Who was the first pope?

St. Peter was the first pope of the Roman Catholic Church. St. Peter, also known as Simon Peter or Cephas, was a married fisherman and one of Jesus' original 12 disciples. The Bible quotes Jesus as saying that Peter is to serve as the foundation of the future church.

St. Peter served as head of the first Christian church from the time of Jesus' death until Peter's own death in 64 A.D. Christian tradition holds that Peter was martyred under Emperor Nero Augustus Caesar and crucified upside down because he felt unworthy of the same type of death Jesus received.