also: きょうおう
Refers specifically to the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
ローマ教皇はバチカンに住んでいる。
The Pope lives in the Vatican.
Francis was elected Pope in 2013.
新しい教皇が選ばれた。
A new Pope has been elected.
A new Pope ascended to the papacy.
John Paul II was the 264th Pope.
Papal States; Vatican City
pope emeritus
antipope
papal election
Standard kanji spelling for the Pope.
Alternate reading; less common than きょうこう.
From Chinese 教皇 (jiàohuáng), meaning 'religious emperor' or 'teaching sovereign'. The term was adopted into Japanese to refer to the Pope.