On Earth, the Pope was a title given to the religious leader who led the Roman Catholic branch of Christianity on Earth. Over the centuries since the founding of the office the Pope was an influential part of world affairs. The Pope had his headquarters in the Vatican City, a part of Rome, Italy.
During the 12th and 13th centuries, the Ghibellines were a faction of humans that supported the Holy Roman Empire over the Pope. On the other side, the Guelphs supported the Pope. Open warfare flared up due to this conflict. (TOS novel: The Final Reflection)
In the early 13th century, disagreements between Pope Innocent III, King John of England, and the various members of the English nobility led to the creation of the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta eventually came to be considered one of the first step of the process in Earth history leading to the rule of constitutional law. (TOS episode: "Court Martial")
In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII commissioned the Old Calendar, which came to also be known as the Gregorian Calendar. The calendar was a reform of the older Julian Calendar. (TOS novel: The Entropy Effect)
- In ENT episode: "Cold Front" Phlok mentions of visiting once the Vatican and attended Mass at St. Peter's Basilica prior to his service on board the Enterprise (NX-01), implying that the figure of Pope or a similar one existed as the mid-22nd century.
Background Information[]
In 2006, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine star Louise Fletcher said she thought of Kai Winn Adami "as an evil pope in space". [1]