Portal:Catholic Church
Introduction The Catholic Church (Latin: Ecclesia Catholica), also called the Roman Catholic Church (Latin: Ecclesia Catholica Romana), is the largest Christian church, with an estimated 1.28 to 1.41 billion baptized members worldwide as of 2026. It consists of 24 autonomous (sui iuris) churches. The largest of these churches is the Latin Church. In addition to it, there are 23 smaller Eastern Catholic Churches. Together, the Latin Church and the Eastern Catholic churches are organized into nearly 3,500 dioceses and eparchies governed by bishops. Throughout history, the church has had a large role in the development of Western civilization. Catholic communities are present worldwide through missions, immigration, and conversions. The majority of Catholics live in the Global South, reflecting rapid demographic growth in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, as well as 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—the bishop of Rome—is the successor of Saint Peter the Apostle, entrusted with a unique and primary pastoral role. Leo XIV is the current pope, serving as the head of the church; the Diocese of Rome forms his local jurisdiction, while the Holy See serves as the church's central governing authority through the Roman Curia. 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, other rites of the Latin Church, and the liturgical traditions of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Religious orders, monastic communities, and lay movements contribute to a wide range of theological and devotional expressions within Catholicism globally. Among the church's seven sacraments, the Eucharist is seen 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 the Assumption, as well as devotional practices. Catholic social teaching emphasizes care for the poor, the sick, and the marginalized. The church operates tens of thousands of educational, medical, and charitable institutions worldwide, making it the largest non-governmental provider of education and health care. (Full article...) Selected article  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.
Selected image  Credit:Click picture for information 6th century mosaic in Ravenna portrays Jesus dressed as a philosopher king in a cloak of Tyrian purple. He appears as the Pantokrator enthroned as in the Book of Revelation, with the characteristic Christian cross inscribed in the halo behind his head. Selected biography .jpg) Father Damien de Veuster (January 3, 1840 – April 15, 1889, born Jozef de Veuster and also known as Saint Damien of Molokai) was a priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a missionary religious order. Father Damien is known for his ministering of people with what was then widely known as leprosy, who had been placed under a government-sanctioned medical quarantine, on the island of Moloka'i, in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He eventually contracted the disease himself, and is widely considered a "martyr of charity". In the Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions, as well as other denominations of Christianity, Damien is considered the spiritual patron for Hansen's Disease, HIV and AIDS patients as well as outcasts. In both ecumenical religious and non-sectarian communities, Damien is being adopted as the symbol of how society should treat HIV/AIDS patients in defiance of the misconceptions of the disease, much like leprosy treatment was an outgrowth of misconceptions. Several memorials have been made to Damien worldwide. The Father Damien Statue honors the priest in bronze at the United States Capitol while a full size replica stands in front of the Hawaii State Capitol. In 2005, Damien was honored with the title of De Grootste Belg, chosen as The Greatest Belgian throughout Belgian history in polling conducted by the Flemish public broadcasting service, VRT.
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