What Is the Pope?

Why is the Bishop of Rome important? What’s a successor? And why would Christ need a representative on earth? Can’t He do the job Himself? We will explore exactly what the Pope claims to be based on Catholic doctrine straight from Scripture and the Catechism. I’m your host, Shalone Cason. Let’s begin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

He is the Bishop of Rome

The title pope … is at present employed solely to denote the Bishop of Rome

— Catholic Encyclopedia, “The Pope”

Before he is anything else, the Pope is a bishop, elected to lead one diocese. Everything else flows from that. It’s why his cathedral is not St. Peter’s Basilica, as many people assume, but St. John Lateran, called the mother and head of all churches. A bishop’s office is called a “see,” from the Latin for “seat,” and Rome’s is the Holy See. What makes this diocese unique is who first led it.

He is the successor of St. Peter

And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

— Matthew 16:18

In the next verse, Jesus promises Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Peter later led the Church in Rome and died there as a martyr, and the bishops of Rome have succeeded him ever since. The Catechism teaches that his office belongs to the Church’s very foundation and continues in those successors. Pope Leo XIV, elected in May of 2025, is counted as the 267th pope.

He is the visible source of unity

The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter’s successor, “is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful.”

— Catechism 882

Just as Christ placed Peter at the head of the Twelve, the Pope heads the college of bishops. The bishops are not his branch managers. Each one is a true successor of the apostles. But together they act as one body only in union with their head. More than a billion Catholics, in thousands of dioceses, are one Church because they are in communion with the Pope.

Why Christ works through him

Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.

— Luke 10:16

So Christ chooses to lead the Church through the people he sends. This is right here in the Gospel of Luke. And after the Resurrection he promises the apostles, “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” The Catechism says that in the ordained ministry “it is Christ himself who is present to his Church as Head of his Body.” The Pope doesn’t stand in for an absent Christ. No, like every bishop and priest, he is a visible sign of the One who is still the Church’s head.

He is the Vicar of Christ, who serves

For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church

— Catechism 882

A vicar is one who stands in another’s place. It is an immense title, and the Church pairs it with a humble one. Pope St. Gregory the Great called himself the “servant of the servants of God,” and papal bulls still open with that title. The Pope’s authority exists to guard the faith handed down from the apostles, not to invent a new one. He is a steward, not an owner.

And that was an intro to the Pope in a nutshell. He’s the Bishop of Rome, he’s the successor of Saint Peter, and he is the visible source of unity for the faithful. I hope you learned something new. I’ve been your host, Shalone Cason, and until next time, stay holy, my friends.

Sources

• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 880–883, 936–937
• Catholic Encyclopedia (1913): The Pope
• Matthew 16:13–19 (NABRE)
• Luke 10:16 (NABRE)
• Matthew 28:20 (NABRE)
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1548
• Wikipedia: Pope

Written and narrated by Shalone Cason, who chose the topic, selected the points, and reviewed every line. Researched and drafted with AI assistance (Claude) from the sources above. Every quotation is checked word for word against its source.