Abstract
In French Canada, the representations of the papacy are linked to the totality of the doctrinal and disciplinary Roman corpus and to the uncompromising position of the Catholic Church. What happens when the historical continuity of this relationship which guarantees ecclesiastical hold is threatened? When the social credibility of that hold starts to crumble? Official definitions are stiffened, although couched in modernized language, in order to stem further losses. Nonetheless, a certain degree of adjustment can be detected. It is present in what is not said or in subtle shifts of emphasis. This is especially manifest in the representations of papal attributes from the post-Second World War period to the present. The desired enticement fails to strengthen the commitment of the faithful. The mitigated response which results is apparent in the 1962-3 survey of public high school graduates, as well as in polls taken during the 1970s and the 1984 papal visit. Although the gap seems to widen, it is far from sudden or unexpected.