Catholic Laity

There are estimated to be over one billion Catholics in the world. The majority of these are lay Catholics, also known as the laity, which includes all Catholics, except those who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders, who are considered to be clergy. The Catholic Church is led globally by the Pope and the Roman Curia and locally by diocesan bishops and archbishops. The Pope and the bishops in communion with him are known collectively as the Catholic Hierarchy and are responsible for the supervision, management, and pastoral care of all members the Catholic Church, including clergy, religious, and the laity. The Catholic Church teaches that there is a universal call to holiness and since the Second Vatican Council has emphasized this as a key to the spiritual lives of lay people.

The responsibilities of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, a dicastery of the Roman Curia based in Vatican City, were transferred to the newly established Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life as of 1 September 2016.

The council "...assists the Pope in all matters concerning the contribution the lay faithful make to the life and mission of the Church, whether as individuals or through the various forms of association that have arisen and constantly arise within the Church."

This dicastery emerged from the Decree on the Lay Apostolate of the Second Vatican Council - Apostolicam Actuositatem. It was officially created by Pope Paul VI, on 6 January 1967, with the motu proprio Catholicam Christi Ecclesiam.

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