Pope

=== Signature ===
{{multiple image
|align = right
|direction = vertical
|image1 = FirmaPapaFrancisco.svg
|alt1 = The signature of Pope Francis
|caption1 = The signature of [[Pope Francis]]
|image2 = Pope Benedict XVI Signature.svg
|alt2 = The signature of Pope Benedict XVI
|caption2 = The signature of [[Pope Benedict XVI]] during his pontificate
}}
Pope Francis signs some documents with his name alone, either in Latin ("Franciscus", as in an [[encyclical]] dated 29 June 2013)<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20130629_enciclica-lumen-fidei.html| title = Encyclical letter ''Lumen fidei''| access-date = 15 January 2021| archive-date = 15 January 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210115115142/http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20130629_enciclica-lumen-fidei.html| url-status = live}}</ref> or in another language.<ref>Examples are "Francesco" in the frontispiece of the 2013 ''[[Annuario Pontificio]]'' published in Italian shortly after his election (''Annuario Pontificio 2013'', Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, {{ISBN|978-88-209-9070-1}}) and [https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/it/letters/2014/documents/papa-francesco_20140401_cardinale-baldisseri.html a letter in Italian dated 1 April 2014] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224141237/http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/it/letters/2014/documents/papa-francesco_20140401_cardinale-baldisseri.html |date=24 February 2021 }}.</ref> Other documents he signs in accordance with the tradition of using Latin only and including the abbreviated form "PP.", for the Latin ''Papa'' ("Pope").<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01022a.htm| title = Catholic Encyclopedia:''Ecclesiastical Abbreviations''| access-date = 14 May 2014| archive-date = 7 July 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140707080820/http://newadvent.org/cathen/01022a.htm| url-status = live}}</ref> Popes who have an ordinal numeral in their name traditionally place the abbreviation "PP." before the ordinal numeral, as in "Benedictus PP. XVI" (Pope Benedict&nbsp;XVI), except in papal bulls of canonization and decrees of ecumenical councils, which a pope signs with the formula, "Ego N. Episcopus Ecclesiae catholicae", without the numeral, as in "Ego Benedictus Episcopus Ecclesiae catholicae" (I, Benedict, Bishop of the Catholic Church).