Text by: Ayla Pupo, from Ghost Brazil
Defining something as "the best" is not as simple as it seems. While it's tempting to define the best of something based on our personal tastes, this isn't the best strategy, as it's not impersonal and has a very weak, or even nonexistent, basis for argumentation to support your opinion. It's also important to consider that what we like most, what we consider our favorite, isn't always the best: often our preference is built taking into account emotional aspects, attachment, and affective memories, and this is weak when confronted with rational arguments.
Given this, I set myself the challenge of rationally defining who would be the best Pope from our beloved Satanic Clergy, and for that I needed to define pre-established criteria on which to base my theory. And I'll say it upfront: no matter what the final result is, the answer will always be controversial, with people vehemently agreeing or disagreeing with the criteria I used.
Due to the rich history that Ghost provides to its frontmen , it's possible to construct my argument from two points of view: the first is the band itself and its performance; the second is the narrative of the lore , since we are essentially talking about characters who possess, to a greater or lesser degree, plots and subplots of development. Thus, it is necessary to construct my thesis based on ten criteria divided into two categories: 1) best frontman and 2) best character.
1) Best frontman
This category is fundamentally based on performance, both on stage and in the music industry. Each of the Papas was unique and left an important legacy to their successor. Unfortunately, to some extent, this category carries within it a great injustice: it is undeniable that more recent Papas may have an advantage over older ones simply because, as time passes, the band grows, gains experience, and obtains more resources that will be invested in improving performance; even so, we will try to make the analysis as objective as possible.
a) Vocal range
Based on this criterion, it's not very challenging to understand that the winner would be Perpetua . Over 15 years of performing with Ghost, it's inevitable that Tobias Forge has evolved his vocal technique and, consequently, the Papa with the best vocal range will always be the most recent. Although he has almost never used coaches or taken singing lessons, Tobias has learned over time to breathe better in his live performances and to reach intonations and high notes that he previously didn't challenge himself to achieve. Furthermore, Perpetua has a very significant advantage over his competitors: the simple fact that he has a free mouth to perform at his maximum potential. If the other Papas already had good or excellent live performances, even with all the limitations that the masks provided, it's inevitable that a frontman with a free mouth will have a superior vocal range.
b) Relevance of the Era
Each era of Ghost was unique. With beginnings and ends based on the cycles of each new album released, all eras were important in the band's growth and in building the lore , but it's also possible to define that some eras were more relevant than others. In this sense, the best Papa was undoubtedly Terzo Meliora era , which was definitely a watershed moment in Ghost's trajectory. The band's third album masterfully concludes the "satanic trilogy"; while Opus Eponymous speaks of waiting for the Antichrist, and Infestissumam speaks of his presence on Earth, Meliora addresses the reality of a dark and dystopian world after the rise of the Antichrist as ruler of us all. The absence of God and the helplessness that plagues humanity bring an air of hopelessness to the album, which basically ends with the end of civilization as we know it.
But the Terzo era is a watershed moment not only because of the quality of his album (which for many people may not even be "the best" album – myself included), but also because it brought a very powerful innovation: trousers. As Tobias himself has commented in several interviews, during the Infestissumam he felt that the shows were becoming tedious, both for him as a singer and for his fans; the somber air of Secondo and his Papal tunic commanded respect, but didn't entertain enough, especially considering that the shows were getting longer and longer as Ghost's discography grew, and maintaining that aura for more than an hour seemed unsustainable. Furthermore, the outfit greatly limited Tobias's movements on stage, and thus Terzo's tuxedo was born, inspired by the military attire of King Gustav III of Sweden. With his movement completely unimpeded on stage, Terzo's personality blossomed very easily, making him one of the most charismatic, sensual, and conversational Popes with the audience, which consequently made the shows much more fluid and fun.
Meliora era was also somewhat turbulent for Tobias; being sued by members of his own band, who claimed they were being harmed in relation to Ghost's financial gains, Tobias saw the need to replace his entire team and still face the legal demands of the lawsuit for years, which wore him down immensely, despite being victorious in the end. Perhaps, however, the most relevant consequence of this event was the fact that, thanks to the lawsuit, Tobias's identity, previously unknown to the general public, was revealed, and now the vocalist and leader of the band was no longer an anonymous citizen, which automatically gave him more popularity in the media because of the "revelation".
Another important point in this phase of the band was the hiring of Klas Åhlund as the album's producer. Being the first time Ghost had worked with the Swedish producer, Tobias makes it clear that the partnership was very beneficial because, being accustomed to producing for the pop industry, not the rock industry, Klas brought many new perspectives and ideas to the execution of the new album, which perhaps wouldn't have happened if they had opted to work with a producer more accustomed to the rock and metal scene.
