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119-586: The Aleramici , Yolande's house and the previous rulers of Montferrat , had ruled the Kingdom of Thessalonica , a crusader state established around the city of Thessalonica after the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Though the resurgent Byzantines had reconquered Thessalonica in 1224, the Aleramici family still retained claims to the title. Because Andronikos II was eager to establish himself as legitimate in

238-594: A " prisoner in the Vatican ". This stand-off, which was spoken of as the Roman Question , was resolved by the 1929 Lateran Treaties , whereby the Holy See acknowledged Italian sovereignty over the former Papal States in return for payment and Italy's recognition of papal sovereignty over Vatican City as a new sovereign and independent state. Catholic missionaries generally supported, and sought to facilitate,

357-586: A commoner, but a Latin commoner. Theodore's marriage to Argentina might have been payment to Genoa for Genoese assistance against the Catalans in Andronikos II's wars . Byzantine fears that Theodore would become "Latinized" were quickly realized. Theodore converted to Catholicism and on his occasional journeys to Constantinople startled the Byzantines with his Western customs and his shaven face. In

476-554: A daughter of Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy , Joanna, married John Jacob, Marquis of Montferrat . The marriage contract between Yolande and Aymon in 1330 specified that in the event of the extinction of the Palaeologus-Montferrat line, the House of Savoy was to inherit Montferrat. This contract must only have been a distant memory when the final Palaeologus Marquis, John George, Marquis of Montferrat , died in 1533. Though

595-632: A handful of marquises had Byzantine aspirations, they tended to pay relatively little attention to events and affairs in the eastern Mediterranean . The imperial branch of the Palaiologos family were displaced in 1453 through the Fall of Constantinople , but the Montferrat cadet branch continued to rule Montferrat for almost another century after that, being replaced by the House of Gonzaga in 1533 after

714-668: A member of the imperial family to establish a foothold in Italy, the Byzantines of the 14th century recognized that it was the Italians that would profit from a connection with the imperial family, and not the other way around. The possibility that the Italians would launch an attack on the empire as a result of the Monferrat inheritance was entertained by the Patriarch, who opposed the entire affair. Theodore did not arrive in Italy until

833-578: A variety of historical circumstances. In the 16th century, the Reformation led to the formation of separate, Protestant groups. From the late 20th century, the Catholic Church has been criticized for its teachings on sexuality , its doctrine against ordaining women , and its handling of sexual abuse cases involving clergy. Catholic (from Greek : καθολικός , romanized :  katholikos , lit.   'universal')

952-540: Is generally regarded as an institution that has its origin in the Medieval Christian setting. The massive Islamic invasions of the mid-7th century began a long struggle between Christianity and Islam throughout the Mediterranean Basin. The Byzantine Empire soon lost the lands of the eastern patriarchates of Jerusalem , Alexandria and Antioch and was reduced to that of Constantinople,

1071-685: Is the bishop of Rome , known as the pope ( Latin : papa , lit.   'father'), whose jurisdiction is called the Holy See ( Sancta Sedes in Latin). In parallel to the diocesan structure are a variety of religious institutes that function autonomously, often subject only to the authority of the pope, though sometimes subject to the local bishop. Most religious institutes only have male or female members but some have both. Additionally, lay members aid many liturgical functions during worship services. The Catholic Church has been described as

1190-491: Is the universal [katholike] Church." In the Catechetical Lectures ( c.  350 ) of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem , the name "Catholic Church" was used to distinguish it from other groups that also called themselves "the church". The "Catholic" notion was further stressed in the edict De fide Catolica issued 380 by Theodosius I , the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of

1309-553: Is unclear if she was meant to possess them or if she was intended to transfer them to her husband, who actually ruled Thessalonica as part of his empire. Yolande retained her place in the Monferratian line of succession, second-in-line after her brother John , should he die without children. Upon her marriage to Andronikos, Yolande was given the Greek name Irene. The reason for Andronikos opting to marry Irene probably had to do with

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1428-651: The Pax Romana made travelling safe. The empire encouraged the spread of a common culture with Greek roots, which allowed ideas to be more easily expressed and understood. Unlike most religions in the Roman Empire, however, Christianity required its adherents to renounce all other gods, a practice adopted from Judaism (see Idolatry ). The Christians' refusal to join pagan celebrations meant they were unable to participate in much of public life, which caused non-Christians—including government authorities—to fear that

1547-809: The Byzantine–Seljuk Wars , which caused Urban to launch the First Crusade aimed at aiding the Byzantine Empire and returning the Holy Land to Christian control. In the 11th century , strained relations between the primarily Greek church and the Latin Church separated them in the East–West Schism, partially due to conflicts over papal authority. The Fourth Crusade and the sacking of Constantinople by renegade crusaders proved

1666-767: The Church of the East also shared in this communion, as did the Oriental Orthodox Churches before the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451; all separated primarily over differences in Christology . The Eastern Catholic Churches, who have a combined membership of approximately 18 million, represent a body of Eastern Christians who returned or remained in communion with the pope during or following these schisms for

1785-721: The Code of Canon Law (1983). "Catholic Church" is also used in the documents of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), the First Vatican Council (1869–1870), the Council of Trent (1545–1563), and numerous other official documents. The New Testament , in particular the Gospels , records Jesus' activities and teaching, his appointment of the Twelve Apostles and his Great Commission of

