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.

Demographics

About 35% 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 Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, Italians,

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Cen ...

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, and

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ...

) to continents such as the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with t ...

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 Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

Belgian colonial empire Belgium controlled several territories and concessions during the colonial era, principally the Belgian Congo (modern DRC) from 1908 to 1960 and Ruanda-Urundi (modern Rwanda and Burundi) from 1922 to 1962. It also had small concessions in Gu ...

, in regions such as South America,

the Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, ...

and West Africa, and Southeast Asia.. For greater details on numbers of Catholics and priests and their distribution by continent and for changes between 2000 and 2008, see (in Italian)

The Holy See and the European episcopal conferences

Holy See–European Union relations

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.

Statements of the Holy See and other dignitaries of the Catholic church on the European integration

In 2016 Pope Francis was awarded with the

Charlemagne prize The Charlemagne Prize (german: Karlspreis; full name originally ''Internationaler Karlspreis der Stadt Aachen'', International Charlemagne Prize of the City of Aachen, since 1988 ''Internationaler Karlspreis zu Aachen'', International Charlemagn ...

. During his speech of thanks Pope Francis criticized a "crisis of solidarity" in Europe and condemned "national self-interest, renationalization and particularism". In December 2018 Cardinal

Reinhard Marx Reinhard Marx (born 21 September 1953) is a German cardinal of the Catholic Church. He serves as the Archbishop of Munich and Freising. Pope Benedict XVI elevated Marx to the cardinalate in a consistory in 2010. Biography Born in Geseke, No ...

, archbishop of Munich and Freising and former president of COMECE, called for a deeper European integration and condemned the harmful consequences of nationalism.

The Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe (CCEE)

The Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe ( la, 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. The Secretariat is located in

St. Gallen St. Gallen or traditionally St Gall, in German; it, San Gallo; rm, Son Gagl) is a Swiss city and the capital of the canton of St. Gallen. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a ...

, Switzerland.

The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE)

The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community ( la, 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. bishops are delegated by Catholic episcopal conferences in EU member states and has a permanent

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is the ninth winne ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium. 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 The 1979 European Parliament election was a series of parliamentary elections held across all 9 (at the time) European Community European Union member state, member states. They were the first Elections in the European Union, European elections ...

, to establish .

Important European Catholic lay organizations

European Catholic youth organizations

Fimcap The FIMCAP, which is short for Fédération Internationale des Mouvements Catholiques d’Action Paroissiale (French for "International Federation of Catholic Parochial Youth Movements"), is an umbrella organization for Catholic youth organizatio ...

Europe (International Federation of Catholic Parochial Youth Movements): Fimcap is an umbrella organization for

catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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.

Other important Catholic lay organizations

CIDSE CIDSE, which is short for "Coopération Internationale pour le Développement et la Solidarité" (French for "International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity"), is an umbrella organization for Catholic development agencies from Europe an ...

(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 The World Movement of Christian Workers (Mouvement Mondial des Travailleurs Chrétiens) is the Catholic Church's officially recognized association for Catholic workingmen and women. It is a member organization of Vatican's Conference of Internat ...

consists of Catholic workingmen and workingwomen.

Important sites for the Catholic Church in Europe

Vatican City and Rome

According to the

Catholic tradition Sacred tradition is a theological term used in Christian theology. According to the theology of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Assyrian churches, sacred tradition is the foundation of the doctrinal and spiritual authority of ...

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...

, one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ and leader of the

early church Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...

, 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 The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal en ...

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 A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. 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 basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular b ...

s. Besides the

there are three other

Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls ( it, Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura), commonly known as Saint Paul's Outside the Walls, is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas, along with the basilicas of Saint John in the ...

and

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...

Santiago de Compostela

One of the most important and famous sites for pilgrimages for the Catholic Church is

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...

in Galicia, Spain. The

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominat ...

of the city hosts the shrine of

Saint James Saint James or St. James may refer to: People Saints * James, brother of Jesus (died 62 or 69), also known as James the Just *James the Great (died 44), Apostle, also known as James, son of Zebedee, or Saint James the Greater ** Saint James Matamo ...

, 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 The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint ...

( Galician: ''O Camiño de Santiago'').

Assisi

Assisi, a town in the

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

region in Italy, hosts two more

papal basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular b ...

s: the

Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi The Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Basilica di San Francesco d'Assisi; la, Basilica Sancti Francisci Assisiensis) is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor Conventual in Assisi, a town in the Umbria region in c ...

and the

Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli The Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli) is a Papal minor basilica situated in the plain at the foot of the hill of Assisi, Italy, in the ''frazione'' of Santa Maria degli Angeli. The basilica was con ...

. 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 Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

, was born and died.