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
Viganò’s punishment suggests that Francis, who has faced conservative criticism since early in his papacy, may be losing patience with his sharpest critics in the church hierarchy who have challenged his papal authority in sometimes shocking and irreverent terms.
—
Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post, 5 July 2024
The Francis papacy is in near perfect accord with this consensus.
—R. R. Reno, Foreign Affairs, 13 Nov. 2018
Pope Francis, whose native language is Spanish and not Italian, has at times during his papacy made up words, or used slang or inappropriate phraseology during his remarks, often while speaking off-the-cuff.
—Phoebe Natanson, ABC News, 28 May 2024
Pope Francis is the first pontiff to make climate change central to his papacy, and wrote a 2015 encyclical that relied on scientific facts about global warming to deliver a moral call to preserve the planet for future generations.
—Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for papacy 
Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post, 5 July 2024
The Francis papacy is in near perfect accord with this consensus.
—R. R. Reno, Foreign Affairs, 13 Nov. 2018
Pope Francis, whose native language is Spanish and not Italian, has at times during his papacy made up words, or used slang or inappropriate phraseology during his remarks, often while speaking off-the-cuff.
—Phoebe Natanson, ABC News, 28 May 2024
Pope Francis is the first pontiff to make climate change central to his papacy, and wrote a 2015 encyclical that relied on scientific facts about global warming to deliver a moral call to preserve the planet for future generations.
—Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for papacy
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'papacy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near papacy
Cite this Entry
“Papacy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/papacy. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
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
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