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How much do you know about the Catholic Church?
17 Interesting Facts About the Catholic Church You Didn’t Know! See how many you know and post your result in the comments!
- This is not really about the Catholic Church but Vatican City has the highest crime rate in the world! The city has about 800 in population and about one crime per day, making its crime rate the highest per capita in the world. It is worth remembering that this small place gets over 20 million visitors annually, the crimes are usually minor offenses like purse snatching and pickpockets.
- The Catholic Church is the oldest Christian Church in the world. One of the few that can actually trace its lineage back to one of the Apostles. All the other churches today came from those who broke away from the Catholic Church and consequently cannot boast valid Apostolic power as most of them are usually a little over or less than a century old. Whereas the Catholic Church is over 2000 years old.
- The Roman Catholic Church is only a part of the Catholic Church alongside 22 Eastern Rites that are in full communion with Rome. They have their own names and different rubrics and way of prayer but they share the faith and doctrines of the Church. Examples are Coptic Catholic Church (NOT ORTHODOX), Eastern Catholic Church (NOT ORTHODOX, Maronite Catholic Church, etc.
- Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press, was Catholic and the first book ever printed was the Catholic Bible.
- The Catholic Church is responsible for gathering the Bible as it is today. They composed the Chapters and decided which books to be included after meticulous investigation. Protestants removed some of the books in the Bible like Tobit, Judith, Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, and Baruch. Mostly because these books do not fit into their theology. Martin Luther also made efforts to remove even the book of Revelations, James but got push backs from his followers. So, Catholics did not “add”, others “removed”. You can see the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ bibles having even different texts, changing fundamental meanings of words of scriptures.
- Even though the Catholic Church canonizes specific people to be venerated and emulated in the Catholic Church, however, there is no number as to how many saints there are. The thousands of saints we know today are only a fraction since anyone who enters heaven is a saint.
- Any Catholic may baptize someone at risk of dying as long as the person desires to be baptized. There are specific guidelines however and those must be followed. The person baptizing must study the Catholic Catechism for guidance. Generally, though, baptisms are left for the clergy.
- About 15 percent of the hospitals in the United States are Catholic hospitals. There are some parts of the world where the Catholic Church provides only health care, education, and social work.
- The Catholic Church spends more money than Apple brings in. Expenditures by the Catholic Church, largely on charity, exceeded $170 billion in 2012, according to The Economist magazine. In that same year, Apple took in $157 billion in revenue.
This is an image of the semi-secret arsenal of weapons available to the Swiss Papal Guard. - The Swiss Papal Guard protects the Pope. Wearing uniforms designed by Michelangelo and commonly armed with halberds, they are capable of using heavier weapons if needed. Each member is Catholic, male, and Swiss, and must complete military training in Switzerland. They must demonstrate good conduct and be at least five-foot-eight in height. Upon admission, new recruits meet the pope privately with their families. The Swiss Papal Guard is the oldest active military unit in continual existence since 1506. They are willing to give their lives for the Pope, in extreme circumstances.So, how did you do? Post in our comments section if you learned something new and remember to share this article with your friends!
- Katholikos, a Greek word meaning “toward the whole” is the root of the word “Catholic”. St Ignatius used this word to show that the Church is a gift of Christ to all people.
- The “Devil’s Advocate” or Advocate Diaboli, is a real position within the Catholic Church.
- The magical term “hocus pocus” comes from the most sacred moment in Catholic ritual: the consecration of the bread as the body of Christ by the priest speaking the words “This is my body,” which in Latin is Hoc est enim> corpus meum.
- Not all 266 Popes of the Catholic Church have been from European countries. In fact, there have been five Popes from Syria (or of Syrian origin). Pope Francis is the first Pope from Argentina, the first Latin, and the first Jesuit Pope.
- Emperor Constantine was the first Roman emperor to treat Christians with tolerance. He is said to have experienced a vision of the cross before a major war. And in the Edict of Milan of 313 AD, he stopped the persecution of Roman Christians.
