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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).


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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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


Etymology

Origin of Catholic Church

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Leo was elected as head of the Roman Catholic Church in May 2025, the first American to hold the role.

From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2026

Saint Catherine of Alexandria Roman Catholic Church in Avalon hosted a gathering on Thursday for community members who needed to speak to a counselor to help process what happened.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

The controversy began after media reports that figures in the Catholic Church were concerned about the future status of the saint, who is depicted in Brazil as a black woman.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

The head of the Catholic Church blessed several babies as he stopped at different stages along the avenue as chants of "Leo, Leo" rang out.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

In the case of the French curés, the crucial story was that of Christ’s life and death as told by the Catholic Church.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

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