Pope francis wife

He is also known as the supreme pontiff , [ b ] Roman pontiff , [ c ] or sovereign pontiff. The institution is known as the Papacy. From the eighth century until , the pope was the sovereign or head of state of the Papal States , and since of the much smaller Vatican City state.

List of pope names by frequency

The reigning pope is Francis , who was elected on 13 March While his office is called the papacy , the jurisdiction of the episcopal see is called the Holy See. The Holy See is recognized by its adherence at various levels to international organizations and by means of its diplomatic relations and political accords with many independent states.

According to Catholic tradition , the apostolic see of Rome was founded by Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the first century. The papacy is one of the most enduring institutions in the world and has had a prominent part in human history. Over time, the papacy accrued broad secular and political influence , eventually rivalling those of territorial rulers.

In recent centuries, the temporal authority of the papacy has declined and the office is now largely focused on religious matters. In the early centuries of Christianity, this title was applied, especially in the East, to all bishops [ 18 ] and other senior clergy, and later became reserved in the West to the bishop of Rome during the reign of Pope Leo I — , [ 19 ] a reservation made official only in the 11th century.

The Catholic Church teaches that the pastoral office, the office of shepherding the Church, that was held by the apostles, as a group or "college" with Saint Peter as their head, is now held by their successors, the bishops, with the bishop of Rome the pope as their head. The Catholic Church teaches that Jesus personally appointed Peter as the visible head of the Church, [ e ] and the Catholic Church's dogmatic constitution Lumen gentium makes a clear distinction between apostles and bishops, presenting the latter as the successors of the former, with the pope as successor of Peter, in that he is head of the bishops as Peter was head of the apostles.

The Church of Rome wrote in a letter to the Corinthians which is traditionally attributed to Clement of Rome c. Peter's Basilica" on the location of St.