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The Catholic Church in Europe is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See in Rome, including represented Eastern Catholic missions. Demographically, Catholics are the largest religious group in Europe.
About 35% [1] of the population of Europe today is Catholic, but only about a quarter of all Catholics worldwide reside in Europe. This is due in part to the movement and immigration at various times of largely Catholic European ethnic groups (such as the Irish, Italians, Poles, Portuguese, and Spaniards) to continents such as the Americas and Australia. Furthermore, Catholicism has been spread outside Europe through both historical Catholic missionary activity, especially in Latin America, and the past colonization and conversion of native people by Catholic European countries, specifically the Spanish, Portuguese, French and Belgian colonial empire, in regions such as South America, the Caribbean, Central Africa and West Africa, and Southeast Asia. [2]
As the Vatican State is a theocracy, it cannot become a member of the European Union. However, traditionally there are very strong ties of the Holy See with the only neighboring country of the Vatican City, Italy and also with the European Union. Since 1970 the European Union accredits an official representative from the Holy See (an Apostolic Nuncio) to the EU. Even though the Vatican City is not an official member of the European Union, it has adopted the Euro as its currency and has open borders with the Schengen Area.
In 2016 Pope Francis was awarded with the Charlemagne prize. During his speech of thanks Pope Francis criticized a "crisis of solidarity" [3] in Europe and condemned "national self-interest, renationalization and particularism". [3]
In December 2018 Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich and Freising and former president of COMECE, called for a deeper European integration and condemned the harmful consequences of nationalism. [4] [5] [6]
The Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe (Latin : Consilium Conferentiarum Episcoporum Europae) (CCEE) is a conference of the presidents of the 33 Roman Catholic episcopal conferences of Europe, the Archbishop of Luxembourg, the Archbishop of Monaco, Maronite Catholic Archeparch of Cyprus, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Chişinău, the Ruthenian Catholic Eparch of Mukacheve, and the Apostolic Administrator of Estonia. [7] The CCEE Secretariat is located in St. Gallen, Switzerland.
The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (Latin : Commissio Episcopatuum Communitatis Europaeae; COMECE) is the association of Catholic Church episcopal conferences in member states of the European Union (EU) which officially represents those episcopal conferences at EU institutions. [8] [9] COMECE bishops are delegated by Catholic episcopal conferences in EU member states and has a permanent Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium. [8] [10] It was established in 1980 and replaced the European Catholic Pastoral Information Service (SIPECA, 1976–1980). Discussions during the 1970s about creating an episcopal conferences' liaison organization to the European Community led to the decision, on the eve of the 1979 European Parliament election, to establish COMECE. [11]
Fimcap Europe (International Federation of Catholic Parochial Youth Movements): Fimcap is an umbrella organization for catholic youth organizations, especially for youth organizations which are based at parish level. (See also: Fimcap Europe)
MIJARC Europe (International Movement of Catholic Agricultural and Rural Youth): MIJARC Europe is a platform representing the catholic, agricultural and rural youth movements in Europe.
CIDSE (International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity): CIDSE is an umbrella organization for Catholic development agencies from Europe and North America.
World Movement of Christian Workers consists of Catholic workingmen and workingwomen.
According to the Catholic tradition, Saint Peter, one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ and leader of the early church, was crucified and buried in Rome under Emperor Nero Augustus Caesar. On the place supposed to be the burial site of Saint Peter the Saint Peter's Basilica was built. Rome is also the residence city of the Pope, the leader of the Catholic Church, who at the same time is also the Bishop of Rome. Until today the Pope rules over an ecclesiastical state, the Vatican City, which encompasses 44 hectares of the city area. Rome hosts also the Papal Major basilicas. Besides the Saint Peter's Basilica there are three other Major basilicas: Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls and Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.
One of the most important and famous sites for pilgrimages for the Catholic Church is Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. The cathedral of the city hosts the shrine of Saint James, one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, and traditionally considered the first apostle to be martyred. Santiago de Compostela is the final destination of the Way of Saint James (Galician: O Camiño de Santiago).
Assisi, a town in the Umbria region in Italy, hosts two more papal basilicas: the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi and the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi is the mother church of the Order of Friars Minor, commonly known as the "Franciscan Order". Assisi is the town in which the founder of the order, Saint Francis of Assisi, was born and died.
Ennio Antonelli is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was president of the Pontifical Council for the Family from 2008 to 2012. He has been a bishop since 1982, serving as bishop of Gubbio from 1982 to 1988, archbishop of Perugia from 1988 to 1995, and archbishop of Florence from 2001 to 2008. He led the Italian Episcopal Conference from 1995 to 2001 and was raised to the rank of cardinal in 2003.