1904-614: The Council of Nicaea declared heretical . The resulting religious discord between Germanic rulers and Catholic subjects was avoided when, in 497, Clovis I , the Frankish ruler, converted to orthodox Catholicism, allying himself with the papacy and the monasteries. The Visigoths in Spain followed his lead in 589, and the Lombards in Italy in the course of the 7th century. Western Christianity , particularly through its monasteries ,

2023-733: The Edict of Thessalonica made Nicene Christianity the state church of the Roman Empire , a position that within the diminishing territory of the Byzantine Empire would persist until the empire itself ended in the fall of Constantinople in 1453, while elsewhere the church was independent of the empire, as became particularly clear with the East–West Schism . During the period of the Seven Ecumenical Councils , five primary sees emerged, an arrangement formalized in

2142-766: The English Reformation and the eventual development of Anglicanism . The Reformation contributed to clashes between the Protestant Schmalkaldic League and the Catholic Emperor Charles V and his allies. The first nine-year war ended in 1555 with the Peace of Augsburg but continued tensions produced a far graver conflict—the Thirty Years' War —which broke out in 1618. In France, a series of conflicts termed

2261-607: The French Wars of Religion was fought from 1562 to 1598 between the Huguenots (French Calvinists ) and the forces of the French Catholic League , which were backed and funded by a series of popes. This ended under Pope Clement VIII , who hesitantly accepted King Henry IV's 1598 Edict of Nantes granting civil and religious toleration to French Protestants. The Council of Trent (1545–1563) became

2380-543: The Immaculate Conception as a dogma in the Catholic Church . In 1870, the First Vatican Council affirmed the doctrine of papal infallibility when exercised in specifically defined pronouncements, striking a blow to the rival position of conciliarism . Controversy over this and other issues resulted in a breakaway movement called the Old Catholic Church , The Italian unification of

2499-712: The Italian Peninsula , imprisoning Pope Pius VI , who died in captivity. Napoleon later re-established the Catholic Church in France through the Concordat of 1801 . The end of the Napoleonic Wars brought Catholic revival and the return of the Papal States . In 1854, Pope Pius IX , with the support of the overwhelming majority of Catholic bishops, whom he had consulted from 1851 to 1853, proclaimed

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2618-671: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Thessalonica during the 12th and 13th centuries. Their name derived from count Aleramo , proclaimed first Marquis of Central Liguria by emperor Otto the Great in 966 . The Aleramici were divided in two main lines: the Marquises of Savona or D el Vasto , and the Marquises of Monferrato . In the 14th century the line of Monferrato ended in Irene of Montferrat , Empress of Constantinople , whilst

2737-735: The March of Montferrat . Theodore founded the Palaeologus-Montferrat cadet branch of the Palaiologos dynasty, fusing and subsuming the Aleramici lineage with a succession that derived from Byzantium and carried the name of the Palaiologan emperors. Theodore's family ruled Monferrat until the 16th century. Although the Palaiologoi of Montferrat were Latinized, there still had some ties to their homeland; notably reflected in several of them being given typically Greek names, such as Theodore and Sophia. Additionally, they held strong ties to Genoa. Though

2856-577: The Marquises of Savona , or del Vasto , descendants of the eldest son Anselmo , and the Marquises of Monferrato , descendants of the youngest son Otto . Despite their constant territorial division between the multiple male descendants, the Aleramici managed to maintain control over an important part of the Piedmont and the Eastern flank of the Ligurian Bay , forming powerful alliances throughout

2975-462: The Nicene Creed . The Catholic Church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission , that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles , and that the pope is the successor to Saint Peter , upon whom primacy was conferred by Jesus Christ. It maintains that it practises the original Christian faith taught by

3094-469: The Palaiologoi gained Montferrat. In 1179, Emperor Manuel I Komnenos ( r.  1143–1180 ) married his daughter Maria Komnene to Renier of Montferrat , who was granted the city of Thessalonica to rule as a pronoia . Because of this family connection, Renier's brother Boniface , a leading figure in the Fourth Crusade , could claim and conquer the " Kingdom of Thessalonica " in 1204. Though

3213-775: The Paleologo-Oriundi family, which claims descent from Teodoro, son of Flaminio. The veracity of such lines of descent is disputed. Even if descent was proven, descendants of Flaminio would not be considered true members of the Palaeologus-Montferrat family, or the Palaiologos dynasty itself, on account of descent through an illegitimate son. In order to conserve space, the family tree only displays people of male-line descent who survived until adulthood. Marquises are indicated with bold text and women are indicated with italics. Dotted lines indicate illegitimate children. The illegitimate children of William VIII and their descendants follow Mallat (2007). The family tree below displays

3332-552: The Polish People's Republic , became the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. His 26 1/2-year pontificate was one of the longest in history, and was credited with hastening the fall of communism in Europe. John Paul II sought to evangelize an increasingly secular world . He travelled more than any other pope, visiting 129 countries, and used television and radio as means of spreading the church's teachings. He also emphasized

3451-825: The Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, when those who ceased to be in communion became known as Protestants. While the Roman Church has been used to describe the pope's Diocese of Rome since the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and into the Early Middle Ages (6th–10th century), Roman Catholic Church has been applied to the whole church in the English language since the Protestant Reformation in

3570-534: The Republic of Genoa between the 12th and 14th centuries. Only the Marquises of Finale and the Marquises of Saluzzo continued to rule over part of the original Aleramician domains until the 16th century. Aleramo (958–991) I Marquis of Central Liguria married 1. Adelaide 2. Gerberga of Ivrea (daughter of Berengar II of Italy cBerengar II , king of Lombardy) Catholic Church God Schools Relations with: The Catholic Church , also known as

