means A member of the clergy in charge of a church or congregation, responsible for its spiritual care and guidance.

from Straight from the Latin pastor, meaning "shepherd," rooted in pascere, "to feed or lead to pasture." The image is ancient and deliberate: the flock as a congregation, the shepherd as their guardian and feeder. The same root grazes through "pasture" and "pastoral," and the metaphor was already old when early Christian writers picked it up — Jesus called himself the "good shepherd," so calling a church leader a pastor simply kept the sheep in the sentence.