''In brief'': {{summary | text=The Pope is the Catholic bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic Church]]. In addition to this spiritual role, the Pope is also head of the independent, sovereign [[Vatican City|State of the Vatican City]], a city-state entirely surrounded by the city of Rome. The office of the Pope is informally called the Papacy and formally called the Pontificate; his ecclesiastical jurisdiction is called the Holy See (''Sancta Sedes''). Catholics worldwide consider each pope to be [[Jesus]]' representative on Earth. The current Pope is Benedict XVI.}}
{{overview}}
---- '''Overviews and history of the papacity'''* [[Overview of the papacy]]* [[History of the papacy]]{{topics}}* [[General notes about the papacy and the popePopes Index]] (wikipedia)
* [[Peter and the Papacy]]
* [[History of the Papacy]]
* [[Choosing a new Pope]]
* [[Role of the Pope]]
* {{news}}
** [[Catholic World Youth Day 2005: One million attend open-air mass with Pope]]
** [[Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger selected as the new Pope (April 19)]]
** [[The pope undergoes a tracheotomy due to worsening respiratory failure secondary to the "flu"]]
** [[Pope John Paul II dies (April 2, 2005)]]
{{opinions}}
'''Doctrine about the papacy'''* [[An overview of the doctrine of the papacy]] '''Articles / opinions'''* [[Comments or opinions about the papacy]]* [[Comments about choosing the next pope]] '''Quotes'''* [[Famous {{quotes about the Pope]] '''Popes'''* [[List of Popes]] '''News reports'''* [[Catholic World Youth Day 2005: One million attend open-air mass with Pope]]* [[Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger selected as the new Pope (April 19)]]* [[The pope undergoes a tracheotomy due to worsening respiratory failure secondary to the "flu"]]* [[Pope John Paul II dies (April 2, 2005)]] ----}}
Return to the {{returnto}} [[Roman Catholicism]] contents page