How to Use the papacy in a Sentence

the papacy

noun
Definition of the papacynext
  • By the year 1800, the French Revolution was over, the ancien régime a thing of the past, the temporal power of the papacy crushed.
    — Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Feb. 2022
  • Robert Bellarmine and other defenders of the papacy held that the Church was Christ’s kingdom on earth, and the pope his vice-regent.
    — Nathaniel Peters, National Review, 17 Feb. 2022
  • Some even suggest that this trend marks a new era of personal holiness in those elected to the papacy.
    — Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 25 Jan. 2023
  • Clearly, the pope is currently able to fulfill the most important duties of the papacy.
    — The Salt Lake Tribune, 23 June 2022
  • An example was the collection of dues owed to the papacy by Medici agents in Bruges, a busy commercial center in the Low Countries.
    — Dan Hofstadter, WSJ, 25 June 2021
  • Wine was the lifeblood of the papacy: Before the popes’ arrival, viticulture was not an important industry here.
    — Kate Maxwell, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 2022
  • Archaeologists in Rome have unearthed the medieval-era walls of a palace that housed the papacy for hundreds of years, between roughly the 4th and 14th centuries.
    — Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 July 2024
  • The pope's visit to the country is a first for the papacy and marks the first instance the pontiff has engaged in international travel since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
    — Jake Dima, Washington Examiner, 7 Mar. 2021
  • The position is similar in prominence to a Roman Catholic pope but without the universal power of the papacy.
    — Angie Leventis Lourgos, chicagotribune.com, 28 Oct. 2021
  • At the time, many said this could set a new modern precedent for papal succession where the papacy typically isn’t served until death.
    — William Skipworth, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
  • Last month, Pope Francis put to bed any rumors of an upcoming resignation from the papacy.
    — Fox News, 1 July 2022
  • Francis, who assumed the papacy in 2013, has been viewed as friendly toward exorcism.
    — Joseph P. Laycock, The Conversation, 24 May 2022
  • Or, on the contrary, does one present the Court in a way similar to Martin Luther’s pronouncement of the papacy as devoid of any intrinsic authority or duty to be obeyed?
    — Laurence H. Tribe, The New York Review of Books, 17 Aug. 2023
  • Pope Francis put to bed any rumors of an upcoming resignation from the papacy.
    — Fox News, 22 June 2022
  • The challenge of offering answers has fallen, at least publicly and rhetorically, to the popes, who have used the papacy to promote distinct programs for engagement with the world.
    — Paul Elie, The Atlantic, 11 Dec. 2022
  • Benedict, in contrast, wore the vesture like a uniform, emphasizing his notion of the papacy not as a glamorous appointment but as the humble, humbling job of leading the Catholic church.
    — Ashley Fetters Maloy, Washington Post, 31 Dec. 2022
  • Francis, who ascended to the papacy with a reformer’s agenda, quickly found himself in the middle of unraveling that progress.
    — Gerald Posner, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2021
  • The messengers of the papacy The Mongol conquest paved the way for long-distance cultural, religious and commercial exchanges across the vast Eurasian continent.
    — Huaiyu Chen, The Conversation, 24 Aug. 2023
  • The requiem Mass, conducted as a heavy fog lifted, used a mix of ancient rituals and new precedents to pay tribute to a figure who transformed the papacy with his decision 10 years ago to abdicate.
    — Arkansas Online, 6 Jan. 2023
  • Under Benedict, who had served since 2005, the papacy had been overtaken by controversy.
    — Paul Elie, The New Yorker, 26 July 2022
  • Yet as much as any Protestant, Manzoni was aware of and disgusted by the frequently corrupt and demoralizing history of the papacy.
    — David Harsanyi, National Review, 25 Jan. 2024
  • Overall, Via sees Francis as a refreshing and welcome new face in the papacy — more open, more real and less engaged with orthodoxy than his predecessor, Benedict.
    — Deborah Netburn, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2023
  • Francis has shifted from entertaining talk of resigning to speaking more about the papacy being a lifetime ministry.
    — Jason Horowitz, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2023
  • Stanley Tucci co-stars as the progressive Cardinal Bellini, who is billed as an unabashedly passionate and fiery candidate for the papacy.
    — Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 18 July 2024
  • His choice of popemobile on a potentially risky visit -- open to the crowds rather than encased in bulletproof glass -- seemed to represent the dissolving of barriers between the papacy and the country's downtrodden.
    — Tamara Qiblawi, CNN, 8 Mar. 2021
  • His parents’ struggle to free their son became part of a larger political battle that pitted the papacy against forces of democracy and Italian unification.
    — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 18 May 2022
  • For one thing, his efforts to advance bold objectives through the formal structures of the papacy—on climate change, immigration, or income inequality—have met with something less than acclamation from the Catholic populace.
    — Paul Elie, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2020
  • In the papacy, each garment holds religious significance.
    — Leah Dolan, CNN, 28 Mar. 2023
  • No comparable institution to the papacy exists in Islam, but certain religious leaders do enjoy great standing.
    — Victor Gaetan, Foreign Affairs, 12 Mar. 2021
  • While offering design inspiration, the papacy’s alliance with France to persecute the Templars also presented an allegory.
    — Fawnia Soo Hoo, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the papacy.' 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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