Referring Clues

• Pontiff
• Thimble Theater star
• Vicar of Christ
• "Windsor Forest" poet
• "Essay on Man" author
• Innocent, e.g.
• Bishop of Rome
• "The Dunciad" poet
• John Paul II, e.g.
• St. Peter's Square figure
• John or Paul but not George or Ringo
• Swift contemporary
• The Swiss Guards guard him
• "An Essay on Criticism" writer
• It can precede or follow Alexander
• "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread" writer
• St. Peter was the first
• "An Essay on Criticism" essayist
• Tiara wearer
• Castel Gandolfo resident
• Wearer of a famous ring
• Poet who wrote "To err is human ..."
• John Paul II was the first Pole to attain this position
• Ring of the Fisherman wearer
• Successor of St. Peter
• Wearer of a triple tiara
• Poet who wrote "Hope springs eternal in the human breast"
• Nuncio's boss
• Vatican VIP
• Cardinals' manager?
• English poet Alexander
• Benedict XVI, currently
• John, Paul or John Paul
• 18th-century translator of Homer
• John or Paul, but not Ringo
• Castel Gandolfo summer resident
• 18th-century poet Alexander
• One of six Pauls, e.g.
• Benedict XVI, e.g.
• John or Paul
• The most recent one was inaugurated in 2005
• Urban, for one
• Vatican leader
• Vatican election of 2005
• ___ Benedict XVI
• Any of 16 Benedicts
• Vatican City leader
• "Essay on Man" writer
• Vatican head
• The Swiss Guards serve him
• Holy See resident
• Innocent, for one
• Fisherman's Ring wearer
• He sometimes stays at Castel Gandolfo
• Benedict XVI, for one
• Calixtus III, for example
• Leader of the masses?
• The bishop of Rome
• Whom the Swiss Guard guards
• "An Essay on Man" poet Alexander
• John Paul II's title
• Vatican City VIP
• Mass producer?
• Venerated visitor
• Head of the Holy See
• Whom the Swiss Guards guard
• Writer who popularized the saying "To err is human, to forgive divine"
• Rome VIP
• Poet who wrote "To err is human …"
• Urban, e.g.
• ___ Benedict XVI
• "Essay on Man" writer
• Conclave choice
• Tiara-wearing man who's not entirely comfortable with homosexuality
• Benedict I, e.g.
• "Pastorals" poet
• Church leader
• Benedict XIV, e.g.
• Benedict, e.g.
• Benedict, for one
• Urban or Innocent
• Innocent or Urban
• Pius I, e.g.
• Pius X, for one
• Pius X, for one
• One who pontiff-icates?
• Roman Catholic leader
• "Fools rush in" source
• "Rape of the Lock" poet
• Fabian, for one
• John or Julius
• One of five Nicholases
• Source of the line "Hope springs eternal ..."
• Francis, for one
• Francis or John Paul II, e.g.
• One guarded by the Swiss Guard
• World leader with an eponymous "mobile"
• Francis, e.g.
• Olivia's last name on "Scandal"
• Historic resignee of 2013
• Leader who wears the Ring of the Fisherman
• With 78-Down, seventh-century pontiff
• Bull producer
• "Prison Break" warden
• First name in square painters
• Religious leader associated with the ends of the four longest puzzle answers
• Religious VIP
• Cardinals' boss
• Essayist or place in Saskatchewan
• Priest of the east
• Apostolic palace resident
• Vicar of Christ, more familiarly
• Big man at the Vatican
• Francis or Benedict, e.g.
• Vitalian, for one
• Vatican dweller
• Word before or after Alexander
• Pious or Benedict
• Whom the Swiss Guard guard
• Leader protected by the Swiss Guards
• Swiss Guard's charge
• Issuer of bulls
• Speaker overlooking St. Peter's Square
• Leader chosen by cardinals
• Speaker from St. Peter's Basilica
• Vatican figure
• Catholic leader
• Head of the Vatican
• Vatican personality
• Leader of the Catholic Church
• Roman leader's attempt to get back in senate
• Poet finds novelist burying his head
• Sailor you once left for a poet
• Head of Roman Catholic church
• Religious leader as father figure, ultimately
• Poet - religious leader
• English poet, d. 1744
• Linesman sees another holding his head
• Go off English church leader
• Fish, such as eleven named in this puzzle
• St. Peter's Square speaker
• English poet is religious leader
• "Urbi et orbi" speaker
• Source of infallible teachings
• José Martí International Airport VIP of 2015
• Innocent, possibly, as a satirist
• Father taking point up is converted to a Vicar of Christ
• Holy man, father, last in shrine
• Poet makes another hold his head
• Poet sees another holding his head
• Vicar has pawn on white king's file
• Leader in white
• Innocent, maybe: a thousand and eleven fled Pompeii
• Religious leader
• Francis, since 2013
• Drink beginning to excite religious leader
• Alexander who wrote "The Dunciad"
• Father goes to the east as a religious leader
• Conclave's choice
• See somebody?
• 18th-century essayist
• "Hope springs eternal" penner
• Canonizing figure
• John or Paul, for example
• Innocent, perhaps
• Head of the smallest nation
• User of the Twitter handle @Pontifex
• Peter was the first one
• Benedict XVI, until 2013
• Vatican City boss
• Vatican official
• Bull issuer
• Leader of the Vatican
• John or Julius of Rome
• Person whose Twitter handle is @Pontifex
• John Paul II
• Religious leader in "Angels & Demons"
• Frequent speaker from St. Peter's
• Poet who thought man the proper study of mankind?
• One of seven in 14th-century Avignon
• Ollie ___, England batter
• One whose job prospects go up in smoke?
• Vatican City resident
• Alexander _, poet who presumed not God to scan?
• "An Essay on Criticism" poet
• Vatican City inhabitant
• Olivia played by Kerry Washington
• Peter or Paul, but not Mary
• Vatican City dweller
• Innocent, but not guilty
• Rihanna dressed like one at the Catholicism-influenced 2018 Met Gala
• Francis, most recently
• Union general
• See captain?
• "Is the ___ Catholic?"
• Alexander's dad had a sweetheart
• Title for Paul, Gregory or Francis
• Leader whose regalia includes a tiara
• Vatican monarch
• Leader of the world's smallest nation ("An Essay on Man")
• "Scandal" crisis manager Olivia
• Midnight Mass leader
• Cardinals' manager?
• Catholic VIP
• Leader of the Holy See
• Major in mass communication?
• Vatican ruler
• Holy See leader
• John or Paul, but not Ringo or George
• Poet who wrote "To err is human; to forgive, divine"
• Leader of the world's smallest country
• Title for Robert Prevost since May 8, 2025
• Leader with a Swiss Guard detail
• Leo XIV, for one