:This article is about the Catholic pope. See Pope (disambiguation) for other meanings of the word pope.
The Pope is the Catholic bishop and patriarch of Rome, and ex officio supreme spiritual leader of what might be called the Catholic Communion (that is, the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches; note that the name within the communion is simply "the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church"). In addition to this spiritual role, the Pope is also quasi- absolute monarch of the independent, sovereign State of the Vatican City, a city-state entirely surrounded by the city of Rome. Prior to 1870, the Pope's temporal authority extended over a large area of central Italy, a territory formally known as the "Patrimony of St Peter" under the terms of the Donation of Constantine, but more familiar as the Papal States. The office of the Pope is informally called the Papacy and formally called the Pontificate; his ecclesiastical jurisdiction is called the Holy SeeThe term Holy See ( Latin: Sancta Sedes lit. holy seat") refers in a geographic sense to the episcopal see of Rome, of which the Pope is the ordinary i. the diocesan bishop); in canon law, the terms Holy See and Apostolic See refer to the Pope ("Roman Pon (Sancta Sedes). According to the Vatican Museum's audio introduction to Pope John Paul IIJohn Paul II ne Karol Jozef Wojtyla (born May 18, 1920 in Wadowice, Poland), is the incumbent pope ( 1978 present), the first non-Italian pope in 455 years and the first ever from a Slavic country. His crusades against political oppression have been widel, the Pope is "Christ's representative on Earth."
The reigning Pope is Pope John Paul IIJohn Paul II ne Karol Jozef Wojtyla (born May 18, 1920 in Wadowice, Poland), is the incumbent pope ( 1978 present), the first non-Italian pope in 455 years and the first ever from a Slavic country. His crusades against political oppression have been widel, who was elected at the age of 58 in 1978Events January January 1 The Copyright Act of 1976 takes effect, making sweeping changes to United States copyright law. January 1 Air India's Boeing 747 explodes near Bombay 213 dead. January 4 Referendum in Chile supports policies of Augusto Pinochet.. He is the first non-Italian to be elected to the Pontificate since Adrian VI was briefly pope in 1522-23.
An antipopeIn the case of certain periods of turbulence in the Roman Catholic Church, elections later determined to have been invalid have set up claimants to the Papacy, and usually in opposition to a specific pope. A person so chosen is known as an antipope . is a person who claims the Pontificate without being canonically and properly elected to it. The existence of an antipope is usually due either to doctrinal controversy within the Church, or to confusion as to who is the legitimate Pope at the time (see Papal Schism).
The heads of the Coptic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church of Alexandria are also called "Popes" for historical reasons, with the former being called "Coptic Pope" or "Pope of Alexandria" and the latter called "Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa"; the parallel construction "Pope of Rome" is uncommon but occasionally used.
Note: The term 'Catholic Church' is used in this article to refer to the community of churches in full communion with one another and with the Pope. For other meanings of the term, see Catholicism.
1 See also
Chronological list of popes, Alphabetical list of popes, Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy
