Pope Paul VI
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Pope Paul VI was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXIII, he continued the Second Vatican Council, which he
Official portrait, 1969
Montini on the day of his ordination, 1920
Montini alongside Pope Pius XII during his service at the Secretariat of State
Catholic Church
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The Catholic Church, also called the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with an estimated 1.28 to 1.41 billion baptized members worldwide as of 2026. It consists of 24 autonomous
St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the largest Catholic church building in the world
The first use of the term "Catholic Church", meaning "universal church", was by the Church Father Saint Ignatius of Antioch in his Letter to the Smyrnaeans in c. 110 AD. Ignatius of Antioch also is credited with the first recorded use of the term Christianity ten years earlier, in c. 100 AD. He died in Rome, with his relics located in San Clemente al Laterano.
A c. 1481–1482 fresco by Pietro Perugino in the Sistine Chapel showing Jesus giving the keys of heaven to Saint Peter
The Last Supper in the Santa Maria delle Grazie Church in Milan, Italy, a late 1490s mural painting by Leonardo da Vinci, depicting the Last Supper of Jesus and his twelve apostles, depicts the final meal of Jesus before his crucifixion and death.