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
Examples of papacy in a Sentence
He was selected by the cardinals for the papacy.
Recent Examples on the Web
Before his papacy, Leo served in Peru for decades, assisting the poor, especially Venezuelan migrants who fled there.
—
Connor Greene, Time, 15 Oct. 2025
In the first official document of his papacy, Pope Leo XIV placed the poor at the heart of the Catholic Church's teaching, calling bishops around the world to take on the mantle of social justice in defense of the most vulnerable in society, including migrants.
—Claire Giangrave, NPR, 9 Oct. 2025
The last pope to visit Lebanon was Pope Benedict XVI in September 2012 on what was the final foreign trip of his papacy.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
At the center is the largest bell, from Italy’s Marinelli Foundry, a nearly 1,000-year-old family business that makes bells for the Vatican and papacy.
—Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for papacy
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Connor Greene, Time, 15 Oct. 2025
In the first official document of his papacy, Pope Leo XIV placed the poor at the heart of the Catholic Church's teaching, calling bishops around the world to take on the mantle of social justice in defense of the most vulnerable in society, including migrants.
—Claire Giangrave, NPR, 9 Oct. 2025
The last pope to visit Lebanon was Pope Benedict XVI in September 2012 on what was the final foreign trip of his papacy.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
At the center is the largest bell, from Italy’s Marinelli Foundry, a nearly 1,000-year-old family business that makes bells for the Vatican and papacy.
—Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for papacy
Cite this Entry
“Papacy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/papacy. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
papacy
noun
pa·pa·cy
ˈpā-pə-sē 
plural papacies
1
: the office of pope
2
: the term of a pope's reign
3
capitalized
: the government of the Roman Catholic Church of which the pope is the head
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share