In Matthew 16:19 we see Jesus saying to Peter alone, "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven." So, what does it mean for Jesus to give Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven?
Well, in the Old Testament and at the time of Jesus, the phrase "keys of the kingdom" referred to a governing office within a kingdom. It was the office of chief steward, who was basically the second-in-command after the king himself. Whenever a king would leave on a trip, he would place his chief steward in charge of the kingdom, and this chief steward would govern the kingdom with the full authority of the king.
So we see here in the Gospel of Matthew that Jesus entrusted to Peter, and to his successors who came after him down to the present day, the governing office of chief steward over the kingdom of heaven, which is the Church. This chief steward, who we call the pope, has been entrusted with the authority of Christ to govern the Church until Jesus, the King, returns someday in glory.
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