In what ways is the Catholic Church both Roman and global?

1 AD is the year the history of the Catholic Church started. It began with the teachings of Jesus Christ in the Province of Judea during the reign of the Roman Empire. The Church has been deeply rooted in the Roman Empire not just because this is where it started, but because the religion would later thrive in Rome.  Barzini comments that “Rome was also God’s seat on Earth, the rock on which Christ has established His Church, the centre of a vast spiritual Empire of which all Christians had been subjects until a few years before.” It was because of Rome that the Catholic Church was to become one of the most dominant religions in the world. With the entirety of the Empire worshiping one God, its influence was able to spread like a holy flame. After the collapse of one of the most influential civilizations to shape the world, the Catholic Church still survived. All the tiny villages, cities and provinces around Europe still retained their religious beliefs. When new empires, cities, and countries formed in the wake of the fallen empire, they were still Catholic. This mass eruption of the Catholic Church was all made possible through the single action of one Roman Emperor, Constantine, who declared it the official religion of Rome.

            To Judaism, Jerusalem is seen as their holy city, the forefront of their religion. Rome is the Catholic equivalent that we view as our holy city. To Italians, they “had always felt themselves to be a nation nevertheless formed, not like others, by kings, soldiers and statesmen, but by churchmen, poets, artists and philosophers”(Barzini). 95% of Italy is Catholic. Many of Rome’s great artist, painters and thinkers were Catholic as well. Much of the artwork that decorates the museum around Italy depicts The Cross, Virgin Mary, Saints and major Catholic events. This country was built on the Catholic Church. The city of Rome houses dozens of Catholic Churches built throughout the ages. Artists have designed countless magnificent creations scattered throughout the city. Ever since Christianity became the religion of the Empire, it has thrived in the historic city of Rome.

            The Catholic Church is one of the largest religions in the world. The belief exists on every continent in possibly every country be it in small numbers or majority of the population. No matter where you go to mass anywhere in the world, the practice is the same. I’ve been to mass back home in the States and in Italy spoken in three different languages: English, Italian and Latin. Despite the language barrier I was still able to follow the Latin and Italian mass because the procedure was the same. I knew when the readings were, the rituals, when to kneel and shake people’s hands in sign of peace. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world mass is still performed the same in every culture. “No block of marble but it does not hide, the concept living in the artist’s mind, pursuing it inside the form, he’ll guide his hand to shape what reason has defined” (Michelangelo). The Catholic Church was like a block of marble and God its sculptor. His son Jesus taught us how to live, which shaped how the church is today. It doesn’t matter where you go in the world, the mass will always be the same. Since Rome is seen as the center of the Catholic Church, believers from all over the world will pilgrimage to the ancient city. When we went to Saint Peter’s square, thousands of people from around the world were gathered in one immense line to enter the Basilica. These people journeyed to Rome from all corners of the globe to see the largest church where St. Peter is buried. As we sat for 4 hours in the rain, we waited in soaking wet clothes so we can see the Pope give mass. It was worth the struggle to see people from all over the world praising the lord on Easter Sunday with the Pope. Many Catholics want to visit the city that has centralized the religion. Few get to travel to see it, but those that do are never the same when they go home. Italy has a way of changing you spiritually and as a person. It lets you see a different side of life that isn’t present in the states or anywhere else. The Catholic faith has gone global, and it all started in Rome.