Catholic Church

==Doctrine==
{{Main|Catholic theology}}
Catholic doctrine has developed over the centuries, reflecting direct teachings of early Christians, formal definitions of [[Heresy in Christianity|heretical]] and [[orthodoxy|orthodox]] beliefs by [[ecumenical councils]] and in [[papal bull]]s, and theological debate by scholars. The church believes that it is continually guided by the Holy Spirit as it discerns new theological issues and is protected [[Infallibility of the Church|infallibly]] from falling into doctrinal error when a firm decision on an issue is reached.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|889|quote=[I]n order to preserve the Church in the purity of the faith handed on by the apostles, Christ who is the Truth willed to confer on her a share in his own infallibility.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Second Vatican Council|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html|work=Lumen Gentium|publisher=Vatican|access-date=24 July 2010|title=Chapter III, paragraph 25|quote=by the light of the Holy Spirit ... vigilantly warding off any errors that threaten their flock.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906031754/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html|archive-date=6 September 2014}}</ref>

It teaches that revelation has one common source, [[God in Christianity|God]], and two distinct modes of transmission: Sacred Scripture and [[Sacred tradition|Sacred Tradition]],<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|80–81}}</ref><ref name="LumenG3">{{cite web|last=Paul VI|first=Pope|title=Lumen Gentium chapter 2, Paragraph 14|publisher=Vatican|year=1964|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html|access-date=9 March 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906031754/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html|archive-date=6 September 2014}}</ref> and that these are authentically interpreted by the [[Magisterium]].<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|888–892}}</ref><ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|85–88}}</ref> Sacred Scripture consists of the 73 books of the [[Catholic Bible]], consisting of 46 [[Old Testament]] and 27 [[New Testament]] writings. Sacred Tradition consists of those teachings believed by the church to have been handed down since the time of the Apostles.<ref name="Schreck16">Schreck, pp. 15–19</ref> Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition are collectively known as the "deposit of faith" ({{lang|la|depositum fidei}} in Latin). These are in turn interpreted by the Magisterium (from {{lang|la|magister}}, Latin for "teacher"), the church's teaching authority, which is exercised by the pope and the [[College of Bishops]] in union with the pope, the Bishop of Rome.<ref name="Schreck30">Schreck, p. 30</ref> Catholic doctrine is authoritatively summarized in the ''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'', published by the Holy See.<ref name="cat">Marthaler, preface</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=John Paul II|first=Pope|title=Laetamur Magnopere|publisher=Vatican|year=1997|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/aposletr.htm|access-date=21 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150314024145/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/aposletr.htm|archive-date=14 March 2015}}</ref>

===Nature of God===
{{Main|Trinity}}
[[File:PetrusPictaviensis CottonFaustinaBVII-folio42v ScutumFidei early13thc.jpg|thumb|left|{{Circa|1210}} manuscript version of the traditional [[Shield of the Trinity]] theological diagram]]The Catholic Church holds that there is one [[Attributes of God in Christianity#Eternity|eternal]] God, who exists as a ''[[perichoresis]]'' ("mutual indwelling") of three ''[[Hypostasis (philosophy and religion)|hypostases]]'', or "persons": [[God the Father#Christianity|God the Father]]; [[God the Son]]; and [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|God the Holy Spirit]], which together are called the "Holy Trinity".<ref name="232_252">{{Cite CCC|2.1|232–237,252}}</ref>

Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is the "Second Person" of the Trinity, God the Son. In an event known as the [[Incarnation (Christianity)|Incarnation]], through the power of the Holy Spirit, God became united with human nature through the conception of Christ in the womb of the [[Veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church|Blessed Virgin Mary]]. Christ, therefore, is understood as being both fully divine and fully human, including possessing a human [[soul]]. It is taught that Christ's mission on earth included giving people his teachings and providing his example for them to follow as recorded in the four [[Gospel]]s.<ref name="McGrath">McGrath, pp. 4–6.</ref> Jesus is believed to have remained sinless while on earth, and to have allowed himself to be unjustly executed by [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucifixion]], as a sacrifice of himself to reconcile humanity to God; this reconciliation is known as the [[Paschal Mystery]].<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|595}}</ref> The Greek term "Christ" and the Hebrew "Messiah" both mean "anointed one", referring to the Christian belief that Jesus' death and resurrection are the fulfilment of the Old Testament's [[Jesus and messianic prophecy|messianic prophecies]].<ref name="Kreeft71">Kreeft, pp. 71–72</ref>