3689-616: The Roman Catholic Church , is the largest Christian church , with 1.28 to 1.39 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2024. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization . The church consists of 24 sui iuris churches , including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches , which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies around

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3808-674: The Roman Empire , when establishing the state church of the Roman Empire . Since the East–West Schism of 1054, the Eastern Orthodox Church has taken the adjective Orthodox as its distinctive epithet; its official name continues to be the Orthodox Catholic Church. The Latin Church was described as Catholic , with that description also denominating those in communion with the Holy See after

3927-669: The Tridentine Mass as found in the Roman Missal of 1962, which he titled the "Extraordinary Form". Citing the frailties of advanced age, Benedict resigned in 2013, becoming the first pope to do so in nearly 600 years. Pope Francis, the current pope of the Catholic Church, became in 2013 the first pope from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere , and the first Pope from outside Europe since

4046-418: The University of Oxford , University of Paris , and University of Bologna . Higher education before then had been the domain of Christian cathedral schools or monastic schools, led by monks and nuns . Evidence of such schools dates back to the 6th century CE. These new universities expanded the curriculum to include academic programs for clerics, lawyers, civil servants, and physicians. The university

4165-409: The War of the Spanish Succession . The House of Savoy, which ruled all of Italy 1861–1946, represents still-living descendants of the Palaeologus-Montferrat family. Federico II Gonzaga, who had succeeded the Palaeologus-Montferrat family in 1533, was connected to the family by marriage, being the husband of Margaret Paleologa , niece of John George. Federico had married Margaret on 3 October 1531 with

4284-444: The dignity of work and natural rights of labourers to have fair wages and safe conditions in Laborem exercens . He emphasized several church teachings, including moral exhortations against abortion, euthanasia , and against widespread use of the death penalty, in Evangelium Vitae . Pope Benedict XVI , elected in 2005, was known for upholding traditional Christian values against secularization , and for increasing use of

4403-448: The 1320s, Theodore was one of the most directly involved and influential figures in Andronikos II's negotiations and hopes for a union between the Orthodox and Catholic churches. One of Theodore's preserved literary works, a treatise on war and government, expresses western feudal practices and ideas and is notably missing contemporary Byzantine ideas. Throughout his reign, Theodore was mainly preoccupied with maintaining his position within

4522-578: The 14th century the Marquisate of Monferrato passed to Theodore I Paleologus , son of Empress Irene , last of the Aleramici of Monferrato. Despite the extinction of their cadet branch, the Aleramici survived the Middle Ages through the multiple descending branches of the Marquises of Savona , including the Marquises of Saluzzo (from 1135 to 1548), Finale (ruled by the Aleramici del Carreto from 1135 to 1602), Ceva , Busca , Clavesana , Loreto, Bosco , Belforte, Ussecio, Pareto , Varazze , Ponzone , amongst others, whose domains were mostly absorbed by

4641-422: The 14th century. To escape instability in Rome, Clement V in 1309 became the first of seven popes to reside in the fortified city of Avignon in southern France during a period known as the Avignon Papacy . The Avignon Papacy ended in 1376 when the pope returned to Rome, but was followed in 1378 by the 38-year-long Western schism , with claimants to the papacy in Rome, Avignon and (after 1409) Pisa. The matter

4760-414: The 1860s incorporated the Papal States, including Rome itself from 1870, into the Kingdom of Italy , thus ending the papacy's temporal power . In response, Pope Pius IX excommunicated King Victor Emmanuel II , refused payment for the land, and rejected the Italian Law of Guarantees , which granted him special privileges. To avoid placing himself in visible subjection to the Italian authorities, he remained

4879-522: The 1960s, Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council , which ushered in radical change to church ritual and practice, and in the later 20th century, the long reign of Pope John Paul II contributed to the fall of communism in Europe, and a new public and international role for the papacy. From the late 20th century, the Catholic Church has been criticized for its doctrines on sexuality , its inability to ordain women , and its handling of sexual abuse cases . Pope Pius X (1903–1914) renewed

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4998-408: The 21st century. Pope Gregory VII further initiated the Gregorian Reforms regarding the independence of the clergy from secular authority. This led to the Investiture Controversy between the church and the Holy Roman Emperors , over which had the authority to appoint bishops and popes. In 1095, Byzantine emperor Alexius I appealed to Pope Urban II for help against renewed Muslim invasions in

5117-416: The Americas, Asia and Oceania by explorers, conquistadors, and missionaries, as well as by the transformation of societies through the socio-political mechanisms of colonial rule. Pope Alexander VI had awarded colonial rights over most of the newly discovered lands to Spain and Portugal and the ensuing patronato system allowed state authorities, not the Vatican, to control all clerical appointments in

5236-402: The Byzantine Empire lost to the Lombards the city of Ravenna from which it governed the small fragments of Italy, including Rome, that acknowledged its sovereignty. The fall of Ravenna meant that confirmation by a no longer existent exarch was not asked for during the election in 752 of Pope Stephen II and that the papacy was forced to look elsewhere for a civil power to protect it. In 754, at

5355-503: The Byzantines had seen Argentina Spinola as a mere commoner, her family held significant political power in Genoa. Theodore II of Montferrat , Theodore I's grandson, even managed to take control of the city in 1409, ruling there until 1413. Theodore I's successor as Marquis of Montferrat, his son John II Palaeologus , attempted to take advantage of the Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347 , between Andronikos II's great-grandson John V Palaiologos and John VI Kantakouzenos , in order to invade