- Of all Papal Names, John is the most popular. There have been 21 Johns, 16n Gregories, 15 Benedicts, 14 Clements, 13 Innocents, and 13 Leos.
- Around the 14th Century, the Seat of the Catholic Church moved temporarily to Avignon, France. At the time there were two Popes in the Church. This was born of schism and strife in the Church. Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome in 1376 and ended the Avignon Papacy.
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At this time, there are many people revising history and denying that the Catholic Church is indeed the first Christian church
What particularly charity thosemillions were spent on. All this time, i only know that churches dont spend their own money, they always depend on solicitations. Instead, they spend their millioms building huge churches, hospitals and schools that are very expensive. I just learned that becoming a priest is no longer free. It’s actually expensive, now. I dont really understand how catholic church, who is earning millions, cannot lower the tuition fees of their schools, their hospitals and even cannot make the schooling for priesthood free?
I guess it is anti-catholic to be anti-gun then.
The Maronite Rite of the Catholic Church was established in the 5th century. You do not need to be Catholic to perform an emergency baptism. If Luther’s restriction to old testament texts to what was in the Hebrew canon constitutes a theological basis, you are correct.
The Coptic Christians in Egypt and Ethiopia had separated long before 1000 AD. Probably nearer 600 AD.
For some seven six centuries, the most common catholicism in Great Britain and Ireland was not the Roman Rite but that of the Celtic Church. It was only after the Synod of Whitby that the Roman Rite began to be universally dominant.
Patrick who evangelized Ireland, was born in the Roman empire and instructed and ordained in the Roman rite, probably at Cannes. After the empire collapsed in about 450 AD, the Celtic Christians were cut off from communication with Rome. During the 200 years or so of separation, both Rome and the Celts evolved their rites. The differences were removed largely in favour of Rome at the Whitby Synod.
We love the Catholic church, praise Jesus Christ, God, our Father and the Holy Spirit. very proud to be catholic
I am proud to be a catholic too but not proud what our catholic hospitals for example are guility of. Regardless of how sick or the necessity of health care, they will not treat you or accept you as a patient. In some serious death threatening situations, they may provide basic treatment and release you without any additional care.
done
I am proud to be catholic
Proud to be ….Thanks for sharing…:)
Zama Ndefru, better bring it out to your local parish, because generally the parishes have all the value formation programs / seminars / recollections / bible study programs / catechism / religious articles distribution that are being funded by local parish funds / donors / sponsorship / solicitations from rich generous donors for free to those who cannot afford to supply what he/she needs as advancement of his / her spirituality. If there’s a will there’s a way for those souls who are eager to seek God.
I learn more about our faith, thank you very much.
Bill Giers; thanks a lot for your reaction. My writing here is definitely NOT about me. You do not have a clue of who I am and I will not dignify the insults to attempt to address the personal attacks you put against me. The question here is about getting Catholics better understand more about the mass they attend daily or weekly. You support those who make money on the back of the Church or in its name against those who are particularly interested in getting Catholics get a better understanding and articulate aspects of the Holy Mass they have robotically and been doing for so so long.
Mr. Giers, your focus is on a Catholic Church that caters for the survival of the fittest like you and the rest can go to hell. If this is really your thinking, as it comes across, you are in the WRONG Catholic Church and one that really needs re-education.
Recently, one of the priests in my parish has taken upon himself to devote at least half his sermons on Sundays to get attendees understand what is going on in the Holy Mass from start to finish. Some Sundays he devotes all to telling the congregation only about what is going on at Mass.
I LOVE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND WISH THE ENTIRE WORLD WERE CATHOLIC. Catholicism cannot and will not be advanced in a sea of ignoramus of those that practice the faith; an aspect you do not seem to see. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY has to be sacrificed to the spreading of the gospel or making the Church stronger a la Giers. I beg to differ.
