Pope Paul III

About Pope Paul III

Pope Paul III, born Alessandro Farnese, was a pivotal religious figure during one of the most tumultuous periods in Church history, earning him an HPI rank of #688. He reigned as Pope from 1534 to 1549, presiding over the beginning of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. His most enduring legacy is the formal approval and promotion of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) and the convocation of the Council of Trent, which would define Catholic doctrine and practice for centuries afterward.

Despite this foundational historical importance, Paul III's modern internet attention is relatively modest. In 2025, he garnered 199K annualized Wikipedia views, placing him in an attention gap zone of approximately 1x his expected attention relative to his historical weight. For comparison, Moses, ranked only slightly lower at #868, attracts 350K views, and Samuel (#862) receives 506K views. This suggests that while Paul III’s role in the Reformation is crucial, it does not yet translate into comparable modern digital engagement within the religious history sphere.

Interestingly, the year-over-year change shows a positive surge of +40.1%, indicating a recent uptick in interest, though the most recent quarter (Q3 vs Q1) showed a slight decline of -18% in momentum, suggesting his current digital presence is active but somewhat volatile.