5474-442: The Byzantines of Epirus retook Thessalonica in 1224, the Aleramici still retained their claims to the city and the kingdom they had created around it. In 1284, Yolande of Montferrat , the daughter of the ruling Marquis of Montferrat , William VII , married Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos of the Byzantine Empire ( r.  1282–1328 ) and was given the titles associated with Thessalonica by her father as her dowry, though it

5593-405: The Catholic and Orthodox churches. Several eastern churches reunited, forming the majority of the Eastern Catholic Churches . The Age of Discovery beginning in the 15th century saw the expansion of Western Europe's political and cultural influence worldwide. Because of the prominent role the strongly Catholic nations of Spain and Portugal played in Western colonialism, Catholicism was spread to

5712-422: The Christians were angering the gods and thereby threatening the peace and prosperity of the Empire. The resulting persecutions were a defining feature of Christian self-understanding until Christianity was legalized in the 4th century. In 313, Emperor Constantine I 's Edict of Milan legalized Christianity, and in 330 Constantine moved the imperial capital to Constantinople , modern Istanbul, Turkey . In 380

5831-425: The East. In 1420, Sophia of Montferrat , the great-granddaughter of Theodore I, was chosen by Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos and Pope Martin V to marry her distant relative, John VIII Palaiologos , then the heir to the Byzantine throne. Manuel II agreed to this marriage not because they were related, but because Sophia held connections to Montferrat and Genoa, valuable allies, and because she had been suggested by

5950-457: The Edict of Nantes by King Louis XIV of France , which ended a century-long policy of religious toleration of Protestant Huguenots. As the papacy resisted pushes for Gallicanism , the French Revolution of 1789 shifted power to the state, caused the destruction of churches, the establishment of a Cult of Reason , and the martyrdom of nuns during the Reign of Terror . In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte 's General Louis-Alexandre Berthier invaded

6069-401: The European imperial powers' conquest of Africa during the late nineteenth century. According to the historian of religion Adrian Hastings , Catholic missionaries were generally unwilling to defend African rights or encourage Africans to see themselves as equals to Europeans, in contrast to Protestant missionaries, who were more willing to oppose colonial injustices. During the 20th century,

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6188-447: The Holy See, or the Apostolic See (meaning the see of the apostle Peter). Directly serving the pope is the Roman Curia, the central governing body that administers the day-to-day business of the Catholic Church. The pope is also sovereign of Vatican City, a small city-state entirely enclaved within the city of Rome, which is an entity distinct from the Holy See. It is as head of the Holy See, not as head of Vatican City State, that

6307-442: The Marquis". Furthermore, Andronikos pledged 500 soldiers, stationed in Lombardy throughout William's lifetime, to aid the Marquis in his wars against the Angevins . The marriage between Andronikos and Irene had the unexpected result of giving the Byzantine imperial family the possibility of inheriting the throne of Montferrat. In January 1305, John I of Montferrat, Irene's brother, died without children. John's will specified that in

6426-402: The Pope's insistence on public neutrality and diplomatic language has become a source of much criticism and debate. Nevertheless, in every country under German occupation, priests played a major part in rescuing Jews. Israeli historian Pinchas Lapide estimated that Catholic rescue of Jews amounted to somewhere between 700,000 and 860,000 people. The Nazi persecution of the Catholic Church

6545-529: The Pope. Pope Martin V himself might have been interested in securing the allegiance of Montferrat by suggesting an imperial marriage. Their marriage was not a happy one, on account of John VIII finding Sophia unattractive, and Sophia left John VIII in 1426, returning to Italy. John remarried in the following year. The Palaeologus-Montferrat family repeatedly intermarried with the powerful House of Savoy . In 1330, Theodore I's daughter, Yolande Palaeologina of Montferrat , married Aymon, Count of Savoy , and in 1411,

6664-410: The Reformation, which gave birth to the great majority of Protestant denominations and also crypto-Protestantism within the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, Henry VIII petitioned Pope Clement VII for a declaration of nullity concerning his marriage to Catherine of Aragon . When this was denied, he had the Acts of Supremacy passed to make himself Supreme Head of the Church of England , spurring

6783-499: The Second World War, also because they had powerful supporters from the Vatican. The judgment of Pius XII is made more difficult by the sources, because the church archives for his tenure as nuncio, cardinal secretary of state and pope are in part closed or not yet processed. The Second Vatican Council (1962–65) introduced the most significant changes to Catholic practices since the Council of Trent, four centuries before. Initiated by Pope John XXIII, this ecumenical council modernized

6902-484: The War, and established aid networks to help victims, but he secretly assisted the anti-Hitler resistance and shared intelligence with the Allies. His first encyclical Summi Pontificatus (1939) expressed dismay at the 1939 Invasion of Poland and reiterated Catholic teaching against racism. He expressed concern against race killings on Vatican Radio , and intervened diplomatically to attempt to block Nazi deportations of Jews in various countries from 1942 to 1944. But

7021-512: The West. In addition to his own marriage to the pretender to Thessalonica, Andronikos also unsuccessfully attempted to marry his son, Michael IX Palaiologos , to Catherine of Courtenay , the recognized heir to the Latin Empire itself. In his marriage negotiations with William VII, Andronikos paid William 6,000 livres génois , amounting to the revenue Andronikos and his father, Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos ( r.  1259–1282 ), had received from "the Kingdom of Thessalonica which belonged to

