Portal:Catholic Church
Introduction The Catholic Church (Latin: Ecclesia Catholica), commonly called the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian denomination, with an estimated 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized members worldwide as of 2025. One of the world's oldest continuously functioning institutions, it has played a major role in the development of Western civilization. The Church consists of 24 autonomous churches—the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches—organized into nearly 3,500 dioceses and eparchies governed by bishops, with the pope serving as bishop of Rome and chief pastor. Catholic doctrine is rooted in the Nicene Creed and teaches that the Church was founded by Jesus Christ, with bishops regarded as successors of the apostles and the pope as the successor of Saint Peter. Apostolic teaching is understood to be transmitted through Scripture and sacred tradition, interpreted by the magisterium. Catholic liturgical life includes the Roman Rite and the diverse traditions of the Eastern Catholic Churches, supported by religious orders, monastic communities, and lay movements that contribute to a wide range of theological and devotional practices. Among the sacraments, the Eucharist is regarded as the central act of worship in the Mass, and Catholics believe that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ through consecration. The Church venerates the Virgin Mary and upholds doctrines such as the Immaculate Conception, perpetual virginity, and Assumption. Catholic social teaching emphasizes care for the poor and vulnerable, and the Church operates extensive educational, medical, and charitable institutions worldwide, making it the largest non-governmental provider of education and health care. (Full article...) Selected article
 The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. The Archdiocese of Chicago is one of the largest dioceses in the nation by population and comprises Cook and Lake counties, covering 1,411 square miles (3,653 km²) of Illinois. The original Diocese of Chicago was created on November 28, 1842, and was elevated to the status of an archdiocese on September 10, 1880. On September 27, 1908, the Diocese of Rockford was broken off from the Archdiocese, and to create the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois on December 11, 1948, territory was taken from the Peoria, Rockford and Chicago dioceses. The Archbishop of Chicago concurrently serves as the metropolitan bishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Chicago, whose suffragan bishops are the bishops of Belleville, Joliet, Peoria, Rockford, and Springfield.
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 Credit: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, self-portrait
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598 – 1680) was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and a prominent figure in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture. He was a successor to Michelangelo as the architect of Saint Peter's Basilica; his design of the Piazza San Pietro in front of the Basilica is one of his most innovative and successful architectural designs. Selected biography
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She is the patroness saint of reformed prostitutes; the falsely accused, hoboes, homeless, insane, orphaned, mentally ill, midwives, penitents, single mothers, stepchildren, and tramps. (Full article...)
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