Pope Francis (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, was elected the 266th pope on March 13, 2013 and took the name Pope Francis.

Church Teachings on the Pope from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

“When Christ instituted the Twelve he constituted them in the form of a college or a permanent assembly, at the head of which he placed Peter, chosen from among them. Just as by the Lord’s institution, St. Peter and the rest of the apostles constitute a single apostolic college, so in like fashion the Roman Pontiff, Peter’s successor and the bishops, the successors of the apostles, are related with and united to one another.” #880

“The Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the ‘rock’ of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock. The office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of apostles united to its head. This pastoral office of the Peter and the other apostles belongs to the Church’s very foundation and is continued by the bishops under the primacy of the pope.” #881


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