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]
Papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church that states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope is preserved from the possibility of error "when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church."[1][2]