I am a protestant, and loved my visit to the Vatican. We did not see the Pope, but had a fantastic guide, and joined others to pray in a little chapel, and also prayed when I touched the foot of a statue, I believe was Peter? Not certain, but I felt important about a personal prayer request to stand in line there. I believe Protestants and Catholics have much more in common than is recognized. My visit was a wonderful experience, very inspiring and memorable. One of the things the Catholics have I wish we did was the kneeling to pray. Living in Louisiana, I have many Catholic Christian friends, we worship the same God, just in different ways.
You do not have to be Catholic to Baptize in an emergency. The Baptizee must have the desire, and the Baptizer must use the proper matter and form.
I was born Catholic and I will die Catholic in God’s grace, In Jesus Name. Amen.
Proud Catholic – Thank you Lord for calling me in this family!
We have the bible despite the Catholic church not because of the Catholic Church. Councils determined which books were included and which were rejected. The books that were rejected from the Protestant Bibles were done so on solid grounds. Luther rejected much of the heresies by the Catholic church in his day, and whilst he was no saint, it was certainly a step in the right direction.
As far as the spend by the Catholic church goes I can well believe it. The Catholic church is probably the wealthiest institution in the world.
Clinton, You are absolutely correct Protestants DID edit the Bible (True Word of GOD) after over 1000 years and most are honest enough to name their Bible as a VERSION. i.e. King James Version. Version means different from the original. The books removed by men were because they wanted to violate GOD’s Commands and not be faced with the hypocrisy, consequences, and sin of doing so and lead others to this sinful state for their own comfort. They eliminated personal responsibility for sins, atonement, repentance, penance, and Purgatory to name a few things. We all have Free Will and they will face GOD someday. Protestants follow the tradition of divorce and that it is OK to Kill your wife so you can marry another as leaders of the Protestant Church have done over and over. How can Protestants call themselves Christians and spew hatred for Catholics from the pulpit? But, then again, anyone can declare themselves a Protestant Minister and without any supervision be a one person church and claim anything their minds can think of to anyone who will listen. Simply because some self ordained minister has taught you and many others blindly repeat it does not make it the truth. We all are praying for you and for the conversion of your hearts and souls.
it was real informative for Pakistani catholics.
I’m proud to be a Roman Catholic
First 1000 years? More like 500 years. That’s when the Copts in north Africa split off.
There are many sources available on the internet that are free, http://www.salvationhistory.com is a GREAT one! You can learn a lot!!!!
Didn’t know about the crime rate, but the rest I knew.
I wrote this comment knowing fully well that I will tick some nerves and will get negative comments. One thing I have is a thick skin and can take all.
I am Catholic, born so, and will die so. NO ONE, and absolutely no one will change this premise. The problem I raise here is NOT I. Those trying to personalize my point it is their problem. I am not a blind Catholic. I love my Church and want the best for it. If I truly love the Catholic Church as I do, I will want the best of the denomination: ‘the more the merrier’. One thing I will do is point out errors where I feel there are errors or areas the Church should look into. You are free to agree or disagree with me
.
“No one lights a candle and puts it under the bed.” If you light a candle put it out so others can see. If one writes a book about the Holy Mass that is this significant; the best one can do with such a book is make it available as much as possible to all that may need to have access to it. Try to see to it that other means are reached to ensure that all benefit from it. An informed Church is better than a less informed one. This is the trust of my thinking.
I have been labeled names, and called whatever. Freedom of expression has to prevail in our Church. I do not even want to explain anything about myself because the issue addressed here is beyond any individual. I know the Catholic Church to a very high degree and what it does over the world. I need no lecture on this.
Without the Holy Mass, Catholics might have had to face the East like our Muslim sisters and brothers when praying to Jesus. The Holy Mass makes this irrelevant. If anyone comes up with a document that explains the Holy Mass better, gives it a new and improved understanding of the Holy Mass, is it even something to wonder whether such a document should have the widest publicity wherever Catholicism prevails?
Martin Luther also attempted to do away with Jude and Hebrews as well. However, they were always listed last in the German-language Luther Bible.
