Catholic Church
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8correct to beat the crowd
This Catholic trivia quiz has 99 free questions with answers and starts easy enough for children preparing for First Communion or a religious-education class and works its way up to questions that will stretch lifelong parishioners. The kid-friendly end covers the Advent wreath, where the ashes for Ash Wednesday come from, the Stations of the Cross, the Swiss Guard's uniform, holy water at the church door and the rosary. The harder end takes in the sacraments, the Council of Trent, the Second Vatican Council, the Immaculate Conception and papal history. It works as a classroom warm-up, a youth-group game or a family quiz on a Sunday afternoon. Every answer has been checked against the relevant Wikipedia article or an official Church source, so it is safe to use for teaching.
30 of 99 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which sovereign state does the Apostolic Palace, the official papal residence, stand?
Vatican City
Since the Avignon Papacy the popes have mainly resided at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City, though at times they used Rome's Quirinal Palace instead.
Q 02How many sacraments are recognized in the Catholic Church?
Seven
Seven: alongside Baptism and the Eucharist sit Confirmation, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony.
Q 03According to Catholic tradition, who was the first Pope?
Saint Peter
Saint Peter, the apostle, is counted as the first pope; tradition holds he led the church in Rome for roughly 34 years before his martyrdom under Nero around AD 64–67.
Q 04Which council has been called the 'most impressive embodiment of the ideals of the Counter-Reformation'?
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent (1545–1563), held at Trento in northern Italy, answered the Protestant Reformation by defining doctrine on justification, the sacraments and Scripture; it was the last ecumenical council held outside Rome.
Q 05Whom did Pope John Paul II formally declare the patron of ecology in 1979?
Francis of Assisi
Francis is often depicted with animals, and his name inspired both Pope Francis's choice of name and the environmental encyclical Laudato si'.
Q 06What is the highest position in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church?
Pope
The Pope, as bishop of Rome, holds supreme authority over the whole Catholic Church; he is also styled the supreme or Roman pontiff, and cardinals, patriarchs and archbishops all serve under him.
Q 07The term 'Eucharist' comes from a Greek word meaning what?
Thanksgiving
Eucharistia means thanksgiving, and the Greek noun appears a few times in the New Testament, which was written in Greek.
Q 08Which liturgical season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving lasts 40 days in preparation for Easter?
Lent
Lent's 40 days of fasting echo Jesus's 40 days in the desert and the fasts of Moses and Elijah; in the Roman Rite it begins 46 days before Easter and ends as the Paschal Triduum opens.
Q 09The Immaculate Conception is about whose conception, free of original sin?
Mary, the mother of Jesus
The Immaculate Conception holds that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was conceived free of original sin; Pius IX defined it as dogma on 8 December 1854 in the bull Ineffabilis Deus.
Q 10Who, with six companions, founded the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits?
Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius and six companions founded the order in Paris, and he became its first Superior General in 1541, envisioning missionary work and teaching as its purpose.
Q 11What is a Church tribunal's declaration that a marriage was never validly contracted called?
Annulment
An annulment, or declaration of nullity, is a judgment by a Church tribunal that a marriage was not valid from the beginning due to a defect in consent, capacity, or form.
Q 12In what decade did the Second Vatican Council conclude?
1960s
The Second Vatican Council, commonly known as Vatican II, met from 1962 to 1965.
Q 13How many books are typically found in the Old Testament of a Catholic Bible?
46
The Old Testament of a Catholic Bible typically consists of 46 books, including the deuterocanonical books not found in most Protestant Bibles.
Q 21The ashes used on Ash Wednesday are made by burning what?
Palm branches from last Palm Sunday
The priest often says 'Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return' while marking a cross on the forehead.
Q 22How many pictures or stations are in the Stations of the Cross?
Fourteen
Worshippers walk from one to the next through all fourteen, stopping to pray at each scene from the day Jesus was crucified.
Q 23Palm Sunday remembers Jesus riding into which city?
Jerusalem
Palm Sunday recalls Jesus's entry into Jerusalem riding a donkey, when crowds spread palm branches and cloaks before him, an event told in all four Gospels.
Q 14What do Catholics call venerating saints and angels, as opposed to adoring God alone?
Dulia
In Catholic theology, dulia is the veneration given to saints, while hyperdulia is a higher veneration given to the Virgin Mary, and latria is the adoration reserved for God alone.
Q 15Which country was the birthplace of Pope John Paul II?
Poland
Pope John Paul II, born Karol Józef Wojtyła, was born in Wadowice, Poland.
Q 16Excluding Saint Peter, who had the longest verifiable reign as head of the Catholic Church?
Pius IX
Pius IX reigned 31 years, 7 months and 23 days from 1846 to 1878; the next longest verifiable reign is John Paul II's, at just under 26 and a half years.
Q 17Which three rites are grouped together as the Catholic Church's sacraments of initiation?
Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist
Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist bring a person into the Church; the other groupings are the sacraments of healing (penance and anointing of the sick) and of service (holy orders and matrimony).
Q 18What does the Church call the final purification of souls who die in God's grace?
Purgatory
Purgatory, in Catholic teaching, is the final purification of those who die in God's grace yet need cleansing before heaven; the doctrine was affirmed at the Councils of Florence (1439) and Trent (1563).
Q 19The Sacrament of Confirmation is said to perfect the grace received in which other sacrament?
Baptism
It confers the gifts of the Holy Spirit and, in Catholic theology, is needed to complete the grace of baptism.
Q 20How many candles are on a traditional Advent wreath (not counting the optional white one in the middle)?
Four
A traditional Advent wreath holds four candles, one for each Sunday of Advent (three violet and one rose); one more is lit each week until all four burn on the Sunday before Christmas.
Q 24Which astronomer did the Roman Inquisition sentence in 1633 for defending heliocentrism?
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei was tried by the Roman Inquisition in 1633 for defending Copernican heliocentrism in his Dialogue; he was made to abjure and spent his remaining years under house arrest at Arcetri near Florence.
Q 25Where is the holy water font usually found in a Catholic church?
At the entrance
Holy water fonts, or stoups, stand at the entrance of a church so people can dip their fingers and make the sign of the cross as they walk in, recalling their baptism.
Q 26The tunic worn by the pope's Swiss Guard is striped in red, yellow and which other colour?
Dark blue
The Swiss Guard's gala uniform is striped in dark blue, red and yellow, said to be the colours of the Medici popes; on parade the guards carry a Renaissance-style halberd.
Q 27What is Vatican City famous for being, among all the countries in the world?
The smallest
Vatican City is the smallest country in the world, about 0.49 square kilometres with roughly 800–900 residents, and it lies entirely inside the city of Rome.
Q 28Which artist painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, where new popes are chosen?
Michelangelo
He later returned to paint The Last Judgment on the wall behind the altar.
Q 29On what date do Catholics celebrate the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels?
2 October
The Holy Guardian Angels are honoured on 2 October, a date fixed for the whole Church by Pope Clement X in 1670; it follows the feast of the Archangels on 29 September.
Q 30Pope Francis, elected in 2013, was the first pope from which part of the world?
South America
Born Jorge Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Francis was the first pope from South America (and from the Americas), and also the first Jesuit to hold the office.