Catholic-pages.com: Did Jesus make Peter pope?Second, Jesus says, "I will entrust to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven." In the Old Testament, the "number two" person in the Kingdom literally held the keys....Therefore, St. Peter and each of his successors represent our Lord on this earth as His Vicar and lead the faithful flock of the Church to the Kingdom of Heaven...As Catholics, we believe that the authority given to St. Peter did not end with his life but was handed on to his successors
