The history of the Catholic Church is the formation, events, and historical development of the Catholic Church through time.
According to the tradition of the Catholic Church, it started … See more

Early Middle Ages
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, trinitarian Christianity competed with Arian Christianity for the conversion of the barbarian tribes. The 496 conversion of Clovis I, pagan king of the See more

Discoveries and missionaries
Through the late 15th and early 16th centuries, European missionaries and explorers spread Catholicism to the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Pope Alexander VI, in the papal bull Inter caetera, … See more

First Vatican Council
Before the council, in 1854 Pope Pius IX with the support of the overwhelming majority of Catholic Bishops, whom he had consulted between 1851 and 1853, proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception See more

When Constantine became emperor of the Western Roman Empire in 312, he attributed his victory to the Christian God. Many soldiers in his army were Christians, and his army was his base of power. With Licinius, (Eastern Roman emperor), he issued the See more

Marian devotions
The Council of Trent generated a revival of religious life and Marian devotions in the Catholic Church. During the Reformation, the Church had defended its Marian beliefs against Protestant views. At the same time, the … See more

Second Vatican Council
The Catholic Church engaged in a comprehensive process of reform following the Second Vatican Council (1962–65). Intended as a … See more