Was there ever a woman pope?
No. However, there is a long-standing myth of a Pope Joan. According to the legend, an English woman disguised herself as a man and was elected to the papacy as John VIII, between St Leo IV and Benedict III around 850. Her true gender was discovered when she bore a child during a procession through Rome. Upon review of historical documents, the first mention of this 9th century “Popess” was in the mid-13th century and it is now considered a myth.
