papacy
n. countablen. the office or position of the Pope, who is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. It can also mean the period of time that a specific Pope is in power.
n. the office, dignity, or jurisdiction of the Pope. Refers to the institutional authority of the Roman Catholic Church or the duration of a specific Pope's reign.
The papacy has a long and complex history.
During his papacy, the leader focused on modernising the church's approach to social media and global communication.
Historians often examine the medieval papacy to understand how religious authority and political power intersected across the European continent during the Middle Ages.
Circa 14th century, from Middle English papacie, papassie, from Medieval Latin pāpātia, from Latin pāpa (“pope”) + -tia (“office, rank”) (English -cy).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Often capitalised as 'the Papacy' when referring to the institution as a historical or political entity.
Last updated May 11, 2026