Without going into the actual merits (because it's kind of hard to compare them) ...
There are a lot more saints than popes.
He chose the name Benedict to honor two individuals he greatly admired - Saint Benedict of Nursia and Pope Benedict XV.
It is famous for its great dome, for the numerous works of art it shelters, for being a monument to Saint Peter, whose tomb is below the main altar, and for being the church of the pope (as pope). Saint John Lateran is the church of the pope as Bishop of Rome.
Jacopo Pesaro being presented by Pope Alexander VI to Saint Peter was created in 1506.
Pope St. Martin is a saint but not a patron saint.
Saint Patrick was never a pope.
Pope St. Nicholas I is not a patron saint.
Yes, Saint Peter was the pope at the time.
Pope Saint Sixtus I - April 6 Pope Saint Sixtus II - August 7 Pope Saint Sixtus III - March 28
No, Pope Saint Peter was the first pope.
She was canonized a saint on September 14, 1975, by Pope Paul VI.
There was a Pope Leo XIII but he has not been canonized as a saint.
He would have been appointed to the position by the pope. In the case of Saint Nicholas, that was probably Pope Saint Sylvester I.