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Recognizing the Pope as our Head is the other major difference that distinguishes Catholics from other Christian denominations.
The Pope stands in the place of Jesus Himself as The "Vicar of Christ on earth." He is the head of the Catholic Church and Her nearly 1.3 billion Catholics, and is responsible for the Salvation of all the Souls throughout the entire world.
We believe that Jesus chose St. Peter to be the first Pope. After Peter, the Popes were chosen by acclaimation of the Faithful. Since 1059, the Pope is elected by the College of Cardinals.
Since St. Peter, there have been 266 Popes. The Papacy is the longest single unbroken chain of succession of any institution in the history of the World, longer than any dynasty, royal family, or empire!
The current Pope is Pope Francis. He was elected to the Papacy on March 13, 2013. -
