Jesus founded the Catholic Church (the word ‘Catholic’ means universal).

The New Testament shows that Christ deliberately created a community of disciples to carry on His mission in the world. This community – the universal, or ‘Catholic’ Church – has existed since the time of Christ and the Apostles.

The Church's origin is not just academic. We see the first explicit testimony of the Catholic Church's origin when Jesus chooses Peter to be the rock of the Church's foundation. Here, Jesus plainly says that He is founding a new Church: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Mt 16:18-19)

Catholics take this passage seriously, tracing the Catholic Church's origin to this point. Catholics believe that Jesus clearly expresses His will to "build my church", invest it with His own authority, and give Peter a special role as the head of that Church.