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The pope (Latin: papa, from Ancient Greek: πάππας, romanized: páppas, lit. 'father') [2] [3] is the bishop of Rome and the visible head [a] of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, [b] Roman pontiff, [c] or sovereign pontiff.
The honorific "pope" was from the early 3rd century used for any bishop in the West, and is known in Greek as far back as Homer's Odyssey (6:57). In the East, "pope" is still a common form of address for clergy in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, and is the style of the bishop of Alexandria.
Plaque commemorating the popes buried in St. Peter's Basilica (their names in Latin and the year of their burial). This chronological list of popes of the Catholic Church corresponds to that given in the Annuario Pontificio under the heading "I Sommi Pontefici Romani" (The Roman Supreme Pontiffs), excluding those that are explicitly indicated as antipopes.
The Roman Catholic Church also holds that among the apostles, Peter was picked out for the unique role of leadership and to serve as the source of unity among the apostles, a role among the bishops and within the church inherited by the pope as Peter's successor today. [citation needed]
Pope Gregory VII (r. 1073–1085) ordered that the title "pope" be reserved exclusively for the Bishop of Rome. Unknown manuscript from the 11th century Unknown manuscript from the 11th century The term "pope" comes from the Latin " papa ", and from the Greek πάππας [ 5 ] ( pappas , which is an affectionate word for "father"). [ 6 ]
The Catholic Church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission, [16] [17] [note 1] that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles, and that the pope is the successor to Saint Peter, upon whom primacy was conferred by Jesus Christ. [20]
When cardinals assemble to elect a pope, they vote as often as four times a day, especially in the first day or two, to determine which candidates are most likely to garner a majority vote.
The official style of the Catholic pope in English is "His Holiness Pope [papal name]". 'Holy Father' is another honorific often used for popes. The full title, rarely used, of the Catholic pope in English is: "His Holiness [papal name], Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and ...