The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word PAPAL
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
P
A
P
A
L
More clues leading to the result PAPAL
- Companion welcoming secretary of a RC leader
- Office assistant embraced by friend of important bishop
- Pontifical comrade coming round every year
- Head of church’s non-variable system for transferring money
- Holy father’s secretary has to wash up
- Father’s confidante comes from Rome
- Father, friend of religious leader
- Badly written stuff, a line from the Vatican
- A parish’s leader embraced by friend of the church
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "of religious leader" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case of religious leader = papal.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does PAPAL mean?
PAPAL adjective- Having to do with the pope or the papacy.