Patriarch of the West (Latin:patriarcha occidentis) is one of theofficial titles of thebishop of Rome aspatriarch and highest authority of theLatin Church.

The origin of the definition of the patriarch of the West is linked to the disestablishment of the ancient system based on the three apostolic centers ofRome,Antioch (both founded bySaint Peter) and Patriarchy of Alexandria (founded bySaint Mark, the disciple of Peter), and the establishment, despite papal opposition, of the newPentarchy, with theFirst Council of Constantinople in 381 and theCouncil of Chalcedon in 451,^[1] which led to the elevation of the Patriarchates ofConstantinople and Jerusalem.^[2][3] In this system, with the exception of Rome, the other four patriarchates fell under the authority of theByzantine Empire and came to correspond with territorially well-defined entities. Rome, on the other hand, became the seat with authority over the territories of theWestern Roman Empire.^{[citation needed]}

In 450,Byzantine EmperorTheodosius II addressed a letter toPope Leo I, in which he explicitly mentioned him as a patriarch for the West (this is the first mention of a pope in this capacity). After the Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476 andJustinian I extended the eastern legislation on Rome with thePragmatic sanction of 554,^[4] the imperial ecclesiastical system of the Pentarchy was fully put into effect. In 642, as the Byzantine emperors were imposing the support forMiaphysitism on the popes,Pope Theodore I formally assumed for the first time the title of patriarch of the West.^[5][6][7][8]

On 22 March 2006, the Vatican released a statement explaining the omission of the title from theAnnuario Pontificio on the grounds of expressing a "historical and theological reality" and of "being useful to ecumenical dialogue". The Vatican stated that the title patriarch of the West symbolized the pope's special relationship with, and jurisdiction over, theLatin Church—and that the omission of the title neither symbolizes in any way a change in this relationship, nor distorts the relationship between the Holy See and theEastern Churches, as solemnly proclaimed by theSecond Vatican Council.^[9]

In 2024,Pope Francis reinstated the title, reversingPope Benedict XVI’s 2006 renunciation of it.^[10]

• Papal titles
• Western Christianity

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