7140-479: The absence of heirs of his own, Montferrat should go to Irene and her sons. In March, envoys left Montferrat to ask Irene, or one of her sons, to travel to Italy and claim their inheritance. After receiving the news, Irene and Andronikos clashed over which of their sons was to inherit Montferrat. The Emperor wanted to send their youngest son, Demetrios , but Irene preferred Theodore , who was older and from Thessalonica, and sent him instead. Irene had initially preferred

7259-458: The apostles, instructing them to continue his work. The book Acts of Apostles , tells of the founding of the Christian church and the spread of its message to the Roman Empire. The Catholic Church teaches that its public ministry began on Pentecost , occurring fifty days following the date Christ is believed to have resurrected . At Pentecost, the apostles are believed to have received the Holy Spirit, preparing them for their mission in leading

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7378-400: The apostles, preserving the faith infallibly through scripture and sacred tradition as authentically interpreted through the magisterium of the church. The Roman Rite and others of the Latin Church, the Eastern Catholic liturgies , and institutes such as mendicant orders , enclosed monastic orders and third orders reflect a variety of theological and spiritual emphases in

7497-410: The areas under his control definitively established a form of caesaropapism , in which "he had the right and duty of regulating by his laws the minutest details of worship and discipline, and also of dictating the theological opinions to be held in the Church", re-established imperial power over Rome and other parts of the West, initiating the period termed the Byzantine Papacy (537–752), during which

7616-451: The bishops of Rome, or popes, required approval from the emperor in Constantinople or from his representative in Ravenna for consecration, and most were selected by the emperor from his Greek-speaking subjects, resulting in a "melting pot" of Western and Eastern Christian traditions in art as well as liturgy. Most of the Germanic tribes who in the following centuries invaded the Roman Empire had adopted Christianity in its Arian form, which

7735-590: The branch ruling in Montferrat are unclear. According to Mallat (2007), descendants of this family survived on Cephalonia until modern times. A family of Paleologo in Taranto , relatives of the Paleologo in Cephalonia, also survived into the 17th century. Though the Palaeologus-Montferrat family went extinct with the death of Margaret Paleologa, claims of male-line descent have been forwarded in modern times, particularly claims of descent from Flaminio , an illegitimate son of John George. According to some genealogies, Flaminio left extensive lineages of descendants, such as

7854-496: The church's approach to ecumenism , and a call to improved relations with non-Christian religions, especially Judaism, in its document Nostra aetate . The council, however, generated significant controversy in implementing its reforms: proponents of the " Spirit of Vatican II " such as Swiss theologian Hans Küng said that Vatican II had "not gone far enough" to change church policies. Traditionalist Catholics , such as Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre , however, strongly criticized

7973-407: The church's global reach continued to grow, despite the rise of anti-Catholic authoritarian regimes and the collapse of European Empires, accompanied by a general decline in religious observance in the West. Under Popes Benedict XV , and Pius XII , the Holy See sought to maintain public neutrality through the World Wars, acting as peace broker and delivering aid to the victims of the conflicts. In

8092-464: The church. Of its seven sacraments , the Eucharist is the principal one, celebrated liturgically in the Mass . The church teaches that through consecration by a priest , the sacrificial bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ . The Virgin Mary is venerated as the Perpetual Virgin , Mother of God , and Queen of Heaven ; she is honoured in dogmas and devotions . Catholic social teaching emphasizes voluntary support for

8211-426: The church. The Catholic Church teaches that the college of bishops , led by the bishop of Rome are the successors to the Apostles. In the account of the Confession of Peter found in the Gospel of Matthew , Christ designates Peter as the "rock" upon which Christ's church will be built. The Catholic Church considers the bishop of Rome, the pope, to be the successor to Saint Peter . Some scholars state Peter

8330-422: The church. There are three levels of clergy: the episcopate, composed of bishops who hold jurisdiction over a geographic area called a diocese or eparchy ; the presbyterate, composed of priests ordained by bishops and who work in local dioceses or religious orders; and the diaconate, composed of deacons who assist bishops and priests in a variety of ministerial roles. Ultimately leading the entire Catholic Church

8449-584: The conflict. Catholic clergy played a leading role in the government of the fascist Slovak State , which collaborated with the Nazis, copied their anti-Semitic policies, and helped them carry out the Holocaust in Slovakia. Jozef Tiso , the President of the Slovak State and a Catholic priest, supported his government's deportation of Slovakian Jews to extermination camps. The Vatican protested against these Jewish deportations in Slovakia and in other Nazi puppet regimes including Vichy France , Croatia, Bulgaria , Italy and Hungary. Around 1943, Adolf Hitler planned

8568-522: The council, arguing that its liturgical reforms led "to the destruction of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the sacraments", among other issues. The teaching on the morality of contraception also came under scrutiny; after a series of disagreements, Humanae vitae upheld the church's prohibition of all forms of contraception. In 1978, Pope John Paul II , formerly Archbishop of Kraków in

8687-640: The couple's oldest son John , also preferred by the envoys on account of primogeniture and his older age, but this suggestion was blocked by both the Emperor and the Patriarch of Constantinople , Athanasius I , since sending John, third-in-line to the Byzantine throne, to the West was seen as jeopardizing their own line of succession. Though the Byzantines in ages past would have welcomed the opportunity to send

8806-498: The death of the last male member of the house, John George Palaeologus . The last female member, Margaret Paleologa , died in 1566, rendering the house extinct. Their descendants are still alive today through matrilineal descent in several Italian noble houses, such as the House of Savoy . The ruling house of Montferrat , the Aleramici family, had been interconnected with the Byzantine Empire and its rulers for some time before

