Catholic / Statement of Faith

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)

The full statement of faith for the Catholic tradition, organized by theme. Click any article for the full summary, key Bible references, and notes.

Pillar I: The Creed

1 I Believe in God the Father Almighty
The Catholic faith begins with belief in one God, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. God reveals Himself as Father — the source…
2 I Believe in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, true God and true man — conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was cruc…
3 I Believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church
The Holy Spirit is the Lord and giver of life, proceeding from the Father and the Son, worshipped and glorified with them. The Spirit dwells in the Church — one, holy, catholi…
4 I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sins and Life Everlasting
In the Church we believe in the forgiveness of sins through Christ's Paschal Mystery, communicated to us through Baptism and the Sacrament of Penance. We believe in the resurrec…

5 The Liturgy — God's Work in Time
In the liturgy, Christ continues the work of redemption in, with, and through His Church. The liturgy is the work of the whole Christ — Head and members — celebrated in the …
6 The Seven Sacraments of the New Covenant
Christ instituted seven sacraments — efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. They are: Baptism, …

7 The Dignity of the Human Person
The Christian moral life begins in our creation in the image of God, our call to beatitude (the Beatitudes), our freedom and responsibility, our conscience formed by truth, the …
8 The Ten Commandments — Two Tables of Love
The Ten Commandments unfold love of God (first three commandments) and love of neighbor (remaining seven). They are not a burden but a path of life. The full Christian moral tea…

9 Prayer in the Christian Life
Prayer is the raising of the heart and mind to God. It is God's gift to us before it is our work. The Catholic tradition of prayer is rich and diverse — vocal prayer, meditati…
10 The Our Father — The Summary of the Gospel
The Our Father, taught by Christ Himself, is the perfect prayer — "the summary of the whole gospel" (Tertullian, quoted in CCC §2761). Its seven petitions — three directed …