Religious Figures

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church in March 2013, becoming Pope Francis. He is the first pope from the Americas.

Mary Magdalene was a pivotal New Testament biblical figure whose role in Christianity's development continues to be discussed and debated.

First appearing in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, Saint Joseph was the earthly father of Jesus Christ and the husband of the Virgin Mary.

Billy Graham was an evangelist at revival meetings, and on radio and television for over 40 years.

Saint Nicholas was a Christian bishop who provided for the poor and sick and is the basis for the popular character of Santa Claus.

Dalai Lama, Tibet's political leader, has strived to make Tibet an independent and democratic state from China. He and his followers are exiled to India.

Jesus is a religious leader whose life and teachings are recorded in the Bible’s New Testament. He is a central figure in Christianity and is emulated as the incarnation of God by many Christians all over the world.

Jezebel was a Phoenician princess, later the wife of King Ahab of Israel. In the centuries since her death, she has acquired numerous references in popular culture, none of them flattering.

John Calvin, Martin Luther's successor as the preeminent Protestant theologian, made a powerful impact on the fundamental doctrines of Protestantism.

Benedict XVI served as pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013. He is best known for his rigid views on Catholicism and topics such as birth control and homosexuality.

Saint Patrick is Ireland's patron saint, known for spreading Christianity throughout the country as a missionary during the 5th century.

Mother Teresa was the founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic congregation of women dedicated to helping the poor. Considered one of the 20th Century's greatest humanitarians, she was canonized as Saint Teresa of Calcutta in 2016.

Martin Luther was a German monk who forever changed Christianity when he nailed his '95 Theses' to a church door in 1517, sparking the Protestant Reformation.

Anne Hutchinson was a Puritan woman who spread her own interpretations of the Bible, leading to the Antinomian Controversy in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Indian cult leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh created the spiritual practice of dynamic meditation. He started the Rancho Rajneesh commune in Oregon in the 1980s.

Spanish missionary Juniper Serra established his first U.S. mission in 1769. He built eight more California missions over the next thirteen years. He was granted sainthood in 2015.

Saint Francis of Assisi abandoned a life of luxury for a life devoted to Christianity after reportedly hearing the voice of God, who commanded him to rebuild the Christian church and live in poverty. He is the patron saint for ecologists.

Buddha was a spiritual teacher in Nepal during the 6th century B.C. Born Siddhartha Gautama, his teachings serve as the foundation of the Buddhist religion.

French missionary and explorer Jacques Marquette is best known as the first European to see and map the northern portion of the Mississippi River.

Italian Dominican theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas was one of the most influential medieval thinkers of Scholasticism and the father of the Thomistic school of theology.

Saint George, Christian patron saint of England, was made known there by Arculphus and Adamnan. In a famous tale, he rescued a Libyan princess from a sea monster.

Pope John Paul II made history in 1978 by becoming the first non-Italian pope in more than 400 years.

Born into slavery in 1760, Richard Allen later bought his freedom and went on to found the first national black church in the United States, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, in 1816.

One of the Twelve Apostles, Saint Thomas or “Doubting Thomas” was initially skeptical about Jesus’ resurrection, but later proclaimed Jesus, “My Lord and My God.”