Portal:Catholic Church

Catholic Church Portal

Introduction

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.39 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2022. 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 located 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, a small independent city-state and enclave within the Italian capital city of Rome, of which the pope is head of state.

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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Mangalorean Catholics are Roman Catholics from the former South Canara district on the southwestern coast of India. They are Konkani people and speak the Konkani language. Portuguese shipping arrived in Mangalore in 1526, and Catholic missionary activities began around 1534, when Canara was placed under the ecclesiastic jurisdiction of the Bishop of Goa. Most of the ancestors of Mangalorean Catholics were Goan Catholics, who had migrated to South Canara from Goa, a state north of Canara, between 1560 and 1763 during the Goa Inquisition and the Portuguese-Maratha wars. Gradually they learned the languages of South Canara but retained Konkani as their mother tongue. In time, they referred to themselves as Mangalorean Catholics to distinguish themselves from their ancestors from Goa. The most disconsolate memory in the community's history was a 15-year captivity imposed by Tipu Sultan, the de facto ruler of Mysore, from 24 February 1784 to 4 May 1799 at Seringapatam. After the defeat of Tipu Sultan, the community resettled in South Canara, and gradually prospered under the British. The culture of Mangalorean Catholics is a blend of Canarese and Goan cultures. After migration, they adopted the local Canarese culture but retained many of their Goan customs and traditions. The Mangalorean Catholic diaspora is scattered across the globe, with emigrant communities in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf and the English-speaking world.
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Credit: Blieusong

The façade of Notre-Dame de Paris, showing the Portal of the Virgin, Portal of the Last Judgment and Portal of St-Anne.

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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 Louise-Magdeleine Horthemels created illustrations of the life of the nuns of the abbey of Port-Royal-des-Champs (pictured), shortly before it was closed on the orders of Pope Clement XI?
... that Cormac mac Cuilennáin, bishop and king of Munster, later considered a saint, was killed in battle in 908 while leading an invasion of Leinster?
... that within the Special Economic Zone SEEPZ, Mumbai lies an abandoned Portuguese church built in 1579?

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Feast Day of June 4

Maria Elizabeth Hesselblad, OSsS (4 June 1870 – 24 April 1957), was a Swedish religious sister who founded a new, active, branch of the Bridgettine order in the Roman Catholic Church, known as the "Bridgettine Sisters". Hesselblad is recognised as a Righteous Among the Nations due to her efforts in World War II saving the lives of Jews during the genocide of the Holocaust.

Pope John Paul II beatified her on 9 April 2000 and Pope Francis canonised her 5 June 2016 at Saint Peter's Square. (Full article...)
Attributes: Religious habit
Patronage: Bridgettine Sisters, nurses, converts
See also: Filippo Smaldone, Francis Caracciolo

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Whoever is separated from this Catholic Church, by this single sin of being separated from the unity of Christ, no matter how estimable a life he may imagine he is living, shall not have life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.

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— Saint Augustine

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News

**June**
"Sacred Heart of Jesus"
Image of artwork, 2014.

23 May 2024 –: Pope Francis and the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints approves the canonization of Carlo Acutis, who will become the first millennial saint. (Holy See) (BBC News)
12 May 2024 –: Forty-nine Vatican Museums employees start an unprecedented labor dispute over unfair and poor working conditions against the Vatican's Pontifical Commission. (Reuters)
10 May 2024 – Demographics of Italy: Amid record low birth rates and an aging population, Pope Francis urges Italians to have more children. The Italian government also expands a campaign to encourage at least 500,000 births annually by 2033. (AP)
21 March 2024 –: Pope Francis laicizes Belgian bishop Roger Vangheluwe due to allegations of abuse. (NOS)