who is a pope in the 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]
Catholic Church in the United States The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope in Rome. With 70.4 million members, it is the largest religious denomination in the United States, comprising 22% of the population as of 2017.[1] The United States has the fourth largest Catholic population in the world after Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines,[2] the largest Catholic minority population, and the largest English-speaking Catholic population. The central leadership body of the Catholic Church in the United States is the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.