However, in this article, I will be sharing with you 3 popes that the African tribe has produced:

1. Pope Victor I

Pope Saint Victor I was the fourteenth Roman Catholic pope. Hailing from the Berber tribe of Libya, he held the papal throne for more than a decade and is the first pope from Africa.

Born in Northern Africa, Victor served as a bishop before becoming the pope one thousand eight hundred and thirty three years ago, succeeding the martyred Pope Saint Eleutherius.

During his papal reign, Victor is best renowned for his role in the Easter controversy, in which he made an attempt to unsuccessfully require that all Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus on Sunday, rather than in relation to the Jewish calculation of Passover. He was also actively engaged in ridding the Roman church of Gnosticism and other heresies, including Adoptionism and possibly Montanism. He was the first Christian author to write theological works in Latin.

Victor passed away in 199 C.E., and was succeeded by Pope Zephyrinus. Early Church records reveals that Pope Victor I was a martyr, which is one of the reasons why he is recognized as a saint.

2. Pope Miltiades

Pope Miltiades was a Roman Catholic Pope who reigned from 311 to his death on 314. It was during his papal reign that Emperor Constantine the Great decreed the Edict of Milan, giving Christianity legal status within the Roman Empire. Pope Miltiades is also remembered for accepting the gift of the Empress Fausta Palace where the church would later build the Lateran Palace the pontiff’s residence and seat of administration.

Miltiades’ year of nativity is unknown but it is known that he was an African of Berber origin.

He was entombed in Catacomb of Callixtus, Appian Way, Rome, Italy, and was succeeded by Sylvester I.

3. Pope Gelasius I

Pope Gelasius I was a Roman Catholic Pope who reigned from 1 March 492 until his death on 19 November 496.

Born in Rome in the fifth century to an African father, Valerius, Gelasius was elected Pope on 1 March 492. He had a reputation for learning, justice, holiness, and charity. Gelasius is known to have composed liturgical Prefaces and Orations for Sacramentaries, which may be part of the Leonine Sacramentary. During his papal reign, he staunchly affirmed the primacy of Rome and promulgated the doctrine of the Two Powers, insisting that the emperor bow to the will of the pope in spiritual matters. The third pope of African origin, Gelasius had worked closely with his predecessor, Felix III, mainly in drafting papal documents.