Roman Catholic

1 of 2

noun

: a member of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic

2 of 2

adjective

: of, relating to, or being a Christian church having a hierarchy of priests and bishops under the pope, a liturgy centered in the Mass, veneration of the Virgin Mary and saints, clerical celibacy, and a body of dogma including transubstantiation and papal infallibility

Examples of Roman Catholic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In 1999: Eleven people were injured by a nude swordsman at St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic Church in London during a Sunday Mass. —Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 28 Nov. 2025

Dispatchers in Delaware County said crews were sent out around 5:45 a.m. to a fire burning at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church on Second Street. —Joe Brandt, CBS News, 26 Nov. 2025

Erivo, who stars as Elphaba in the movie-musical adaptation, got her start on stage at La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls' School in Clapham Park, London two decades ago. —Lex Goldstein, PEOPLE, 19 Nov. 2025

Some, such as Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nigeria's northwestern Sokoto province, hope the rhetoric will prompt the Nigerian government to take more action to address the problem. —Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1581, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1614, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

Roman Catholic

adjective

: of or relating to the body of Christians having levels of authority under the pope, a liturgy centered in the Mass, and a body of beliefs laid down by the church as the only interpreter of revealed truth

Roman Catholic noun

Roman Catholicism noun