The document discusses what the Church is. It states that the Church is the mystical body of Christ, established by God on earth to gather humanity to divine life in heaven. It notes that God desires all the faithful to be united to him and one another in the mystical body. The Church is the instrument for the salvation of all. It also discusses the four marks of the Church - that it is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. Jesus Christ founded the Church and gave authority to the apostles and St. Peter to govern it.

1. The
Church

2. What is the Church?
Christ handing the keys to St Peter by Pietro Perugino

3. What is the Church?
The Church is the
mystical body of Christ,
established by God on
earth to gather humanity
to divine life in heaven.
KEY DEFINITION

4. What is the Church?
God desires all the faithful to be a
single family, united to him and to
one another in one ‘mystical body’.
This assembly is the Church, the
body of Christ, which God has
established as:
“the instrument for the salvation of all”
(Lumen Gentium 9§2, ccc. 776).

5. What is the Church?

6. What is the Church?
This picture symbolises the founding event of the Church on earth.
Keys of the
Kingdom
given by Christ to St
Peter, symbol of the
supreme authority of
Peter and of his
successors, the Popes.
The Twelve Apostles
were also given the power to
bind and loose when united
with Peter, their head.
Jesus
Peter

7. The Church in the Creed
Pentecost by Duccio di Buoninsegna
This descent of the Holy Spirit was the beginning of the Church’s mission to the world.

8. The Church in the Creed
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH
“I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church”
ONE
She is one because she has one
founder, God.
She is also one because her
members are united in one faith,
sharing the same sacraments under
one head, Christ, and the Pope, his
vicar on earth.

9. The Church in the Creed
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH
“I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church”
HOLY
She is holy because she is founded
by God, and because her members
are the baptised.
Through her ministry sinners
receive Christ’s forgiveness and
become holy.

10. The Church in the Creed
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH
“I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church”
CATHOLIC
She is Catholic, which means
‘universal’, because she is for all
races and nations in all ages.
All salvation comes through her.

11. The Church in the Creed
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH
“I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church”
APOSTOLIC
She is apostolic because her faith
and practices have come to her
from the apostles. Her leaders, the
bishops, are successors of the
apostles.
She is also apostolic in that she is
‘sent out’ to preach the Gospel to
all creation.

12. The foundation of the Church by Christ
Christ Teaches his Disciples by Duccio di Buoninsegna. This picture reminds us that
Jesus founded his Church on his twelve apostles, whose successors are the bishops.

13. The foundation of the Church by Christ
Jesus Christ established a group of
followers under twelve leaders he
called ‘Apostles’. He gave one of
them, Simon Peter, overall authority.
“You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my
church, and the powers of death shall not prevail
against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven.”
Mt 16:18-19

14. The foundation of the Church by Christ
He gave his disciples his teaching to
pass on to all peoples under the
direction of the Holy Spirit who came
at Pentecost. This teaching is found in
Scripture and Tradition, and is
interpreted by the Church with the
authority of Christ.
He also established the sacraments to
enable his saving power to be present
through the ministry of the Church.
“Do this in remembrance of me” (Lk 22:19).

15. Mistakes about the Church
The Ordination of Saint Lawrence by Fra Angelico.
The ordination of St Lawrence by Pope St Sixtus II reminds us that the Church is
essentially hierarchical and united around the successor of St Peter, the Pope.

16. MISTAKES ABOUT THE CHURCH
 An invisible church
The denial that Christ founded
a visible institution; the claim
that the present structures of
Catholic leadership are a human
invention.
Mistakes about the Church

17. MISTAKES ABOUT THE CHURCH
 A church without a Pope
The denial of the true
hierarchical structure of the
Church with bishops united to,
and under the authority of, the
Pope, the successor of St Peter.
Mistakes about the Church

18. Summary
Questions
to reinforce
key points
Discussion
questions
Practical
activities
Presentation Part II
Summary Activities I
Please select an activity or go immediately
to part II of the presentation

19. Summary
Activities Menu Presentation Part II
• The Church is the mystical body of
Christ, the faithful united in the true
worship of God.
• The Church is one, holy, catholic and
apostolic.
• Jesus Christ founded the Church. He
gave his apostles the power to govern,
teach and sanctify the Church, beginning
at Pentecost. Their successors are the
bishops.
• Jesus Christ gave overall authority to St
Peter to shepherd his people on earth.
The Popes are St Peter’s successors.

20. Questions to reinforce key points
One
Holy
Catholic
Apostolic
What are the four marks of the Church?
Activities Menu Presentation Part II
1
2
Click on a box to reveal one
of the answers
3
4

21. Discussion questions
Activities Menu Presentation Part II
• Discuss how the four marks
of the Church (one, holy,
catholic and apostolic) are
manifested today.
• Discuss why the Church is
not merely a human
invention.
Select one or more of the following:

22. Practical activities
Activities Menu Presentation Part II
• Read the Compendium of the
Catechism questions 147-176.
• Visit a church and pray for the
intentions of the Holy Father
and the local bishop.
Select one or more of the following:

23. Where is the Church?
San Marco Altarpiece by Fra Angelico

24. Where is the Church?

25. Where is the Church?
The Church in glory in heaven.
The saints
Their distinct clothing and
symbols show how they preserve
their identity and enjoy their own
proper glory in heaven.
Jesus
Mary
Ss Cosmas and Damian
These are two of the many saints who intercede for the
Church on earth and invite us to join the Church in heaven.
The evergreens
remind us that the Church will last
forever in heaven.

