Metaphysic Storm

It’s been a few years since I’ve produced a detailed portrait. After considering Einstein, Hitler and Darwin I chose his holiness, Pope Ratzinger. I was going to draw a picture of hell behind him but I concluded that he alone carried enough weight.

The “Vicar of Christ” title of the pope implies his supreme and universal primacy, both of honour and of jurisdiction, over the Church. Catholics find justification for this in the words of Jesus Christ to St. Peter - “Feed my lambs … Feed my sheep” (John 21:16-17). The Church believes Jesus made St. Peter the leader of the Apostles, hence, Prince of the Apostles, and constituted him as the guardian of His entire flock in His own place, thus making him His Vicar and fulfilling the promise He made in Matthew 16:18-19.

In the course of the ages other vicarial designations have been used for the pope, such as Vicar of St. Peter, Vicar of the Prince of the Apostles (again referring to St. Peter, the first Pope) and even Vicar of the Apostolic See, but the title Vicar of Christ is more expressive of his supreme headship of the Church on earth, which Catholics believe he bears by virtue of the commission of Christ and with vicarial power derived from Him. Thus, Pope Innocent III declared that Christ had given power only to His vicar, Peter and his successors and stated that the Roman Pontiff is “the successor of Peter and the Vicar of Jesus Christ” - wikipedia

For reference purposes I’ve included a recent photo of the touchdown Jesus from Loyola University.