Written by Shinika Dixit, a grade 5 student

The Pope, also known as the supreme pontiff, is the bishop of Rome, Vatican City’s head of state, and the chief priest of the Catholic Church worldwide. The pope is elected by a group of special bishops called cardinals. Once a new pope is elected, he is supposed to hold this position from the time of his election till he dies or until he resigns. The current pope is Pope Francis.­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Pope Francis is the first Pope who is from the southern hemisphere. His real name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He became pope in 2003, after his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, resigned. Pope Francis has a good reputation for his humility, preferring to stay in a downtown apartment rather than the traditional Pope residence.

The Pope is one of the most influential people on the planet. Since the Pope has control of over a billion Catholics, and he heads the world’s biggest non-government agency for education and health care, he is specially selected very carefully to make sure only good, pious people assume his position.. Vivat papam! (Long live the pope)