Finally, it's important to mention one last item that highlights the importance and relevance of this era in the band's history: Terzo was the only Papa to win a Grammy Award , in 2016, for the song "Cirice" as "Best Metal Performance". As we will see in the following criteria, other eras received nominations, but the Terzo era was the only one to win.
Once again, it's undeniable that all the eras had their merits. The Primo put the band on the map; the Secondo era cemented their place in the music scene; both Copia brought exponential growth to the band, taking their shows to packed arenas; the Perpetua era has placed Ghost at the top of the charts like never before. But only the Terzo era transformed the band in such a way that it's possible to think of Ghost before Terzo ( Ghost BT) and Ghost after Terzo ( Ghost AT).
c) Awards and recognition from the music industry
At first glance, one might think that the Pope with the most nominations is the one with the best performance. However, some awards carry more weight than others, so it's important to consider that having more awards or nominations overall doesn't necessarily mean you'll receive a better evaluation. As Tobias Forge himself has said, the Grammy Awards , an annual awards ceremony held in the United States, has a very significant impact on the visibility that artists gain within the music industry; thus, it seems reasonable to understand that a nomination, and especially a win, at the Grammys carries more weight than several nominations or wins, for example, at the Grammis Awards , a very similar awards ceremony held in Sweden. Therefore, I will initially consider only the nominations and wins that occurred at the Grammys for this criterion – which may be questioned by people who understand this industry better, and that's perfectly fine.
Thus, the only Papas with Grammy were Terzo, with "Cirice" winning for "Best Metal Performance," and Copia, with no wins but several nominations: Prequelle for "Best Rock Album," "Rats" for "Best Rock Song," and "Call Me Little Sunshine" and "Phantom of the Opera," both for "Best Metal Performance." So the question remains: what is worth more, a single win or four nominations without a single win?
To conclude the topic of awards, I'll share another relevant piece of information: another important annual award ceremony that also brings considerable visibility to bands is the American Music Awards ; nominees are chosen based on their sales performance, and winners are chosen based on popular vote. Ghost's only nomination and win to date at this awards ceremony was for the album Impera , released by Copia in 2022. Therefore, considering four Grammy American Music Awards win , Copia is the Papa with the most recognition in the music industry to date.
It's worth remembering that this situation could still change, after all, the album Skeletá , released by Perpetua in April 2025, with only 2 months of life, has not yet had a chance to compete for awards, although the probability (and the hope) that this could happen is high, since the album stood out on the Billboard 200 (a chart that ranks the most popular albums in the United States weekly, considering total consumption measured in equivalent units, which combine physical sales, downloads and streams). Although Infestissumam reached the 28th position in 2013 and Impera reached the 2nd position in 2022, Skeletá was the only one to reach the number one spot on the chart.
d) Live performance
This criterion risks being tricky, as it largely depends on the personal taste of the evaluator, leaving little room for rational analysis. Faced with this dilemma, I will define a single characteristic for evaluating live performance based on what Tobias himself seems to consider fundamentally important: the ability to entertain. In several interviews, Tobias explicitly states that Ghost's clear intention is to entertain people and make them leave their rituals happier than when they entered. Even in one of the recent Chapters, we have Marika, one of the Clergy's employees and Copia's aunt/adoptive mother, saying that they emerged from the entertainment industry. Therefore, being the best entertainer is what will define the best live performance, which, once again, puts Copia as the winner.
As previously argued, changes were necessary after the Infestissumam due to the poor ability of both Primo and Secondo to entertain the audience. Terzo was a breath of fresh air for the audience and for Tobias himself, being an excellent entertainer and an frontman . Currently, we have Perpetua with an excellent performance, but whose ability is greatly hampered by the fact that his stage activities cannot be filmed; thus, he can only entertain the people who are at his shows, leaving the rest of the world in a dark vacuum, without knowing what his performance is really like. Copia, on the other hand, is the perfect artist: masterfully executing his songs, he is captivating, fun, playful, kind, sensual, and memorable on stage, both for those who see him live and for those who admire him through cell phone cameras around the world. It is no wonder that he felt demoted when he was, in fact, promoted to the position of Frater Imperator; He feels he was removed from a position where he excelled and placed in an administrative role that doesn't effectively utilize what he does best: entertain.
e) Costumes and stage sets
Once again, we have a criterion here that generates injustices due to the simple and inevitable issue of time. Not necessarily, but most likely the Pope with the best costumes and sets will always be the most recent Pope, which makes Perpetua the winner in this criterion. How can we compare Primo's simple papal tunic, made with sequins by a local seamstress, or Secondo's tunic, made with printed grucifixes by an embroidery machine also by a local seamstress, with the costumes of Copia and Perpetua, produced by renowned tailors, such as the well-known Tom Baker in London (in fact, some of Copia's pieces can be purchased on Mr. Baker's website for approximately £2,000.00)? Although Terzo had a great evolution in his costumes, not only with the addition of the tuxedo, but also with his much more elaborate papal tunic full of beautiful embroidery, he still has few advantages, since his costumes are limited to only two pieces.
