Catholic Church in England and Wales

The Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination in the world. It has more than 1 billion members worldwide – that means one in every six people walking the earth is a baptised Catholic.

Around five million live in England. What unites all Catholics is our belief in Jesus Christ and his message of love for all, peace and forgiveness. We also believe that all men and women are equal, because we are made in the image of God, who sent his only son Jesus to earth to save us. We believe in justice and equality too as whatever we do to each other, we do to Christ.

To help us, Catholics are guided by a leader, the Pope and also local leaders in our individual dioceses, the bishops. Jesus asked one of his followers, the apostle Peter, to lead his people and spiritually nourish them. Every Pope is the successor to Peter, and every bishop is the successor to Christ’s apostles.

Saint Charles is within Middlesbrough Diocese. Together with the priests, the bishops are responsible for the spiritual growth of believers in their diocese. They seek ways to help all the people of God grow closer to Christ through their lives and worship.

This short video presentation give you some understanding on the catholic church.

Online is a collection of useful information on becoming a catholic or simply finding out more. Click on the links to the right to find out more.