SOME OF THE CHARITIES RUN BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH include 5,305 hospitals, including 1,694 in the Americas and 1,150 in Africa. The Church also has 18,179 clinics, including 5,762 in the Americas and 3,884 in Asia. It also manages 17,223 homes for old people, the terminally ill and the handicapped. Most of them, 8,021 in Europe and 5,650 in the Americas. It also runs 9,882 orphanages, of which a 3rd of them are in Asia. I did not include any of the Catholic run schools in the Americas. IN AFRICA – 1,137 hospitals, 5,375 dispensaries, 184 lazarets, 184 house for seniors and chronically ill, 1,285 orphanages, 2,037 Gardens for Childhood, 1,673 family counceling centers, 2,882 centers for sanity education, 1,365 other institutes for poor’s assistance, 67,848 Maternal Schools, 93,315 Primary Schools, 42,234 Secondary Schools with: 1,968,828 High School students assisted and 3,088,208 University students assisted. I find this quote to be very accurate. “There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.” ― Fulton J. Sheen –
Thank you this is exactly what I was looking for. ..as I said so many people have this idea of the( ritches) of the Vatican. .catholic church; but , have no idea what services are provided . Also the utilization of the money.
Zama, being catholic is free. All the stuff you buy I just stuff and has no bearing on your salvation. All Catholic churches have a library of reading materials. You have a chip on your shoulder about something, get over it.
Worth every penny
I didnt know about writing of the bible. this truly reminds us of our faith in catholic religion.the catechism is great way of learning and understanding our catholic religion and The Holy Rosary is one of our most powerful prayers among others.proud to be catholic.
I am a proud Catholic and knew 7 of the 10 items. I was surprise at the crime rate but once it was explained, then I understood. This was truly a wonderful refresher.
I call myself Roman Catholic, as to not be confused with fundamentalists who call themselves “Christian”. Fundamentalists who show little to no understanding of Christ’s Wisdom, Humanity and Tolerance.
Thanks for refreshing my memory. I am proud to be a Catholic
I consider myself a good Catholic. I have visited the Vatican City at least three times, have never seeing the Pope personally, but I wouldn’t know what to tell him anyway. I have made it a point to know more about my religion in able to avoid being contaminated with lies, love Saints biographies, history of the beginning of our faith. Also I pray the Liturgy of the Hours, on my own accord. Participated as Lector, choirs, ministering communion. Raised two children and two grandchildren on the Faith. Right now I am in love with Christ, have great faith, pray my rosary. Hurts me to listen Protestants insulting my Church, we don’t do that.
There is no book in the bible with the title Revelations. It is Revelation. No s.
Mrs. Ferreri, when heaven is reserved for those with dollar power, it will not be the envy of most. Heaven for the highest bidder is not the heaven I know of. We must be talking of two heavens.
To predicate heaven based of the dollar power of those who get into it is contrary to what the Holy Book that guides those that get into it say. Remember; “It is easier for an elephant to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich to enter heaven.” Except you disagree with this.
A more engaging, active Christian, for me gives more meaning Church. Those that leave the Church have some very amorphous, flimsy excuses one wonders how much they knew about the Church they were a part of. This is what the Church seems to be very oblivious to and the likes of you are happy with things as they are. Not I.
Zama, so you would cheat the author, printer, publisher, and bookstore out of a just and fair wage? You want things for your soul’s salvation for free? NO effort on your part? Join with others to buy a book, borrow one, use a library. You HAVE options. Do you HAVE to OWN the book? Do you share or donate the books you do own? So, what have YOU done to counter this? Have you raised money to buy these books and GIVE them away? PRACTICE your Christianity. BE the change you speak about. WHY act like a victim who is at the mercy of others? GOD has commanded you and ALL Christians to act in a Christian way on HIS behalf. Go, and do. BE an example.
Catholics, let us read the Catholic bible inorder to access all the books of the Bible.
