…in the Time-line
c. 5 BC: Birth of Jesus Christ the Son of God in the town of Bethlehem, and he is the son of the Virgin Mary, who conceived him by the power of the Holy Spirit.
1st century A.D.
c. 27: Jesus' baptism, start of ministry, and selection of the Apostles. Christian Gospels strongly implicate Peter as leader and spokesman of the Apostles of Jesus being mentioned the most number of times in the Gospels.
c. 33: Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, start of Passion of Christ. Jesus of Nazareth is crucified in Jerusalem under Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea. Three days later, God raised Jesus from the dead. Forty days after his resurrection He ascended into heaven.
Ten days later, the Holy Spirit descending on the Virgin Mary and apostles of Jesus. Peter declares and other followers believe Jesus of Nazareth to be the Jewish Messiah promised by Yahweh according to the Jewish Scriptures and the predictions of the Hebrew prophets. Peter makes the first sermon converting 3,000 to be baptized. From that point onwards, the teachings of Jesus are spread throughout the Roman Empire.
c. 34: St. Stephen, a deacon and first Christian martyr, stoned to death in Jerusalem.
c. 42: St. Peter becomes the first Pope of the Christ’s church.
c. 50: Council of Jerusalem held under St. Peter the Apostle.
c. 52: Traditional arrival of St. Thomas, the Apostle in India.
c. 64: Christian persecution begins under Emperor Nero after the great fire of Rome. Persecution continues intermittently until 313 A.D.
c. 67: Death of St. Peter and St. Paul in Rome.
c. 70: Fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple.
c. 72: Martyrdom of St. Thomas the Apostle at Chennai.
c. 96: Traditional date of First Epistle of Clement attributed to pope Clement I written to the church of Corinth.
c. 100: St. John, the last of the Apostles, dies in Ephesus.
2nd century
c. 110: Ignatius of Antioch uses the term Catholic Church in a letter to the Church at Smyrna, one of the letters of undisputed authenticity attributed to him.
c. 150: Latin translations (the Vetus Latina) from the Greek texts of the Scriptures are circulated among non-Greek-speaking Christian communities.
c. 155: The teachings of Marcion, the gnostic Valentinus and pentacostal Montanists cause disruptions in the Roman community. Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire continues.
c. 180: Irenaeus' Adversus Haereses brings the concept of "heresy" further to the fore in the first systematic attempt to counter Gnostic and other aberrant teachings.
c. 195: Pope Victor I, first African Pope, excommunicated the Quartodecimans in an Easter controversy. Some think he may have been the first pope to celebrate Mass in Latin instead of Greek.
c. 200: Tertullian, first great Christian Latin writer, coined for Christian concepts Latin terms such as “Trinitas”, “Tres Personae”, “Una Substantia”, “Sacramentum”
3rd century
202-211: Persecution of Christians in Rome by Emperor Septhimus Severus.
235: Roman Emperor Thracian begins a persecution of Christians.
249: Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Pope Fabian is martyred. Afterwards the Donatist controversy over readmitting lapsed Christians disaffects many in North Africa.
257: Roman Emperor Valerian begins a persecution of Christians.
274: Emperor Aurelian begins a persecution of Christians in Rome.
4th century
October 28, 312: Emperor Constantine leads the forces of the Roman Empire to victory at the Battle of Milvian Bridge using the Symbol of Chi-Rho composed of the first two letters of the Greek word for "Christ" (ΧΡΙΣΤΌΣ). After winning the battle, Constantine legalized Christianity.
313: The Edict of Milan declares the Roman Empire neutral towards religious views, in effect ending the persecution of Christians.
321: Granting the Church the right to hold property, Constantine donates the palace of the Laterani to Pope Miltiades. The Lateran Basilica (Basilica of Our Savior) becomes the Episcopal seat of the Bishop of Rome.
May 20, 325: The First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, convened as a response to the Arian controversy (which leads the rise of Islam later), establishes the Nicene Creed, declaring the belief of in the Holy Trinity.
November 18, 326: Pope Sylvester I consecrates the Basilica of St. Peter built by Constantine the Great over the tomb of the Apostle.
