Pope

:This entry is about the Catholic Pontiff. For other uses of the word, see Pope (disambiguation).

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The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Catholic Church. The office of the Pope is called the Papacy; his ecclesiastical jurisdiction is called the Holy See (Sancta Sedes). Early bishops of Rome were designated "vicar (representative) of Peter"; for later Popes the more authoritative "vicar of Christ" was substituted; this designation was first used by the Roman Synod of AD 495 to refer to Pope Gelasius I, an originator of papal supremacy among the patriarchs.

Related Topics:
Rome - Catholic Church - Holy See - AD 495 - Pope Gelasius I

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In addition to his service in this spiritual role, the Pope is also head of state of the independent sovereign State of the Vatican City, a city-state and nation entirely enclaved by the city of Rome. Former United States president Ronald Reagan was the first to recognize the Vatican as an independent country. Today it receives over 180 ambassadors from other countries. Prior to 1870, the Pope's temporal authority extended over a large area of central Italy, the territory of the Papal States that was formally known as the "Patrimony of St Peter". Although the document on which the territorial powers of the Pontificate was based —the so-called Donation of Constantine— was proved a forgery in the 15th century, the papacy retained sovereign authority over the Papal States until the Italian Unification of 1870; a final political settlement with the Italian government was not reached until the Lateran Treaties of 1929.

Related Topics:
Head of state - State of the Vatican City - City-state - Nation - Rome - 1870 - Italy - Papal States - Donation of Constantine - Italian Unification - Lateran Treaties - 1929

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The incumbent pope is Benedict XVI (born Joseph Ratzinger), who was elected at the age of 78 on 19 April 2005. He succeeds the late John Paul II, who was elected at the age of 58 in 1978.

Related Topics:
Benedict XVI - 19 April - 2005 - John Paul II - 1978

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Pope Benedict XVI is the second non-Italian to be elected to the pontificate since Adrian VI, who was briefly pope in 1522-23, (John Paul II (pope 1978-2005) was the first), and is also the first German to take the seat since the 11th century (although it can be argued that Adrian VI, who is considered both Dutch and German - he lived in Holland but came from German ancestors, at a time when Holland had not yet been separated from Germany - was the last German pope).

Related Topics:
Pope Benedict XVI - Adrian VI - 1522 - 23 - John Paul II - 1978 - 2005

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