As of2023 , the Roman Catholic Church had around 1.375 billion members worldwide , accounting for about 17.1 pct of the orbicular population . Catholicism is by far the largest Christian designation in the world , and more than 75 million Americans belong to the Catholic Church .
Catholics appear to Vatican City in Rome , where thepopelives , for their religious leadership . The pope is the read/write head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican ’s head of commonwealth . The pope ’s governance of the Catholic Church is term his pontificate . You often hear the pope called by many other names , including Papa , Vicar of Christ , Holy Father and bishop of Rome .
In this clause , we will essay the legal power of the papacy of the Roman Catholic Church , discuss how someone becomes pope and reexamine some of the duties a Alexander Pope performs .
As nous of the Roman Catholic Church , the pope is the sovereign spiritual loss leader of the church and verify the church service school of thought . With more than a billion followers , the pontiff ’s decisions affect lodge and governance all over the man .
To understand the confidence of the papacy , we should first empathise a little chronicle of the Roman Catholic Church .
The Catholic Church dates back to the time ofJesus Christ , who selected Peter to pass his Christian church . Peter ’s original name was Simon . In the New Testament book of Matthew ( 16:18 ) , after Simon recognise Jesus as the Christ ( or Messiah ) , Jesus change his name , replying , " And I say also unto thee , that thou artistic creation Peter , and upon this rock I will progress my church ; and the gate of hell shall not prevail against it . " This financial statement , now fuck as thePetrine guaranteeorPetrine theory , gave Peter the fullness of mogul and is the scriptural groundwork for papal authority [ source : Britannica ] .
Most theologian conceive the " rock " of which Christ spoke is Peter himself . Peter ’s name in Aramaic is Cephas , a word mean " rock . " Aramaic is the language that Jesus spoke . Knowing this , Matthew 16:18 can be see as Jesus saying that he is build his Christian church on the metier of Peter . Further grounds of this conferment of power is in John 21:15 - 19 , when Christ narrate Peter , " Feed my sheep . "
Upon his ascension , Peter became the unquestioned drawing card of the group of followers of Christ . At some point in his liveliness , belike near the end , Peter propel to Rome to disperse the Scripture of Christ , according to the Catholic Encyclopedia . It was in Rome that Nero , the Roman Catholic emperor who persecute the church , killed Peter . Tradition holds he was crucified upside down . Through his destruction , Peter became a martyr . His body was bury on Vatican Hill and St. Peter ’s Cathedral was by and by erected over his tomb .
During his animation , Peter was never officially the bishop of Rome or the pope , but in honor of his oeuvre and his role as the head of the Christian church , he is recognized as the first pope . Every pope since Peter is consider the immediate successor of Peter , and not of that pope ’s immediate predecessor . A Roman Catholic Pope is considered to be carrying on the tycoon that Christ granted Peter . Today , a great number of the pope ’s power are descend from the Petrine guarantee , which is etched in Latin around the dome of St. Peter ’s Cathedral .
The pope ’s powers were bolster in the First Vatican Council in 1870 , when 433 bishops passed the decree ofpapal infallibility . According to the decree , the Roman Catholic Pope " is possessed of that infallibility with which the Divine Redeemer wished His Church to be endowed in definingdoctrineregardingfaithandmorals " [ origin : Catholic Encyclopedia ] .
The next two sections explain the process of apostolic succession .
The Passing of a Pontiff
When a pope dies , the nontheological authority of the pontificate passes temporarily to thecardinal camerlengo , or chamberlain , who is the Vatican ’s secretary of state . The camerlengo has many obligation when the pontiff dies . First , he confirms the Alexander Pope ’s death by call the pontiff ’s real name three times without response . Some sources say he also gently taps him on the pass three times with a silver pounding . ( Recent deaths of popes also have been confirm with doctors . ) He then authorise the pope ’s death certificate , and closes and lock the pope ’s individual apartment in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican . The camerlengo also organizes and presides over the election of the next pope .
At the time of death , the camerlengo removes the Ring of the Fisherman , which the pope receive from the camerlengo upon his election . Popes have worn the Ring of the Fisherman for more than 800 class . The gold pack includes an image of St. Peter in a boat , fishing , encircled by the name of the current pope . The gang and the pope ’s seal are destruct during the camerlengo ’s first group meeting with the redbird stick with the pope ’s death .
The pope ’s body lie in repose for nine consecutive days , during which time the cardinals of the Catholic Church keep thefuneral rites . No one is let to shoot or take the pope while he is on his sickbed or after his end . The cardinal camerlengo may allow post - mortem photographs for documentary purposes only after the pope is tog up in his pontifical vestment .
