Pope John Paul I 's enthronement as Pope on 3rd September 1978. The former Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, kneels before him

An Enthronement is a formal ceremony by which a monarchical or ecclesiastical office-holder enters office. It applies to office-holders, whether monarchs, popes, or bishops, who are said (even if no longer literally) to sit on a throne. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Events January January 1 - The Copyright Act of 1976 takes effect, making sweeping changes to United States copyright law. ... A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official in the Roman Catholic Church, ranking just below the Pope and appointed by him as a member of the College of Cardinals, during a consistory. ... His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI (in Latin Benedictus XVI) was born Joseph Alois Ratzinger on April 16, 1927. ... For related meanings see also Monarch (disambiguation) A monarchy, (from the Greek monos, one, and archein, to rule) is a form of government that has a monarch as Head of State. ... A monarch is a type of ruler or head of state. ... The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. ... A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who holds a specific position of authority in any of a number of Christian churches. ...

While previously in monarchical terms enthronement described the ceremony of coronation, where a monarch or pope was crowned with a crown, the term is now applied to more modern inauguration ceremonies that do not involve a coronation. While no Norwegian monarch has been crowned in nearly a century, the modern ceremony used to inaugurate their reign is often referred to as an enthronement, as is the formal inauguration ceremony of monarchs of Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands. The coronation of Empress Farah, of Iran, 1968. ... Crown names several entities associated with monarchy: A crown (headgear), the headgear worn by a monarch. ...

Similarly, though popes have not been crowned since 1963 the inauguration ceremonies by which Popes John Paul I, John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI are often called enthronements, though this term is not formally used by the Holy See to describe the ceremony because the emphasis has moved since the Second Vatican Council to the Pope as Pastor or Shepherd rather than Monarch. In the same way Catholic Bishops are described as "installed" rather than enthroned (though some liturgical rites do still use the word and cathedrals still contain a cathedra or bishop's chair or throne, while in the Church of England the official term 'Enthronement' is retained. His Holiness Pope John Paul I (in Latin ), born Albino Luciani (October 17, 1912 – September 28, 1978), was elected pope on August 26, 1978, and died 33 days later on September 28, 1978. ... His Holiness Pope John Paul II, officially in Latin , born Karol Józef Wojtyla [1] (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005), was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church for almost 27 years, from 16 October 1978 until his death. ... His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI (in Latin Benedictus XVI) was born Joseph Alois Ratzinger on April 16, 1927. ... The Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II, was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. ... A cathedral is a Christian church building, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy (such as the Roman Catholic Church or the Anglican churches), which serves as the central church of a bishopric. ... Cathedra is a Latin word for throne. ...