pontiff

1. The head of the Roman Catholic Church (synset 110473089)
   is a type of:

   • spiritual leader - a leader in religious or sacred affairs
   • catholic - a member of a Catholic church
   subtypes: antipope - someone who is elected pope in opposition to another person who is held to be canonically elected
   specific instances:

   • alexander vi, borgia, pope alexander vi, rodrigo borgia - Pope and father of Cesare Borgia and Lucrezia Borgia (1431-1503)
   • benedict xiv, prospero lambertini - pope who was a patron of the arts and who denounced the cruelty to the indigenous peoples of South America (1675-1758)
   • benedict xv, giacomo della chiesa - pope who founded the Vatican service for prisoners of war during World War I (1854-1922)
   • benedetto caetani, boniface viii - pope who declared that Catholic princes are subject to the pope in temporal as well as in theological matters (1235-1303)
   • calixtus ii, guy of burgundy - pope who in 1122 forced the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V to sign a concordat that recognized the right of the church to choose its own leadership (died in 1124)
   • alfonso borgia, borgia, calixtus iii - Italian pope whose nepotism put the Borgia family in power in Italy (1378-1458)
   • clement vii, giulio de' medici - Italian pope from 1523 to 1534 who broke with Henry VIII of England after Henry VIII divorced Catherine of Aragon and married Anne Boleyn (1478-1534)
   • clement xi, giovanni francesco albani - Italian pope from 1700 to 1721 who condemned Jansenist ideas on papal infallibility
   • clement xiv, lorenzo ganganelli - Italian pope from 1769 to 1774 who lost whatever support remained of Catholic Europe, causing the church to fall into the hands of secular princes (1705-1774)
   • gregory, gregory i, gregory the great, saint gregory i, st. gregory i - (Roman Catholic Church) an Italian pope distinguished for his spiritual and temporal leadership; a saint and Doctor of the Church (540?-604)
   • gregory, gregory vii, hildebrand - the Italian pope who fought to establish the supremacy of the pope over the Roman Catholic Church and the supremacy of the church over the state (1020-1085)
   • angelo correr, gregory, gregory xii - the Italian pope from 1406 to 1415 who worked to end the Great Schism and who retired to make it possible (1327-1417)
   • gregory, gregory xiii, ugo buoncompagni - the pope who sponsored the introduction of the modern calendar (1572-1585)
   • bartolomeo alberto capillari, gregory, gregory xvi - Italian pope from 1831 to 1846; conservative in politics and theology; worked to propagate Catholicism in England and the United States (1765-1846)
   • innocent iii, lotario di segni - Italian pope from 1198 to 1216 who instituted the Fourth Crusade and under whom papal intervention in European politics reached its height (1161-1216)
   • giovanni battista cibo, innocent viii - Italian pope from 1484 to 1492 who was known as a nepotist and was attacked by Savonarola for his worldliness (1432-1492)
   • benedetto odescalchi, innocent xi - Italian pope from 1676 to 1689 whose papacy was marked by the struggle with Louis XIV of France over papal authority over French Catholics; known for saintliness and canonized in 1956 (1611-1689)
   • antonio pignatelli, innocent xii - Italian pope from 1691 to 1700 who abolished nepotism within the church hierarchy and was universally loved for his charity and piety
   • angelo guiseppe roncalli, john xxiii - Italian pope from 1958 to 1963 who convoked the Second Vatican Council (1881-1963)
   • albino luciano, john paul i - the first Pope to assume a double name; he reigned for only 34 days (1912-1978)
   • john paul ii, karol wojtyla - the first Pope born in Poland; the first Pope not born in Italy in 450 years (1920-2005)
   • leo i, leo the great, st. leo i - Italian pope from 440 to 461 who extended the authority of the papacy to the west and persuaded Attila not to attack Rome (440-461)
