๐ช๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ฌ
Someone stopped me recently and asked,
โWhy is the Pope called Holy?โ
And before I could even respond, he followed up with:
โBut doesnโt the Bible say all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)?
And that a righteous man falls seven times a day (Proverbs 24:16)?
Even Jesus said no one is good except God alone!โ
To be honest, thatโs a fair question.
Especially when you imagine this scenario:
Letโs say you know a man personally.
You watched him grow up. Youโve eaten with him, cracked jokes togetherโmaybe even committed some small atrocities here and there (you know what I mean 
).
Then one dayโฆ boom!
Heโs elected Pope.
Suddenly, people start calling him โHis Holiness.โ
Letโs be realโthatโs hard.
Very hard.
Because over-familiarity can make honor look strange. Itโs difficult to reconcile who someone used to be with who theyโve become.
But hereโs the thing:
The Pope isnโt called โHolyโ because heโs perfect.
Think about it this way:
In everyday life, you might call a judge โMy Lordโโnot because heโs royalty, but because of the dignity of his role.
You might call a governor โYour Excellencyโโnot because he excels at everything, but because of the respect due to his office.
In the same way, the Popeโs title isnโt about personal flawlessness.
Itโs about the sacredness of the office he holds.
Heโs not just a leader of Catholics;
Heโs a shepherd of souls, a symbol of unity, and the visible head of the Church on earthโthe successor of Peter.
So when we say โHis Holiness,โ weโre not saying,
โYouโre better than everyone else.โ
Weโre saying,
โYouโve been set apart for a holy mission.โ
And yes, heโs still human.
He makes mistakes.
He still goes to Confession.
But he also strives to lead the Church in holinessโ
because the title doesnโt just honor him, it calls him higher.
At that point, I thought I had made my case. The guy noddedโonce, twice, then like fifty times.
I was beginning to feel proud of myselfโฆ until he hit me with another one:
โOkay, fair. But out of all the titles in the world, why Your Holiness?
Why not something elseโlike Chief Shepherd, Senior Man, or Spiritual Director-General?โ
That one cracked me up. 
But again, itโs a good question.
You see, in the Bible, anything set apart for Godโs workโwhether itโs a place, a vessel, or a personโis called holy.
Since the Pope is set apart to serve as the spiritual head of the global Church, his role is seen as sacred.
And because the office is holy, the title reflects that.
Thatโs why we say โHis Holiness.โ
Again, itโs not about perfectionโitโs about purpose.
