Pope Francis in the context of "2025 papal conclave"

Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) is the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States, the first to hold either U.S. or Peruvian citizenships, the first from the Order of Saint Augustine, and the second (after his immediate predecessor Pope Francis) from the Americas.

Prevost was born in Chicago and raised in the nearby suburb of Dolton, Illinois. He became a friar in the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977 and was ordained as a priest in 1982. He earned a Doctor of Canon Law (JCD) degree in 1987 from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome. His service includes extensive missionary work in Peru in the 1980s and 1990s—he worked there as a parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher, and administrator. Elected prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine, he was based in Rome from 2001 to 2013, and traveled extensively as part of this work, including to the order's many provinces and missions around the world. He then returned to Peru as Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome, and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

Interfaith dialogue, also known as interreligious dialogue, refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e., "faiths") or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels.

Throughout the world, there are local, regional, national and international interfaith initiatives; many are formally or informally linked and constitute larger networks or federations. These include organisations such as the United Religions Initiative, the Parliament of the World's Religions, and interfaith training institutions like OneSpirit Interfaith Foundation in the United Kingdom, which since 1996, has prepared interfaith ministers for community service, spiritual accompaniment, and inclusive ceremony.

The Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church was established by the Holy See and 14 autocephalous Orthodox churches.

Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Robert Schuman (French: [ʁɔbɛʁ ʃuman]; 29 June 1886 – 4 September 1963) was a Luxembourg-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian democratic (Popular Republican Movement) political thinker and activist. Twice Prime Minister of France, a reformist Minister of Finance and a Foreign Minister, he was instrumental in building postwar European and trans-Atlantic institutions and was one of the founders of the European Communities, the Council of Europe and NATO. The 1964–1965 academic year at the College of Europe was named in his honour. In 2021, Schuman was declared venerable by Pope Francis in recognition of his acting on Christian principles.

Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historically, debates have occurred in public meetings, academic institutions, debate halls, coffeehouses, competitions, and legislative assemblies. Debates have also been conducted for educational and recreational purposes, usually associated with educational establishments and debating societies. These debates emphasize logical consistency, factual accuracy, and emotional appeal to an audience. Modern competitive debate also includes rules for participants to discuss and decide upon the framework of the debate (how it will be judged).

The term "debate" may also apply to a more continuous, inclusive, and less formalized process through which issues are explored and resolved across a range of agencies and among the general public. For example, the European Commission in 2021 published a Green Paper on Ageing, intended to generate such a debate on "policies to address the challenges and opportunities of ageing" in upcoming years. Pope Francis has also referred to the "need for forthright and honest debate" on society and the environment in his 2015 encyclical letter Laudato si'.

A pope is the Bishop of Rome and the leader of the Catholic Church. Approximately 100 papal tombs are at least partially extant, representing fewer than half of the 266 deceased popes, from Saint Peter to Pope Francis.

For the first few centuries in particular, little is known of the popes and their tombs, and available information is often contradictory. As with other religious relics, multiple sites claim to house the same tomb. Furthermore, many papal tombs that recycled sarcophagi and other materials from earlier tombs were later recycled for their valuable materials or combined with other monuments. For example, the tomb of Pope Leo I was combined with Leos II, III, and IV circa 855, and then removed in the seventeenth century and placed under his own altar, below Alessandro Algardi's relief, Fuga d'Attila. The style of papal tombs has evolved considerably throughout history, tracking trends in the development of church monuments. Notable papal tombs have been commissioned from sculptors such as Michelangelo and Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

The Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church broke communion during the East–West Schism of 1054. While an informal divide between the East and West existed prior to the split, these were internal disputes, under the umbrella of the recognised “one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church” of the Nicene Creed. It is only after the formal schism of the 11th century that two, distinct churches are seen to exist, and thus commence relations. The split has, on both sides, been immensely lamented, for it defeats the exhortation of Jesus Christ “that they may all be one" (John 17:21). The anguish over the past has spurred both sides, particularly in recent decades, to work towards restoring Christian unity through ecumenical efforts.

Relations between the East and West have warmed over the last century, as both churches embrace a dialogue of charity. The Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) ushered in a new era of relations for the Roman Church towards the Orthodox Church, fondly describing the Orthodox as “separated brethren” with valid sacraments and an apostolic priesthood. The Orthodox Church, on the other hand, encouraged local churches to prepare for future dialogue in the Third Pan-Orthodox Conference in Rhodes (1964), and has since engaged in several ecumenical efforts with the Vatican. Significantly, in 1965 Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople jointly lifted the mutual excommunications of 1054. More recently, in November 2019, the current Patriarch of Constantinople, Patriarch Bartholomew, has stated he believes Orthodox re-union with the Catholic Church is inevitable.

Gerhard Ludwig Müller (pronounced [ˈɡeːɐ̯haʁt ˈluːtvɪç ˈmʏlɐ]; born 31 December 1947) is a German Catholic prelate who served as the Cardinal-Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 until 2017. Pope Francis elevated him to the rank of cardinal in 2014.

The Mass of Paul VI, also known as the Ordinary Form or Novus Ordo, is the most commonly used liturgy in the Catholic Church. It was promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969 and its liturgical books were published in 1970; those books were then revised in 1975, they were revised again by Pope John Paul II in 2000, and a third revision was published in 2002.

It largely displaced the Tridentine Mass, the latest edition of which had been published in 1962 under the title Missale Romanum ex decreto SS. Concilii Tridentini restitutum ('The Roman Missal restored by decree of the Most Holy Council of Trent'). The editions of the Mass of Paul VI Roman Missal (1970, 1975, 2002) have as title Missale Romanum ex decreto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II instauratum ('The Roman Missal renewed by decree of the Most Holy Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican'), followed in the case of the 2002 edition by auctoritate Pauli PP. VI promulgatum Ioannis Pauli PP. II cura recognitum ('promulgated by the authority of Pope Paul VI and revised at the direction of Pope John Paul II'). It is the most-used Mass within the Catholic Church today.