Papal titles

The Annuario Pontificio, the directory of the Holy See, has published since 1716 lists of what are considered the official papal titles since then.

[3] However, the official list does not include all those in use; moreover, during history, popes have carried various other titles, sometimes for centuries, which at one point were abandoned.

The official list of papal titles, in the order they are dictated by the Annuario Pontificio in 2024, is: The term pope comes from the Latin papa, and from the Greek πάππας[5] (pappas, which is an affectionate word for 'father').

By the end of the fourth century, the word pope applied to the bishop of Rome, begins to express more than affectionate veneration and slowly becomes a specific title,[11] as can be seen in the letters of the imperial chancery of Constantinople[2] and the correspondence between Siricius and Symmachus (r. 498–514).

[12] Vicar of Christ (Latin Vicarius Christi), is the pope's most significant title, implying his supreme and universal primacy.

Thus, for Catholicism, Jesus's words are a promise that he will confer upon Peter the power to rule the Church in his stead, as his vicar.

faithful to the strength of the rock he received, he does not abandon the helm of the Church entrusted to him.The title is applied only indirectly to the pope, who is officially referred to as "Successor of the Prince of the Apostles" (Successor principis apostolorum),[3] or also as "Vicar of the Prince of the Apostles",[13] among other variants.

[25] The term Pontifex Maximus is commonly found in inscriptions on buildings, paintings, statues, and coins about the popes, and is usually abbreviated as "Pont Max" or "P.M" (the popes began to use the title of supreme pontiff in the Italian Renaissance;[26] from then on, the abbreviations "Pont Max" and "P M" appear several times, as in the famous painting of Pope Leo X (r. 1513–1521), by Raphael, in which is written "Leo X Pont (ifex) Max (imus)", meaning "Leo X, Supreme Pontiff").

), which coexists with that of the Christian calendar, counting from the birth of Jesus Christ in "Years of the Lord" (Anno Domini - A.D.).

[34] Later when St. Jerome translated the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate), the term pontiff was effectively used to refer to the Jewish high priest,[35] being used 59 times in the text.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Lanfranc (m. 1089), is called "Primate and High Pontiff" (Primas et Summus Pontifex), by his biographer, Milo Crispin.

[36][37][38] The Encyclopædia Britannica, without citing source, attributes Pope Leo I (r. 440–461) to the use of the title Pontifex Maximus.

[39] Other sources, also without documentary proof, claim that the title was first used by Pope Gregory I (r. 590–604),[40] as a demonstration of continuity of civil power after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

From 1863 until 2005, and then from 2024 onward, the Papal Yearbook includes the term "Patriarch of the West" as an official title of the pope.

[41] In contrast, the popes accepted at that time only three patriarchal sees: Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch, because they were founded by Peter.

[41] In 2006, the title ceased to be used,[42] although this does not symbolize a change in the ecumenical relations with the Eastern churches proclaimed by the Second Vatican Council.

[41] Yet many Catholic and Orthodox theologians, in the interests of ecumenism, use the term to describe the powers of the patriarchal and ordinary character that the pope possesses in the West, such as the appointment of bishops, rather than the powers of an extraordinary and dogmatic character, extended to the whole Church (for example when he speaks "ex-cathedra" - with the full authority of office).

[46] The title "Metropolitan Archbishop of the Roman Province" (Archiepiscopus Metropolitanus Provinciae Romanae) reflects the fact that the pope is the archbishop of the ecclesiastical province of Rome itself, and "Primate of Italy" (Primatus Italiae), the bishop who heads the national church of Italy.

[47] Both titles came into use in the fifth century, reflecting the pope's duty to head regional councils of bishops from Italy and the province of Rome twice a year.

[48] From the eleventh century onward, popes focused more on governing the universal church,[48] setting aside local duties related to these expressions, yet they have been retained among the official papal titles until the present day for historical reasons, being considered a prerogative of honor and not including any responsibility.

[52] At the Council of Reims in 1049, the bishop of Compostela was excommunicated for having used the expression, and it was said to him that "only the pontiff of the Roman See is the primate of the Universal and Apostolic Church.

It is first recorded in the letter of King John of England in 1213 to Pope Innocent III (r. 1198–1216),[54] and is later used in the decrees of the Council of Trent in the 16th century.

Its last use is recorded in an instruction of the Apostolic Penitentiary on civil marriage in 1866, referring to Pope Pius IX (r.

[53] However, the term did not come into regular use until the 11th century,[12] the Roman Church being jointly referred to as "mater" ("mother"), "fundamentum" ("foundation"), "cardo" (heart), and "magistra" ("teacher").