February 27, 380: Emperor Theodosius I issues an edict, De Fide Catolica, published in Constantinople, declaring Catholic Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire.
November 24, 380: Emperor Theodosius I is baptized a Christian.
381: First Ecumenical Council of Constantinople.
382: The Council of Rome under Pope Damasus I sets the Canon of the Bible, listing the accepted books of the Old Testament and the New Testament.
391: The Theodosian decrees outlaw most Pagan rituals still practiced in Rome, thereby encouraging much of the population to convert to Christianity.
400: Jerome's Vulgate Latin Bible translation is published.
5th century
404: The monk Telemachus jumps into an arena trying to separate two gladiators; he is killed by the mob. The gladiatorial games are ended by the Emperor Honorius.
431: The Ecumenical Council of Ephesus declares that Jesus existed both as Man and God simultaneously, clarifying his status in the Holy Trinity.
October 8, 451: Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon opens.
November 1, 451: The Council of Chalcedon, the fourth ecumenical council, closes. The Chalcedonian Creed is issued, which re-asserts Jesus as True God and True Man and the dogma of the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God.
452: Pope Leo I (the Great) meets Attila the Hun, the Scourge of God, and dissuades him from sacking Rome.
496: Clovis I pagan King of the Franks, converts to the Catholic faith.
6th century
502: Pope Symmachus ruled that laymen should no longer vote for the popes and that only higher clergy should be considered eligible.
January 2, 533: Mercurius becomes Pope John II. He becomes the first pope to take a reignal name.
553: Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople condemned the errors of Origen of Alexandria, the Three Chapters, and confirmed the first four general councils.
590: Pope Gregory the Great was elected. He reforms ecclesiastical structure and administration; Establishes Gregorian Chant.
596: Saint Augustine of Canterbury sent by Pope Gregory to evangelize the pagan English.
7th century
638: Christian Jerusalem and Syria conquered by Muslims.
642: Egypt falls to the Muslims, followed by the rest of North Africa.
664: The Synod of Whitby unites the Celtic Church in England with the Catholic Church.
680: Third Ecumenical Council of Constantinople puts an end to Monothelitism.
685: John the patriarch of Antioch received the approval of Pope Sergius I, and became the first Maronite Patriarch.
698: St. Willibrord commissioned by Pope Sergius I as bishop of the Frisians (Netherlands).
8th century
711: Muslim armies invade Spain.
718: St. Boniface, an Englishman, given commission by Pope Gregory II to evangelize the Germans.
726: Iconoclasm begins in the eastern Empire. The destruction of images persists until 843.
732: Muslim advance into Western Europe halted by Charles Martel at Poitiers, France.
751: Lombards abolish the Exarchate of Ravenna effectively ending last vestiges of Byzantine rule in central Italy and Rome.
756: Popes granted independent rule of Rome by King Pepin the Short of the Franks, in the Donation of Pepin. Birth of the Papal States.
787: Second Ecumenical Council of Nicaea resolved Iconoclasm.
793: Sacking of the monastery of Lindisfarne marks the beginning of Viking raids on Christian Europe.
December 25, 800: King Charlemagne of the Franks is crowned Holy Roman Emperor of the West by Pope Leo III in St. Peter's Basilica.
9th century
829: St. Ansgar begins missionary work in Sweden near Stockholm.
863: St. Cyril and St. Methodius sent by the Patriarch of Constantinople to evangelize the Slavic peoples. They translate the Bible into Slavonic.
869: Fourth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople.
10th century
910: Great Benedictine monastery of Cluny rejuvenates western monasticism. Monasteries spread throughout the isolated regions of Western Europe.
966: Mieszko I of Poland converts to Catholicism, beginning the Baptism of Poland.
988: St. Vladimir I the Great is baptized; becomes the first Christian Grand Duke of Kiev.
11th century
1012: Burchard of Worms completes his twenty-volume Decretum of Canon law.
July 16, 1054: Liturgical, linguistic, and political divisions cause a permanent split between the Eastern and Western Churches, known as the East-West Schism or the Great Schism.
November 27, 1095: Pope Urban II preaches a sacrum bellum (holy war), a Crusade, to defend the eastern Christians, and pilgrims to the Holy Land, at the Council of Clermont.
