15 Fun Facts About Catholic Trivia

How many sacraments does the Catholic Church recognise?

The Church recognises seven sacraments. The list was set out by Peter Lombard and confirmed by the Fourth Council of the Lateran in 1215.

What is the name of the closed assembly in which the College of Cardinals elects a new pope?

The word comes from the Latin cum clave, 'with a key': Gregory X decreed in 1274 that the cardinal electors be locked in seclusion until they had chosen a pope.

During a papal election, what colour of smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney announces that a pope has been chosen?

Ballots are burned after each vote. Black smoke means the ballot failed; white smoke means the Church has a new pope.

Cardinals lose the right to vote in a papal conclave once they pass which birthday?

Paul VI set the cut-off in the 1970 document Ingravescentem aetatem. Cardinals older than the limit keep their rank and can still be elected, but they cannot vote.

Which church in Rome, rather than St Peter's, holds the chair of the Bishop of Rome and ranks as his cathedral?

The Lateran archbasilica houses the cathedra of the Roman bishop and carries the title of mother church of the Catholic faithful. St Peter's is the papal basilica in Vatican City, but it is not the cathedral.

The Second Vatican Council opened in 1962. In which year did it close?

The council ran from 11 October 1962 to 8 December 1965, spanning the pontificates of John XXIII and Paul VI.

Who painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling between 1508 and 1512?

Botticelli was among the artists who had painted the chapel's walls in the late 15th century, but the ceiling fresco is Michelangelo's.

The Vulgate, largely the work of St Jerome, translated the Bible into which language?

Jerome was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to revise the older Latin gospels, and the resulting late-4th-century version became the Vulgate.

Which saint, whose feast day is 4 October, is the one churches invoke when they hold ceremonies blessing animals?

Francis is associated with the patronage of animals and the environment, and blessing-of-the-animals services are customarily held on his 4 October feast day, now also World Animal Day.

In the Rosary, what is the name for a set of ten Hail Marys?

Each group of ten Hail Marys is a decade, preceded by an Our Father and traditionally followed by a Glory Be.

In Western churches, which day marks the start of Lent?

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and runs roughly six weeks. Maundy Thursday and Palm Sunday fall near its end, not its beginning.

Which corps, established in 1506 under Pope Julius II, protects the pope and the Apostolic Palace?

Sometimes called the world's smallest army, it is among the oldest military units still in continuous operation.

Who wrote the Summa Theologiae?

Aquinas began the work at Santa Sabina and left it unfinished; it is dated 1265-1274 and was intended as a guide for beginning students of theology.

Papal infallibility was defined as dogma in 1870 at which gathering?

The definition came in the document Pastor aeternus, issued at the council held in 1869-1870.

The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception says that who was preserved free of original sin from the first moment of existence?

The doctrine is regularly confused with the virgin birth of Jesus, but it concerns Mary's own conception.