Both Copia and Perpetua have a vast array of meticulously crafted costumes. Shining jackets, full and imposing tunics, simpler yet equally beautiful tunics, military attire, mafia-inspired outfits, matching pieces with color variations, new and uniquely designed mitres; all of this makes up the wardrobe of the two Popes, the most iconic of the clergy, making it quite difficult to decide which is better. However, we can choose Perpetua as the winner based on a single tie-breaker: the skeleton on the back of her purple tunic, with a tail that wags as she walks. This item was the most impactful addition to Ghost , and only those who have seen it live know how beautiful it is.
As for the stage sets, there's little to discuss: no other Pope will be able to top Skeletour . Besides the backdrop panels, which feature beautiful and mesmerizing projections that change practically with every song, there's that giant, grotesque figure hovering above our heads in a breathtaking way.
The flames that burn in Year Zero have never been so high and hot; the waterfall of sparks has never been so bright; the geyser explosions have never been so impactful. Perpetua's show is a work of art in itself, unprecedented in the band's history.
2) Best character
This category is based on the narrative that builds the entire lore of Ghost and its characters, as the band has further developed its story through the Chapters , published on its YouTube since 2018. Thus, for a character to be considered complex and relatable to the audience, it needs to meet certain requirements.
a) Own history
A good character is clearly one who has their own backstory, especially if they are the protagonist of their narrative. Their life must have a well-constructed and developed background; that is, we, as the audience, need access to information such as: who they are, what their purpose is, what their life goals and dreams are, what their personal dilemmas are, their fears, their secrets, how they got to where they are, what their relationship with their family is like, etc. Given this criterion, it is very obvious that the most well-developed character is Copia .
The Chapters series began in 2018 because of him: it was Tobias's way of introducing the new frontman after the position became vacant with Terzo's forced departure from the stage in 2017. We also have the 2024 film, Rite Here Rite Now ; if the Chapters frontman role , the film served to remove him from it and end his legacy as the band's vocalist in a very honorable and poetic way – a much deeper narrative than simply passing the microphone to the new vocalist (as happened between Primo and Secondo and, later, between Secondo and Terzo) or being removed from the stage (as already mentioned happened with Terzo). The only other character with any depth of introduction or removal would be Perpetua, who was announced as the band's new frontman in 2025 with the music video for "Satanized ," but one cannot compare a music video to a sequence of 21 Chapters (released up to the time of writing this article) and a film with worldwide theatrical release.
But Copia's narrative doesn't end there. With the release of the 4 volumes of the Sister Imperator comic book by Dark Horse , we have another layer of character development, affecting both Nihil and Sister, Copia and Perpetua. Although they are part of this dysfunctional family, Primo, Secondo, and Terzo are not even mentioned in the comics, which obviously greatly hinders their already meager development.
Thus, with Chapters , the film, and the comics, we've had a great development of the former cardinal. We know who he is, his origins, his parents, his brother; we learn what motivates him and fills him with dreams, what his internal conflicts are, especially regarding the feeling of demotion he has at being, in fact, promoted to Frater Imperator; we know how the fear of death affects him and how he loves, above all, being the frontman of the band that brought him to the top. The other Popes have very little or almost none of this. The Secondo era had the Papaganda episodes, which were quite useful for exploring his personality, but explored very little of his backstory; the Terzo era had The Summoning , but these did nothing to develop his backstory either;
Nihil and Perpetua have some of their own developed backstory in the Chapters , clips, or comics, but with a lack of detail (so far) when compared to Copia.
b) Relationship with other characters
Once again, it's very easy to decide here that Copia is the character whose relationship with other characters is the most well-explored across all the narrative layers that enrich Ghost 's lore . This criterion requires that the character be involved with other characters both within and outside of their main role; that is, they need to interact with other characters not only in their role as frontman or, later, Frater Imperator, but also as a unique individual.
Although the entire story revolves around Copia's professional life, it's evident that we see how he relates to his family as a person. He suffers greatly from his mother's death at the end of Rite Here Rite Now ; he feels disgust for his own brother, whom he believes stole his success and the love of his fans; he resents his father, who didn't participate in his upbringing and, moreover, didn't want him as the leader of Ghost from the beginning and who, even after death, still insists on belittling all of his son's achievements; he has a strange relationship with Mr. Psaltarian, who was his only father figure for many years and who, even so, doesn't seem to have developed much love for the boy he raised; he sees the ghosts of his twin aunts, who died as children, and who constantly torment him. Copia is a complete character not only in his own narrative, but also contributes to the narrative construction of several other characters around him.
