Portal:Catholicism
[Extract of English translation from Henry Bettenson, ed., Documents of the Christian Church (London: Oxford University Press, 1943), p. 31, cited at Medieval Sourcebook: Theodosian Code XVI by Paul Halsall, Fordham University. Retrieved Jan 5, 2007. The full Latin text of the code is at IMPERATORIS THEODOSIANI CODEX Liber Decimus Sextus (170KB download), archived from George Mason University. trieved Jan 5, 2007.]  Selected article  The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, representing over half of all Christians and one sixth of the world's population. It is made up of one Western and 22 Eastern Catholic churches and divided into 2,782 jurisdictional areas around the world. These Churches look to the Pope, currently Pope Benedict XVI, as their highest visible authority in matters of faith, morals, and church governance. The primary mission of the Catholic Church is to spread the message of Jesus Christ, found in the four Gospels, and to administer sacraments that aid the spiritual growth of its members. To further its mission, the Church operates social programs and institutions throughout the world. These include schools, universities, hospitals, missions and shelters, as well as Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities that help the poor, families, the elderly and the sick.  Selected picture ,_corrected_perspective.jpg) Credit: Chowells Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King (usually shortened to Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Liverpool, England. It replaced the Pro-Cathedral of St. Nicholas, Copperas Hill. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool, the mother church of Liverpool's Catholics, and the metropolitan church of the ecclesiastical Northern Province.  Selected biography  Augustine of Canterbury (died May 26, 604) was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in 598. He is considered the "Apostle to the English", a founder of the English Church, and a patron of England.Augustine was the prior of a monastery in Rome when Pope Gregory the Great chose him in 595 to lead a mission to Britain to convert the pagan King Æthelberht of Kent to Christianity. Kent was probably chosen because it was near the Christian kingdoms in Gaul, and because Æthelberht had married a Christian princess, Bertha, daughter of Charibert, the King of Paris, who was expected to exert some influence over her husband. Although the missionaries considered turning back before they reached Kent, Gregory urged them on, and in 597 Augustine landed on the Isle of Thanet and proceeded to Æthelberht's main town of Canterbury.  Did you know... 
 Feast Day of March 12  Saint Fina (Seraphina, Serafina) (1238-1253) was a thirteenth century Italian saint. She was born in San Gimignano as the child of parents, who had fallen in poverty. As far as possible she lived the life of a recluse at home, sewing indeed and spinning during the day and praying during the night. She became ill with an incurable disease at the age of ten. Experiencing five years of enormous suffering, she nevertheless worked at making garments for the poor until paralysis forced her to stop. She then used a wooden board as her bed and increased her mortification of the flesh in order to be nearer to Christ. Her sufferings increased when rats attacked her as she lay alone on her board. She was unable to drive them off. Because of this, the rat has become one of her emblems. Fina took a vow of chastity, but never became a nun. She lived at home under obedience to the Rule of Saint Benedict. The house said to be where she lived and died still stands in the town. It is said that after learning of the great sufferings that the seventh century Church Father Saint Gregory the Great had endured in his lifetime, Fina became devoted to him. One day, Saint Gregory appeared to Fina and revealed to her that she would receive eternal rest on the day of his feast day, which fell on March 12 because he had died on that date in 604. Saint Fina thus died on March 12, 1253 and March 12 became her feast day as well. She is said to have restored a choirboy's sight. After her death, her hand, a relic, also is said to have cured her nurse of a serious disease.  Selected quote 
 Particular churches:
External resourcesWikiProjectsAssociated Wikimedia
|