Strongly agree with you. Creating a more articulate body of Catholics who know all about their faith and can talk proudly about it will do a lot of good for the Church. Apathy, indifference, lukewarm may be signs of ignorance of what the Church does.
Did not know about crime rate in Vatican but makes sense for Theives to gather where ther are millions of unsuspecting people. Apple comparison was interesting. Wonder how current it is in 2015? In response to the other person’s comment about high expense for Catholic books, etc. Old marketing technique to offer what the customer will pay. Good quality Catholic books and scripture studies are well worth the price. Can’t put a $ value on heaven!
Ruth Ferreri
The #1 and # 4 were the only one I was not aware of. I love my catholic faith
I knew all these but the crime rate in Vatican City, which I never gave any thought. But I’ve been there and it’s packed with tourists, so pick pockets make sense.
The Catholic Church also invented the University system… Should have been included. I’m very shocked by #7, never heard of that. I learned of most of the other facts from EWTN. Fr. Mitch Pacwa explains everything Catholic in great details…
I’m a blind catholic and proud
I not rich, but I do have a bible, i did not buy it but found it hidden somewhere in apartment my cousin rented, but I would really wanted to buy a bible if i didnt found one. It is not expensive to be Catholic, you have all the act of free will. The free will to love and give.
WE HAVE FREE WILL.
A laicized priest (usually to get married) in a crisis situation, may hear confession and absolve. Wasn’t aware of the crime rate in the Vatican. Skeptical.
I see no point in adding that the crime rate is 100% per capita as this implies the crimes are committed by citizens/residents. With visitors numbering in the double-digit millions in such a tiny place at any given year, these petty crimes are almost to be expected.
I knew 6 items well 2 somewhat and 2 were new to me. It’s Good to be Catholic.
Yes, it is. Went to Mass today and rediscovered the beauty of it.
Quite beautiful an information it is. But what is/are the sourse of all these info?
I didn’t know about the Vatican crime rate. But it makes sense that with so many tourists.
I didn’t know the names of the books excluded by protestant religions.
I knew there are a lot of catholic hospitals but 15% in the US is quite a large number.I knew the Swiss Guard was well armed but I didn’t know the only swiss requirement.
Another interesting thing about the Swiss Guard. Despite that nation’s reputation as neutral in the last few wars, in fact in the middle ages and up to the 19th century, the Swiss were where you went for mercenaries as they were such able warriors. This is the reason they were the natural choice to defend the Catholic Pontiff. There is a story of their valor in defending a Pope against insurmountable odds and at great cost in lives of Swiss military, the details escape me, but this is essentially how they got the permanent gig. If you want to see an interesting ceremony, find the swearing in ceremony on Youtube, there are many of them. Each guardsman stands before the Pope and proclaims loudly their pledge to risk their life to protect him. It is quite stirring actually. The Guardsman recites the pledge in their own language which as Swiss, can be German, French, or Italian.
The Italian canton of Switzerland, Ticino, became part of Switzerland as payment from a Lombardian Italian noble for military services rendered in the 17th century. Swiss Italians are fairly annoyed when they are referred to as Italians.
Thanks for the information, i well share it to others.
Well said Debra, and the holy spirit is here to guide us.
11. Monetization of Catholicism – A Catholic ‘hush! Hush’ Phenomenon
Everything Catholic is geared to around 1 percent Catholic population worldwide that can afford anything Catholic at any price. Hardly anyone sees anything wrong with this. The 99 percent are taken for granted. Anything Catholic in print is for the former cohort. The rest can get in by assimilation or whatever.
Question: How many Catholic homes own the Catholic Bible? 2 percent will be an exaggeration. If they own the Holy Bible at least 90 percent of these are the King James versions or variations thereof probably handed around for free to homes by non-Catholic evangelists. A good Catholic Bible is at least 4 times the price of other Bibles.
