Pontifex maximus
Catholic Church use of the title
The word pontifex, Latin for "pontiff", was used in ancient Rome to designate a member of the College of Pontiffs. In the Vulgate translation of the New Testament, it is sometimes used to designate the Jewish high priest, as in John 11:49 and Hebrews 5:1. From perhaps as early as the 3rd century, it has been used to denote a bishop, not exclusively the bishop of Rome. The name given to the book containing the liturgical rites to be performed by any bishop, The Roman Pontifical, and to the form of liturgy known as Pontifical High Mass witness to the continued use of pontifex in this wide sense.
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