Saints & Sinners: The History of the Popes

Why did the Christian Church collapse in Jerusalem and how did Rome become its new centre? This programme attempts to answer these questions and examines the early Church in the Imperial Capital from Nero's persecution of the Apostles Peter and Paul to the triumphs of Christianity becoming the official religion of the Roman Empire.

This programme focuses both on the developing role of the Papacy as a religious and political force and also on the conversion of Europe to Christianity.

From the tenth century onwards, new forces of reform swept through the Church in the West, cleansing, renewing and freeing Christianity from corruption, bribery and abuse.

Corruption reared its ugly head again during the Renaissance. Under such notorious figures as Pope Alexander Borgia, the Church simultaneously reached a pinnacle cultural greatness and a pit of spiritual degradation.

The modern era, ushered in by the French revolution, inaugurated a new series of challenges for the Popes, forcing them to accept a new "secular" liberal state in favour of a "pluralist" society.

At the dawn of the twentieth century, the fortunes of the Papacy seemed at an all time low. Paradoxically, the spiritual power of the Pope had grown to dizzying heights. This power would be challenged time and again by the modern world.