Catholic Church

American  

noun

Roman Catholic Church.

1. a visible society of baptized Christians professing the same faith under the authority of the invisible head (Christ) and the authority of the visible head (the pope and the bishops in communion with him).

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Catholic Church British  

noun

1. short for Roman Catholic Church

2. any of several Churches claiming to have maintained continuity with the ancient and undivided Church

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Catholic Church Cultural  

1. A common abbreviation for the name of the Roman Catholic Church.

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Etymology

Origin of Catholic Church

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Example Sentences

“The Catholic Church in particular has a strong immigrant base. I think Pope Leo had to take a stand on that.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026

The law has opened the floodgates for thousands of lawsuits against the Catholic Church, local governments and public school districts.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026

Jean-Paul Vesco, the Franco-Algerian cardinal of the Catholic Church who serves as the Archbishop of Algiers, wrote in a statement.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

While it will be the Pope's first pastoral visit to Africa since assuming the leadership of the Catholic Church, he is no stranger to the continent.

From BBC • Feb. 25, 2026

A priest I once heard in a white middle-class parish defended the reformed liturgy by saying that it had become necessary to ‘de-Europeanize’ the Roman Catholic Church.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez