Can there ever be a woman pope?

Answer 1

There have been numerous popular legends of a woman pope, and while entertaining and thrilling, like legends of the headless horseman, there is no documentary evidence for a woman pope's existence that is accepted among serious scholars.

Answer 2

There has never been a female pope.

Any Catholic male who has reached the age of reason, is not a heretic, is not in schism, and is not "notorious" for simony can be elected pope - there is no other requirement for election (although there are several requirements before a person can actually assume the papacy once elected). However, it is extremely unlikely that an lay person be elected pope, especially since the man pope is most often a cardinal (honorary title of certain bishops). The last non-cardinal elected pope was Urban VI in 1379.

The story of Pope Joan, a woman who disguised herself as a man, has been popular since the thirteenth century, but is only a myth.

Answer 3

Categorically no. The clerical line is open solely to men. Pope Joan is a fictional character, unlike Joan of Arc, who was real. ( there were various, mostly royal and Noble, female knights in the Middle ages, by the way, including Queen Isabella.)

Answer 4

No. The pope is the bishop of Rome, and the tradition of the church has consistently been not to ordain women as bishops - though some have exercised jurisdiction equal to that of a bishop (e.g., a mitred abbess).

There was a legend started in the 13th century about a woman in the 9th century who disguised herself as a man in order to enter a monastery and get an education. She eventually was elected pope and only discovered when she miscarried en route to the cathedral, a block from San Clemente, on Via Santi Quattro Coronati in Rome.

This myth was famously debunked by an historian (a protestant) in the 17th century. Before that, belief of "pope Joan" persisted even among some Catholic historians of the papacy. The origins, some believe, are due to the feminine characteristics and demeanor of one of the Popes John of the 9th or 10th centuries.

Answer 5

There has never been any female pope.

There is a myth about a Pope Joan, who disguised herself as a man, but was exposed when she got pregnant.

Answer 6

No, the one requirement to be elected pope is that the person must be a male Catholic.

Answer 7

No, recent popes have made it clear that female clergy, including popes, is never going to happen.

Answer 8

No way Jose, or Josefina! This is strictly a male prerogative. All Popes have to come up through the priestly ladder- and no woman can be ordained a Priest. period.