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'father') is the bishop of Rome, Patriarch of the West, and visible head of the Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff or sovereign pontiff. Since the eighth century, he has been the head of state of the Papal States and later the Vatican City State.
Throughout their history, the bishops of Rome enjoyed great respect and veneration because of the antiquity of their see, its historical orthodoxy, the relics of its martyrs (including Saints Peter and Paul the Apostles), and the imperial and Christian history of the city of Rome.
Hace 1 día · Pope is the title, since about the 9th century, of the bishop of Rome, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The pope is regarded as the successor of St. Peter and has supreme power of jurisdiction over the Catholic Church in matters of faith and morals, as well as in church discipline and government.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Visiting the official website of the Holy See one can browse: the Magisterium of the Supreme Pontiffs (from Pope Leo XIII to Pope Francis); the fundamental texts of Catholicism in various languages (the Sacred Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the documents of the Second Vatican Council and the Code of Canon Law); the documents of Dicasteries, Bodies and Institutions of the Roman Curia
- Overview
- Administration
- International relations
- History
Holy See, the government of the Roman Catholic Church, which is led by the pope as the bishop of Rome. The word see comes from the Latin sedes, meaning “seat,” which refers to the episcopal chair occupied by a bishop and the area over which he has responsibility. As the preeminent episcopal jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church, the Holy See fo...
The Holy See’s administration is a top-down bureaucracy run by the Roman Curia, a group of dicasteries (also known as departments), congregations, and councils with specific functions and responsibilities relating to church matters such as liturgy and worship, religious education, missionary activities, doctrine of the faith, or bishops and clergy. This administrative structure is often likened to a president and prime minister system, with the pope serving as president or head of state and the cardinal secretary of state serving as prime minister or head of government.
The cardinal secretary of state administers the Secretariat of State, which oversees both internal church operations and external diplomatic relations. These sets of oversight are divided into three sections known as General Affairs (formerly called ordinary), Relations with States (formerly called extraordinary), and Diplomatic Staff of the Holy See. These are run by Vatican officials, known as substitutes (from the Italian sostituto), who are of archbishop rank. Responsibilities of the General Affairs section include regulating the duties and activities of the Roman Curia, including enacting promotions, and supervising the Holy See’s official communications agencies and publications. The General Affairs section also keeps custody of church documents and ceremonial items such as the pope’s bulla (lead seal) and Fisherman’s Ring, which are used to sign and seal papal briefs. The Relations with States section oversees papal diplomatic services, including the Holy See’s establishment of concordats, or treaties, with other states and its representation in international organizations. Established in 2017 by Pope Francis, the Diplomatic Staff of the Holy See section deals exclusively with matters relating to the staff who work in the diplomatic service of the Holy See, such as working conditions and career advancement.
As an independent sovereignty, the Holy See is recognized by international law and maintains diplomatic relations with other independent states. Its enduring authority regardless of the presence of a sitting pope and beyond the physical limits of the Vatican City state is an important distinction of its special sovereignty compared with traditional world governments.
The Holy See’s membership in international organizations includes the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and observer status in the World Health Organization, the Council of Europe, the Organization of American States, and the United Nations (UN). Its permanent observer status at the UN allows the Holy See to participate in General Assembly and Security Council meetings and debates, vote on procedures, and co-sponsor draft resolutions, but it may not vote on the passage of resolutions, ostensibly preserving the Holy See’s neutrality and universal moral authority.
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The term Holy See is often used interchangeably with the Vatican, though the latter may also refer to the papal palace or the city-state itself. However, as a spiritual authority, the Holy See predates the establishment of both Vatican City and the Vatican Palace; tradition holds that it began in early Christian times with the primacy of St. Peter, who is considered by Catholics to be the church’s first pope.
The location of the Holy See in Rome dates to the foundation of a church by the Roman emperor Constantine I in the 4th century. Dedicated to St. Peter, the church was built near a cemetery on a hill known as Mons Vaticanus (Latin) or Colle Vaticano (Italian), where Christians believed St. Peter had been buried. This territorial identification between the Holy See and Rome lasted until 1870, when the Papal States were disbanded upon the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy. The fascist Italian government’s Lateran Treaty of 1929 granted the Roman Catholic Church independent sovereignty of 44 hectares (109 acres) of land, centring on St. Peter’s Basilica, which became known as the Vatican City state. However, between 1870 and 1929, the Holy See’s authority was not nullified by the absence of a temporal seat of government.
During the Early Church, the bishops of Rome enjoyed no temporal power until the time of Constantine. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire about 476, the medieval papacy was influenced by the temporal rulers of Italy; these periods are known as the Ostrogothic Papacy, Byzantine Papacy, and Frankish Papacy.
19 de jul. de 2011 · The pope is the Bishop of Rome, based in the Vatican City, and head of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope comes from the Latin for 'father' (the traditional title for a bishop). The adjective for...
