Global Leaderboard 100 in view

Most Famous Religious Figures in the World

Religion 8,135
All 152,953
91 PJ Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II Polish Priest 1920–2005
175 MT Mother Teresa Mother Teresa Serbian Nun 1910–1997
191 PB Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI German Priest b. 1927
205 J Jesus Jesus Palestinian Preacher -4–30
211 FO Francis of Assisi Francis of Assisi Italian Religious 1182–1226
342 JC John Calvin John Calvin French Theologian 1509–1564
611 PP Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI Italian Priest 1897–1978
638 SV Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda Indian Monk 1863–1902
714 PJ Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII Italian Priest 1881–1963
717 AS Albert Schweitzer Albert Schweitzer German Theologian 1875–1965
738 PA Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI Spanish Priest 1431–1503
819 PJ Pope John Paul I Pope John Paul I Italian Priest 1912–1978
937 TO Thérèse of Lisieux Thérèse of Lisieux French Nun 1873–1897
968 DT Desmond Tutu Desmond Tutu South African Priest b. 1931
973 IO Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola Spanish Priest 1491–1556
1,011 R Rajneesh Rajneesh Indian Religious 1931–1990
1,130 PP Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX Holy Roman Priest 1792–1878
1,210 J Jerome Jerome Roman Priest 345–420
1,236 FX Francis Xavier Francis Xavier Spanish Missionary 1506–1552
1,361 JH Jan Hus Jan Hus Holy Roman Theologian 1369–1415
1,368 PP Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI Italian Priest 1857–1939
1,464 PL Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII Italian Priest 1810–1903
1,510 BO Benedict of Nursia Benedict of Nursia Italian Monk 480–547
1,523 CO Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena Italian Religious 1347–1380
1,527 GS Girolamo Savonarola Girolamo Savonarola Italian Friar 1452–1498
1,558 PP Pope Pius X Pope Pius X Italian Priest 1835–1914
1,637 PJ Pope Julius II Pope Julius II French Priest 1443–1513
1,677 JB John Bosco John Bosco Italian Priest 1815–1888
1,679 PA Peter Abelard Peter Abelard French Theologian 1079–1142
1,840 PI Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III Italian Priest 1160–1216
1,884 SN Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas Roman Priest 270–343
1,999 CM Cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Mazarin French Cleric 1602–1661
2,054 B Bede Bede British Monk 672–735
2,061 PB Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV Italian Priest 1854–1922
2,070 SP Saint Peter Saint Peter Syrian Priest d. 67
2,266 PP Pope Paul III Pope Paul III French Priest 1468–1549
2,334 JW John Wesley John Wesley British Theologian 1703–1791
2,376 PT Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Pierre Teilhard de Chardin French Theologian 1881–1955
2,534 BS Bernadette Soubirous Bernadette Soubirous French Nun 1844–1879
2,557 PB Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII Italian Cleric 1235–1303
2,590 PP Padre Pio Padre Pio Italian Presbyter 1887–1968
2,657 JW John Wycliffe John Wycliffe British Theologian 1330–1384
2,664 BO Basil of Caesarea Turkish Bishop 329–379
2,708 AT Anthony the Great Anthony the Great Egyptian Monk 251–357
2,747 SP Saint Patrick Saint Patrick Irish Cleric 385–461
2,851 X Xuanzang Xuanzang Chinese Monk 602–664
2,873 PG Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII Italian Pope 1020–1085
2,885 TC Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer British Archbishop 1489–1556
2,919 PP Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII Italian Cleric 1742–1823
2,968 PS Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV Italian Cleric 1414–1484
3,025 MO Martin of Tours Martin of Tours Hungarian Cleric 316–397
3,059 SD Saint Dominic Saint Dominic Spanish Priest 1170–1221
3,159 FD Francis de Sales Francis de Sales French Bishop 1567–1622
3,186 VD Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul French Priest 1581–1660
3,341 IT Ibn Taymiyyah Ibn Taymiyyah Syrian Theologian 1263–1328
3,413 IO Ignatius of Antioch Ignatius of Antioch Roman Priest 35–107
