The way Catholics understand and define community can seem complex upon first reflection, but at it’s core, the Catholic community encompasses all of humanity, not just those who identify with the Catholic religion. There are many rules and traditions that members of the Catholic Church are supposed to perform, some on a weekly or daily basis. Some of most important rituals in a Catholic’s life as a member of the Church include the Seven Sacraments. The first three of the seven, referred to as The Sacraments of Initiation, include Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. As the name of these sacraments would suggest, one must complete all three to be considered an initiated member of the Catholic Church and community. However, the greater Catholic community extends to all of mankind. In his 1995 article “Catholicism and Mass Media”, Frances Forde Plude describes the Catholic Church’s desire to communicate with “the whole human race and…within the Church itself” (p. 199). The Church’s wish to reach the masses, even those who may not have completed the Sacraments of Initiation or consider themselves to be Catholic in the first place, emphasize it’s broader idea of community. In the photo below, the Catholic idea of community is exhibited through the decorative floor mosaic. This is seal is found in the Duomo di Siena. At the time of its construction, Siena was competing with Florence to be the center of art, history, culture, and religious grandeur in Tuscany. In an attempt to achieve this status, the city built this beautiful and magnificent cathedral. The mosaic depicts the symbols of Siena in the middle with the symbols of eight of its powerful neighboring cities around it. This artwork shows the Catholic church’s broadened sense of community, even in the 11th century, because of the inclusion of rival cities in Siena’s the main place of worship. The artist and their commissioner from the Church chose to represent the rival cities as a way of paying them respect and including them in their religious community. Through the Catholic Church’s desire for mass communication and inclusivity, the Catholic community can be understood as encompassing all of humanity, rather than just a select group.
Plude, F. F. (1995). Catholicism and mass media. The HarperCollins encyclopedia of Catholicism, 269-271.