Supreme Pontiff

Pope

The pope is the bishop of Rome and the head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of state of the Papal States, and since 1929 of the much smaller Vatican City State. From a Catholic viewpoint, the primacy of the bishop of Rome is largely derived from his role as the apostolic successor to Saint Peter, to whom primacy was conferred by Jesus, who gave Peter the Keys of Heaven and the powers of "binding and loosing", naming him as the "rock" upon which the Church would be built. The current pope is Leo XIV, who was elected on 8 May 2025 on the second day of the 2025 papal conclave.

Pontiff

In Roman antiquity, a pontiff was a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs. The term pontiff was later applied to any high or chief priest and, in Catholic ecclesiastical usage, to bishops, especially the Pope, who is sometimes referred to as the Roman Pontiff or the Supreme Pontiff.

supreme

Adjective

1. Dominant, having power over all others.
2. Greatest, or the most excellent, extreme, superior, highest, or utmost.

Verb

1. To divide a citrus fruit into its segments, removing the skin, pith, membranes, and seeds.

pontiff

Noun

1. A member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs; a pontifex. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
2. A bishop of the early Church; now specifically, the Pope.