| BENEDICT | ___ XVI, German-born prelate who succeeded John Paul II as Pope in 2005 (8) |
| ELENA | Justice who succeeded John Paul |
| DURER | Albrecht -, C15-16 German artist |
| KILEY | Former Canadian-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church |
| NICHOLAS | Dime reportedly divided in two, as put in by novel schoolteacher (8,8) |
| LANFRANC | Italian prelate who became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070 (8) |
| AUGUSTAN | A superior blast associated with a name such as Pope or Swift (8) |
| VERALYNN | English singer and actress, 1917-2020, known during World War II as 'The Forces' Sweetheart' (4,4) |
| TOMATOES | Rotten ___ (rating site that had "Paddington 2" as its top film for a breathless month in 2021) |
| EASTWOOD | Twice nominated for an Oscar as an actor, he has won two as a director (8) |
| NOAHSARK | Where animals traveled two by two, as illustrated by our six theme entries |
| THOMASSHADWELL | English dramatist (c.1642-92) who succeeded John Dryden as Poet Laureate in 1689 (6,8) |
| SHIITAKE | Mushroom to eat: keep mum two as a starter |
| MYRIE | Clive ___ , TV news presenter who succeeded John Humphrys as Mastermind host in 2021 (5) |
| RATZINGER | Joseph ?, German priest who served as Pope Benedict XVI from 2005-13 |
| HAGUE | Who succeeded John Major as leader of the Conservative Party? (5) |
| EDMONDHALLEY | Astronomer Royal who succeeded John Flamsteed in 1720 |
| SUHULU | President of Tanzania who succeeded John Magufuli on 19 March 2021 (5,6) |
| ELECTRICIAN | Test subject #1 perceives 1 as brown, 2 as red, 8 as gray; maybe he works as an ... |
| LOTT | Senator who succeeded John Stennis |
