Saint Matthew, Catholic Church

The word "Catholic" means "universal." The Church is Catholic in a double sense: It is Catholic because Christ is present in it and because it has been sent by Christ as a mission to the entire human race: " Go therefore, and make all peoples my disciples. " (cf Mt 28:19). As a Catholic Church, by vocation (having been called) and by mission (having been sent), we lay our roots in this particular culture but we are open to the universality of believers.

The Catholic Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, because, as in a human body, Christ is the Head, the baptized are the members of this body and the Holy Spirit is the soul that unites us with his grace and sanctifies us. This is why the Church is also the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The Church of St. Matthew is formed by us the baptized, who profess the same faith in Jesus Christ, have the same sacraments and the same commandments, and become partakers of the priestly, prophetic and real function of Christ.