Latin-rite

Latin Church
*Latin: Ecclesia Latina*
Saint Peter's Basilica, near Rome, Italy
Type	Particular church (sui iuris)
Classification	Catholic
Orientation	Western Christianity
Polity	Episcopal
Head	Pope Francis
Language	Ecclesiastical Latin
Liturgy	Latin liturgical rites
Headquarters	Vatican City (located within Rome, Italy)
Origin	1st century, according to Catholic tradition
Separations	Protestantism (16th century) Independent Catholicism (19th century)
Members	1.197 billion (December 2011)
Other name(s)	Western Church
Official website	Holy See

The Latin Church, sometimes called the Western Church, is the largest particular church sui iuris in full communion with the Pope and the rest of the Catholic Church, tracing its history to the earliest days of Christianity. Employing the Latin liturgical rites, with 1.197 billion members (2011), the Latin Church is the original and still major part of Western Christianity. It is headquartered in the Vatican City, enclaved in Rome, Italy.

Historically, the leadership of the Latin Church e.g. the Holy See has been viewed as one of the five patriarchates of the Pentarchy of early Christianity, along with the patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. Due to geographic and cultural considerations, the latter patriarchates developed into churches with distinct Eastern Christian traditions. The majority of Eastern Christian churches broke full communion with the bishop of Rome and the Latin Church, following various theological and leadership disputes in the centuries following the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD. These included notably the Nestorian Schism (Church of the East), Chalcedonian Schism (Oriental Orthodoxy), and the East-West Schism (Eastern Orthodoxy). The Protestant Reformation of the 16th century saw an analogous schism. Until 2005, the Pope claimed the title "Patriarch of the West"; Pope Benedict XVI lifted this title for ecumenical purposes while continuing to exercise a direct patriarchal role over the Latin Church.