How to Use pontiff in a Sentence

pontiff

noun
Definition of pontiffnext
  • Bruni said that the pontiff then stayed at the monastery for a time of prayer.
    — Phoebe Natanson, ABC News, 4 Jan. 2023
  • Trump's gift for the pontiff was wrapped in a big blue box.
    — Claudio Lavanga, NBC News, 24 May 2017
  • The prospect of a one-on-one with the pontiff had unnerved him, but not for long.
    — New York Times, 18 May 2018
  • Francis has said it’s not the role of a pontiff to call out a head of state.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 20 May 2022
  • Sako had been urging the pontiff to come to Iraq since 2013.
    — Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2021
  • Some actors talk about the effect of putting on the Pope's white robes to play the pontiff.
    — Daniel Burke, CNN, 20 Dec. 2019
  • The 87-year-old pontiff is known for his sense of humor.
    — Christopher Lamb, CNN, 14 June 2024
  • During his address, the pontiff made a strong appeal for peace around the world.
    — NBC News, 2 Apr. 2024
  • In footage of the moment, the pontiff greets the crowd focusing on the children who had gathered to meet him.
    — Benjamin Vanhoose, PEOPLE.com, 31 Dec. 2019
  • This has led to worries of a schism, one of the many reasons the pontiff wants to unify China’s Catholics.
    — Karishma Vaswani, The Mercury News, 14 Sep. 2024
  • The pontiff took as his central text the parable of the Good Samaritan.
    — The Salt Lake Tribune, 5 Oct. 2020
  • Nonetheless, thousands of Iraqis lined roads around the airport to catch a glimpse of the pontiff.
    — Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2021
  • The pontiff will also take a trip to Hungary this month, according to the BBC.
    — Alexis Jones, Peoplemag, 1 Apr. 2023
  • The pontiff himself, though, was not all that chastened.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 6 Sep. 2023
  • Millions gathered to listen to the pontiff in Dublin and in Warsaw.
    — Yaroslav Trofimov, WSJ, 29 Mar. 2019
  • As pontiff, the Pope is one of the most powerful and influential movers on the world stage.
    — Steve Donoghue, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Apr. 2018
  • Here is a look at the life of Pope Francis, the current pope and first non-European pontiff of the modern era.
    — Cnn Editorial Research, CNN, 6 June 2021
  • The Vatican prosecutor in charge of the probe says the pontiff has given him free rein to try to find the truth.
    — Frances D'emilio, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Apr. 2023
  • Pope Paul VI made the first visit by a pontiff in October 1965.
    — Cnn Editorial Research, CNN, 6 June 2021
  • There are photos of both Trudeau and Trump with the pope where the pontiff is smiling, or at least looking slightly cheerier.
    — Jenni Miller, The Cut, 29 May 2017
  • The pontiff then summoned the nation’s bishops to Rome for last week’s meeting.
    — James Martin, WSJ, 20 May 2018
  • The Vatican did not respond to a question about the pontiff’s role, or about whether his thinking on the case had changed.
    — Anchorage Daily News, 12 July 2021
  • Some hope the pontiff’s visit will remind the world of this rich history.
    — Saphora Smith, NBC News, 4 Mar. 2021
  • That bolsters the prospects that whoever becomes the next pontiff will share his vision for the future of the church.
    — Frances D'emilio, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2022
  • To their surprise, the pontiff received them in private.
    — NBC News, 17 Sep. 2020
  • Sistani will receive the pontiff at his residence in the holy city of Najaf, to the south of Baghdad.
    — Tamara Qiblawi, Delia Gallagher and Aqeel Najm, CNN, 5 Mar. 2021
  • Three of the 13 men are 80 or over and thus ineligible to vote in any conclave to elect a new pontiff.
    — Washington Post, 1 Sep. 2019
  • Pope Francis began a three-day tip to Iraq Thursday — the first for a sitting pontiff.
    — Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2021
  • The vast majority of Iraq's Christians will watch the tour -- the first by a pontiff to Iraq -- on television.
    — Ben Wedeman, CNN, 4 Mar. 2021
  • The pontiff brought close to a tonne of humanitarian aid, medicine and toys with him.
    — Ines De La Cuetara, ABC News, 9 Sep. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pontiff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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