   • leo iii - Italian pope from 795 to 816 who in 800 crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Romans (750-816)
   • bruno, bruno of toul, leo ix - German pope from 1049 to 1054 whose papacy was the beginning of papal reforms in the 11th century (1002-1054)
   • giovanni de'medici, leo x - son of Lorenzo de'Medici and pope from 1513 to 1521 who excommunicated Martin Luther and who in 1521 bestowed on Henry VIII the title of Defender of the Faith (1475-1521)
   • gioacchino pecci, giovanni vincenzo pecci, leo xiii - Italian pope from 1878 to 1903 who was interested in the advancement of learning and who opened the Vatican secret archives to all scholars
   • martin v, oddone colonna - Italian pope from 1417 to 1431 whose election as pope ended the Great Schism (1368-1431)
   • nicholas v, tomasso parentucelli - Italian pope from 1447 to 1455 who founded the Vatican library (1397-1455)
   • alessandro farnese, paul iii - Italian pope from 1534 to 1549 who excommunicated Henry VIII of England in 1538 and initiated the Council of Trent in 1545; was active in the Counter Reformation and promoted the Society of Jesus for this purpose (1468-1549)
   • giovanni battista montini, paul vi - Italian pope from 1963 to 1978 who eased restrictions on fasting and on interfaith marriages (1897-1978)
   • aeneas silvius, enea silvio piccolomini, pius ii - Italian pope from 1458 to 1464 who is remembered for his unsuccessful attempt to lead a crusade against the Turks (1405-1464)
   • antonio ghislieri, pius v - Italian pope from 1566 to 1572 who led the reformation of the Roman Catholic Church; he excommunicated Elizabeth I (1504-1572)
   • giannangelo braschi, giovanni angelo braschi, pius vi - Italian pope from 1775 to 1799 who served during the French Revolution; Napoleon attacked the Papal States and in 1797 Pius VI was taken to France where he died (1717-1799)
   • barnaba chiaramonti, luigi barnaba gregorio chiaramonti, pius vii - Italian pope from 1800 to 1823 who was humiliated by Napoleon and taken prisoner in 1809; he concluded a concordat with Napoleon and crowned him emperor of France; he returned to Rome in 1814 (1740-1823)
   • giovanni maria mastai-ferretti, giovanni mastai-ferretti, pius ix - Italian pope from 1846 to 1878 who in 1854 declared the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary
   • giuseppe melchiorre sarto, giuseppe sarto, pius x - pope who condemned religious modernism; he was canonized in 1954 because of his interest in the poor (1835-1914)
   • achille ratti, ambrogio damiano achille ratti, pius xi - pope who signed a treaty with Mussolini recognizing the Vatican City as an independent state (1857-1939)
   • eugenio pacelli, pius xii - pope who maintained neutrality during World War II and was later criticized for not aiding the Jews who were persecuted by Hitler (1876-1958)
   • francesco della rovere, sixtus iv - Italian pope from 1471 to 1484 who consented to the establishment of the Spanish Inquisition and built the Sistine Chapel (1414-1484)
   • gerbert, sylvester ii - French pope from 999 to 1003 who was noted for his great learning (945-1003)
   • odo, odo of lagery, otho, otho of lagery, urban ii - French pope from 1088 to 1099 whose sermons called for the First Crusade (1042-1099)
   • guillaume de grimoard, urban v - French pope from 1362 to 1370 who tried to reestablish the papacy in Rome but in 1367 returned to Avignon hoping to end the war between France and England; canonized in 1870 (1310-1370)
   • bartolomeo prignano, urban vi - Italian pope from 1378 to 1389 whose contested election began the Great Schism; he alienated his political allies by his ruthless treatment of his opponents (1318-1389)
   • maffeo barberini, urban viii - Italian pope from 1623 to 1644 who sanctioned the condemnation of Galileo but later freed him (1568-1644)
   belongs to: papacy, pontificate - the government of the Roman Catholic Church
   same as: bishop of rome, catholic pope, holy father, pope, roman catholic pope, vicar of christ

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