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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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Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fatima

Our Lady of Fatima (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈfatimɐ]) is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary by those who believe that she appeared to three shepherd children at Fátima, Portugal on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on 13 May, the Fatima holiday. The title of Our Lady of the Rosary is also used in reference to the same apparition; the children related that the apparition specifically identified herself as "the Lady of the Rosary." It is also common to see a combination of these titles, i.e., Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima (Portuguese: Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Fátima).Between May and October of 1917, three shepherd children, Lúcia Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto, reported visions of a luminous lady, believed to be the Virgin Mary, in the Cova da Iria fields outside the hamlet of Aljustrel, near Fatima, Portugal. The Lady appeared to the children on the 13th day of each month at approximately noon, for six straight months. The only exception was August, when the children were kidnapped by the local administrator.
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Bishop Albin's seal.
Bishop Albin's seal.

Albin (or Albinus) (d. 1269) was a 13th-century prelate of the Kingdom of Scotland. A university graduate, Albin is known for his ecclesiastical career in the diocese of Brechin, centred on Angus in east-central Scotland. Almost certainly a native of Angus, he appears to be a descendant of David of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon, brother of King William I of Scotland, through an illegitimate son whom Earl David settled in the area around Brechin. Albin, himself an illegitimate child, made his career as a churchman in the local diocese, and served for some time as precentor of Brechin Cathedral before, in 1246, being elected Bishop of Brechin. He remained Bishop of Brechin until his death in 1269. Albin became Bishop of Brechin following an election and then a successful appeal for confirmation to the papacy. Pope Innocent IV's mandate for confirmation gave the details of the election.
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Ruins of the Old Church of Banagher, County Londonderry, in 1833
Ruins of the Old Church of Banagher, County Londonderry, in 1833

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Photo of Jacques Berthieu
Jacques Berthieu, SJ (born 27 November 1838 at Polminhac, Cantal, France; died 8 June 1896 at Ambiatibe, Madagascar), was a French Jesuit, priest and missionary in Madagascar. He died during the Menalamba rebellion of 1896. Berthieu was 57 years old. He is the first martyr of Madagascar to be beatified. He was canonized a saint by Pope Benedict XVI, along with others, at a papal canonization Mass on 21 October 2012, during a meeting of the Catholic Synod of Bishops. (Full article...)


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See also: Medardus; Jadwiga of Poland; Mariam Thresia Chiramel, India

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Saint Thomas Aquinas
Saint Thomas Aquinas


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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)

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