26. The Church on earth
The Seven Sacraments by Weyden. The primary mission of the Church on earth
is to sanctify and save her members, particularly through the sacraments.

27. The Church on earth
St Paul calls the Church the ‘body of
Christ’ (Eph 1:22-23). As a body, she has an
ordered structure and a visible unity.
As Christ’s body, she is both a divine
and human reality (ccc. 771).
The principal visible elements of this
structure are the bishop of Rome
(Pope), all the bishops of the world
in communion with him, their priests
and deacons, those in religious life
and the lay faithful.

28. The Church on earth
The institution of the Church extends
across all nations. The whole world is
divided up into dioceses under the
authority of bishops.
Dioceses are in turn divided into
parishes under the direction of priests.

29. The Church on earth
The Church also includes institutes of
consecrated life following particular
vocational paths. These include religious
orders such as the Benedictines,
Dominicans, Franciscans and Jesuits.
There are also secular institutes,
societies of apostolic life and many lay
associations. The majority of the
Church’s members are lay people whose
special calling is to personal holiness
and the evangelisation and sanctification
of the societies in which they live.
Dominicans in the San Marco
Altarpiece by Fra Angelico

30. The Church on earth
Baptism of the Neophytes
by Masaccio
Baptism is the means of entry into the
Catholic Church, but not all the baptised
remain fully united with her. These include
Protestant and Orthodox Christians.
The Catholic Church believes that her
essential structures and teachings are
divinely established. She recognises,
however, all that is good and true in other
Christian communions, for instance, the
validity of all Orthodox sacraments. She is
committed to the prayer and work for
Christian unity which is called ecumenism.

31. The Church in purgatory
Detail from The Coronation of the Virgin by Quarton

32. The Church in purgatory
Since those who have died and
are in purgatory are also part
of the Church, the Church is
also found in purgatory.
This is why we in the Church
on earth offer prayers and
sacrifices for the purification
and reparation of the holy
souls of the dead.
Therefore he made atonement for the
dead, that they might be delivered from
their sin.
2 Macc 12:45

33. The Church in purgatory

34. The Church in purgatory
This picture depicts how prayers by the Church on earth
can aid the passage of souls from purgatory to heaven.
A Carthusian praying
Christ on the cross
whose merits make
possible the purification of
the imperfect after death.
Angel helping the soul (of a pope)
from purgatory

35. The Church in heaven
The Coronation of the Virgin by Quarton.
The Church in heaven, the coronation of Mary, Mother of the
Church, and the glory of all the angels and saints.

36. The Church in heaven
The goal of the Church is to
be united with God in the
glory of heaven. Just as
Christians on earth comprise
a community, those in heaven
also form a community.
This is the Church in glory,
which the Apostles’ Creed
calls ‘the communion of saints’.

37. The Church in heaven
The word saint means ‘holy
one’, a title of honour given to
those who are now in the glory
of heaven. Although most saints
are unknown to us, the Church
has recognised that certain men
and women, from all ages and
states of life, are definitely now
in heaven.

38. The Church in heaven
Some examples of saints are the
apostles St Peter and St John; the
martyrs St Agnes and St Thomas
More; the virgins St Clare and St
Edith Stein; and the pastors St
John Vianney and St Philip Neri.
The Church honours exemplary
teachers, such as St Thomas
Aquinas and St Teresa of Avila,
with the title doctor of the Church.

39. The Church in heaven
We in the Church on earth are
joined in prayer with the saints in
heaven. We therefore honour them
and pray for their intercession in
our earthly pilgrimage.
In Scripture, the Church in glory is
described as the ‘bride of Christ’
and the ‘new Jerusalem’.
I saw a new heaven and a new earth ... And I saw
the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband.
Rev 21:1-2

40. Summary
Questions
to reinforce
key points
Discussion
questions
Practical
activities
Summary Activities II
Please select an activity or go immediately
to the concluding prayer
Concluding Prayer

41. Summary
Activities Menu
• The Church is on earth, in purgatory and in
heaven.
• The principal visible elements of the Church on
earth are the bishop of Rome (Pope), all the
bishops of the world in communion with him,
their priests and deacons, those in religious life
and the lay faithful.
• The Church on earth also offers prayers and
sacrifices for the purification and reparation of
the holy souls in purgatory.
• The Church on earth is also joined in prayer with
the saints in heaven. We honour them and pray
for their intercession in our earthly pilgrimage.
Concluding Prayer

42. Questions to reinforce key points
On earth - militant
In purgatory - suffering
In heaven - triumphant
Where is the Church?
Activities Menu Concluding Prayer
1
2
3
Click on a box to reveal one
of the answers

43. Discussion questions
Activities Menu
• Discuss experiences of the
visible elements of the Church
on earth such as parishes,
dioceses, religious orders and
lay movements.
• Discuss some personal
knowledge about some of the
saints in heaven.
Select one or more of the following:
Concluding Prayer

44. Practical activities
Activities Menu
• Read the Compendium of the
Catechism questions 177-195.
• Visit a church and find any
symbols or images connected
with the saints in heaven.
Select one or more of the following:
Concluding Prayer

45. Final Prayer
From the hymn
‘Jerusalem the Golden’
Jerusalem the golden, with milk and honey blest,
Beneath thy contemplation sink heart and voice oppressed.
I know not, O I know not, what joys await us there,
What radiancy of glory, what bliss beyond compare.
O sweet and blessed country, the home of God’s elect!
O sweet and blessed country, that eager hearts expect!
Jesus, in mercy bring us to that dear land of rest,
Who art, with God the Father, and Spirit, ever blessed.
Amen.