Live 4 The LORD

From the very beginning, Christ entrusted His Church to the Apostles, making them the first bishops, with Peter as the visible Head and first Pope.

Every other Christian community was founded by a human being: Martin Luther founded the Lutheran Church, Jean Calvin the Presbyterian Church, and Henry VIII the Anglican Church (which later became the Episcopalian Church in America). The Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches trace their roots to Apostles like St. Paul, St. John, and St. Andrew. But only the Catholic Church was founded directly by Jesus Christ Himself in Jerusalem.

Christ entrusted to the Catholic Church the fullness of His mission: the Eucharist and the Sacrifice of the Mass, the complete body of His teaching, and His own Mother Mary, given to us as our Mother. This fullness has been preserved faithfully in Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium, the living teaching authority of the Church for over 2000 years.

Christ also instituted the Church’s visible structure and authority. He appointed Peter as the Head of the Apostles and the first Pope, and the Apostles as the first bishops.

Many today call for a return to the "pure Christianity" of the early Church. But history proves that the early Church was and remains the Catholic Church: founded by Christ, governed by the Apostles, and continuing without break to this day.