Before sepulture , the pope ’s dead body is placed inside a cypress coffin that is encased in two others made of elm and lead . The pontiff is typically buried in the tombs below St. Peter ’s Basilica , where St. Peter is buried .
During the fourth dimension between the pope ’s demise and the election of a new pope , the universe focuses on the petite reign of Vatican City . In the next incision , we will examine the complex process by which a pope is elect .
Electing the Next Pope
The College of Cardinals elects a new Roman Catholic Pope inconclave , which is the process of sequestering the voting members of the college in Vatican City so that they have no contact with the outside Earth . The discussion " conclave " comes from the Latin phrase cum clavis , meaning " with key . " The term is suitable since the cardinal are locked inside the Sistine Chapel in the Apostolic Palace during the voting process .
A conclave start out no to begin with than 15 daytime and no later than 20 sidereal day after the pope ’s death . cardinal number participating in conclave stay in St. Martha ’s House , a hospice inside the Vatican that has 130 rooms . Arrangements are made to control that the cardinals are not draw near as they are transported between St. Martha ’s and the Sistine Chapel .
In 1996,Pope John Paul IIdescribed the complex procedures that would be used to elect the next successor to St. Peter , in an Apostolic Constitution called Universi Dominici Gregis ( UDG ) . It is an accepted drill for popes to publish the norm that regulate the election of their successors , and popes often make low adjustment to the procedures . According to John Paul II , these changes were made " with the design of responding to the demand of the particular diachronic moment . "
The UDG laid out these rules for electing a new pope [ sources : Holy See Press Office , Thavis ] :
Each rectangular paper ballot is enter at the top with the wordsEligo in Summum Pontificem , meaning " I elect as supreme pontiff . " Below these Word , each Cardinalis cardinalis drop a line down the name of the person he chooses as the pope . The vote cardinal then folds the ballot twice , hold it in the air , and carries it the chapel ’s altar . He say , " I call as my witness Christ the Lord who will be my evaluator , that my right to vote is give to the one who before God I think should be elected . " The central places the ballot on a scale that sits atop the voting receptacle and use the home base to throw off the voting into the receptacle . After bowing before the communion table , he generate to his buns .
Threescrutineers , who are selected by all of the cardinals , are charged with counting the ballot . Once the ballot are pick up , the canvasser calculate the voting to determine if everyone has voted . If the number of ballots does n’t match the number of Elector , the ballots are immediately burn and another vote is taken .
Here are the steps for thevote - tallying procedure :
After each vote , the vote and any musical note regarding them are burn . sess from the burning at the stake of the voting appear over the Vatican Palace . If no pontiff has been choose , a chemical is applied to the ballot for createblack smokewhen combust . white-hot smokesignals that a Bishop of Rome has been elect .
The new elected Bishop of Rome remains pontiff for biography ( although there have been periodic resignations , such as Pope Benedict XVI in 2013 ) . His reign is referred to as apontificate . In the next plane section , you will learn what the pope does during his pontificate .
The Next Pope
Once the new pope is elected , he meets with the cardinal deacon , the secretary of the College of Cardinals , the cardinal doyen and the master of papal liturgical celebrations . The key dean require the elected pope two questions :
If the elected Roman Catholic Pope consent , the master ofpapal liturgical celebrationscertifies the acceptance by the new pope , as well as the pope ’s pick of name . The elected soul immediately becomes the bishop of Rome , which gives him sovereign force of the Catholic Church . Each cardinal elector then approaches the newly elected Vicar of Christ to yield homage and show his obedience to the pope .
After an election , it is tradition for the oldest cardinal in conclave to step to the balcony above St. Peter ’s Square and announce , " Habemus papam , " which means " We have a newfangled Bishop of Rome . " The new Bishop of Rome then steps out on the balcony , address the worldly concern as pope for the first prison term , and imparts the Apostolic Blessing .
Once his inauguration is over , the new pope begins the day - to - day responsibility of papal responsibleness . As spiritual loss leader of the world ’s declamatory religious following , and as the Vatican ’s head of country , the Roman Catholic Pope ’s responsibility are vast . Here are just a few of his duty and activeness :
The part of pope has evolved greatly in 2,000 geezerhood . At one time , the pope top emperors and carried military power . Today , the Roman Catholic Pope ’s worldly power and duties are lessen , but the place still carries keen spiritual influence as the drawing card of the world ’s largest religious sect .
For more information on the pontificate , the Catholic Church and related topics , check out the link on the next page .
Pope Francis in 2025
Pope Francis , born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17 , 1936 , lead the Catholic Church from his election in 2013 .
In February 2025 , he was hospitalized due to double pneumonia and kidney nonstarter . On April 21 , 2025 , Pope Francis died at the historic period of 88 .
This article was update in conjunction with AI technology , then fact - checked and edited by a HowStuffWorks editor .