3,452 E Eusebius Eusebius Turkish Priest 265–339
3,488 PL Pope Leo I Pope Leo I Roman Pope 390–461
3,498 MK Maximilian Kolbe Maximilian Kolbe Polish Cleric 1894–1941
3,586 SS Sathya Sai Baba Sathya Sai Baba Indian Religious 1926–2011
3,624 PP Pope Pius II Pope Pius II Italian Priest 1405–1464
3,685 PP Pope Pius V Pope Pius V Italian Cleric 1504–1572
3,704 JE Josemaría Escrivá Josemaría Escrivá Spanish Priest 1902–1975
3,769 BY Brigham Young Brigham Young American Religious 1801–1877
3,839 CB Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo Italian Archbishop 1538–1584
3,881 PG Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI Italian Priest 1765–1846
4,011 CO Cyril of Alexandria Cyril of Alexandria Egyptian Priest 376–444
4,080 ÓR Óscar Romero Óscar Romero Salvadoran Priest 1917–1980
4,124 PS Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V Italian Cleric 1520–1590
4,267 FK Faustina Kowalska Faustina Kowalska Polish Nun 1905–1938
4,323 PC Pope Celestine V Pope Celestine V Italian Cleric 1215–1296
4,411 PS Pope Sylvester II Pope Sylvester II French Pope 938–1003
4,452 MN Martin Niemöller German Theologian 1892–1984
4,453 MR Matteo Ricci Matteo Ricci Italian Jesuit 1552–1610
4,504 JE Jonathan Edwards (theologian) Jonathan Edwards (theologian) American Theologian 1703–1758
4,542 MI Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Saudi Arabian Imam 1703–1792
4,564 WT William Tyndale William Tyndale British Theologian 1494–1536
4,584 MH Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Spanish Priest 1753–1811
4,589 PU Pope Urban II Pope Urban II French Pope 1042–1099
4,651 JV John Vianney John Vianney French Priest 1786–1859
4,711 JN John Napier John Napier British Theologian 1550–1617
4,856 PT Paul Tillich Paul Tillich German Theologian 1886–1965
4,975 AP Abbé Pierre Abbé Pierre French Priest 1912–2007
4,982 GO Gregory of Nazianzus Gregory of Nazianzus Turkish Priest 329–389
5,061 PC Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII Italian Pope 1536–1605
5,106 PP Pope Pius III Pope Pius III Italian Cleric 1439–1503
5,199 SL Saint Lucy Saint Lucy Italian Saint 283–304
5,209 PJ Pope John XXII Pope John XXII French Cleric 1244–1334
5,219 PC Pope Clement V Pope Clement V French Cleric 1264–1314
5,279 CS Charles Spurgeon Charles Spurgeon British Preacher 1834–1892
5,390 SB Saint Boniface Saint Boniface British Priest 680–754
5,407 PP Pope Paul IV Pope Paul IV Italian Priest 1476–1559
5,497 AN Alexander Nevsky Alexander Nevsky Russian Saint 1220–1263
5,500 PC Pope Clement XIV Pope Clement XIV Italian Cleric 1705–1774
5,506 AG Aloysius Gonzaga Aloysius Gonzaga Italian Priest 1568–1591
5,667 PC Pope Callixtus III Pope Callixtus III Spanish Priest 1379–1458
5,801 FD Father Damien Father Damien Belgian Missionary 1840–1889
5,804 MT Mark the Evangelist Mark the Evangelist Libyan Priest d. 68
5,822 PL Pope Leo XII Pope Leo XII Italian Priest 1760–1829
5,827 PC Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI Italian Cleric 1649–1721
See all 152,953 rankings →

Ranked by cross-verified academic notability — how it works

By the numbers

Inside Religious Figures

8,135 notable people in this slice of the dataset.

Through the Centuries

One face per century — the leading figure from Religious Figures born in each.

Notable Births by Decade

Notable births among Religious Figures peaked in the 1930s with 588 people.

What Religious Figures Are Known For

Disciplines inside this family, plus countries that over- and under-produce them.

Priest is the largest group within Religious Figures — 4,305 people, 53% of the family.

Religious Figures over-index on italy — 2.7× the global rate.

Religious Figures under-produce us — only 0.3× the global rate.

  1. Priest4,305
  2. Theologian1,018
  3. Missionary291
  4. Religious265
  5. Bishop240
  6. Prelate211
  7. Presbyter195
  8. Monk173
  1. Italy9682.7×
  2. Poland3672.6×
  3. Philippines812.2×
  4. Spain5512.0×
  5. Portugal961.6×
  1. US3690.3×
  2. Canada1060.5×
  3. Sweden1450.6×
  4. India1190.6×

City Hot Spots

Cities that over-produce Religious Figures compared to the world average — multiplier shows how much more.