The Catholic Church: from Jesus,Pope Peter to Pope Francis I

The book traces the history of the Catholic Church from its founder, the Lord Jesus, who appointed Peter as the first Pope(the first Head of the Church),it goes on to trace the history of the Popes, the successors of Peter through the ages, up to the present Pope Francis I, in an unbroken line of succession. It traces the growth of the Church through the early period of its persecution by the Roman Empire until Emperor Constantine stopped the persecution and became converted to Christianity himself, an event which remains a landmark in the history of Christianity. The book narrates the invasion, conquest and occupation of many Christian territories by the Muslims, the Conflict between the Western Church and the Eastern Church which eventually ended in complete separation, the corruption of the clergy in the Middle Ages, their worldliness and abuse of office which led to the Protestant Reformation, and the Catholic Church's self-reformation which culminated in the Council of Trent, the "blood bath" that followed the Protestant Reformation, the damage done to the Church by the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte, the positive developments in the 19th, 20th & 21st centuries.