c) Personal and professional development
The argument for this criterion is very closely related to the previous criteria. Because he has a much more complex narrative than the other Popes, Copia is again the one with the greatest personal and professional development. In addition to seeing firsthand how he builds his personality, confidence, dreams, and fears – which gives him personal development – we see how he is the only one in the entire Ghost lore who grows professionally. From Cardinal to Pope, and then from Pope to Frater Imperator. No other Pope possesses either of these developments.
d) Consistent and solid personality
While all the Papas have some defining characteristic that distinguishes their personality, it's a fact that much of what we associate with them as personality comes from headcanons and narratives constructed by the fans themselves. When it comes to the official narrative and stage presence, once again Copia is the character with the most coherent and solid personality. It's evident that as the band grows, their shows become longer and their narrative forms become richer, and we see more personality in their frontman . Primo was imposing and exuded authority, but he didn't have any space in any narrative format to develop his personality beyond what we saw in the short shows of his era. Secondo had more opportunity for development, mainly with his longer shows, which gave him the reputation of being dark, but also with the Papaganda episodes and the videos The Summoning, which reveal his...
Terzo's personality is also festive and flirtatious, while at the same time he is described as a miserable, wounded, bitter, narcissistic, and asshole old man. Terzo didn't have chapters or episodes, and The Summoning added nothing to his personality, but the simple change of clothes to a tuxedo instead of a full Papal robe during the entire show gave him a lot of freedom to develop his own personality in the rituals; very sensual, talkative, and fun, he had a very strong and meaningful interaction with the fans. Nihil also ends up having some development, although less so because he has no development in shows and because much of his narrative is tied to Copia's narrative, but we know that he is a scoundrel, with a terrible sense of paternal responsibility, nostalgic, and distrustful. Copia, on the other hand, as previously mentioned, had many opportunities to develop a very solid personality; With of Chapters , we know he's somewhat goofy, funny, sometimes childish, resentful, dreamy, fearful of death, sensual in a more playful way than his predecessors, distracted, and jovial. Perpetua, unfortunately, ends up breaking this growing curve of personality development among the frontmen ; without any participation in Chapters so far, and without the possibility of his shows being filmed and shared by the public, we know little about who he is and how he behaves. What we do know so far is that, although he shares some similarities with his brother, Perpetua is more serious, speaks much less, and is slightly strange.
e) Relevance in the narrative
Although not always focused on Copia, with chapters also developing the story of Nihil and Sister Imperator, and others that serve very little as narrative development, basically just announcements of new tours, it's undeniable that Copia and the most relevant character in the narrative. To date, there are 21 chapters , and Perpetua doesn't appear in any of them, even though he's currently the frontman ; furthermore, Primo, Secondo, and Terzo literally only appear in one chapter, solely for the purpose of being murdered by Sister and their own brother Nihil. Copia and Nihil are the only Papas to appear in Rite Here Rite Now , but Nihil's role in the film's story is almost entirely focused on Copia's development, not his own. In the comics, the only Popes with narrative relevance are Nihil, Copia, and Perpetua, but Nihil has little further development (in the sense that the comics retell much of what has already been explored in the Chapters and in some clips, such as Kiss the Go-goat , Mary on a Cross , The Future is a Foreign Land , and Dance Macabre , and add little that is new), and both Copia and Perpetua only appear in the last volume.
However, even considering all these arguments, what most strongly demonstrates Copia's narrative importance in the entire lore is the fact that almost all the other characters died so that he could continue telling us his story. The deaths of Popes I, II, and III occurred so that there would be no other successor option and the only person available to fill the frontman position was Copia; Nihil died so that the position of Pope would be vacant, and thus we had the ascension of Cardinal Copia to his long-awaited status of Pope Emeritus IV; Sister Imperator died so that, at the end of his second cycle of albums, Copia would not need to be assassinated when passing the baton to his brother, now Pope V, and could assume the position of Frater Imperator. In any case...
To the casual observer, it's perfectly clear that Copia has long been the main character in this unfolding story, even after he stopped being the band's vocalist.
Conclusion
The non-definitive conclusion to the question "Who is the best Pope in Ghost ?" is, by a wide margin, Papa Emeritus IV , also known as Copia . Out of the ten pre-established criteria I set, he scored seven; his brother Perpetua came in second, scoring twice, and lastly we had Terzo, with one point. Again, I repeat: this is not an absolutely conclusive answer. Anyone who sets out to define criteria completely different from mine may arrive at a completely opposite conclusion. Perhaps, for some, the category related to lore shouldn't even exist, and the best Pope should be defined based exclusively on technical criteria, such as "album with the best musical technique".
The truth is, however much we try to rationalize this answer, what matters most to each of us is how we feel about each of the Papas, their albums and their eras, and, in the end, our choice is much more based on personal taste than on well-developed arguments and conclusive evidence. So, tell me: without a rational analysis, who is the best Ghost in your opinion? And, based on pre-established criteria and a rational analysis, who would it be?
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