That's So Second Millennium

About That's So Second Millennium

Taking science AND faith seriously.

Publisher

Paul Giesting, William Schmitt

Category

health & fitness · religion & spirituality · science

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

27 Mar 2018

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

173 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   12 Oct 2026

   Popes 2A - John Paul

   John Paul I: This is an image from the Nationaal Archief, the Dutch National Archives, and Spaarnestad Photo, donated to Wikimedia in the context of a partnership program. John Paul II: https://audrey-shark.blogspot.com John Paul I [Albino Luciani] 1978 John Paul II [Karol Wojtyla] 1978-2005 From Claude: Here are the conclaves since 1900, with length counted inclusively from the first day of voting to the day the pope was elected: Year Pope elected Dates Days Ballots 1903 Pius X Jul 31 – Aug 4 5 7 1914 Benedict XV Aug 31 – Sep 3 4 10 1922 Pius XI Feb 2 – 6 5 14 1939 Pius XII Mar 1 – 2 2 3 1958 John XXIII Oct 25 – 28 4 11 1963 Paul VI Jun 19 – 21 3 6 Aug 1978 John Paul I Aug 25 – 26 2 4 Oct 1978 John Paul II Oct 14 – 16 3 8 2005 Benedict XVI Apr 18 – 19 2 4 2013 Francis Mar 12 – 13 2 5 2025 Leo XIV May 7 – 8 2 4 This is from memory, and I haven't checked it against a source. The dates and ballot counts for the modern conclaves are well documented. The counts for the early ones, especially 1903 and 1914, can differ by a ballot or so between sources, because records of older conclaves are less precise. Day counts also depend on whether you count inclusively, as I did, or count the nights elapsed. The 1922 conclave was the longest of the period at 14 ballots, and 1939 the shortest at 3. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ From vatican.va: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE LIFE OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL I 1912, 17 October Born at "Forno di Canale" (Belluno), (actually at Canale d'Argordo), son of Giovanni Luciani and Bortola Tancon; was baptized the same day at home, by the midwife, as he was in danger of death. 19 October Baptism was formalized in the Church by the curate, Don Achille Ronzon. 1918 October Began elementary school. 1919 26 September Was confirmed by Bishop Giosuè Cattarossi. 1923 October Entered the minor seminary in Feltre. 1928 October Entered the Gregorian Seminary at Belluno. 1934 Ordained as sub-deacon. 1935 2 February Ordained as deacon. 7 July Ordained to the priesthood at St. Peter's Church of Belluno. 9 July Named curate of the parish at Canale d'Agordo. 18 December Transferred as curate of Agordo and named instructor of religion at the Technical Institute for Miners in Agordo. 1937 July Named vice-rector of the Gregorian Seminary in Belluno (1937-1947). October Began his service as instructor. 1947 27 February Graduated from the Gregorian University in Rome with a doctorate in Sacred Theology, his thesis being, "The origin of the human soul according to Antonio Rosmini". November Nominated chancellor of the diocese of Belluno by Bishop Girolamo Bortignon. 16 December Nominated Monsignor. Nominated Secretary of the Diocescan Synod. 1948 2 February Nominated Pro Vicar-General of the diocese of Belluno. Nominated Director of the Catechetics Office of the Diocese. 1949 December Published Catechetica in briciole. 1950 March Published his doctoral thesis. 1954 6 February Nominated Vicar-General of the Diocese of Belluno. 1956 30 June Nominated Canon of the Cathedral. 1958 15 December Named Bishop of Vittorio Veneto by Pope John XXIII. 27 December Consecrated Bishop by John XXIII at St. Peter's Basilica together with the newly consecrated bishops, Gioacchino Muccin and Girolamo Bortignon. 1959 11 January Took possession of the diocese of Vittorio Veneto 17 June Began his pastoral visit. 1962 8 October - 8 December Was present for the opening of the Vatican Council II in Rome; returning to his diocese only for a few days. 1963 28 September - 4 December Returns to Rome for the 2nd Session of the Vatican Council II; returning to his diocese only for a few days. 1964 13 September - 21 November Returns to Rome for the 3rd Session of the Vatican Council II. 1965 13 September - 9 December Returns to Rome for the 4th Session of the Vatican Counci

2. 

