Catholic Church in Italy
 Catholic Church in Italy |
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| Chiesa cattolica in Italia | |
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| Type | National polity |
| Classification | Catholic |
| Orientation | Latin |
| Governance | Episcopal |
| Pope | Pope Francis |
| President | Angelo Bagnasco |
| Primate of Italy | Pope Francis |
| Apostolic Nuncio | Adriano Bernardini |
| Region | Italy |
| Language | Italian, Latin |
| Founder | Saint Peter, according to Catholic tradition |
| Origin | C. 30 AD |
| Members | 57,000,000 |
| Official website | Episcopal Conference of Italy |
The Catholic Church in Italy is part of the Catholic Church in communion with the Pope, curia in Rome, and the Conference of Italian Bishops. In addition to Italy, two other souvereign nations are included in Italian-based dioceses, San Marino and Vatican City. There are 225 dioceses in the Catholic Church in Italy, see further in this article and in the article List of the Roman Catholic dioceses in Italy.
The pope resides in the Vatican City, enclaved in Rome. Rome, and Italy, have been major centres for Christian pilgrimage since the Roman Empire, and Rome is commonly regarded as the "home" of the Catholic Church, since it is where Saint Peter traveled, ministered, served as bishop, and died.
Owing to the Italian Renaissance, church art in Italy is extraordinary, including the works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Fra Carnevale (priest and artist), Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Sandro Botticelli, Tintoretto, Titian, Raphael, Giotto, etc.
Italian church architecture is equally spectacular and historically important to Western culture, notably St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Cathedral of St. Mark's in Venice, and Brunelleschi's Florence Cathedral (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore), which includes the "Gates of Paradise" doors at the Baptistery by Lorenzo Ghiberti.
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Wikipedia