Matthai Reese

The Pope (ローマ教皇) is the head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Toaru Majutsu no Index series.

His real name is Matthai Reese (マタイ＝リース). He was a friend and a former disciple of Fiamma of the Right before becoming Pope.

Personality
Unlike a lot of popes in the real world, he feels that he's disconnected from the people outside the chapel and wonders why's that so. Despite this he is still bound by the rules of the Catholic Church and its beliefs. When the magic world learns of the existence of Touma and his powers, Fiamma convinced the Pope that Touma is a Heretic and his powers are a threat to the world, The Pope declares him a Heretic that must be eliminated.

Appearance
He's an elderly man with a white beard. He wears the typical papal regalia and bears a crosier bearing a crusifixed Christ and the hanged body of Judas on the opposite end.

La Regina del Mare Adriatico Arc

 * Main article:La Regina del Mare Adriatico Arc

Matthai Reese is first introduced after the events reqarding the Queen of Adriatic Sea's failure to activate and eventual destruction at the hands of Kamijou Touma. Vento ordered him to sign the document that authorises the attack on Touma to end his life, and by extension an invasion into Academy City to ensure the elimination of a enemy of the Church.

Later events in the novels
When the Pope later learns that Fiamma had manipulated him all this time, Fiamma casts a powerful spell to destroy the Vatican but the Pope manages to divert the spell onto himself to save the city. After his recovery he sets out to stop Fiamma and his plans, while protecting the Vatican from civil unrest that started since World War III has erupted in Europe.

In Volume 21 he single-handedly stops the riot in Rome and taken back the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church without bloodshed from the bishops that supported Fiamma, as his holiness stopped all conflict and hostile intentions just by his presence. As of the end of Vol21, he is in the underground library of the Vatican trying to find a way to stop Fiamma's plans. In the closing phases of the war, he cooperated with the Anglican Church and the Russian Orthodox Church to take down the Star of Bethlehem, knowing that if he did so God's Right Seat will fall and the Roman Catholic Church may never recover the strength/influence it once had at the height of its power.

In New Testament 1 it is mentioned that after the events of volume 22 he lost his position of Pope and was replaced by Pietro Yogdis.

Design evolution
Matthai Reese's design remains static all throughout the series. Haimura felt that designing him similarly to the real life Pope would not fit the story, and as such stayed his hand from basing it off the Pope, instead basing him off Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series, and Gandalf of the Lord of the Rings fame

Quotes

 * (To Vassilisa in Vol22): "It matters not. … It is meaningless to have power that cannot protect everyone. As long as it can protect the people, even if the power of the Roman Catholic Church is weakened we must stop Fiamma of the Right"
 * (Vol22) "I can still fight. For the road that leads to a hopeful tomorrow, I cannot possibly stop here."