Portal:Catholicism

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The Holy Spirit depicted as a dove in the translucent alabaster window behind the Cathedra Petri in St Peter's Basilica, Rome.

Catholicism is the entirety of the beliefs and practices of the Western and Eastern churches which are in full communion with the Pope of Rome as the successor of Peter.The term Catholic was defined by the Roman Emperor Theodosius on February 27 AD 380 in the Theodosian Code XVI.i.2: "It is our desire that all the various nations which are subject to our clemency and moderation, should continue the profession of that religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine Apostle Peter, as it has been preserved by faithful tradition and which is now professed by the Pontiff Damasus and by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic holiness. According to the apostolic teaching and the doctrine of the Gospel, let us believe in the one Deity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in equal majesty and in a holy Trinity. We authorize the followers of this law to assume the title Catholic Christians; but as for the others, since in our judgment they are foolish madmen, we decree that they shall be branded with the ignominious name of heretics, and shall not presume to give their conventicles the name of churches. They will suffer in the first place the chastisement of divine condemnation and the second the punishment of our authority, in accordance with the will of heaven shall decide to inflict."

[Extract of English translation from Henry Bettenson, ed., Documents of the Christian Church (London: Oxford University Press, 1943), p. 31, cited at Medieval Sourcebook: Theodosian Code XVI by Paul Halsall, Fordham University. Retrieved Jan 5, 2007. The full Latin text of the code is at IMPERATORIS THEODOSIANI CODEX Liber Decimus Sextus (170KB download), archived from George Mason University. trieved Jan 5, 2007.]

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The Sistine Chapel has been the location of the conclave since 1492.

A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals to elect the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church (or Bishop of Rome) who is considered by Catholics to be the Successor of Saint Peter and head of the Church. A history of political interference in these elections and consequently long vacancies between popes, and most immediately the interregnum of 1268-1271, prompted the Second Council of Lyons which decreed in 1274 that the electors should be locked in seclusion cum clave (Latin for "with a key"), and not permitted to leave until a new Bishop of Rome is elected. Conclaves are now held in the Sistine Chapel in the Palace of the Vatican.In the early centuries of Christianity the bishop of Rome (like other bishops) was chosen by the consensus of the clergy and people of Rome. The body of electors was more precisely defined when, in 1059, the College of Cardinals was designated the sole body of electors.Since then other details of the process have developed. In 1970 Pope Paul VI limited the electors to cardinals under 80 years of age.
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Credit: Afernand74

Intercession of Charles Borromeo supported by the Virgin Mary by Johann Michael Rottmayr.The son of Giberto II Borromeo, conte (count) of Arona, and Margherita de' Medici, Carlo Borromeo was born at the castle of Arona on Lago Maggiore. The aristocratic Borromeo family's coat of arms included the Borromean rings, sometimes taken to symbolize the Holy Trinity.

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'The Venerable Bede translates John'

Bede (IPA: /ˈbiːd/) (also Saint Bede, the Venerable Bede, or (from Latin) Beda (IPA[beda])), (c. 672 or 673 – May 25, 735), was a Benedictine monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow (see Wearmouth-Jarrow), both Northumbria. He is well known as an author and scholar, and his most famous work, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People) gained him the title "The father of English history". Bede became known as Venerable Bede (Lat.: Beda Venerabilis) soon after his death, but this was not linked to consideration for sainthood by the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, his title is believed to come from a mistranslation of the Latin inscription on his tomb in Durham Cathedral, intended to be Here lie the venerable bones of Bede, but wrongly interpreted as here lie the bones of the Venerable Bede.
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St John the Baptist's Church
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Patron of June 8


Statue of Saint Medardus, Saint Médard d'Eyrans

Saint Medardus (French Médard; c. 470 - c. 545) was the bishop of Vermandois who removed the seat of the diocese to Noyon.Medardus was born at Salency (Oise), in Picardy. His father, Nectaridus, was of Frankish origin, while his mother Protagia was Gallo-Roman. The Roman Martyrology includes the fanciful tale that Saint Gildardus, Bishop of Rouen, was his brother, "born on the same day, consecrated bishops on the same day, and on the same day withdrawn from this life". A pious fiction links his childhood to his future bishoprics: "He often accompanied his father on business to Vermand and Tournai, where he frequented the schools, carefully avoiding all worldly dissipation".At the death of Bishop Alomer, when Medard was 33, he was chosen to succeed him as bishop of Vermand due to his exemplary piety and his knowledge, considerable for that time. Despite his objections, he found himself obliged to accept the heavy responsibilities of the position, to which he devoted himself zealously.Evidence for his deeds as bishop is thin. He is held to have removed the see from Vermand, a little city with no defences, to Noyon, the strongest place in that region. The year is traditionally given as 531, the year in which Clotaire marched against the Thuringii with his brother Theuderic I, but struggles with the Burgundians also troubled Frankish Neustria. He was a councillor to Clotaire, the Merovingian king at Soissons.
Attributes:Episcopal garments
Patronage:the weather; invoked against toothache
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Saint Brigid's Roman Catholic Church
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Benedict XVI
After the great Pope John Paul II, the Cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble labourer in the vineyard of the Lord.The fact that the Lord knows how to work and to act even with inadequate instruments comforts me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers.
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