The first pope was St. Peter. Christ sets the stage for Simon Peter as the first vicar, the visible and earthly head of the Church in Matthew 16:13-20. Christ accentuated Peter’s precedence among the Apostles, when, after Peter had recognized Him as the Messias, He promised that he would be head of His flock.
While journeying along with His Apostles, Jesus asks them: “Whom do men say that the Son of man is?” The Apostles answered: “Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets”. Jesus said to them: “But whom do you say that I am?” Simon said: “Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God”. And Jesus answering said to him: “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee: That thou art Peter [Kipha, a rock], and upon this rock [Kipha] I will build my church [ekklesian], and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven”. Matthew 16:13-20
Although all the Apostles as a group were given the power “to bind and to loose” in Mt 18:18, St. Peter received this power individually at the time he was given the “keys.” His authority is demonstrated several times through Scripture, including the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15 in which the assembly fell silent after Peter spoke, settling a serious doctrinal dispute. His name is mentioned 191 times, which is more than all the rest of the Apostles combined {about 130 times}. After Peter, the most frequently mentioned Apostle is John, whose name appears 48 times.
Peter is conspicuously involved in all the Church’s important firsts:
- he led the meeting which elected the first successor to an Apostle {Acts 1:13-26},
- he preached the first sermon at Pentecost {Acts 2:14},
- received the first converts {Acts 2:41}
- performed the first miracle after Pentecost {Acts 3:6-7}
- inflicted the first punishment upon Ananias and Saphira {Acts 5:1-11}
- excommunicated the first heretic, Simon the magician {Acts 8:21}
- the first Apostle to raise a person from the dead {Acts 9:36-41}
- received the revelation to admit Gentiles into the Church {Acts 10:9-16}
- and commanded the first Gentile converts be baptized {Acts 10:44-48}
Even in Galatians 1:18-19 Saint Paul goes to stay with Peter in Jerusalem after his conversion, staying with him for 15 days. In contrast, he only visits James very briefly during this time.
See more examples in Mt 19:27, Mk 8:29, Lk 12:41, Jn 6:69, Lk 9:32, Mk 16:7, Acts 2:37, Mt 10:1-4, Mk 3:16-19, Lk 6:14-16, Acts 1:13
Who was the first pope? was written by Catholic Sistas on Electing the Pope