papacy

noun pa·pa·cy \ ˈpā-pə-sē \

Definition of papacy

plural papacies

1 :the office of pope

2 :a succession or line of popes

3 :the term of a pope's reign

4 capitalized :the system of government of the Roman Catholic Church of which the pope is the supreme head

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Examples of papacy in a Sentence

He was selected by the cardinals for the papacy.

Recent Examples of papacy from the Web

Francis removed the cardinal from power in 2013, eight months into his papacy.

— jason horowitz, New York Times, "Two Ex-Officials of Vatican-Run Hospital Charged With Misusing Money," 13 July 2017
Dr. Navarro-Valls was working as Rome correspondent for the Spanish daily ABC in 1984 when John Paul, then six years into his papacy, persuaded him to oversee the Vatican media operations.

— emily langer, Washington Post, "Joaquín Navarro-Valls, spokesman and image-maker for Pope John Paul II, dies at 80," 6 July 2017
Read more here, and read about America’s changing perceptions of the papacy here.

— rosa inocencio smith, The Atlantic, "The Atlantic Daily: Disturbing Footage," 21 June 2017
The Argentine Jesuit, who has emphasized the church’s merciful face during his four-year papacy, recalled Mazzolari’s exhortation that a priest’s job isn’t to demand perfection from the faithful, but to encourage them to do their best.

— antonio calanni, The Seattle Times, "Pope honors ‘rebel’ priests censured for commitment to poor," 20 June 2017
Francis in his papacy has repeatedly denounced trafficking and the exploitation of children.

— Washington Post, "Vatican: Pope to visit Chile and Peru in January 2018," 19 June 2017
There’s no central governing structure similar to the papacy in the Roman Catholic Church.

— tim funk, charlotteobserver, "The photo that lost radio’s ‘Bible Answer Man’ thousands of listeners," 2 June 2017
The child of an Italian immigrant to Argentina, Francis has made humility a distinguishing feature of his papacy.

— john follain, Bloomberg.com, "Trump and Pope Have Little in Common But a Date at the Vatican," 23 May 2017
Perhaps the most famous example of that is the Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation, named for the papacy, which was moved from Rome to Avignon for a period of time in the 14th century.

— dave eckert, kansascity.com, "Rhone Valley white wines offer wonderful varieties that pair well with barbecue," 22 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'papacy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of papacy

Middle English papacie, from Medieval Latin papatia, from Late Latin papa pope — more at pope

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First Known Use: 14th century

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Other Christian Religious Terms

Pentateuch, blasphemy, curate, doxology, eremite, iconoclasm, liturgy, orison, pneuma, reliquary

PAPACY Defined for English Language Learners

papacy

noun

Definition of papacy for English Language Learners

the papacy : the office or position of the pope
: the time when a particular pope is in power

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Definition of papacy

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PAPACY Defined for English Language Learners

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