The titles of the Bishop of Rome, more often referred to as the papal titles, refer to the various titles used by protocol, as a form of addressing or designating a theological or secular reality of the Bishop of Rome (Pope). The Catholic Church believes that they “constitute what has been termed a primacy of honor. These prerogatives are not, like his jurisdictional rights, tied to the divine jure of his office. They have grown in the course of history, and have been enshrined by the passage of centuries, but they are not free from modification.”
Originally the titles of the Bishop of Rome were used as expressions of respect, power, and veneration, later many became firmly associated with his office, becoming distinctive and specific titles. The oldest titles used are “pope” and “pontiff”, which date back to the middle of the 3rd century. The other titles appear from the 5th century onwards and develop throughout the Middle Ages. The Annuario Pontificio, the directory of the Holy See, has published since 1716 lists of what are considered the official papal titles since then. 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.
Ablegate
Archbishop and Metropolitan of Roman Province
Yet another layer. The universal church is divided into regions, for which there are primates, and then the diocese, for which there is the “archbishop and metropolitan” (in this instance “metropolitan” is a noun, not an adjective) — think Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York.
Just as the pope is primate of all provinces in Italy, this title designates his authority of a single province, the Roman province.
Can. 435 states – “An ecclesiastical province is presided over by a Metropolitan, who is Archbishop in his own diocese. The office of Metropolitan is linked to an episcopal see, determined or approved by the Roman Pontiff.”
Bishop
Bishop of Rome
“Bishop” comes from the Greek “episcopas,” meaning “overseer,” and Rome of course being HQ for the Catholic Church. The term “pope,” or “papa,” didn’t emerge until later.
St. Peter is considered by many to be the first Bishop of Rome, but Father Raymond Schroth of America Magazine says there is a fair amount of doubt surrounding that claim.
“Raymond Brown was the best scripture scholar we had, and he’s written several things on this. (He) said it would be a mistake to say that Peter was the first pope, as if he were the founder of the church. That’s an exaggeration. The evidence for Peter’s presence in Rome is not airtight — that’s a nice way of putting it. They have a tomb under St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, where it’s believed that St. Peter is buried. But, you know, it took ’em a long time to find the grave,” says Schroth with a laugh.
His Holiness
This title is most commonly used when addressing the pope, but is also used for other religious leaders in the English language.
Holy Father
Nuncio
Otho
Papacy
Papal
Paparchy
Pontifex
Pontifex Maximus
This title is derived from the Latin word pons, meaning “bridge,” and the adjective maximus, which means “great.” It reflects his role as a “bridge builder.”
Pontiff
Derived from pontifex, pontiff was another Roman term that referred to the highest priest. The pope is often referred to as the supreme pontiff or the Roman pontiff.
Pontifical
Pope
From the Italian word papa, it has been used since the 6th century to describe the “father” of the Church. For this reason he is also known as the “Holy Father.”
Popedom
Popery
Primate of Italy
From the Latin, “primus,” meaning the first one, primate is a title bestowed upon bishops. As the Bishop of Rome, the pope is also the Primate of Italy possessing a superior authority over other bishops of the various provinces of Italy.
Historically each region of the Church has a “primate,” which refers to the first or primary leader of the Church in that specific area.
Servant of servants of God
From the Latin “Servus servorum Dei” and rooted in Matthew 20:26-27, which says, “whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.”
“That’s a great title, because it’s the most biblical — it’s probably the only biblical one,” says Schroth. “At the Last Supper, Jesus gets down on his knees and washes the feet of the 12. He’s saying, ‘I’m trying to show you something: you’re servants.’ And there are plenty of these little incidents in the Gospels.
“The apostles think this is a power trip. They think Jesus is going to be made king or messiah or have some earthly power. And they want jobs in the administration. One guy sends his mother, the mother of James and John, and she says to Jesus, ‘Take care of my boys when you come into power.’ And he says, ‘We’ll see how well they take persecution.’ The apostles are not perfect in that they have certain ambitions, and he’s trying, up to the very end, to teach them to get over it.”
Sovereign Pontiff
Sovereign of the State of Vatican City
In settling the “Roman Question,” the Vatican City State was made a separate sovereign entity from Italy in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty. The Pope thus is sovereign over the Vatican City State as the head of the Church.
Following the unification of Italy in 1870, Vatican City’s status — “The Roman Question” — was up in the air until the Lateran Treaty of 1929 established it as a sovereign state within Benito Mussolini’s Italy. A recent title of the pope, it recognizes his role as leader of the Vatican City State.
Successor of the Prince of the Apostles
Another direct reference to St. Peter, who was deemed Prince of the Apostles on the strength of Jesus declaring in Matthew 16:18, “That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” Another dubious claim, according to Schroth.
This title references Saint Peter, the first pope of the Church. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus Christ deemed Saint Peter the Prince of the Apostles. All popes who come after him are his direct successors to the papacy and in turn the Successor of the Prince of the Apostles.
Servant of the Servants of God
From the Latin, “servus servorum Dei,” the title was first used by Pope Saint Gregory I. The title is rooted in Matthew 20:26-27, where Jesus teaches the Apostles they are the servants to those that serve God.
But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; He whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
If not included in the eight official titles, where does pope come from then? The title comes from the Greek “pappas,” an affectionate term for father. While originally being used as an honorific designation for any bishop starting from the 3rd century, it was later reserved for the Bishop of Rome by Pope Gregory VII in the 11th century.
Summus Pontifex
Originally a name used for Roman leaders, it means the pope is the “highest priest” in the Catholic Church.
Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church
The word “pontiff” comes from the Latin “pontifex,” meaning “bridge-builder.” “Pontifex maximus” was the great bridge-builder of ancient Rome, a title held by the likes of Julius Caesar. Tilley believes the title was assumed by the Bishop of Rome post-Reformation, as an assertion of his “juridical and communicative status.”
The term “pontiff” is derived from the Latin “pontifex”, which means “bridge builder”, designating a member of the college of priests in ancient Rome. By the 15th century, popes started to regularly use this title to indicate their position as the supreme member, or head of the Church.
Vicar of Christ, aka Vicar of Jesus Christ
The original notion of a vicar means an earthly representative of God or Christ. As Jesus made Saint Peter, the first pope, his vicar in John 21:16-17, each successor to the papacy is thus the vicar of Jesus of Christ.
Added by St. Leo the Great in the 5th century, it reminds the faithful of the pope’s role as an earthly representative whom Jesus appoints to shepherd his flock. The word vicar means “one who rules or leads in the place of another.”
Vicegerent
The official list of papal titles, in the order they are dictated by the Annuario Pontificio in 2009, is:
- Bishop of Rome (Episcopus Romanus)
- Vicar of Jesus Christ (Vicarius Iesu Christi)
- Successor of the Prince of the Apostles (Successor principis apostolorum)
- Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church (Summus Pontifex Ecclesiae Universalis)
- Patriarch of the West
- The title “Patriarch of the West,” which was traditionally included in the list of titles, was removed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 to emphasize unity within the Church.
- Primate of Italy (Primatus Italiae)
- Metropolitan Archbishop of the Roman Province (Archiepiscopus metropolitanus provinciae Romanae)
- Sovereign of the Vatican City State (Superanus sui iuris civitatis Vaticanae)
- Servant of the Servants of God (Servus Servorum Dei).
- The term “Pope” is not included in this official list but is commonly used in documents and signatures.