The Catholic Church teaches dogmatically that "the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son, not as from two principles but as from one single principle".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/pccufilq.htm|title=Greek and Latin Traditions on Holy Spirit|work=ewtn.com|access-date=12 February 2015|archive-date=3 September 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040903132523/http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/PCCUFILQ.HTM}}</ref> It holds that the Father, as the "principle without principle", is the first origin of the Spirit, but also that he, as Father of the only Son, is with the Son the single principle from which the Spirit proceeds.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|248}}</ref> This belief is expressed in the {{lang|la|[[Filioque]]}} clause which was added to the Latin version of the Nicene Creed of 381 but not included in the Greek versions of the creed used in Eastern Christianity.<ref name="245_248">{{Cite CCC|2.1|245–248}}</ref>

===Nature of the church===
{{Main|Catholic ecclesiology}}
The Catholic Church teaches that it is the "[[one true church]]",<ref name="Catholic News Service"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070629_responsa-quaestiones_en.html|title=Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine of the Church|location=Rome|publisher=Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith|date=29 June 2007|author=William Cardinal Levada|access-date=26 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813100622/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070629_responsa-quaestiones_en.html|archive-date=13 August 2013}}</ref> "the universal sacrament of salvation for the human race",<ref name="GAUDIUM">{{cite web|title=Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World ''GAUDIUM ET SPES'' § 45|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html|publisher=Vatican.va|date=7 December 1965|access-date=4 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017073250/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html|archive-date=17 October 2012}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html|title=Dogmatic Constitution on the Church ''Lumen Gentium''|editor-first=Pericle|editor-last=Felici|date=21 November 1964|access-date=4 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906031754/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html|archive-date=6 September 2014}}</ref> and "the one true religion".<ref>Paragraph 2, second sentence: {{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651207_dignitatis-humanae_en.html|title=Dignitatis humanae|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211202206/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651207_dignitatis-humanae_en.html|archive-date=11 February 2012}}</ref> According to the ''Catechism'', the Catholic Church is further described in the Nicene Creed as the "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church".<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|811}}</ref> These are collectively known as the [[Four Marks of the Church]]. The church teaches that its founder is Jesus Christ.<ref name="Kreeft98">Kreeft, p. 98, quote "The fundamental reason for being a Catholic is the historical fact that the Catholic Church was founded by Christ, was God's invention, not man's;... As the Father gave authority to Christ (Jn 5:22; Mt 28:18–20), Christ passed it on to his apostles (Lk 10:16), and they passed it on to the successors they appointed as bishops." (see also Kreeft, p. 980)</ref>{{sfn|Bokenkotter|2004|p=30}} The [[New Testament]] records several events considered integral to the establishment of the Catholic Church, including Jesus' activities and teaching and his appointment of the [[Apostles in the New Testament|apostles]] as witnesses to his ministry, suffering, and resurrection. The [[Great Commission]], after his resurrection, instructed the apostles to continue his work. The coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, in an event known as [[Pentecost]], is seen as the beginning of the public ministry of the Catholic Church.<ref name="Barry48">Barry, p. 46.</ref> The church teaches that all duly consecrated bishops have a lineal succession from the apostles of Christ, known as [[apostolic succession]].<ref name="OneFaith46">Barry, p. 46</ref> In particular, the Bishop of Rome (the pope) is considered the successor to the apostle [[Simon Peter]], a position from which he derives his [[papal supremacy|supremacy]] over the church.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|880}}</ref>

Catholic belief holds that the church "is the continuing presence of Jesus on earth"<ref name="Schreck131">Schreck, p. 131</ref> and that it alone possesses the full means of [[Salvation (Christianity)|salvation]].<ref name="CCC_816">{{Cite CCC|2.1|816|quote=The Second Vatican Council's Decree on Ecumenism explains: 'For it is through Christ's Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained. It was to the apostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, that we believe that our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant, in order to establish on earth the one Body of Christ into which all those should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the People of God.' [''[[Unitatis redintegratio]]'' 3 §&nbsp;5.]}}</ref> Through the [[Passion (Christianity)|passion]] (suffering) of Christ leading to his [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucifixion]] as described in the Gospels, it is said Christ made himself an oblation to God the Father to [[Atonement in Christianity|reconcile]] humanity to God;<ref name="608_">{{Cite CCC|2.1|608}}</ref> the [[Resurrection of Jesus]] makes him the firstborn from the dead, the first among many brethren.<ref>Colossians 1.18</ref> By reconciling with God and following Christ's words and deeds, an individual can enter the [[Kingdom of God (Christianity)|Kingdom of God]].<ref name="OneFaith26">Barry, p. 26</ref> The church sees its liturgy and sacraments as perpetuating the graces achieved through Christ's sacrifice to strengthen a person's relationship with Christ and aid in overcoming sin.<ref name="CoCCC_Paschal">{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html#God%20Comes%20to%20Meet%20Man|title=The paschal mystery in the sacraments of the church|date=2005|access-date=14 December 2014|website=Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church|publisher=Vatican.va|archive-date=22 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122221130/http://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html#God%20Comes%20to%20Meet%20Man|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Final judgement===
{{Main|Last Judgment#Catholicism}}
The Catholic Church teaches that, immediately after death, the [[Soul (spirit)|soul]] of each person will receive a [[particular judgment|particular judgement]] from God, based on their [[sin]]s and their relationship to Christ.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|1021–1022,1039,1051|quote=The Last Judgment will reveal even to its furthest consequences the good each person has done or failed to do during his earthly life}}</ref><ref name="Schreck397">Schreck, p. 397</ref> This teaching also attests to another day when Christ will sit in universal judgement of all mankind. This [[Last Judgment|final judgement]], according to the church's teaching, will bring an end to human history and mark the beginning of both a new and better heaven and earth ruled by God in righteousness.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|1038–1041}}</ref>

Depending on the judgement rendered following death, it is believed that a soul may enter one of three states of the afterlife:
* [[Heaven in Christianity#Roman Catholicism|Heaven]] is a state of unending union with the divine nature of God, not ontologically, but by grace. It is an eternal life, in which the soul contemplates God in ceaseless [[beatific vision|beatitude]].<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|1023–1029,1042–1050}}</ref>
* [[Purgatory]] is a temporary condition for the purification of souls who, although destined for Heaven, are not fully detached from sin and thus cannot enter Heaven immediately.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|1030–1032,1054}}</ref> In Purgatory, the soul suffers, and is purged and perfected. Souls in purgatory may be aided in reaching heaven by the prayers of the faithful on earth and by the [[intercession of saints]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/Library/Liturgy/zlitur215.htm|title=Saints' Prayers for Souls in Purgatory|publisher=Ewtn.com|access-date=28 October 2010|archive-date=30 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430072118/http://www.ewtn.com/Library/Liturgy/zlitur215.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Hell in Christian beliefs#Roman Catholicism|Final Damnation]]: Finally, those who persist in living in a state of mortal sin and do not repent before death subject themselves to hell, an everlasting separation from God.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|1033–1037,1057}}</ref> The church teaches that no one is condemned to hell without having freely decided to reject God.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|1058}}</ref> No one is [[predestination|predestined]] to hell and no one can determine with absolute certainty who has been condemned to hell.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|1037}}</ref> Catholicism teaches that through God's mercy a person can repent at any point before death, be illuminated with the truth of the Catholic faith, and thus obtain salvation.<ref name="Luke23">Christian Bible, {{bibleverse||Luke|23:39–43}}</ref> Some Catholic theologians have speculated that the souls of unbaptized infants and non-Christians without mortal sin but who die in [[original sin]] are assigned to [[limbo]], although this is not an official [[Dogma in the Catholic Church|dogma]] of the church.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=7529&CFID=32422018&CFTOKEN=46037657|title=Library: The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptised|publisher=Catholic Culture|date=19 January 2007|access-date=28 October 2010|archive-date=1 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501133631/http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=7529&CFID=32422018&CFTOKEN=46037657|url-status=live}}</ref>