When other denominations gratuitously say Catholics do not read the Holy Bible, we are quick to say the entire Catholic life is the Holy Bible starting with the Holy Mass. This is true; but should this replace the reading of the Holy Bible? Without the Holy Mass there is no Catholic Church. Christ was the First Priest to say the Holy Mass. Now, look at the following:
THE MASS: A BIBLICAL WALK THROUGH; Understanding What We Say and Do in the Liturgy; by Edward Sri (2011, 157pp) Published by Ascension Press, Westchester, PA Price $12.99 ($13.00) PAPERBACK
THE MASS: STUDY PROGRAM; A BIBLICAL WALK THROUGH by Edward Sri (2011, 36pp) Published by Ascension Press, Westchester, PA Price $7.95 ($8.00) PAPERBACK.
These two could have been subsumed into ONE book if the purpose were the propagation of the faith or help Catholics better understand and appreciate what they do at the Holy Mass. But; MONEY, MONEY, MONEY! the latent Catholic phenomenon of evangelization. The content is really great! But, $20.00? There must have been a goal for the book which has nothing to do with Catholics understanding what they do daily or leave the Church because they are completely IGNORANT of what they are doing in Church. These two booklets are really great by any measure and should be in ALL Catholic homes, or used as study guides in areas where literacy is a problem. At this cost? Nuh!
This is just a tip of the iceberg. Anything Catholic is expensive to the extent one can hardly find anything Catholic in non-Catholic bookshops but for Pope Francis’ book found everywhere. Why? It is less than $6.00 and very well printed.
I have been a member of a Catholic Bible Study group for over 10 years. We get reading material at least 3 per year. The books come mostly from Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, and Little Rock Scripture Group. Each member in our group coughs up $10 no matter how small the booklet is. For example, we covered a topic Women in the Bible. However, I found a book with the same title not produced by Catholic publishers and at least 4 times the size of what we had at $7.00. It is truly expensive to be Catholic.
We see these daily but say nothing just to be called “good Catholics” and my types are renegades of the faith who should be wished away. If you are truly Catholic and love the Church you CANNOT afford to be silent.
Being Catholic one does not have to do much reading about the Catholic Church. Less than 1 percent Catholics not of the hierarchy of the Church care to even read anything about the Church, let alone feel such can contribute to the mindset of the Church.
Being indifferent to key aspects of Catholicism is OK for over 99 percent of Catholics. Live it to a few and follow blindly what the few say. Even questioning to know is not taken kindly by the elites of The Church.
What was the point in all that?
Thank you, that was very good information. We need to always be learning our Faith.
you really made a lot of sense on this your comment, because I have been a Catholic from birth and am still one but I think its some what expensive being a catholic but in all I pray we focus on the ultimate goal which is ‘SALVATION’
According to point 7, The emperor Constantine I was not baptized since he was baptized against his wishes.
I think you are way off base in just about everything. Sorry that you see only negatives. You might wish to try a library because if they do not have the book you want, you can request it and most often, they will get it. Most parishes around me have libraries themselves with duplicate copies of the books you mentioned, you might wish to see about starting one yourself if your parish does not have one. You could also try Loome books, they sell used books, some priceless, most affordable and they are the largest theological bookstore in North America. Learning the faith and growing closer to the Lord can be done with just two books, The Holy Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Frequent Mass, confession and Adoration will bring you to where the Lord wants you. Look at everyone who was converted and even those who became Saints before there were any books. (or even a Bible)
Im so tired of people think catholic churches are all about money and the Vatican has all these riches. It takes alot of money to help others and house those who run it. How many organizations, outreaches and such is supported by the Vatican
Totally agree, at least the Catholic spends more than any church out there. All priests live in normal house like most of their parishners, not like the Osteen’s, own many homes, airplane, yacht and many exspensive cars.
agree!
where do u get ur facts? i am a poor Catholic. i have a Catholic Bible, im hosting a book club at my Church on the Lamb’s Supper…amazing book on the book of Revelations…and have been in many more, i have never paid a cent to get the materials needed…yes there is a fee…but it is waived if u cant afford it..i think all ur % are just ur opinion, and u shouldnt lay them as fact.