Episode P2

Artwork: by Francesco Solimena - Web Gallery of Art: Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

1. “That’s So Second Millennium” retains its online longevity, posting this 149th episode. We invite listeners to keep returning with us to our past-present-future perspectives on the world’s third millennium (Anno Domini or Common Era). Former college professor Dr. Paul Giesting (call him Paul) resumes and expands his discussion of the “pope name bracket” he created, inspired partly by the 2025 basketball season but well-informed by the Church’s remarkable past.

2. In this podcast’s new season of episodes, which began with Papal Names Bracket—Part 1, we continue our review of popes’ names in context, including the popularity of certain names. It’s a handy launch pad for a quick and insightful tour of history.

3. See below the database Paul established as a guide to our sweeping review of the au courant name “Leo.” Like the “TSSM” podcast, it keeps popping up!

4. (Paul credits assistance from The Catholic Encyclopedia, still authoritative though first published in 1914 and preserved and presented at the New Advent website. As a valuable resource, it too keeps popping up.)

5. Pope St. Leo I "The Great" 440-461 - of the Tome and the pacification of Attila the Hun

Pope St. Leo II 682-3

Pope St. Leo III 795-816 - who crowned Charlemagne in 800

Pope St. Leo IV 847-853

Pope Leo V 903?

Pope Leo VI 928-9

Pope Leo VII 936-9

Pope Leo VIII 964-5

Pope Leo IX (Bruno) 1049-54 - early reformer in an era of simony and clerical incontinence

Pope Leo X (Giovanni de Medici) 1513-1521 - Renaissance pope at the time of Luther

Pope Leo XI (Alessandro de Medici) 1605

Pope Leo XII (Annibale della Genga) 1823-1829

Pope Leo XIII (Gioacchino Pecci) 1878-1903 - Author of Rerum Novarum

1. Paul inserts this personal comment about his presentation, recorded Jan. 17, 2026, before the historical tour begins: Please pardon the awkward insertion of "from Irenaeus of" [Lyon] into the episode toward the end...I had originally, mistakenly, called him Ignatius...and a few oddly timed pauses where I took the opportunity to blank out some even more excessive than usual "uhs". I miss podcasting and being in the classroom to keep me sharper on my speaking skills.

2. Note that Pope Leo XIII and our present-day Pope Leo XIV are scholars of the Catholic Church’s Canon Law. You can read the entire tome here. Now that’s transparency!

3. Bill Schmitt concludes the episode with his co-host contributions, kindly appended to the podcast by producer Paul. Bill’s dual focus is the context of Pope Leo XIII’s huge contributions and their relevance to these days of Leo XIV. Leave it to Bill to segue from profound Church history to the subject of Greenland.

4. You can read Bill’s ongoing “Phronesis in Pieces” commentaries—on the intersection of Catholic values, public affairs, and trends in communications—at billschmitt.substack.com and at OnWord.net.