Two ways in
Watch the ages pass, or walk through them.
Open to everyone
The flight
- Fly from Creation to today
- The seven ages
- A few moments, opened
With the Pass
Everything you can touch
- Every life, place and moment, opened
- The timeline view: saints, popes and councils side by side through the centuries
- Sources and a certainty grade on every moment
- Journeys traced on the map, from Abram to Leo XIV
- Coming next: family mode for the dinner table
- Your saints, placed in their world
- Coming next: offline use and print
Catholic church history timeline
Saecula — a Catholic church history timeline you can fly
Saecula is an interactive Catholic timeline of salvation history: a flight over a globe of the real Earth from the first light of Creation to the present day, in twenty-four chapters. It places 295 sourced moments, 2,267 saints, the 267 popes of the Holy See’s list, 21 ecumenical councils and 26 journeys.
What is on the globe
- 295 momentsEach one sourced and carrying a certainty grade, from Creation to today.
- 2,267 saintsPlaced where their life ended, or where it began when that is all the record gives.
- 267 popesNumbered and dated as in the Holy See’s own list, from Peter to Leo XIV.
- 21 ecumenical councilsNicaea to the Second Vatican Council, each with what it settled.
- 26 journeysTraced on the map, from Abram leaving Ur to Leo XIV in our own day.
- 24 chaptersThe whole arc, framed by St. Augustine’s ages of the world (City of God XXII.30).
How Saecula is made — the seven certainty grades, the sources behind every date, and what we do not claim to know.
The twenty-four chapters
From the first light to the last day.
Saecula flies the whole of salvation history over a globe of the real Earth. These are its chapters in order, with the Scripture or the record each one stands on, and how certain the dating is. Every line is readable without WebGL, and every one of them is in the flight above.
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The first and second ages · from Adam to the Flood, and from the Flood to Abraham
Before dates
In the beginning
In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram. Genesis 1:1
The world begins in light. Watch it gather.
Scripture
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The first and second ages · from Adam to the Flood, and from the Flood to Abraham
Before dates
A garden in the east
And the Lord God had planted a paradise of pleasure from the beginning: wherein he placed man whom he had formed. Genesis 2:8
Figurative language about a real beginning (Catechism 289). Eden is drawn, not located.
Scripture
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The first and second ages · from Adam to the Flood, and from the Flood to Abraham
Before dates
The first shadow
And the Lord God said to the woman: Why hast thou done this? And she answered: The serpent deceived me, and I did eat. Genesis 3:13
A real event at the beginning of human history, told in figurative language (Catechism 390).
Scripture
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The first and second ages · from Adam to the Flood, and from the Flood to Abraham
Before dates
The waters prevailed
And the waters prevailed beyond measure upon the earth: and all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. Genesis 7:19
Before any date can be given.
Scripture
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The third age · from Abraham to David
c. 2000–1800 BC
Go forth out of thy country
Go forth out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and out of thy father’s house, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. Genesis 12:1
Often placed c. 2000–1800 BC. The dating is not certain.
Traditional dating
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The third age · from Abraham to David
The patriarchs
The promise passes down
The angel that delivereth me from all evils, bless these boys. Genesis 48:16
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph in Egypt.
Traditional dating
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The third age · from Abraham to David
13th century BC
I AM WHO AM
God said to Moses: I AM WHO AM. Exodus 3:14
Most place the Exodus in the 13th century BC; some hold the 15th.
Dating debated
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The fourth age · from David to the exile in Babylon
c. 1010–960 BC
A man after his own heart
The Lord hath sought him a man according to his own heart. 1 Kings 13:14 (1 Samuel in newer Bibles)
David reigns c. 1010–970 BC; Solomon builds the Temple c. 960 BC.
Approximate
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The fifth age · from the exile to the birth of Christ
587–538 BC
Upon the rivers of Babylon
Upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept: when we remembered Sion. Psalm 136:1 (137 in newer Bibles)
Jerusalem falls in 587 BC. The exiles begin to return in 538 BC.
Documented
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The sixth age · from the coming of Christ, now passing
c. 6–4 BC
The Word was made flesh
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. John 1:14
The year is approximate.
The Gospels
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The sixth age · from the coming of Christ, now passing
c. AD 30 or 33
He is risen
He is not here, for he is risen, as he said. Matthew 28:6
Scholars debate AD 30 or 33.
