Was there really a FEMALE pope?

[DisneyResearcher]

I just finished reading the novel "Pope Joan" by Donna Woolfolk Cross and I am curious...was there really a female pope on whom this work was based? Is it possible in the ninth century for a woman to have hidden her gender and fooled the men into believing she was one of them so well? I am not a Catholic, but I was deeply intrigued by the story itself.

DisneyResearcher

 

[Pin Wizard]

That sounds like Joan of Arc! She wasn't a Pope. But she did go into battle and tried to cover up being female.

 

[nativetxn]

No, Kath, this is a different Joan.

It seems that some people believe this is true, at least the Catholic church seems to have been concerned about it.

I did a google search and found <b>THIS</b>

Very interesting

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

I wouldn't be surprised. One of the Egyptian pharoahs is rumored to have been a woman.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Thanks, Kath. I've bookmarked that so I can go back and check some more of those links.

Very interesting. This sounds like something they would investigate on "Unsolved History" on Discovery Channel.

It wouldn't surprise me too much if this were true. A Google search of my own found a number of reports of women disguising themselves as men to serve in combat.