8925-435: The development of the role of the papacy in the subsequent church". These roles, Brown says, "contributed enormously to seeing the bishop of Rome, the bishop of the city where Peter died and where Paul witnessed the truth of Christ, as the successor of Peter in care for the church universal". Conditions in the Roman Empire facilitated the spread of new ideas. The empire's network of roads and waterways facilitated travel, and

9044-554: The driving force behind the Counter-Reformation in response to the Protestant movement. Doctrinally, it reaffirmed central Catholic teachings such as transubstantiation and the requirement for love and hope as well as faith to attain salvation. In subsequent centuries, Catholicism spread widely across the world, in part through missionaries and imperialism , although its hold on European populations declined due to

9163-680: The eighth-century Gregory III . Francis has made efforts to further close Catholicism's estrangement with the Eastern churches. His installation was attended by Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the first time since the Great Schism of 1054 that the Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople has attended a papal installation, while he also met Patriarch Kirill of Moscow , head of

9282-767: The emperor wishing to establish his legitimacy in regards to Western Europe. Although the Palaiologoi ruled the Byzantine Empire, which had controlled Greece and Anatolia since ancient times, many in Western Europe viewed them as usurpers, since they had supplanted the Catholic Latin Empire , established in 1204 after the Fourth Crusade. Through marriage alliances with western pretenders to the Latin Empire, or parts of it, Andronikos would have been able to achieve full recognition of his rule in

9401-404: The empire and conquer Thessalonica. In his 1372 will, John II claimed that Andronikos II's deposition in 1328 by his grandson Andronikos III Palaiologos (John V's father) had been unlawful and thus disqualified Andronikos III and all his heirs from the legitimate line of succession to the throne of Byzantium. John II also pointed out that since Andronikos II had disinherited Andronikos III, John II

9520-634: The empire's capital. As a result of Islamic domination of the Mediterranean , the Frankish state, centred away from that sea, was able to evolve as the dominant power that shaped the Western Europe of the Middle Ages. The battles of Toulouse and Poitiers halted the Islamic advance in the West and the failed siege of Constantinople halted it in the East. Two or three decades later, in 751,

9639-517: The explicit goal of acquiring Montferrat. With Margaret's death in 1566, the Palaeologus-Montferrat family became extinct. Her and Federico II's descendants, with the Gonzaga name, ruled Montferrat until they were supplanted by the House of Savoy. The name "Montferrato-Paleologo" is recorded on the Greek island of Cephalonia until the 17th century, though the relations of these Montferrato-Paleologo to

9758-513: The eyes of Western Europe, he married Yolande in an effort to formally unite the claims of her family with his own de facto rule of Thessalonica, avoiding the potential future threat of a pretender launching an invasion against the empire. At the time of their marriage, Yolande was second-in-line to the throne of Montferrat, and when her brother, John I of Montferrat , died without children in 1305, rulership of Montferrat legitimately passed to Yolande and her children, Theodore being chosen to make

9877-512: The final breach. In this age great gothic cathedrals in France were an expression of popular pride in the Christian faith. In the early 13th century mendicant orders were founded by Francis of Assisi and Dominic de Guzmán . The studia conventualia and studia generalia of the mendicant orders played a large role in the transformation of church-sponsored cathedral schools and palace schools, such as that of Charlemagne at Aachen , into

9996-529: The growth of religious scepticism during and after the Enlightenment. From the 17th century onward, the Enlightenment questioned the power and influence of the Catholic Church over Western society. In the 18th century, writers such as Voltaire and the Encyclopédistes wrote biting critiques of both religion and the Catholic Church. One target of their criticism was the 1685 revocation of

10115-531: The independence of papal office by abolishing the veto of Catholic powers in papal elections, and his successors Benedict XV (1914–1922) and Pius XI (1922–1939) concluded the modern independence of the Vatican State within Italy. Benedict XV was elected at the outbreak of the First World War . He attempted to mediate between the powers and established a Vatican relief office, to assist victims of

10234-478: The journey to Italy and establish himself there. Many of the more conservative parts of the Byzantine aristocracy feared that Theodore and his descendants would become 'latinized'; fears that were realized once Theodore adopted Western customs and converted to Catholicism . Although the Montferrat Palaiologoi continued to use typical Greek names, such as Theodore or Sophia, from time to time, and

10353-602: The kidnapping of the Pope and his internment in Germany. He gave SS General Wolff a corresponding order to prepare for the action. While Pope Pius XII has been credited with helping to save hundreds of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust , the church has also been accused of having encouraged centuries of antisemitism by its teachings and not doing enough to stop Nazi atrocities. Many Nazi criminals escaped overseas after

10472-591: The largest Eastern Orthodox church, in 2016; this was reported as the first such high-level meeting between the two churches since the Great Schism of 1054. In 2017 during a visit in Egypt , Pope Francis reestablished mutual recognition of baptism with the Coptic Orthodox Church . The Catholic Church follows an episcopal polity , led by bishops who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders who are given formal jurisdictions of governance within

10591-550: The late 16th century. Further, some will refer to the Latin Church as Roman Catholic in distinction from the Eastern Catholic churches. "Roman Catholic" has occasionally appeared also in documents produced both by the Holy See, and notably used by certain national episcopal conferences and local dioceses. The name Catholic Church for the whole church is used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1990) and

10710-471: The late summer of 1306, aged 15. Theodore himself ascribed the delay to Andronikos not finding enough ships nor enough time to make the necessary preparations for the journey. Another likely reason was that the Marquis of Saluzzo , Manfred IV , had attacked Monferrat, claiming that John I's widow, Margarita, was pregnant and that since an heir would thus be produced, a Byzantine prince was unnecessary. Theodore

