Papal bull
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A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden seal traditionally appended to authenticate it.
Papal bull of Pope Urban VIII, 1637, sealed with a lead bulla
The apostolic constitution Magni aestimamus issued as a papal bull by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011 which instituted the Military Ordinariate of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Printed text of Pope Leo X's Exsurge Domine, issued in June 1520. The Latin printed text reads: Bulla contra Errores Martini Lutheri et sequacium (lit. 'Bull against the errors of Martin Luther and his followers')
Lead bulla (obverse and reverse) of Gregory IX, pope 1227 to 1241
Pope
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The pope is the bishop of Rome and the head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope wa
Gregory the Great (c. 540–604), in a painting by Carlo Saraceni, c. 1610, Rome
As part of the Catholic Reformation, Pope Paul III (1534–1549) initiated the Council of Trent (1545–1563), which established the triumph of the papacy over those who sought to reconcile with Protestants or oppose papal claims.
A fresco of Eliakim in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City
The Delivery of the Keys, by Pietro Perugino, 1481