   30 Sept 2026

   Popes 1D - Paul

   St Paul I [brother: Stephen II] 757-767 Paul II [Pietro Barbo] 1464-1471 Paul III [Alessandro Farnese] 1534-1549 Paul IV [Giovanni Caraffa] 1555-1559 Paul V [Camillo Borghese] 1605-1621 St Paul VI [Giovanni Montini] 1963-1978 St. Paul I: brother to Pope Stephen II and succeeded him--the sort of thing that could happen in the premodern era. This was the era of Pepin the Frank, where the Frankish kingdom had just become the papacy's welcome bulwark against the conquests of the Lombards and the intrigues of the Byzantines, who also wished to take back control of as much of Italy as possible; at the end of the century this would lead to the crowning of Constantine as Western Emperor and the final decline of Byzantine influence, although the Lombard dukes would take longer to diminish in importance. Pope Paul I had a reputation for honor and personal sanctity which were still common in that era. Paul II: elected in the fifteenth century recovery and Roman Renaissance period following the Avignon period and the schism and wild experimental councils that ended it. His uncle was Pope Eugene II and apparently he became a priest after his uncle's election. Paul II was a big spender on building projects (probably still needed at the time), carnivals and festivals, and was a supporter of the arts. However, he also found it necessary to reign in some of the more ardent Renaissance figures of his day and closed something called the Roman Academy for its excesses toward paganism and moral turpitude. He made efforts, building on the conciliar period at the beginning of the century, to bring Russia into communion with Rome and to combat the Turks who had just conquered Constantinople; these big ideas and initiatives were, sadly, not successful. The Ottomans continued expanding for centuries to come and Russia is still very much in schism with Rome. Paul III: An aristocrat of the Farnese family, educated at Rome and Florence; knew Leo X from their youth in Florence. He was a cardinal from age 25 until his election as Pope at age 66, a period embracing the excesses of Popes Alexander and Julius/Julian and the beginning of Luther's disturbances. He was enormously influential between his intellect, education, wealth, time in the Sacred College, and diplomatic skill. Finally he was elected Pope in a time of turmoil, less than 20 years after Luther's 95 theses. By that point he was old and respected and past some questionable periods in his youth. Apparently Paul saw immediately that a new general council was needed to address the outbreak of Protestantism, but his efforts to get one started were thwarted by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V's attempts to hammer out vague agreements that everyone could accept, and even more so by the power politics of the French under Francois I. He wanted the Holy Roman Empire divided and weakened, and did not care if heresy was the means to that end. In that light it is not surprising that he persecuted Protestants harshly within France itself. This became a recurring French policy and would culminate in the Thirty Years' War that devastated and practically ended the Holy Roman Empire as a united country. Pope Paul was not immune to concerns about the excessive power of the Holy Roman Emperors who had mistreated so many of his predecessors, Gregory VII in particular, but in this he may have been short-sighted; his family were traditional Guelphs who supported the Popes politically against the Emperors. In any case Paul III did get the Council of Trent started and, like Pope John XXIII, did see its initial sessions. Against Charles V's desires, they immediately set to work on some of the key issues regarding original sin, justification, and the sacraments. Meanwhile Pope Paul had begun many reforms of the Curia and Church discipline on his own initiative that after his death were taken up by the Council. He supported many of the new religious orders springing up in this era. Many see Paul III as a Pope

3. 

   31 Aug 2026

   Popes 1C - Sixtus

   Changing the numbering system to be more suggestive of a bracket. Sixtus is the third one seed, if you will. Image: Sandro Botticelli, 1480, Pope Sixtus II Popes names Sixtus (originally Xystus): St Sixtus I 117 or 119 to 126 or 128 Martyr St Sixtus II 257 to 258 Famous martyr, in the Roman Canon St Sixtus III 432 to 440 Sixtus IV 1471 to 1484 Sistine Chapel named for him Sixtus V 1585 to 1590 Great reformer of the Papal States and Curia Sixtus or Xystus I: the earliest pope we have covered so far, in the very uncertain period of the second century, during the reign of Hadrian. The chronicles that look back to this time do not agree on the dates of his ministry and otherwise only record a few vague details. He is supposed to have placed the chanting of the Sanctus at its present place in the Mass, right after the Preface; he is also recorded to have been martyred, although nothing seems to be preserved about the event. Sixtus / Xystus II: pope during the persecution of Valerian in the third century. His brief reign saw a reconciliation with St. Cyprian and churches in Africa and Asia Minor, which had been requiring heretics to be rebaptized. The persecution was stepped up in August 258 and Pope Xystus was beheaded with four deacons in a cemetery where he was celebrating Mass; two more deacons were executed the same day; the last and most famous deacon, Lawrence, survived a few days to be captured and according to legend roasted to death. Pope Sixtus to this day is mentioned in the full version of the Roman Canon of the Eucharistic Prayer. Sixtus / Xystus III: prior to his election as pope, a correspondent with St. Augustine. Approved the acts of the Council of Ephesus and rededicated the restored basilica of St. Mary Major. This historical period included continued disputes with both Pelagians and Nestorians. Defended and maintained papal supremacy over Illyricum. Succeeded by Leo the Great. Sixtus IV: pope of the late fifteenth century. Born of poor parents; became a Franciscan and a notable theologian. Unfortunately once pope he became a traditional nepotist and involved the Papal States in wars to put his nephews in charge of Florence and Ferrara, and wars of this nature continued to absorb papal attention through the beginning of the Reformation. He opposed and annulled the decrees of the Council of Constance and was successful in turning the Church away from conciliarism. He was a great builder and is said to have made Rome much more livable, helping continue its recovery from the Avignon period of the papacy. He reorganized and essentially refounded the Vatican Library and most famously built the Sistine Chapel. Sixtus V: also of poor birth and Dalmatian ancestry, whose family had fled from Turkish expansion; supposedly a swineherd as a boy. Also became a Franciscan and rose to prominence in that order, also for a time appointed to the Inquisition in Venice. Accompanied the future Gregory XIII to Spain to investigate claims that the Archbishop of Toledo was a heretic, and the two did not get along. During Gregory XIII's long reign he was sidelined. Similarly to his time as an inquisitor, he proved to be an effective but severe and even brutal ruler of the Papal States. He had perhaps ten thousand to thirty thousand brigands to deal with and nearly exterminated them. He put the papal finances in order and built many useful and beautiful buildings, but seems to have taxed the economy into a stupor. Of particular significance, he created fifteen Congregations to organize the cardinals and created much of the current structure of the Curia. He caused editions of the Septuagint and the Vulgate to be printed, although his edition of the Vulgate is not considered to be of high quality, and even at the time was recalled and corrected in 1592 due to many errors already recognized. He was supposedly on the point of forcing the Jesuits to change their name from the "Society of Jesus" and change some of the rul

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Contact That's So Second Millennium

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.