If Rome(city) was destroyed

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PeterJohn

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Where would the chair of Peter move if the city of Rome were to say, be destroyed by a nuke or something leaving it inhabitable for a long time?

I doubt this would happen, and hope it does not.

But if it did, would we still be the “Roman Catholic Church” and would the pope be the “Roman Pontiff”?

Has this hypothetical been dealt with by the Church?

This would by no means disqualify the chair of Peter because of the lack of Rome to be Bishop of… Right?
 
Traverse said:
The pope actually resided in Avignon, France for a time in the middle ages.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignon_Papacy

Hope that helps.
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The Papacy in Avignon was not really official but the result of arguments within the Church and the Kingdom of France. So, the Pope does actually reside in Rome but they would probably relocate to one of the Pope’s other residences like Castel Gandolfo
 
The Pope will always remain Bishop of Rome, but if Rome as a city no longer exists, then it would likely become what we call a Titular See.
 
If God forbid, something like that were to eventuate, the Papacy would most likely relocate to as near Rome as was still secure. Which might be in France, Sicily, or even overseas. HH would remain Bishop of Rome, however.

And once rebuilding became possible, the Papacy would be among the first to return. IMNAAHO.

ICXC NIKA
 
The question is not whether the city exists. Even if the city were destroyed, there would still be a bishop of Rome, and if he dies, another would be elected. We are not actually “Roman Catholics.” We are just Catholics, although many of us are of the Roman Rite.
 
I feel that because Rome was chosen because it was the central hub of the known world (i.e. the Roman Empire), that if a new home were to be chosen for permanent residence of the center of the Catholic faith, it would be the modern central hub of the world. That could be the USA, but I’m not sure. It could really be anywhere. That may just be up to the current pope, or new pope if the current past away in whatever destroyed the city.
 
During World War 2, with the Vatican being surrounded by a hostile nation, there was a very real threat that the Vatican could be invaded by Italy. Plans were in place to evacuate the Pope (and the rest of the Curia) to the United States if necessary. A site was already chosen, but I don’t recall where - it was in a one of the northern-central states (maybe South Dakota or Nebraska). It was considered unlikely that the US would be invaded, and even if it was, unlikely that an invasion would push that far, so this location was seen as the safest location during wartime.

He would still be the Bishop of Rome (in exile), as would any successors.
 
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