Roman Catholic

1 of 2

noun

: a member of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic

2 of 2

adjective

: of, relating to, or being a Christian church having a hierarchy of priests and bishops under the pope, a liturgy centered in the Mass, veneration of the Virgin Mary and saints, clerical celibacy, and a body of dogma including transubstantiation and papal infallibility

Examples of Roman Catholic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Bosnia is about 50% Muslim with large minority populations of Serb Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholic Croats. —Brett Murphy, ProPublica, 30 Dec. 2025

South Brunswick police said Tuesday that Saint Cecilia Roman Catholic Church was ransacked in what was likely a desperate act for quick money around the holidays. —Christine Sloan, CBS News, 23 Dec. 2025

According to the country’s 2020 census, almost 80 percent of the population – more than 85 million people – identifies as Roman Catholic. —Laura Sharman, CNN Money, 22 Dec. 2025

Test your news knowledge with this week's Fox News Digital News Quiz, A Roman Catholic Church leadership change and developments in the killings of Rob and Michele Reiner are featured in this week's edition. —Staff, FOXNews.com, 19 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1581, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1614, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

Roman Catholic

adjective

: of or relating to the body of Christians having levels of authority under the pope, a liturgy centered in the Mass, and a body of beliefs laid down by the church as the only interpreter of revealed truth

Roman Catholic noun

Roman Catholicism noun