Catholic Church

American

noun

Roman Catholic Church.

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

short for Roman Catholic Church
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

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.

The Catholic Church engages the world and the mission with hope.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Catholic Church had strict rules against necromancy, communication with the dead.

From Literature

The trip will mark the first time a head of the Catholic Church has visited the North African Muslim-majority country.

From Barron's

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

The visit marks 100 years since the death of its Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi, who was declared "venerable" by the Catholic Church in 2025, the first step on the path to sainthood.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023