While the Catholic Church teaches that it alone possesses the full means of salvation,<ref name=CCC_816/> it also acknowledges that the Holy Spirit can make use of [[Ecclesial Community|Christian communities]] separated from itself to "impel towards Catholic unity"<ref name="ewtn.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.ewtn.com/library/Doctrine/subsistit.htm|title=Christ's Church Subsists in the Catholic Church|website=ewtn.com|access-date=27 August 2015|archive-date=20 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120114032/https://www.ewtn.com/library/Doctrine/subsistit.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> and "tend and lead toward the Catholic Church",<ref name="ewtn.com"/> and thus bring people to salvation, because these separated communities contain some elements of proper doctrine, albeit admixed with [[heresy|errors]]. It teaches that anyone who is saved is saved through the Catholic Church but that people can be saved outside of the ordinary means known as [[baptism of desire]], and by pre-baptismal martyrdom, known as [[baptism of blood]], as well as when conditions of [[Invincible ignorance (Catholic theology)|invincible ignorance]] are present, although invincible ignorance in itself is not a means of salvation.<ref>{{cite CE1913|wstitle=Baptism|first=William|last=Fanning}} (See: "Necessity of baptism" and "Substitutes for the sacrament")</ref>

===Saints and devotions===
{{Main|Saint|Canonization|Veneration|Catholic devotions}}
<!--Content derived from "[[Saints]] (version 841312648)" and "[[Canonization]] (version 841807635)" -->
A saint (also historically known as a hallow) is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness or likeness or closeness to God, while canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares that a person who has died was a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the "canon", or list, of recognized saints.<ref name="WilsonFischer2005">{{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=Douglas|last2=Fischer|first2=Ty|year=2005|title=Omnibus II: Church Fathers Through the Reformation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zClmDnl3b3EC&pg=PA101|publisher=Veritas Press|isbn=978-1-932168-44-0|page=101|quote=The word 'hallow' means 'saint,' in that 'hallow' is just an alternative form of the word 'holy' ('hallowed be Thy name').|access-date=31 March 2021|archive-date=10 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310112757/https://books.google.com/books?id=zClmDnl3b3EC&pg=PA101#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="DiehlDonnelly2001">{{cite book|last1=Diehl|first1=Daniel|last2=Donnelly|first2=Mark|year=2001|title=Medieval Celebrations|publisher=Stackpole Books|url={{googlebooks|WKyMpNnRWUC|page=13|plainurl=y}}|isbn=978-0-8117-2866-9|page=13|quote=The word hallow was simply another word for saint.}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The first persons honoured as saints were the [[martyr]]s. Pious legends of their deaths were considered affirmations of the truth of their faith in Christ. By the fourth century, however, "[[confessor]]s"—people who had confessed their faith not by dying but by word and life—began to be venerated publicly.