1098: Foundation of the reforming monastery of Citeaux, leads to the growth of the Cistercian order.
1099: Retaking of Jerusalem by the 1st Crusade, followed by a massacre of the remaining non-Christian inhabitants, and the establishment of the Crusader kingdoms, in Latin bishops are appointed to dioceses still largely populated by the Orthodox.
12th century
1123: First Ecumenical Lateran Council.
1139: Second Ecumenical Lateran Council.
1144: The Saint Denis Basilica of Abbot Suger is the first major building in the style of Gothic architecture.
1179: Third Ecumenical Lateran Council.
1182: The Maronite Church reaffirms its unbroken communion with the Holy See.
October 2, 1187: The Siege of Jerusalem. Ayyubid forces led by Saladin captured Jerusalem, prompting the Third Crusade.
13th century
April 13, 1204: Sack of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade.
1205: St. Francis of Assisi becomes a hermit, founding the Franciscan order of friars.
November 11 - 30, 1215: Fourth Ecumenical Lateran Council led by Pope Innocent III. Seventy decrees were approved, the definition of transubstantiation being among them.
1216: The Order of Preachers (Dominican Order) founded by Saint Dominic is approved by Pope Innocent III.
1229: Inquisition founded in response to the Cathar Heresy, at the Council of Toulouse.
1245: First Ecumenical Council of Lyons. Excommunicated and deposed Emperor Frederick II.
1274: Second Ecumenical Council of Lyons; Catholic and Orthodox Churches temporarily reunited.
February 22, 1300: Pope Boniface VIII published the Bull "Antiquorum fida relatio"; first recorded Holy Year of the Jubilee celebrated.
14th century
1305: French influence causes the Pope to move from Rome to Avignon.
August 12, 1308: Pope Clement V issues the Bull Regnans in coelis calling a general council to meet on October 1, 1310, at Vienne in France for the purpose of making provision in regard to the Order of Knights Templar.
October 16, 1311: The first formal session of the Ecumenical Council of Vienne begins under Pope Clement V. It closed on May 6, 1312.
May 26, 1328: William of Ockham flees Avignon. Later, he was excommunicated by Pope John XXII, whom Ockham accused of heresy.
1370: Saint Catherine of Siena calls on the Pope to return to Rome.
1378: Antipope Clement VII (Avignon) elected against Pope Urban VI (Rome) precipitating the Western Schism.
1387: Lithuanians were the last in Europe to accept the Catholic faith.
15th century
1440: Johannes Gutenberg completes his wooden printing press. Soon results in the large scale production of religious books including Bibles.
May 29, 1453: Fall of Constantinople.
1492: Christopher Columbus discovers the New World.
1493: With the Inter caetera, Pope Alexander VI awards sole colonial rights over most of the New World to Spain.
16th century
January 22, 1506: Kaspar von Silenen and first contingent of Swiss mercenaries enter the Vatican during the reign of Pope Julius II. Traditional date of founding of the Swiss Guards.
April 18, 1506: Pope Julius II lays cornerstone of New Basilica of St. Peter.
1508: Michelangelo starts painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
October 31, 1517: Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses, protesting the sale of indulgences.
1516: St. Thomas More publishes "Utopia" in Latin.
January 3, 1521: Martin Luther finally excommunicated by Pope Leo X in the bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.
1521: Baptism of the first Catholics in the Philippines, the first Christian nation in Southeast Asia.
October 17, 1521: Pope Leo X confers the title Fidei Defensor to Tudor King Henry VIII of England for his defense of the seven sacraments and the supremacy of the pope in Assertio Septem Sacramentorum against Protestantism.
1531: Our Lady of Guadalupe appears to Juan Diego in Mexico.
August 15, 1534: St. Ignatius of Loyola and six others, including Francis Xavier met in Montmartre, then just outside Paris, to found the missionary Jesuit Order.
October 30, 1534: English Parliament passes Act of Supremacy making the King of England Supreme Head of the Church of England. Anglican schism with Rome.
1536 To 1540: Dissolution of the Monasteries in England, Wales and Ireland.
December 17, 1538: Pope Paul III excommunicates King Henry VIII of England.
1540: Pope Paul III confirmed the order of the Society of Jesus.
July 21, 1542: Pope Paul III, with the Constitution Licet ab initio, established the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition.
December 13, 1545: Ecumenical Council of Trent convened during the pontificate of Paul III, to prepare the Catholic response to the Protestant Reformation. Its rulings set the tone of Catholic society for at least three centuries.
December 4, 1563: Ecumenical Council of Trent closed. The decrees were confirmed on January 26, 1564, by Pius IV in the Bull "Benedictus Deus".
July 14, 1570: Pope St. Pius V issues the Apostolic Constitution on the Tridentine Mass, Quo Primum.
October 7, 1571: Christian fleet of the Holy League defeats the Ottoman Turks in the Battle of Lepanto.
February 24, 1582: Pope Gregory XIII issues the Bull Inter gravissimas reforming the Julian Calendar.
17th century
1614: Tokugawa Ieyasu bans Christianity from Japan.
November 18, 1626: Pope Urban VIII solemnly dedicates the New Basilica of St. Peter 1,300 years after the first Constantinian basilica was consecrated by Pope Sylvester I.
1638: Shimabara Rebellion leads to a further repression of Catholics, and all Christians, in Japan.
September 12, 1683: Battle of Vienna. Decisive victory of the army of the Holy League, under king John III Sobieski of Poland, over the Ottoman Turks.
1653: The Coonan Cross Oath was taken by a group of Saint Thomas Christians against the Portuguese.
1691: Pope Innocent XII declares against nepotism and simony.
18th century
1713: Encyclical Unigenitus condemns Jansenism.
1715: Clement XI rules against the Jesuits in the Chinese Rites controversy. Reversed by Pius XII in 1939
1721: Kangxi Emperor bans Christian missions in China.
April 28, 1738: Pope Clement XII publishes the Bull In Eminenti forbidding Catholics from joining, aiding, socializing or otherwise helping in any way shape or form the organizations of Freemasonry and Freemasons under pain of excommunication.
1740-1758: Pope Benedict XIV appointed first women as professors to Papal Universities in Bologna, reformed canonization procedures, intellectual open to all sciences.
1769: Passionist order granted full rights by Clement XIV.
1769: Junípero Serra establishes Mission San Diego de Alcala, the first of the Spanish missions in California.
1773: Suppression of the Jesuits by Clement XIV, already excluded from many states. Only in the Russian Empire are they able to remain.
1789: John Carroll becomes the Bishop of Baltimore, the first bishop in the United States.
1793: French Revolution institutes anti-clerical measures.
1798: Pope Pius VI taken prisoner by the armies of Napoleon I, dies in captivity in France.
19th century
July 16, 1802: The Catholic Church re-established in France.
December 2, 1804: Napoleon crowns himself Emperor of the French in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris, in the presence of Pope Pius VII.
1847: The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem resumes residence in Jerusalem.
1850: The Archdiocese of Westminster and twelve other dioceses are set up, re-establishing a Catholic hierarchy in the United Kingdom against intense political opposition.
1852: The First Plenary Council of Baltimore is held in the United States.
1854: Dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX
1858: Our Lady’s Apparitions in Lourdes.
December 8, 1869: Pope Pius IX opens the First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, which issues the dogma of papal infallibility.
May 15, 1891: Pope Leo XIII issues encyclical Rerum Novarum (Edict of Workers).
1898: Secondo Pia takes the first photographs of the Shroud of Turin.
20th century
1903-1914: Saint Pope Pius X numerous reforms, staunch defender of the faith, introducing frequent communion, promoting Gregorian Chant Problems with France. He is the most recent Pope to be canonized a saint.
1917: Canon Law for the Roman Catholic Church published by Pope Benedict XV.
October 13, 1917: The apparition of Our Lady of Fatima occurs in Fatima, Portugal over the course of six months ending in the Miracle of the Sun. This apparition is considered to be among the most important in the Catholic Church.
1918: Persecution of the Roman Catholic Church and especially the Eastern Catholic Churches in the Soviet Union (until 1985)
1926: Beginning of Church persecutions in Mexico until 1940 also known as the Cristero War or La Cristiada.
March 19, 1927: Foundation of the Sisters of the Destitute (SD) at Ernakulam, Kerala by Fr.Varghese Palakkappillil.
February 12, 1931: Vatican Radio is set up by Guglielmo Marconi and inaugurated by Pope Pius XI. First signal broadcast is in Morse code: In nomine Domini, amen.
1931-1936: Persecution of the Church in Spain It is estimated that in the course of the Red Terror (Spain), 6,832 members of the Catholic clergy were killed.
1939-1945: During World War II Convents, monasteries, and the Vatican are used to hide Jews and others targeted by the Nazis for extermination. St. Maximilian Kolbe is martyred in Auschwitz concentration camp after volunteering to die in place of a stranger. The Nazis imprison and at times execute Catholic clergy, monks and nuns not compliant to Nazi ideology.
1943: Encyclical Mediator Dei, opening biblical research to Catholic scholars
1950: Holy Year declared by Pope Pius XII, who announced on December 25, 1950 that the Tomb of Saint Peter had been identified by archeologists underneath Saint Peter Basilica.
1950: The Assumption of Mary is defined as dogma by Pius XII.
1954: First Marian year in Church history proclaimed by Pius XII who introduced Marian Feast Queenship of Virgin Mary.
October 11, 1962: Pope John XXIII opens the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council. The 21st ecumenical council of the Catholic Church emphasized the universal call to holiness and brought many changes in practices, including an increased emphasis on ecumenism; fewer rules on penances, fasting and other devotional practices; and initiating a revision of the services, which were to be slightly simplified and made supposedly more accessible by allowing the use of native languages instead of Latin.
December 7, 1965: Joint Catholic-Orthodox Declaration of Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I. Mutual excommunication of the Great Schism of 1054 against Catholic and Orthodox is lifted by both parties.
December 8, 1965: Pope Paul VI solemnly closes the Second Vatican Council.
1970: Revision of the Roman Missal, following on gradual introduction of vernacular languages in celebration of Mass.
1973: Sister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa in the remote area of Yuzawadai, near the city of Akita in Japan reports seeing a number of apparitions now known as Our Lady of Akita.
August 26, 1978: Pope John Paul I becomes the first pope to use a double reignal name. He reigns for only 33 days.
October 16, 1978: Pope John Paul II becomes the first Polish pope and first non-Italian pope elected in 450 years; influential in overthrowing communism in Europe.
1987: Marian year announced by John Paul II in the encyclical Redemptoris Mater.
December 31, 1991: The Soviet Union is officially dissolved. Persecuted Catholic Church re-emerges out of hiding, especially in the Ukraine and Baltic States.
1992: The new Catechism of the Catholic Church is first published, in Latin and French.
1994: Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, an Apostolic Letter upholding a prohibition against ordination of women to the priesthood, is promulgated by Pope John Paul II.
21st century
April 30, 2000: Pope John Paul II canonized St. Faustina and designated the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday in the General Roman Calendar, with effect from the following year.
January 6, 2001: John Paul II issues Novo Millennio Ineunte, a program for the Church in the new millennium, wherein he placed sanctity through a training in prayer as the most important priority of the Catholic Church in consonance with its purpose.
April 2, 2005: Pope John Paul II dies at the age of 84. His funeral is broadcast to every corner of the globe through the modern media. Millions of Catholic pilgrims journey to Rome to pay final respects.
April 19, 2005: German-born Cardinal Joseph Alois Ratzinger is elected by the College of Cardinals as Pope Benedict XVI, thus becoming the first Pope elected during the 21st century and the 3rd millennium.
October 28, 2007: Pope Benedict XVI authorizes the largest beatification ceremony in Church history involving 498 Spanish Martyrs who were killed during the Civil War in Spain.
May 2008: A solemn declaration agreed on between Pope Benedict XVI and Muslims, led by Mahdi Mostafavi stressed, that genuine religion is essentially non-violent and that violence can be justified neither by reason nor by faith.
August 2011: Pope Benedict XVI participates in Madrid, Spain in the World Youth Day and announces Brazil as the country to host the next one.