10829-621: The line of Savona carried on in multiple descending branches. The oldest known member of the lineage was the Frankish count Willehmus , a Burgundian who is thought to have gone to the Carolingian Kingdom of Italy around 888 or 889, possibly to aid Guy III of Spoleto in his quest for the Iron Crown of Lombardy . His son Aleramo , received from King Hugh of Italy the first feudal domains in Central Liguria in

10948-675: The lineage of the Paleologo in Taranto and the Montferrato-Paleologo in Cephalonia (Nicolo and his descendants), per Mallat (2007), their relations to the main branch above are unclear. Aleramici The Aleramici were a Northern Italian noble and royal dynasty of Frankish origin which ruled various northwestern Italian territories in Piedmont and Liguria from the 10th to the 14th century, also reigning over

11067-577: The mid-6th century by Emperor Justinian I as the pentarchy of Rome, Constantinople , Antioch , Jerusalem and Alexandria . In 451 the Council of Chalcedon , in a canon of disputed validity, elevated the see of Constantinople to a position "second in eminence and power to the bishop of Rome". From c.  350  – c.  500 , the bishops, or popes, of Rome, steadily increased in authority through their consistent intervening in support of orthodox leaders in theological disputes, which encouraged appeals to them. Emperor Justinian , who in

11186-741: The new colonies. In 1521 the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan made the first Catholic converts in the Philippines . Elsewhere, Portuguese missionaries under the Spanish Jesuit Francis Xavier evangelized in India, China, and Japan. The French colonization of the Americas beginning in the 16th century established a Catholic francophone population and forbade non-Catholics to settle in Quebec . In 1415, Jan Hus

11305-458: The numerous visual artists sponsored by the church. Historian Paul Legutko of Stanford University said the Catholic Church is "at the center of the development of the values, ideas, science, laws, and institutions which constitute what we call Western civilization ". In Western Christendom , the first universities in Europe were established by monks. Beginning in the 11th century, several older cathedral schools became universities, such as

11424-406: The oldest multinational organization in the world. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church is headed by the pope, currently Pope Francis , who was elected on 13 March 2013 by a papal conclave . The office of the pope is known as the papacy . The Catholic Church holds that Christ instituted the papacy upon giving the keys of Heaven to Saint Peter . His ecclesiastical jurisdiction is called

11543-683: The pope receives ambassadors of states and sends them his own diplomatic representatives. The Holy See also confers orders, decorations and medals , such as the orders of chivalry originating from the Middle Ages . While the famous Saint Peter's Basilica is located in Vatican City, above the traditional site of Saint Peter's tomb , the papal cathedral for the Diocese of Rome is the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran , located within

11662-412: The practices of the Catholic Church, allowing the Mass to be said in the vernacular (local language) and encouraging "fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations". It intended to engage the church more closely with the present world ( aggiornamento ), which was described by its advocates as an "opening of the windows". In addition to changes in the liturgy, it led to changes to

11781-683: The preservation and transmission of ancient culture. During this period, monastic Ireland became a centre of learning and early Irish missionaries such as Columbanus and Columba spread Christianity and established monasteries across continental Europe. The Catholic Church was the dominant influence on Western civilization from Late Antiquity to the dawn of the modern age. It was the primary sponsor of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque styles in art, architecture and music. Renaissance figures such as Raphael , Michelangelo , Leonardo da Vinci , Botticelli , Fra Angelico , Tintoretto , Titian , Bernini and Caravaggio are examples of

11900-462: The prominent universities of Europe. Scholastic theologians and philosophers such as the Dominican priest Thomas Aquinas studied and taught at these studia. Aquinas' Summa Theologica was an intellectual milestone in its synthesis of the legacy of ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle with the content of Christian revelation. A growing sense of church-state conflicts marked

12019-581: The ruling houses of Europe, including the Capetians and the Hohenstaufens . The cadet line of Monferrato gained notable influence and power through their involvement in the Crusades , becoming kings and queens of Jerusalem , first by marriage and then by succession in the 12th century. Recognized as a royal lineage, the Aleramici of both lines married into numerous of royal dynasties, most notably

12138-590: The schism was reconciled, unresolved issues would lead to further division. In the 11th century, the efforts of Hildebrand of Sovana led to the creation of the College of Cardinals to elect new popes, starting with Pope Alexander II in the papal election of 1061 . When Alexander II died, Hildebrand was elected to succeed him, as Pope Gregory VII . The basic election system of the College of Cardinals which Gregory VII helped establish has continued to function into

12257-569: The sick, the poor, and the afflicted through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy . The Catholic Church operates tens of thousands of Catholic schools, universities and colleges , hospitals , and orphanages around the world, and is the largest non-government provider of education and health care in the world. Among its other social services are numerous charitable and humanitarian organizations. The Catholic Church has profoundly influenced Western philosophy , culture , art , literature , music , law , and science . Catholics live all over

12376-521: The term "bishop of Rome" to the most prominent members of the clergy in the earlier period and also to Peter himself. On this basis protestant scholars Oscar Cullmann , Henry Chadwick , and Bart D. Ehrman question whether there was a formal link between Peter and the modern papacy. Raymond E. Brown also says that it is anachronistic to speak of Peter in terms of local bishop of Rome, but that Christians of that period would have looked on Peter as having "roles that would contribute in an essential way to

