pastor

A pastor is a minister in charge of a congregation. The one who preaches and looks after the people.

The word is used mainly in Protestant and evangelical churches, where the Church of England would say vicar and Catholics would say priest. It comes from the Latin for shepherd, which is exactly the image intended, and the same root gives us pasture and pastoral. Pastoral care is now a standard term in schools and universities for looking after students' welfare, entirely outside any religious setting.