Portal:Catholic Church

Catholic Church Portal

Introduction

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.28 to 1.39 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2024. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. The church consists of 24 sui iuris churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies around the world. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The Diocese of Rome, known as the Holy See, is the central governing authority of the church. The administrative body of the Holy See, the Roman Curia, has its principal offices in Vatican City, which is a small, independent city-state and enclave within the city of Rome, of which the pope is head of state and absolute elective monarch.

The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed. The Catholic Church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission, that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles, and that the pope is the successor to Saint Peter, upon whom primacy was conferred by Jesus Christ. It maintains that it practises the original Christian faith taught by the apostles, preserving the faith infallibly through scripture and sacred tradition as authentically interpreted through the magisterium of the church. The Roman Rite and others of the Latin Church, the Eastern Catholic liturgies, and institutes such as mendicant orders, enclosed monastic orders and third orders reflect a variety of theological and spiritual emphases in the church.

Of its seven sacraments, the Eucharist is the principal one, celebrated liturgically in the Mass. The church teaches that through consecration by a priest, the sacrificial bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. The Virgin Mary is venerated as the Perpetual Virgin, Mother of God, and Queen of Heaven; she is honoured in dogmas and devotions. Catholic social teaching emphasizes voluntary support for the sick, the poor, and the afflicted through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Catholic Church operates tens of thousands of Catholic schools, universities and colleges, hospitals, and orphanages around the world, and is the largest non-government provider of education and health care in the world. Among its other social services are numerous charitable and humanitarian organizations. (Full article...)

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The papal election from November 1268 to September 1, 1271, following the death of Pope Clement IV, was the longest papal election in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. The election of Tebaldo Visconti as Pope Gregory X, the first example of a papal election by "Compromise," was effected by a Committee of six cardinals agreed to by the other remaining ten, occurred more than a year after the magistrates of Viterbo locked the cardinals in, reduced their rations to bread and water, and legendarily removed the roof of the Palazzo dei Papi di Viterbo.As a result of the length of the election, during which three of the twenty cardinal-electors died and one resigned, Gregory X promulgated the apostolic constitution, Ubi periculum, on July 7, 1274 (or 16), during the Second Council of Lyon, establishing the papal conclave, whose rules were based on the tactics employed against the cardinals in Viterbo. The election itself is sometimes viewed as the first conclave.
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Oil-on-panel portrait of Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein the Younger (1527)
Thomas More was a lawyer and political figure in 16th century England, best remembered as Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor.

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Saint William of York, (d. 1154) also known as William FitzHerbert, William I FitzHerbert and William of Thwayt, was an English priest and Archbishop of York. FitzHerbert is unusual in having been Archbishop of York twice, both before and after his rival Henry Murdac. He was a relative of King Stephen of England, and the king helped secure FitzHerbert's election to York after a number of candidates had failed to secure papal confirmation. FitzHerbert faced opposition from the Cistercians who, after the election of the Cistercian Pope Eugenius III, managed to have the archbishop deposed in favor of the Cistercian Murdac. From 1147 until 1153, FitzHerbert worked to secure his restoration to York, which he finally achieved after the deaths of both Murdac and Eugenius. He did not retain the see long, as he died shortly after returning to York, allegedly having been poisoned. After his death miracles were reported at his tomb, and in 1227 he was declared a saint.
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Did you know...

...that Giovanni Faber (pictured), doctor to the Pope, botanist and art collector, coined the name "microscope"?
...that the Chinese government had no objections when the Eastern Orthodox Church canonized Metrophanes, Chi Sung and other martyrs of the Boxer Rebellion, but did object to canonizations by the Roman Catholic Church?
...that the Blessed Martyrs of Nowogródek were Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth who offered their lives during the Holocaust in exchange for the release of citizens of Nowogródek?

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Feast Day of January 8

depiction of Saint Gudula bearing a lantern which the demon endeavors to extinguish; from New York Public Library

Gudula of Brabant, also known as Saint Gudula (ca. 646–712), was a Christian saint who is venerated in Catholic and Orthodox churches. In Brabant, she is usually called Goedele or Goule; (Latin: Gudila, later Gudula; Dutch: Goedele; French: Gudule). Her name is connected to several places: Moorsel (where she lived), Brussels (where a chapter in her honour was founded in 1047) and Eibingen (where the relic of her skull is conserved). (Full article...)

Attributes: depicted as a woman with lantern which the devil tries to blow out
Patronage: Brussels; single laywomen
See also: Apollinaris Claudius

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“

After the great Pope John Paul II, the Cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble labourer in the vineyard of the Lord. The fact that the Lord knows how to work and to act even with inadequate instruments comforts me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers.

”

— Benedict XVI

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