12495-427: The then current Savoyard heir, Charles III, Duke of Savoy , made a claim to the title, the Montferrat territories were instead given to a rival contender, Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua , by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V . In 1708, the House of Savoy, through Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia , succeeded in claiming Montferrat, the acquisition of which was confirmed in 1713 through the Peace of Utrecht , which ended

12614-687: The three Byzantine Imperial dynasties of Comnenus , Angelus and Palaeologus , with whom they formed their most important alliance. As a result of the Fourth Crusade , the Aleramici founded the Latin Kingdom of Thessalonica , then replaced by the Empire of Thessalonica . During this period, two women of the Monferrato line held the title of "Empress Consort" of the Eastern Roman Empire ( Empress Agnes and Empress Irene ). By

12733-649: The urgent request of Pope Stephen, the Frankish king Pepin the Short conquered the Lombards. He then gifted the lands of the former exarchate to the pope, thus initiating the Papal States . Rome and the Byzantine East would delve into further conflict during the Photian schism of the 860s, when Photius criticized the Latin west of adding of the filioque clause after being excommunicated by Nicholas I . Though

12852-620: The war and reunite families. The interwar Pope Pius XI modernized the papacy, appointing 40 indigenous bishops and concluding fifteen concordats, including the Lateran Treaty with Italy which founded the Vatican City State . His successor Pope Pius XII led the Catholic Church through the Second World War and early Cold War . Like his predecessors, Pius XII sought to publicly maintain Vatican neutrality in

12971-582: The world . The pope , who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The Diocese of Rome , known as the Holy See , is the central governing authority of the church. The administrative body of the Holy See, the Roman Curia , has its principal offices in Vatican City , which is a small, independent city-state and enclave within the city of Rome , of which the pope is head of state . The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in

13090-478: The world through missions , immigration , diaspora , and conversions . Since the 20th century, the majority have resided in the Global South , partially due to secularization in Europe and North America. The Catholic Church shared communion with the Eastern Orthodox Church until the East–West Schism in 1054, disputing particularly the authority of the pope . Before the Council of Ephesus in AD 431,

13209-610: The year 933, later confirmed by Holy Roman Emperor Otto the Great , who in addition granted him and his descendants the hereditary title of Marchio or Margrave of the Holy Roman Empire . The Aleramici formed one of the four imperial margraviates in the northern Kingdom of Italy , soon becoming one of the most powerful dynasties of the Middle Ages . Due to their ancestral Salic tradition, they divided their original territory into multiple marquisates, grouped into two main lines founded by Aleramo 's two surviving sons:

13328-487: Was a major factor in preserving classical civilization , with its art (see Illuminated manuscript ) and literacy. Through his Rule , Benedict of Nursia ( c.  480 –543), one of the founders of Western monasticism , exerted an enormous influence on European culture through the appropriation of the monastic spiritual heritage of the early Catholic Church and, with the spread of the Benedictine tradition, through

13447-530: Was at its most intense in Poland , and Catholic resistance to Nazism took various forms. Some 2,579 Catholic clergy were sent to the Priest Barracks of Dachau Concentration Camp , including 400 Germans. Thousands of priests, nuns and brothers were imprisoned, taken to a concentration camp, tortured and murdered, including Saints Maximilian Kolbe and Edith Stein . Catholics fought on both sides in

13566-645: Was burned at the stake for heresy, but his reform efforts encouraged Martin Luther , an Augustinian friar in modern-day Germany, who sent his Ninety-five Theses to several bishops in 1517. His theses protested key points of Catholic doctrine as well as the sale of indulgences , and along with the Leipzig Debate this led to his excommunication in 1521. In Switzerland , Huldrych Zwingli , John Calvin and other Protestant Reformers further criticized Catholic teachings. These challenges developed into

13685-464: Was first used to describe the church in the early 2nd century. The first known use of the phrase "the catholic church" ( Greek : καθολικὴ ἐκκλησία , romanized :  katholikḕ ekklēsía ) occurred in the letter written about 110 AD from Saint Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans , which read: "Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, there

13804-461: Was largely resolved in 1415–17 at the Council of Constance , with the claimants in Rome and Pisa agreeing to resign and the third claimant excommunicated by the cardinals, who held a new election naming Martin V pope. In 1438, the Council of Florence convened, which featured a strong dialogue focussed on understanding the theological differences between the East and West, with the hope of reuniting

13923-549: Was not sent to Monferrat until Manfred's claim was uncovered to be a lie. Before leaving Byzantium, Theodore also married Argentina Spinola, the daughter of Opicino Spinola , a merchant and one of the "Captains of the People" of Genoa . Theodore's fate was a shock to some of the more conservative members of the Byzantine aristocracy; not only had a young Byzantine prince, born in the purple, been sent to live among, and rule over, Latin barbarians, but he had also chosen to marry not only

14042-416: Was the first bishop of Rome. Others say that the institution of the papacy is not dependent on the idea that Peter was bishop of Rome or even on his ever having been in Rome. Many scholars hold that a church structure of plural presbyters/bishops persisted in Rome until the mid-2nd century, when the structure of a single bishop and plural presbyters was adopted, and that later writers retrospectively applied

14161-524: Was thus the rightful emperor as the only true heir to Andronikos II. John II even petitioned the Papacy to recognize his claims to Thessalonica and to the empire, and to help him conquer them. An expedition to "recover" these territories was never organized. Although John II's claims were theoretically inherited by his descendants, none of the marquises seriously pursued a policy of taking over the Byzantine Empire, most of them paying little attention to affairs in

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