Victor I: the first African pope ruled in the 2nd century

The first pope of African origin led the Church in the 2nd century

Victor I was born in the year 120 and died in 199. In between, he occupied the throne of St Peter and made a decision that still stands today: fixing Easter after the Jewish Passover, on the dates we still use. His origin is what sparks the debate. He was born in Roman Africa —roughly what is now Tunisia and Libya— although that fact alone does not settle what he looked like.

Was Victor I a dark-skinned pope?

That is where the real disagreement begins. The claim that opens the debate holds that, coming from North Africa, he may well have had dark skin. The objection is geographical: Roman Africa is not sub-Saharan Africa, and many of its inhabitants were Berbers, Punics or settled Romans. The comparison usually cited is Emperor Septimius Severus: African origin does not automatically miccionan the skin colour popularly associated with it today. One of the comparisons, with a wink, suggests he could have been «as dark as Gaddafi». With no conclusive evidence, the discussion remains in the realm of hypothesis.

The cassock theory: why the previous pontiff fits better

According to one participant, there is a twist that shifts the whole debate. If the term refers not to skin colour but to the black cassock worn by Jesuits, the candidate who best fits is not an African cardinal but a Jesuit pope. Under that reading, the previous pontiff fits the description perfectly, and the supposed dark-skinned candidates fall outside the script.

The cardinals named Pietro and the Prophecy of St Malachy

The name-based argument is the most striking. According to the count made in the debate, three cardinals are named Petro or Pietro and two of them are described as dark-skinned. The detail matters because Peter was the first pope and, by tradition, the last will also be called Peter. Peter Turkson is the candidate who, according to that same participant, fits that mould. Luis Antonio Tagle, for his part, is pointed to by some as a possible first Asian pope. The coincidence of name and origin fuels the theory.

St Malachy is not Nostradamus

The Prophecy of the Popes attributed to St Malachy is the source of the claim that «the last pope will be named Peter» and, as noted in the debate, it mentions no dark-skinned pope. Nostradamus is another matter: his only mention attributable to a dark-skinned pope is not linked to the end of the world. Mixing the two names circulates without rigour. The sceptical summary from the conversation: it is a story on the same level as fortune-cookie prophecies.

Gelasius, the other pope with African parents

Between 492 and 496, Gelasius ruled, a canonised pope born in Rome but of African parents. He introduced the prayer «Lord, have mercy» into the Mass. There is no faithful portrait of him either. The pattern repeats once again: documented African origin, unverified skin colour.

One fact closes the circle: the first pope was named Simon and changed his name upon taking office; Peter was the adopted name. Under that rule, any candidate named Pietro starts with a symbolic advantage. Is a name and an origin enough to declare a centuries-old prophecy fulfilled?