The Gospels
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The sixth age · from the coming of Christ, now passing
AD 33–70
Teach ye all nations
Going therefore, teach ye all nations. Matthew 28:19
Paul’s journeys are in Acts. Thomas in India and Mark in Alexandria are ancient tradition.
Documented and ancient tradition
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The sixth age · from the coming of Christ, now passing
AD 64–313
The blood of martyrs
Semen est sanguis Christianorum. Tertullian, Apologeticum 50.13 · “The blood of Christians is seed.”
Rose lights are martyrs. Every light that goes out stays as an ember.
Documented
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The sixth age · from the coming of Christ, now passing
AD 325–787
Credo in unum Deum
The first seven councils meet at Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus and Chalcedon, and say what the whole Church believes about Christ, his Mother, and the holy images. The ecumenical councils
Blue rings are councils.
Documented
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The sixth age · from the coming of Christ, now passing
AD 430–870
Light in the north
Patrick to Ireland. Augustine to Canterbury. Boniface to the Germans. Cyril and Methodius to the Slavs. The missions
Patrick’s date, c. 432, is traditional.
Documented
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The sixth age · from the coming of Christ, now passing
1054
East and West divide
A papal legate and the Patriarch of Constantinople excommunicate each other. The wound is still open. The East–West Schism
They fell on individual men, not on the Churches. In 1965 Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras consigned them to oblivion.
Documented
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The sixth age · from the coming of Christ, now passing
1309–1417
The chair moves, and splits
The popes live at Avignon for nearly seventy years. Then two men, and later three, claim the chair of Peter. The Council of Constance restores one pope in 1417. Avignon and the Great Western Schism
Violet lights are rival claimants.
Documented
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The sixth age · from the coming of Christ, now passing
1521
One spring
In April Martin Luther refuses to recant at Worms. In May a cannonball shatters the legs of Íñigo de Loyola at Pamplona. Worms and Pamplona
Two men, one season, and the century turns.
Documented
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The sixth age · from the coming of Christ, now passing
1492–1560
To the ends of the earth
Columbus crosses the Atlantic. At Tepeyac, Our Lady appears to St. Juan Diego. Francis Xavier sails to India and Japan. The age of missions
Guadalupe is private revelation: approved, but not part of the deposit of faith (Catechism 67).
Approved apparition
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The sixth age · from the coming of Christ, now passing
7 October 1571
Lepanto
Pope Pius V asks Christendom to pray the Rosary. The Holy League defeats the Ottoman fleet, and he institutes a feast of Our Lady of Victories. The Battle of Lepanto
The battle and the feast are documented. That the victory came through Our Lady’s intercession is the traditional Catholic understanding.
Pious tradition
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The sixth age · from the coming of Christ, now passing
Rome · the 1690s
Look up
In the church named for the wounded soldier of Pamplona, Andrea Pozzo paints heaven opening. Sant’Ignazio, Rome
Documented
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The sixth age · from the coming of Christ, now passing
1789–2005
Fire and witness
Revolutions and two world wars. In Auschwitz, Maximilian Kolbe gives his life in place of a father of a family. The bishops gather at the Second Vatican Council. The modern age
Documented
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The sixth age · from the coming of Christ, now passing
Today
Every light is a life
Leo XIV, born in Chicago and a missionary in Peru, sits in the chair of Peter. Every light on this Earth is a saint, placed where their life ended, or where it began when that is all the record gives. 2026
Saecula holds 2,267 saints, each placed where the record puts them.
Documented
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The seventh age · the sabbath rest in God, not a span of years · no date is given (Matthew 24:36)
The last day
Behold, I make all things new
And he that sat on the throne, said: Behold, I make all things new. Apocalypse 21:5
No date is given, and none is drawn.
Scripture
The twenty-one ecumenical councils, in order
Every ecumenical council the Catholic Church recognises, with the place, the years and what it settled. Each one is also a stop on the flight above.
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1 · 325 · Nicaea (Iznik, Turkey)
First Council of Nicaea
Condemned Arius and confessed the Son 'consubstantial' (homoousios) with the Father, begotten not made, in the Nicene Creed; also took up the controversy over the date of Easter.
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2 · 381 · Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey)
First Council of Constantinople
Enlarged the Nicene Creed, confessing the divinity of the Holy Spirit against the Macedonians; condemned every form of Arianism and Apollinarianism.
Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent): First Council of Constantinople
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3 · 431 · Ephesus (near Selcuk, Turkey)
Council of Ephesus
Condemned Nestorius and upheld the unity of Christ's one person, so that Mary is rightly called Theotokos, Mother of God.
