Introduction The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.378 billion baptized Catholics worldwide 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 located around 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, a small independent city-state and enclave within the Italian capital city of Rome, of which the pope is head of state. The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in 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 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 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 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. ( Full article...) Selected article
 The Roman Catholic Church in Nepal is part of the worldwide
Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the
Pope and
curia in
Vatican City. As of 2004 there are 7,105 Catholics in Nepal, organized into one Catholic jurisdiction known as an
apostolic vicariate. Catholicism was first propagated in the 18th century, though from 1810 to 1950 no missionaries were allowed in Nepal. Since 1951, missionaries have again been allowed, though
conversion to Christianity is still illegal. In 1983 a
mission sui iuris covering Nepal was created, and in 1996 it was raised to an
Apostolic Prefecture. The 1990 constitution did not guarantee religious freedom for Christians, but as of May 2006 Nepal has been declared a
secular state and the constitution will likely be rewritten, leading to hopes that religious freedom may be established. On February 10, 2007,
Benedict XVI elevated the prefecture of Nepal to the rank of a vicariate and appointed
Anthony Sharma as the first vicar and first Nepalese bishop of the catholic church.
Selected image
 The chapel of the Palace of Versailles, one of the palace's grandest interiors. Located in Versailles, France, Versailles is famous not only as a building, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy which Louis XIV espoused. Originally the royal hunting lodge when he decided to move there in 1660, the building was expanded over the next few decades to become the largest palace in Europe. Louis XIV officially moved in 1682 and the Court of Versailles was the centre of power in Ancien Régime France until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in 1789. Selected biography
 Thomas Aquinas,
O.P. (also Saint Thomas Aquinas, Thomas of Aquin, or Aquino; c.
1225 – 7 March 1274) was an
Italian
Catholic priest in the
Order of Preachers (more commonly known as the Dominican Order), a
philosopher and
theologian in the
scholastic tradition, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Universalis and Doctor Communis. He was the foremost classical proponent of
natural theology, and the father of the
Thomistic school of philosophy and theology. Aquinas is held in the
Catholic Church to be the model teacher for those studying for the priesthood (Code of
Canon Law, Can. 252, §3). The works for which he is best-known are the
Summa Theologica and the
Summa Contra Gentiles.
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