Leo XIV has brought back to the forefront the title of Vicar of Christ, an expression that the Church has recognized for centuries to designate the singular mission of the Successor of Peter as the visible head of the Mystical Body. In a recent audience with the Knights of Columbus, the Pontiff thanked their contributions to the Holy See using this appellation, a gesture that marks a contrast with the decisions adopted under the pontificate of Francis, when said title was reduced to a secondary place in the Pontifical Yearbook.
«I would like to express my deep gratitude to you, Knights of Columbus, for your generosity in making these projects possible. You are a visible sign of your constant devotion to the Vicar of Christ«.
(October 6, 2025, Address to the Knights of Columbus)
The title that defines the Petrine primacy
The appellation of Vicar of Christ has its roots in medieval theology and was particularly consolidated from Innocent III (1198-1216), who used it to emphasize the unique function of the Pope in the government of the Church. Unlike other honorary or jurisdictional titles, such as “Patriarch of the West” or “Archbishop of the Roman province,” that of Vicar of Christ expresses directly the mission received from Jesus Christ when he entrusted Peter with the keys of the Kingdom (Mt 16,19).
Benedict XVI and Francis: the ups and downs of titles
As the media outlet Vida Nueva recalled, in 2020, under the pontificate of Francis, the title was moved to the section of “historical titles” in the Pontifical Yearbook, the official document that collects data on the Roman Pontiff and the Curia. Since then, the papal biography was limited to presenting him as the “universal Pastor of the Church” and bishop of Rome. The last pontificates have oscillated in their treatment of papal titles. Benedict XVI, in 2006, removed the title of “Patriarch of the West” from the Yearbook as an ecumenical gesture toward the Eastern Churches. However, in 2024 Francis reintroduced that same denomination to avoid misunderstandings with Eastern Christian communities that had interpreted its suppression as a disdain. These decisions have fueled the debate on the importance of maintaining or modifying titles that, beyond the protocolary, reflect the self-understanding of the Petrine mission in the Church.
A return to doctrinal tradition
With Leo XIV, the title of Vicar of Christ returns to the place that history and theology have granted it: to be the clearest expression of the primacy of the Pope as successor of Peter and visible principle of unity in the Church. Although it remains to be seen if this gesture will have an official translation in the next edition of the Pontifical Yearbook, its use in public acts reaffirms a doctrinal continuity that had been obscured in recent years.