The history of the Catholic Church is integral to the history of Christianity as a whole. It is also, according to church historian Mark A. Noll, the "world's oldest continuously functioning international institution." This article covers a period of just under two thousand years.
An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to meet regularly, with its own legal structure and ecclesial leadership function, is the Swiss Bishops' Conference, which was founded in 1863. More than forty episcopal conferences existed before the Second Vatican Council. Their status was confirmed by the Second Vatican Council and further defined by Pope Paul VI's 1966 motu proprio, Ecclesiae sanctae.
The Italian Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Italy, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope in Rome, under the Conference of Italian Bishops. The pope serves also as Primate of Italy and Bishop of Rome. In addition to the Italian Republic, two other sovereign states are included in Italian dioceses: San Marino and Vatican City. There are 225 dioceses in the Catholic Church in Italy, see further in this article and in the article List of Catholic dioceses in Italy.
Agostino Vallini is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been a cardinal since 2006. From 2008 to 2017 he served as Vicar General of Rome. He is also the Archpriest emeritus of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.
Giovanni Coppa was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as a diplomat of the Holy See, and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2007.
The Diocese of Rome, also called the Vicariate of Rome, is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church under the direct jurisdiction of the Pope, who is Bishop of Rome and hence the supreme pontiff and head of the worldwide Catholic Church. As the Holy See, the papacy is a sovereign entity with diplomatic relations, and civil jurisdiction over the Vatican City State located geographically within Rome. The Diocese of Rome is the metropolitan diocese of the province of Rome, an ecclesiastical province in Italy. According to Catholic tradition, the first bishop of Rome was Saint Peter in the first century. The incumbent since 13 March 2013 is Pope Francis.
The Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe is a conference of the presidents of the 33 Roman Catholic episcopal conferences of Europe, the Archbishop of Luxembourg, the Archbishop of Monaco, Maronite Catholic Archeparch of Cyprus, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Chişinău, the Ruthenian Catholic Eparch of Mukacheve, and the Apostolic Administrator of Estonia.
The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union, formerly the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community, is the association of Catholic Church episcopal conferences in member states of the European Union (EU) which officially represents those episcopal conferences at EU institutions. COMECE holds two meetings of the Plenary Assembly each year, which set out the main lines of its work. The Apostolic Nuncio to the European Communities participates in these meetings. A seminal issue of the European integration process provides the core theme of each meeting.
In the Catholic Church, the Synod of Bishops, considered as an advisory body for the pope, is one of the ways in which the bishops render cooperative assistance to him in exercising his office. It is described in the 1983 Code of Canon Law as "a group of bishops who have been chosen from different regions of the world and meet at fixed times to foster closer unity between the Roman Pontiff and bishops, to assist the Roman Pontiff with their counsel in the preservation and growth of faith and morals and in the observance and strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline, and to consider questions pertaining to the activity of the Church in the world."
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Catholic Church:
Latvian Bishops' Conference is the national Roman Catholic Bishops' Conference in Latvia. It is headquartered in Riga and is a member of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) and the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE). It was founded as coordinator of the Latvian bishops on 15 November 1997, and held its inaugural meeting on 29 June 1998, starting off with a Pontifical High Mass in the Basilica of the Assumption in Aglona. Its first president was Cardinal Jānis Pujats, then archbishop of Riga.
The Romanian Episcopal Conference is the permanent assembly of Catholic bishops in Romania. The bishops' conference has its headquarters in Bucharest, is a member of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) and sends a representative to the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE).
Lithuanian Bishops' Conference is the official meeting of Catholic bishops in Lithuania. It has its seat in Vilnius. The Episcopal Conference is a member of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) and the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE).
Jean-Claude Hollerich, S.J. is a Luxembourger prelate of the Catholic Church, who has served as the Archbishop of Luxembourg since 2011. He was the president of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) from March 2018 to 2023.
Antonios Varthalitis, AA was from 1962 to 2003 Catholic Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Corfu, Zakynthos and Cephalonia.
CIDSE, which is short for "Coopération Internationale pour le Développement et la Solidarité", is an umbrella organization for Catholic development agencies from Europe and North America.
Jesuit European Social Centre (JESC), formerly known as Catholic Office of Information and Initiative for Europe (OCIPE) is a research and documentation center on ethics and European integration founded in 1956.
Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense. Basilicas are either major basilicas, of which there are four, all in the Diocese of Rome, or minor basilicas, of which there were 1,810 worldwide as of 2019.
Mauro Gambetti OFMConv is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was appointed archpriest of Saint Peter's Basilica, Vicar General for the Vatican State, and president of the Fabric of Saint Peter on 20 February 2021. He was consecrated a bishop on 22 November 2020 just before Pope Francis raised him to the rank of cardinal on 28 November 2020.