In the Catholic Church, both in Latin and Eastern Catholic churches, the act of canonization is reserved to the [[Apostolic See]] and occurs at the conclusion of a long process requiring extensive proof that the candidate for canonization lived and died in such an exemplary and holy way that he is worthy to be recognized as a saint. The church's official recognition of sanctity implies that the person is now in [[Heaven]] and that he may be publicly invoked and mentioned officially in the [[liturgy]] of the church, including in the [[Litany of the Saints]]. [[Canonization]] allows universal veneration of the saint in the liturgy of the [[Roman Rite]]; for permission to venerate merely locally, only [[beatification]] is needed.<ref>"Beatification, in the present discipline, differs from canonization in this: that the former implies (1) a locally restricted, not a universal, permission to venerate, which is (2) a mere permission, and no precept; while canonization implies a universal precept" ([http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02364b.htm Beccari, Camillo. "Beatification and Canonisation".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180724145034/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02364b.htm |date=24 July 2018 }} ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 2. New York, New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. Accessed 27 May 2009.).</ref>

<!--// Begin //Content derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_devotions-->[[Catholic devotions|Devotions]] are "external practices of piety" which are not part of the official liturgy of the Catholic Church but are part of the popular spiritual practices of Catholics.<ref>{{cite book|last=Carroll|first=Michael P.|year=1989|title=Catholic Cults and Devotions: A Psychological Inquiry|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FHVmFOHNr7cC&pg=PA7|isbn=978-0-7735-0693-0|page=7|access-date=31 March 2021|archive-date=10 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310112749/https://books.google.com/books?id=FHVmFOHNr7cC&pg=PA7#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> These include various practices regarding the veneration of the saints, especially [[Veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church|veneration of the Virgin Mary]]. Other devotional practices include the [[Stations of the Cross]], the [[Sacred Heart]] of Jesus, the [[Holy Face of Jesus]],<ref name="etwndevoti">{{cite web|url=http://ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/index.asp|title=Catholic Prayers, Novenas, Prayers of Jesus, Marian Prayers, Prayers of the Saints|work=EWTN|access-date=4 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407085827/http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/index.asp|archive-date=7 April 2015}}</ref> the various [[scapular]]s, novenas to various saints,<ref name="popdevos">{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12275b.htm|title=Popular Devotions|work=New Advent|access-date=4 April 2015|archive-date=24 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424075244/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12275b.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimages]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12085a.htm|title=Pilgrimages|work=New Advent|access-date=4 April 2015|archive-date=11 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211020331/https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12085a.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> and devotions to the [[Eucharist (Catholic Church)|Blessed Sacrament]],<ref name="popdevos"/> and the veneration of [[Santo (art)|saintly images]] such as the ''[[Santo (art)|santos]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1994-09-15/entertainment/ca-38635_1_art-center|first=Christopher|last=Knight|title=Art Review: Images of 'Santos': Fascinating Portrait of Catholic Devotion|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=15 September 1994|access-date=4 April 2015|archive-date=16 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416195335/http://articles.latimes.com/1994-09-15/entertainment/ca-38635_1_art-center|url-status=live}}</ref> The bishops at the Second Vatican Council reminded Catholics that "devotions should be so drawn up that they harmonize with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some fashion derived from it, and lead the people to it, since, in fact, the liturgy by its very nature far surpasses any of them."<ref>''[[Sacrosanctum Concilium]]'', 13</ref>

