Search the world's largest database of answers about the beliefs and practices of the Catholic faith. Learn more about Catholicism through articles, books, videos and more. The terms catholic, catholicism, and catholicity are closely related to the use of the term Catholic Church. (See Catholic Church (disambiguation) for more uses.) The earliest evidence of the use of that term is the Letter to the Smyrnaeans that Ignatius of Antioch wrote in about 107 to Christians in Smyrna. Catholic Answers is a media company dedicated to sharing what the Church really teaches, and we are the world’s largest source for reliable information about the Catholic Church’s doctrine, tradition, and beliefs. Find your answers from your favorite media source: “Does Jesus as the One. The basic tenets and practices of Catholicism spring from the assertion that the Catholic Church is the one true church with the Pope at its head. Visiting the official website of the Holy See one can browse: the Magisterium of the Supreme Pontiffs; the fundamental texts of Catholicism in various languages (the Sacred Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the documents of the Second Vatican Council and the Code of Canon Law); the documents of Dicasteries, Bodies and Institutions of the Roman Curia. World's Catholic Library. Find saints, prayers, bible, daily readings, catholic news and everything Catholic. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is a national membership organization drawing Bishops together to promote the greater good of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church (Latin: Ecclesia Catholica), also called the Roman Catholic Church (Latin: Ecclesia Catholica Romana), [note 1] 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. The meaning of CATHOLIC is roman catholic. How to use catholic in a sentence. Catholic, (from Greek katholikos, “universal”), the characteristic that, according to ecclesiastical writers since the 2nd century, distinguished the Christian Church at large from local communities or from heretical and schismatic sects. A notable exposition of the term as it had developed during.