How to Use the papacy in a Sentence

the papacy

noun
  • The pope had been based in Avignon since 1309, as the French king sought greater influence over the papacy.
    — Olivia B. Waxman, TIME, 25 Oct. 2024
  • 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
  • However, the 10th and early 11th centuries were a dark time for the papacy.
    — Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 15 Jan. 2025
  • 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
  • The smoke tradition is not nearly as old as the papacy itself or even the Sistine Chapel, where the voting takes place.
    — Rachel Raposas, People.com, 7 May 2025
  • The selection surprised the Roman Catholic world as Leo was not viewed a frontrunner for the papacy.
    — Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 9 May 2025
  • Major events which rely on the convening power of the papacy are put on hold.
    — Christopher Lamb, CNN, 8 Mar. 2025
  • 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
  • Benedict was the first pope to abdicate the papacy since Pope Celestine V resigned in 1294.
    — Astha Rajvanshi, NBC News, 1 Mar. 2025
  • 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
  • By electing Prevost, the cardinals have ensured the papacy is a prophetic voice on the world stage that could serve as a counterweight to Trumpism.
    — Christopher Lamb, CNN Money, 11 May 2025
  • And the concept of the girls fighting over the papacy is inherently kind of hilarious.
    — James Factora, Them, 27 Sep. 2024
  • The College of Cardinals selects new popes, and any potential successor must receive at least two-thirds of the votes to be elected to the papacy.
    — Brieanna J. Frank, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2025
  • 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
  • That is the great counterfactual of the papacy in this century.
    — Paul Elie, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2025
  • 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
  • Less than nine months after his elevation to the papacy, Time magazine named Francis its Person of the Year.
    — Henry Chu, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2025
  • The result is a highly entertaining, highly blasphemous tale about the men who want the papacy.
    — Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2024
  • 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
  • The popes of the Renaissance encouraged reform, but never reform that extended to the papacy.
    — Massimo Faggioli, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2018
  • 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
  • While the inner workings of the conclave and how the group ultimately decides on a new pontiff remain a secret, experts are still weighing in on who could be the likely front-runners for the papacy.
    — Megan Forrester, ABC News, 21 Apr. 2025
  • The downward notes reverberating from Cristal Baschet sound out seemingly every time Lawrence’s heart sinks or doubt surfaces about one of the candidates for the papacy.
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 14 Dec. 2024
  • But the papacy is shrouded in the kind of secrecy that obviates appraisals of accuracy.
    — Namwali Serpell, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2025

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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