Did the early Popes overlap with the Roman Empire?

by annalueb

Did the first few Popes reign during the time of the Roman Empire? How did they interact? And did the historical Jesus overlap with the RE and how did they interact?

cchiu23

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2jhahz/who_is_the_first_historically_verifiable_pope_of/

/u/ggchappell wrote a good answer about the 'first' pope and the little we know about him