The word 'pontiff' is correct and can be used in written English.
It is a noun that refers to a pope or bishop, especially the Bishop of Rome. Example: The new pontiff was widely celebrated by the faithful as he made his first appearance on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.
During a special mass to mark the centenary of the mass killing, the pontiff referred to "three massive and unprecedented tragedies" of the past century.
Lombardi, himself a Jesuit, said he was stunned to have a member of the Society of Jesus as pontiff.
You can smack the kids, the pontiff advises, but only if their dignity is maintained in the process.
The pontiff said Sarajevo is "a city that has suffered so much in history.
Amid all the talk of an Italian pope to follow a German one and a Polish one – or even of an African pontiff to demonstrate the church's global commitment – Bergoglio seemed to drop off the radar.
Journalists had hoped that the pontiff would bring some of his apparent spontaneity to a meeting with them on Saturday, but were disappointed to learn that the audience would involve no opportunity to ask questions.
As they emerged from the secretive confines of conclave, some of the cardinal electors spoke out about the voting process that had led to the first ever pontiff named after Saint Francis of Assisi.
Now, he was returning as the world's first Jesuit and Latin American pontiff.
Here four writers give their views: Everything in life is relative, so when we talk of Pope Francis as a breath of fresh air, a reforming pontiff and revolutionary figure, we have to remember that he is only those things in relation to an ancient, male-dominated, conservative institution that has remained steadfastly unchanged while the world transformed around it.
Part of his lecture was almost sentimental in tone; the pontiff was expressing his feelings as an elderly German scholar, known for most of his life as Joseph Ratzinger, who for a brief moment found himself back in the world of Teutonic academia where he had spent his best years.
