what was the popes role in the roman catholic church
Pope The pope (Latin: papa from Greek: πάππας pappas,[1] a child's word for "father"),[2] also known as the supreme pontiff (from Latin pontifex maximus "greatest bridge-builder"), is the Bishop of Rome and therefore ex officio the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church.[3] The primacy of the Roman bishop is largely derived from his role as the supposed apostolic successor to Saint Peter, to whom Jesus is said to have given the Keys of Heaven and the powers of "binding and loosing", naming him as the "rock" upon which the church would be built. Since the 1860s, the pope has also been head of state of Vatican City,[4][5] a sovereign city-state entirely enclaved within Rome. The current pope is Francis, who was elected on 13 March 2013, succeeding Benedict XVI.[6]
Pope The word pope derives from Greek πάππας meaning "father". In the early centuries of Christianity, this title was applied, especially in the east, to all bishops[19] and other senior clergy, and later became reserved in the west to the Bishop of Rome, a reservation made official only in the 11th century.[20][21][22][23][24] The earliest record of the use of this title was in regard to the by then deceased Patriarch of Alexandria, Pope Heraclas of Alexandria (232–248).[25] The earliest recorded use of the title "pope" in English dates to the mid-10th century, when it was used in reference to Pope Vitalian in an Old English translation of Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum.[26]