Roman Catholic

American  

adjective

1. of or relating to the Roman Catholic Church.

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noun

1. a member of the Roman Catholic Church.

Roman Catholic British  

adjective

1. of or relating to the Roman Catholic Church

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noun

1. a member of this Church

Etymology

Origin of Roman Catholic

First recorded in 1595–1605

Compare meaning

How does roman-catholic compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Eastern Orthodox vs. Roman Catholic

Example Sentences

One graduate student, Patrick, is a devoted Roman Catholic, unquestioning in his faith.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

With help from a basketball scholarship, he majored in biology at Seattle University, a Roman Catholic school.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

He wanted to offer Holy Communion, the central sacrament of Roman Catholic faith, not only to the detainees inside the facility, but also to the federal agents stationed there.

From Salon • Apr. 6, 2026

Neither of them made any substantive changes to core Roman Catholic doctrine, but when you’re the bishop of Rome and the head of the world’s largest single religious denomination, practice matters more than theory.

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026

The early sixteenth century was a bad time for the Roman Catholic Church and its allied heads of state in Europe.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall