Year of Faith: The Apostles’ Creed

The ancient baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome and a faithful summary of the faith of the Apostles. Its great authority rests on the fact that it is “the Creed of the Roman Church, the see of Peter, the first of the Apostles” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 194). 

According to tradition it is divided into 12 articles composed by each of the Apostles on the day of Pentecost. As an ancient baptismal formula, the Apostles’ Creed is recited whenever someone is baptized. “Creed” comes from the Latin word, “credo,” which means “I believe.”