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The pope is the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church and the absolute monarch of Vatican City. He is believed by Catholics to fulfill this role as the successor of Saint Peter, and as Vicar of Christ. The office of the pope is called the papacy; his ecclesiastical jurisdiction is called the Holy See (Latin: Sancta Sedes) or Apostolic See (this latter, on the basis that both Saints Peter and Paul were martyred at Rome). Early bishops occupying the See of Rome were designated Vicar of Peter; for later popes the more authoritative Vicar of Christ was substituted; this designation was first used by the Roman Synod of 495 to refer to Pope Gelasius I, an advocate of papal supremacy among the patriarchs. Marcellinus (d. 304) is the first Bishop of Rome whom sources show used the title of pope. In the 11th century, after the East-West Schism, Pope Gregory VII declared the term "pope" to be reserved for the Bishop of Rome. The current (266th) pope is Francis, elected on 13 March 2013 in a papal conclave.

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The Papal States, State(s) of the Church or Pontifical States (in Italian Stato Ecclesiastico, Stato della Chiesa, Stati della Chiesa or Stati Pontificii) were one of the major historical states of Italy before the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia (after which the Papal States, in less territorially extensive form, continued to exist until 1870). The Papal States comprised those territories over which the Pope was the ruler in a civil as well as a spiritual sense before 1870. This governing power is commonly called the temporal power of the Pope, as opposed to his ecclesiastical primacy.
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Map of Italy in 1796, showing the Papal States before the Napoleonic wars changed the face of Italy.

Christianity	Catholicism	Oriental Orthodoxy
Eastern Christianity	Bible	Saints

Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan Paweł II) born [ˈkaɾɔl ˈjuzεf vɔi̯ˈtɨwa]; 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) reigned as the 264th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City from 16 October 1978, until his death, almost 27 years later, making his the second-longest pontificate in modern times after Pius IX's 31-year reign. He is the only Polish pope, and was the first non-Italian pope since the Dutch Adrian VI in the 1520s. He is one of only four people to have been named to the Time 100 for both the 20th century and for a year in the 21st. He was made the patron of World Youth Day for 2008 in Sydney, Australia. He started those days for youth in 1986. He was formally canonized last April 27, 2014 by Pope Francis at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City.

• "War should belong to the tragic past, to history: it should find no place on humanity's agenda for the future." Pope John Paul II
• "Justice requires that to lawfully constituted Authority there be given that respect and obedience which is its due; that the laws which are made shall be in wise conformity with the common good; and that, as a matter of conscience all men shall render obedience to these laws. " Pope Pius XI

• ...Pius IX has had the longest reign as Pope?
• ...That Antipope Felix V was the last historically significant Antipope?
• ...An apocryphal Pope Donus II used to be listed in the official lists. He was mistakenly inserted after Pope Benedict VI?
• ...That there used to be a John in the list of popes between Pope John XIV and Pope John XV this pope never existed
• ...That Antipope John XVII and Antipope John XXIII were thought not to be illegitimate Pope?
• ...That after Antipope Benedict X the next Pope to take the name Benedict was Pope Benedict XI. Antipope Benedict X is considered by some to be a legitimate pope?
• ...That Pope Lando was the last pope to use a papal name which had not been previously used until Pope John Paul I did so in 1978 and Pope Francis in 2013?
• ...There have been 217 popes from Italy, 17 from France, 13 Greeks, 8 from Germany, 6 from Syria, 3 from Spain, 3 from Africa, and one each from Galilee (Palestine) (Saint Peter), 1 from England, 1 from Portugal, 1 from the Netherlands, 1 from Poland and 1 from Argentina?
• ...When Simon de Brion became pope in 1281, he chose to be called Martin. At that time, Marinus I and Marinus II were mistakenly considered to be Martin II and Martin III respectively, and so, erroneously, Simon de Brion became Pope Martin IV
• ... That there are 78 Popes who are saints, 11 Popes are blessed, 2 Venerables and 4 Servants of God

• Popes
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The Papacy:

• Apostolic Palace
• Camauro
• Coat of arms
• Conclave
• Coronation
• Fanon
• Holy See
• Inauguration
• Mitre
• Mozzetta
• Pallium
• Popemobile
• Regalia and insignia
• Ring of the Fisherman
• Basilica of St. John Lateran
• St. Peter's Basilica
• Saint Peter's Square
• Sedia gestatoria
• Sistine Chapel
• Tiara
• Vatican City

• To-do list at WikiProject Catholicism

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• WikiProject Christianity

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