Portal:Catholic Church

Catholic Church Portal

Introduction

The Catholic Church (Latin: Ecclesia Catholica), commonly called the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian denomination, with an estimated 1.28 to 1.41 billion baptized members worldwide as of 2026. As one of the world's oldest institutions, it has played a central role in the development of Western civilization. The church consists of 24 autonomous (sui iuris) churches—the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches—organized into nearly 3,500 dioceses and eparchies governed by bishops. Catholic communities are present worldwide through missions, immigration, and conversions, with a majority of Catholics now living in the Global South, reflecting rapid demographic growth in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the effects of secularization in parts of Europe and North America.

Catholic doctrine is rooted in the Nicene Creed and holds that the church is the "one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church" founded by Jesus Christ. It teaches that bishops are the successors of the apostles and that the pope is the successor of Saint Peter, entrusted with a unique pastoral role, serving as the head of the church. Apostolic teaching is understood to be transmitted through Scripture and sacred tradition, interpreted by the magisterium, the church's teaching authority. Catholic liturgical life includes the Roman Rite and other rites of the Latin Church, as well as the diverse liturgical traditions of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Religious orders, monastic communities, and lay movements contribute to a range of theological and devotional expressions within global Catholicism.

Among the church's seven sacraments, the Eucharist is regarded as the source and summit of the Christian life and is celebrated in the Mass. Catholics believe that through consecration by a priest, the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. The Virgin Mary is venerated as the Mother of God and honored through dogmas such as the Immaculate Conception, perpetual virginity, and Assumption, including many devotional practices. Catholic social teaching emphasizes care for the poor, the sick, and the marginalized, and the church operates tens of thousands of educational, medical, and charitable institutions worldwide—the largest non-governmental provider of education and health care. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

edit

Selected article

Mission San Juan Capistrano was founded on All Saints' Day November 1, 1776 by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order. Named for a 15th-century theologian and "warrior priest" who resided in the Abruzzo region of Italy, San Juan Capistrano has the distinction of being home to the oldest building in California still in use, a chapel built in 1782; known alternately as "Serra's Chapel" and "Father Serra's Church," it is the only extant structure wherein it has been documented that the padre officiated over mass. One of the best known of the Alta California missions (and one of the few missions to have actually been founded twice — others being Mission San Gabriel Arcángel and Mission La Purísima Concepción) — the site was originally consecrated on October 30, 1775 by Father Fermín Lasuén, but was quickly abandoned due to unrest among the indigenous population in San Diego.
Read more...

More articles...

edit

Selected image

The Seven Sacraments
by Rogier van der Weyden (ca.1448)

"The seven sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation or Chrismation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, are efficacious signs of grace perceptible to the senses. They assist individuals in their spiritual progress and growth in holiness.

More pictures...

edit

Selected biography

Elias Zoghby (January 9, 1912 – January 16, 2008) was the Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop of Baalbek and a leading advocate of Catholic-Orthodox ecumenism. He is best known for his ecumenical interventions during Vatican II and his 1995 Profession of Faith, known as the Zoghby Initiative, which attempted to re-establish communion between the Melkite Greek Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church while maintaining communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Zoghby's views on topics such as Catholic–Orthodox "double communion" and dissolution of marriage were controversial. Critics labeled him the enfant terrible of his church, while supporters lauded him as an energetic visionary who sought to re-unite the Eastern Churches. Elias Zoghby was born on January 9, 1912 in Cairo. His mother, Hanne Ishak Yared, was a Melkite Greek Catholic and his father, Abdallah Mikail Zoghby, was Antiochian Orthodox convert and former Maronite Catholic.
Read more...

More biographies...

edit

Did you know...

... that the crypt of St. Paulinskirche (pictured) in Trier allegedly contains the remains of approximately one dozen of the martyred soldiers of the legendary Theban Legion?
... that in 1128 Geoffrey, Prior of Christ Church, Canterbury, became the first Abbot of Dunfermline?
... that the depictions of fish on the medieval statue of St. Christopher in Norton Priory, Cheshire, England, are so realistic that five different species can be identified?

More DYKs...

edit

Related portals

edit

Feast Day of March 13

Leander of Seville (Spanish: Leandro de Sevilla; Latin: Leandrus; c. 534 AD – 13 March 600 or 601) was a Hispano-Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Seville. He was instrumental in effecting the conversion of the Visigothic kings Hermenegild and Reccared to Catholicism. His brother (and successor as bishop) was the encyclopedist Isidore of Seville. (Full article...)

Attributes: episcopal attire
Patronage: -

...More patrons

Read more...

edit