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An African pope is a pope of African birth or heritage.

Bishops of Rome

Three Africans are known to have occupied the See of Rome.

According to the records of the Liber Pontificalis, all three were from the Roman Province of Africa (corresponding to the territory of modern Tunisia and Libya). The conquest of Byzantine North Africa by Islam during the 7th century largely eliminated the chance for another African pope until modern times.

• Pope Victor I (189 to 199)
• Pope Miltiades (310/311 to 314)
• Pope Gelasius I (492 to 496)

Bishops of Alexandria

The Greek Orthodox Church has a patriarch whose formal title is the Patriarch and Pope of Alexandria and All Africa. In addition, the head of the Coptic Church and the Coptic Catholic Church are traditionally styled the Coptic Pope and while their Patriarchal See is Alexandria, Egypt, they are based in Cairo. The incumbents of these three offices can be considered African popes.

Modern African papabile

Francis Arinze, a Nigerian cardinal and advisor to Pope John Paul II, and was considered papabile before the 2005 papal conclave, which elected Benedict XVI.

References

1. Carroll, Rory. 2003, October 3. "The Guardian Profile: Francis Cardinal Arinze." The Guardian.

• African popes
• Pope-related lists