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4 · 451 · Chalcedon (Kadikoy, Istanbul, Turkey)
Council of Chalcedon
Received Pope Leo's Tome and defined Christ as one person in two natures, divine and human, without confusion, change, division or separation, against Eutyches.
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5 · 553 · Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey)
Second Council of Constantinople
Condemned the 'Three Chapters', writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret and Ibas judged Nestorian, and confirmed the four earlier councils.
Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent): Second Council of Constantinople
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6 · 680–681 · Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey)
Third Council of Constantinople
Ended the Monothelite controversy by defining that Christ has two wills and two operations, divine and human.
Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent): Third Council of Constantinople
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7 · 787 · Nicaea (Iznik, Turkey)
Second Council of Nicaea
Against iconoclasm, restored the veneration of holy images: the honour passes to the one depicted and is not the adoration (latria) which belongs to the divine nature alone.
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8 · 869–870 · Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey)
Fourth Council of Constantinople
Condemned Photius, who had seized the see of Constantinople, upheld the patriarch Ignatius, and rejected the last remnants of iconoclasm.
Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent): Fourth Council of Constantinople
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9 · 1123 · Rome (Lateran Basilica), Italy
First Lateran Council
Ratified the Concordat of Worms (1122), settling the investiture dispute between pope and emperor, and enacted 22 disciplinary canons.
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10 · 1139 · Rome (Lateran Basilica), Italy
Second Lateran Council
Repaired the effects of the schism of the antipope Anacletus II, deposing clergy he had ordained; condemned the Petrobrusians and Henricians; legislated on clerical celibacy and dress.
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11 · 1179 · Rome (Lateran Basilica), Italy
Third Lateran Council
Required a two-thirds majority of the cardinals to elect a pope; set minimum ages for bishops; condemned the Albigensian and Waldensian heresies.
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12 · 1215 · Rome (Lateran Basilica), Italy
Fourth Lateran Council
Its creed against the Albigenses used the term transubstantiation; required yearly confession to one's own priest; enacted 70 canons and plans for a crusade.
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13 · 1245 · Lyon, France
First Council of Lyon
Pronounced the deposition of Emperor Frederick II; levied a twentieth of church revenues for three years to aid the Holy Land; enacted 38 constitutions.
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14 · 1274 · Lyon, France
Second Council of Lyon
Achieved a short-lived reunion with the Greek Church, whose envoys sang the Filioque in the Creed; required cardinals to remain in conclave until a pope is elected.
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15 · 1311–1312 · Vienne, France
Council of Vienne
Suppressed the Knights Templar by apostolic ordinance rather than judicial sentence (1312); taught that the rational soul is the form of the body; mandated chairs of Oriental languages.
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16 · 1414–1418 · Constance (Konstanz), Germany
Council of Constance
Ended the Western Schism: Gregory XII resigned, the two rival claimants were deposed, and Martin V was elected (1417); condemned the errors of Wyclif and Hus.
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17 · 1431–1445 · Basel, then Ferrara, Florence and Rome (point: Florence)
Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence
Opened at Basel (1431), moved to Ferrara (1438) and Florence (1439); the union decree with the Greeks (6 July 1439) affirmed the Filioque, purgatory and papal primacy; later unions followed.
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18 · 1512–1517 · Rome (Lateran Basilica), Italy
Fifth Lateran Council
Opposed the schismatic council of Pisa; taught that the human soul is immortal (1513); approved a concordat with France replacing the Pragmatic Sanction; enacted reforms.
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19 · 1545–1563 · Trent (Trento), Italy
Council of Trent
In response to the Reformation, defined Catholic doctrine on Scripture and Tradition, original sin, justification, the seven sacraments and the Sacrifice of the Mass; mandated seminaries and reform.
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20 · 1869–1870 · Rome (St Peter's, Vatican)
First Vatican Council
Dei Filius taught on faith and reason; Pastor Aeternus defined the pope's primacy of jurisdiction and his infallibility when, speaking ex cathedra, he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals.
First Vatican Council, Pastor Aeternus (session 4, 18 July 1870)
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21 · 1962–1965 · Rome (St Peter's, Vatican)
Second Vatican Council
Issued sixteen documents: four constitutions, on the liturgy, the Church, divine revelation and the Church in the modern world, with nine decrees and three declarations.
The popes are written out in order the same way: all 267 popes in order, from St. Peter to Leo XIV, with the years of each reign.