Catholic, but Not Roman Catholic

The Celtic Rite Catholic Church understands itself as fully Catholic in faith, yet not exclusively Roman in liturgical expression. Rooted in the spirituality and missionary heritage of the early Celtic churches of Ireland, Scotland, and Britain, it seeks to embody the ancient faith of the undivided Church of the first millennium—when the Church was known simply as Catholic, meaning universal.

Yes — we are Catholic, but not Roman Catholic.

Our faith reaches back to that early period before later divisions, when regional churches shared one apostolic faith while expressing it through diverse liturgical traditions. Celtic Christianity developed in the lands of Ireland, Scotland, Britain, and Brittany with distinctive monastic leadership, penitential practice, and liturgical customs. While it grew with its own character and missionary dynamism, it was not a separate religion nor a competing church. Rather, it was a regional expression of the wider Western Church.

Like the communities shaped by saints such as Saint Patrick and Saint Columba, we emphasize Trinitarian devotion, monastic spirituality, sacramental worship, and a deep reverence for Scripture and creation. The historic Celtic churches preserved apostolic succession, professed the historic creeds, honored the Ecumenical Councils recognized in the first millennium, and reached their mature expression before the later separation between Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy.

When members of the Roman Catholic Church first encounter Celtic Catholic clergy, they are often surprised to discover that Catholic identity is not limited exclusively to the Roman (Latin) Rite. Understandably, questions may arise concerning the validity of Orders and Sacraments administered outside Roman jurisdiction. Many people have grown up viewing the Catholic Church as a single, centralized, monolithic institution, unaware that different Rites have long existed within Catholic Christianity.

For example, in the Christian East, Byzantine Rite Catholics worship according to a liturgy and discipline distinct from the Roman Rite, yet they are fully Catholic. Diversity of liturgical expression has always existed within the universal Church.

One reason this diversity is less visible in the West is that the Latin Rite—commonly called the Roman Rite—gradually became dominant over many centuries, absorbing or replacing most local usages. As a result, Western Christians often equate “Catholic” with “Roman Catholic.” Historically, however, this was not always so. Even in the West, there was once a plurality of rites, though not as extensive as in the East. Among these were the liturgical traditions that later historians grouped under the term “Celtic Rite.”

There were, in fact, several related but not identical liturgical practices in Great Britain, Ireland, and Brittany. Surviving texts and historical evidence demonstrate that these communities were fully part of the Western Catholic Church. They were not separate from Rome in faith, nor were they a rival form of Christianity. They shared the same sacramental theology, episcopal ministry, and doctrinal foundation, even while expressing the faith through distinctive local forms shaped by a strong monastic ethos.

In that same spirit, the Celtic Rite Catholic Church today affirms the historic creeds, apostolic ministry, and sacramental life of Catholic Christianity. We share many liturgical and spiritual practices in common with the Church of Rome. Where we differ is not in the substance of the faith, but in its expression—shaped by Celtic theological vision, pastoral warmth, missionary vitality, and reverent worship.

Catholic in substance. Celtic in expression.