In the Creed we profess one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. These four marks are gifts that Christ gives the Church, and also tasks we are called to live out more fully.
One: the Church is one because of her source, the Trinity; her founder, Christ; and her soul, the Holy Spirit. She is united in one faith, one set of sacraments and one apostolic leadership. Within this unity there is great variety: the Catholic Church includes the Latin Church and more than twenty Eastern Catholic Churches, such as the Maronite, Ukrainian and Syro-Malabar Churches, each with its own liturgy and traditions.
Holy: the Church is holy because Christ made her His own and gives her everything needed for holiness. Her members are sinners, and the Church always needs purification and renewal. Her holiness shines in the saints, and above all in Mary.
Catholic means “universal.” The Church is catholic because Christ is present in her with the fullness of the means of salvation, and because she is sent to the whole human race. The Second Vatican Council taught that the one Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church, led by the successor of Peter and the bishops in communion with him.
What about everyone else? Other Christians, joined to Christ by Baptism, are in real though imperfect communion with the Catholic Church. The Jewish people, to whom God first spoke, have a unique bond with us, and Muslims worship the one God with us. Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ, but seek God sincerely and try to do His will, can also be saved by His grace. “Outside the Church there is no salvation” means that all salvation comes from Christ through His Church, and that no one who knows this and refuses to enter can be saved.
Apostolic: the Church is built on the foundation of the apostles, keeps and hands on their teaching, and is led by their successors, the bishops, with the Pope. And she is sent, as the apostles were, to bring the Gospel to all. Every Catholic shares in this mission.