Popes of the Lost Sheep
By Thomas V. Mirus ( bio - articles - email ) | Apr 13, 2026 | In Lives of the Popes (Podcast)
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The three popes who reigned during this period all had to deal with serious divisions within the Church, especially over questions of how the Church should treat fallen-away Catholics who wished to return, as well as those who had been baptized by heretics and now wished to join themselves to the true Church. An important participant in these controversies, was St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, who supported the positions of Pope Sts. Cornelius and Lucius, but clashed with the third, Pope St. Stephen.
This episode covers popes #21-23: Sts. Cornelius, Lucius I, and Stephen I.
Links
Article version of this episode
Related Way of the Fathers episodes:
- Novatian, Pt. 1
- Novatian, Pt. 2
- Pope St. Stephen and the Sacraments
- Rebaptism and the Donatist heresy
- St. Cyprian of Carthage
Fr. Ray Ryland, “Will the Real St. Cyprian Please Stand?”
Thomas V. Mirus is President of Trinity Communications and Editor-in-Chief for CatholicCulture.org, hosts both the Catholic Culture Podcast and Lives of the Popes, and co-hosts Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast. See full bio.
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