===Virgin Mary===
{{Catholic mariology sidebar}}
{{Main|Veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church|Mariology of the Catholic Church|Mariology of the saints|Mariology of the popes}}
[[File:Murillo-inmaculada del coro-sevilla-mba.JPG|alt=|thumb|The [[Veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church|Blessed Virgin Mary]] is highly regarded in the Catholic Church, proclaiming her as [[Theotokos|Mother of God]], [[Immaculate Conception|free from original sin]] and an [[intercessor]].]]
[[Catholic Mariology]] deals with the [[Dogma in the Catholic Church|dogmas]] and teachings concerning the life of [[Mary, mother of Jesus]], as well as the veneration of Mary by the faithful. Mary is held in special regard, declared the [[Theotokos|Mother of God]] ({{Lang-el|Θεοτόκος|links=yes|lit=God-bearer|translit=Theotokos}}), and believed as dogma to have remained a [[Perpetual virginity of Mary|virgin throughout her life]].<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20120101_world-day-peace_en.html|title=Pope Benedict XVI. 1 January 2012 – Feast of Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary|publisher=Vatican.va|date=1 January 2012|access-date=17 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702070352/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20120101_world-day-peace_en.html|archive-date=2 July 2012}}</ref> Further teachings include the doctrines of the [[Immaculate Conception]] (her own conception without the stain of original sin) and the [[Assumption of Mary]] (that her body was assumed directly into heaven at the end of her life). Both of these doctrines were defined as infallible dogma, by [[Pope Pius IX]] in 1854 and [[Pope Pius XII]] in 1950 respectively,<ref name="Barry, p. 106">Barry, p. 106</ref> but only after consulting with the Catholic bishops throughout the world to ascertain that this is a Catholic belief.<ref>Schaff, Philip (2009). ''The Creeds of Christendom''. {{ISBN|1-115-46834-0}}, p. 211.</ref> In the Eastern Catholic churches, however, they continue to celebrate the feast of the Assumption under the name of the [[Dormition of the Mother of God]] on the same date.<ref>{{cite web |title=People, Look East: The Dormition of Mary |url=https://cnewa.org/people-look-east-the-assumption-of-mary/ |website=CNEWA |language=en-us |date=15 August 2021 |access-date=22 August 2021 |archive-date=21 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821231251/https://cnewa.org/people-look-east-the-assumption-of-mary/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The teaching that Mary died before being assumed significantly precedes the idea that she did not. St John Damascene wrote that "St Juvenal, Bishop of Jerusalem, at the Council of Chalcedon (451), made known to the Emperor Marcian and Pulcheria, who wished to possess the body of the Mother of God, that Mary died in the presence of all the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened, upon the request of St Thomas, was found empty; wherefrom the Apostles concluded that the body was taken up to Heaven."<ref>{{cite web |title=What do we mean by "the sleep of Mary" or "the dormition of Mary"? |url=https://catholicstraightanswers.com/what-do-we-mean-by-the-sleep-of-mary-or-the-dormition-of-mary/ |website=Catholic Straight Answers |language=en |date=21 May 2013 |access-date=22 August 2021 |archive-date=21 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821233423/https://catholicstraightanswers.com/what-do-we-mean-by-the-sleep-of-mary-or-the-dormition-of-mary/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Marian devotions|Devotions to Mary]] are part of Catholic piety but are distinct from the worship of God.<ref>Schreck, pp. 199–200</ref> Practices include prayers and [[Marian art in the Catholic Church|Marian art]], [[Catholic Marian music|music]], and [[Catholic Marian church buildings|architecture]]. Several [[Marian feast days|liturgical Marian feasts]] are celebrated throughout the [[liturgical year|Church Year]] and she is honoured with [[titles of Mary|many titles]] such as [[Queen of Heaven]]. [[Pope Paul VI]] called her [[Mother of the Church]] because, by giving birth to Christ, she is considered to be the spiritual mother to each member of the [[Body of Christ]].<ref name="Barry, p. 106"/> Because of her influential role in the life of Jesus, prayers and devotions such as the [[Hail Mary]], the [[Rosary]], the [[Salve Regina]] and the [[Memorare]] are common Catholic practices.<ref>Barry, pp. 122–123</ref> [[Christian pilgrimage|Pilgrimage]] to the sites of several [[Marian apparitions]] affirmed by the church, such as [[Our Lady of Lourdes|Lourdes]], [[Our Lady of Fátima|Fátima]], and [[Our Lady of Guadalupe|Guadalupe]],<ref>Schreck, p. 368</ref><!--pilgrimages to these sites--> are also popular Catholic devotions.<ref>{{cite news|last=Baedeker|first=Rob|title=World's most-visited religious destinations|work=USA Today|date=21 December 2007|url=https://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2007-12-21-most-visited-religious-spots-forbes_N.htm|access-date=3 March 2008|archive-date=8 March 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308234445/http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2007-12-21-most-visited-religious-spots-forbes_N.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>