This English Cardinal Almost Became Pope Then Burned 300 Protestants Alive

追加: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]Did you know one man came within a single vote of becoming Pope, then returned to England to burn 300 Protestants alive? Reginald Pole was born into English nobility in 1500. A brilliant scholar and humanist, he fled England when King Henry VIII broke from Rome. In 1549, Pole nearly became Pope by just one vote. Five years later, Queen Mary summoned him back as cardinal to restore Catholicism through fire and blood. This gentle intellectual transformed into a ruthless inquisitor. Had he won that papal election, the entire Protestant Reformation might have taken a completely different path.