Definition of papal
: of or relating to a pope or to the Roman Catholic Church; also : resembling a pope or that of a pope
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Recent Examples of papal from the Web
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Accused of paying shoeshine boys for sex while serving as papal nuncio, or ambassador, in the Dominican Republic, he was recalled by Francis in 2013 and defrocked the following year.
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Just as Kushner touched down in Washington after his papal visit in Rome, reports surfaced that special counsel Robert Mueller III was looking into Kushner’s meeting with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak and banker Sergey Gorkov.
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In 2001, he was proclaimed Cardinal by former Pope John Paul II, and went on to vote in two papal conclaves.
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Spicer, a practicing Catholic, had purchased rosaries for friends and family, hoping for a papal blessing.
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Frank Bennett the vice president for scientific research at Ionis, was at the papal event.
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The last previous papal visit to Philadelphia was when Pope John Paul II came in 1979, and Mr. Murphy was born five weeks premature then.
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Yet being excluded from the papal visit still stunned his colleagues, many of whom expressed pity for him and were visibly uncomfortable talking about the slight.
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Pope Francis already made the case with a gift of his papal encyclical on the environment when Trump visited the Vatican earlier this week.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'papal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of papal
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin papalis, from Late Latin papa
Other Christian Religious Terms
PAPAL Defined for English Language Learners
papal
playDefinition of papal for English Language Learners
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: of or relating to the pope or the government of the Roman Catholic Church
Learn More about papal
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See words that rhyme with papal Spanish Central: Translation of papal Nglish: Translation of papal for Spanish speakers
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