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papacy
Table of Contents
References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images, Videos & Interactives
Vatican City: St. Peter's Basilica Where do the cardinal electors come from? Pope facts Pope Francis: A Life in Pictures
Who was St. Peter the Apostle?
Hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church St. Gregory the Great The crowning of Charlemagne Expulsion of Pope Gregory VII and excommunication of King Henry IV Innocent III: one of the youngest popes to ascend the throne
For Students
St. Peter's Basilica
papacy summary
Quizzes
Holy week. Easter. Valladolid. Procession of Nazarenos carry a cross during the Semana Santa (Holy week before Easter) in Valladolid, Spain. Good Friday
Christianity Quiz
Saint Gregory I or Gregory the Great (c. 540-604), pope from 590 to 604. Undated copperplate engraving by Adrian Collaert (c.1520-67).
Popes and Antipopes
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Discover
Thumbnail for flags that look alike quiz Russia, Slovenia, Iceland, Norway
Flags That Look Alike
Union Jack flag of Great Britain, united kingdom
What’s the Difference Between Great Britain and the United Kingdom?
Polar bear leaping among ice floes at Spitsbergen, Svalbard archipelago, Norway, the Arctic. Sea ice climate change mammal jump global warming
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Berries and leaves of the bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) plant. Poisonous plant
7 of the World’s Deadliest Plants
Figure 13: A Maxim machine gun, belt-fed and water-cooled, operated by German infantrymen, World War I.
7 Deadliest Weapons in History
Candles Burning On Table In Church
What Is the Most Widely Practiced Religion in the World?
Computer mapping, woman at early 1990s computer
Timeline of the 1990s

papacy: Media

Roman Catholicism

Videos

Who was St. Peter the Apostle?
Questions and answers about St. Peter the Apostle.
Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
History of the Avignon papacy
Learn about how the Papal Palace in Avignon, France, reflects the wealth and power...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
The Western Schism and the Roman Catholic Church
Learn about the Great Schism (Western Schism) and the Council of Constance.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Scaliger/Dreamstime.com; © Photos.com/Getty Images Plus
How is a pope elected?
Popes are elected for life. Learn about how they get the job.
Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; thumbnail © Franco Origlia/Getty Images
How Pope Francis guided the Roman Catholic Church?
Learn about the worldwide impact of Pope Francis.
Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Images

Vatican City: St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.
AdstockRF
Pope facts
Discover fascinating facts about popes throughout the history of the Roman Catholic...
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church
An illustration showing the gradations of authority in the Roman Catholic Church,...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
St. Gregory the Great
Pope Gregory I with a dove; depicted in a stained glass window at Saint Michael &...
© Fr James Bradley (CC BY 2.0)
The crowning of Charlemagne
By crowning Charlemagne the Holy Roman emperor in 800, Pope Leo III gained a measure...
SuperStock
Expulsion of Pope Gregory VII and excommunication of King Henry IV
Pope Gregory VII, after his expulsion from Rome, laying a ban of excommunication...
Leonard von Matt/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Innocent III: one of the youngest popes to ascend the throne
Pope Innocent III, fresco in the Abbey of San Benedetto, Subiaco, Italy. He was about...
Gunter.krebs
St. Peter's Basilica
Pope Nicholas V conceived building St. Peter's Basilica in the mid-15th...
© Zoja/Adobe Stock
The globe-trotting Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II greeting pilgrims during a visit to Coventry, Warwickshire, England,...
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Certifying the pope's death
The cardinal camerlengo certifying a papal death, illustration from The London...
The pope as the supreme authority in Roman Catholic societal hierarchy
Detail of The Church Militant and Triumphant, fresco by Andrea da Firenze,...
SCALA/Art Resource, New York
St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican obelisk in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City....
© Ron Gatepain (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Interactives

Where do the cardinal electors come from?
An infogram showing where the cardinal electors come from.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Pope Francis: A Life in Pictures
A slideshow of highlights from the life of Pope Francis.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
VIEW MORE in these related Britannica articles: