Pope Paul III

About Pope Paul III

Pope Paul III (born Alessandro Farnese, 1468–1549) was a pivotal religious figure whose long pontificate fundamentally reshaped the Catholic Church in response to the Protestant Reformation. Ranked #688 in historical importance by the Pantheon project, his most enduring legacy is his role in launching the Counter-Reformation. He convened the Council of Trent, which defined Catholic doctrine for the next four centuries, and formally approved the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), an order that would become instrumental in the Church's global missionary and educational expansion.

Despite this monumental historical impact, Pope Paul III commands a surprisingly small digital footprint in 2025. He accrued approximately 194K annualized Wikipedia views, placing his Attention Gap at roughly 1x, indicating that modern internet users pay attention to him in proportion to his historical rank, unlike many highly influential figures who are overlooked. However, this moderate attention contrasts sharply with contemporary religious figures like Brigham Young (#947 importance), who garnered 2.5 million views, or Catherine of Aragon (#932 importance) who saw 2.0 million views, suggesting the dynamics of religious interest favor more contemporary or highly personalized narratives online.

His online presence is not entirely stagnant, however, as his 2025 views showed a Year-over-Year Change of +37.0%. This increase suggests a recent surge in interest or academic focus. Yet, the momentum data, which shows a -16% drop between Q1 and Q3, implies this heightened curiosity may already be receding.