Explore Our Faith

Getting Started

Basics of Catholicism
Learn about the basics of the Catholic Faith. What does the Catholic Church teach about the Trinity, the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, the role of the Catholic Church, the seven Sacraments, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, the Virgin Mary, and the saints? Discover basic Catholic prayers and practices, and begin to learn more about Catholicism!

Basic Tenets of Catholicism 
This page is intended as for those who are just starting out in the Catholic faith. It’s a quick-reference guide to Catholicism for beginners, perfect for those working on understanding Catholicism.

Catholicism 101
An introduction to the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church.  The links provided form a good starting point for learning more about the Catholic Church.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Vatican web site’s complete online version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.   A clickable table of contents is presented with search options available as well.

Online or Home Study Courses

Knights of Columbus Catholic Information Services
The Knights of Columbus now offer two online courses – the Luke E. Hart Series, and the Veritas Series – for study through their Web site. Based on the text from these incredibly popular booklets, both courses explore Catholicism and its underlying beliefs in a personal, easy-to-understand format

Catholic Home Study Courses (Free)
Catholic Home Study Service (CHSS), sponsored by the Vincentian community and the Missouri Knights of Columbus, has been offering free courses on the Catholic Faith for more than seventy years. It is based at Saint Mary’s of the Barrens, in Perryville, Missouri.

 

General References

Our Sunday Visitor Catholic Dictionary
Online dictionaries providing useful definitions of Catholic terms and references.

Catholic Encyclopedia
This site provides a collection of encyclopedia articles written on a wide variety of topics.

 

Catholic Bibles Online

Links for several popular online Bible sites.
www.catholic.org/bible/book.php
New American Bible

Patron Saints by Alphabet
A directory of Saints and angels categorized and organized many different ways.  Biographies and interesting facts about the saints are available with each listing.

 

Directories and Link Collections

Best Catholic Links 
A collection of categorized links that have been screened for faithfulness to Catholic teaching, focusing on sites providing a national service or unique information. Additionally, you can read a description of the sites before you decide to visit.

Catholic Education Resource Center
An internet library of journal articles, essays, book excerpts, and other texts chosen for their objective, concise, and clear presentation of Catholic teachings.