OUR CONSTITUTION: PROFESSION OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH

Official Text of the
PROFESSION OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH,
taken under oath, both orally and in writing, by every Catholic cardinal, bishop and priest.

I, N.N. ______________________, with a firm faith I believe and profess each and all the articles that are contained in the Creed of the Holy Roman Church, that is:

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages; God of God, light of light, true God of true God; begotten, not made; consubstantial with the Father, by Whom all things were made.

Who for us, men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.

He was crucified also for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried.

And the third day He arose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven. He sitteth at the right hand of the Father: and He shall come again with glory, to judge the living and the dead: and His kingdom shall have no end.

And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son. Who together with the Father and the Son, is adored and glorified: Who spoke by the prophets. And one, holy catholic, and apostolic Church.

I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. And I expect the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

I accept and embrace most firmly the apostolic and ecclesiastical traditions AND ALL THE OTHER CONSTITUTIONS and PRESCRIPTIONS of the Church.

I accept the Sacred Scriptures according to the sense which has been held and is still held by Holy Mother Church, whose duty it is to judge the true sense and interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures, and I shall never accept or interpret them except according to the unanimous consent of the Fathers of the Church.

I profess that the Sacraments of the New Law are, truly and precisely, seven in number, instituted for the salvation of mankind, though all are not necessary for each individual: baptism, confirmation, eucharist, penance, extreme unction, holy orders, and matrimony.

I profess that all confer grace and that of these baptism, confirmation, and holy orders cannot be repeated without sacrilege.

I also accept and admit the established and approved ritual of the Catholic Church in the solemn administration of all the above mentioned Sacraments.

I accept and hold, in each and every part, all that has been defined and declared by the Sacred Council of Trent concerning original sin and justification.

I profess also that IN THE MASS IS OFFERED TO GOD A TRUE, REAL, AND PROPITIATORY SACRIFICE for the living and the dead; that in the most blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist is really, truly, and substantially the Body and Blood together with the Soul and Divinity of our LORD Jesus Christ, and that there takes place what the Church calls TRANSUBSTANTIATION, that is, the change of all the substance of the bread into the Body and of all the substance of the wine into the Blood. I also profess that in RECEIVING UNDER EITHER OF THESE SPECIES one receives the true Sacrament, Jesus Christ, whole and entire.

I firmly hold that Purgatory exists and that the souls detained there can be helped by the prayers of the faithful.

Likewise I hold that the Saints, who reign with Jesus Christ, should be venerated and invoked; that they offer prayers to God for us, and that their relics are to be venerated.

I profess firmly that there should be statues and pictures of Jesus Christ, of the Mother of God, ever Virgin, as well as of the other Saints, and THAT THESE STATUES MUST BE RETAINED AND GIVEN DUE HONOR AND VENERATION.

I also affirm that Jesus Christ left to the Church the power to grant indulgences and that their use is most salutary to the Christian people.

I recognize the HOLY, CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC ROMAN CHURCH as the mother and teacher of all the churches, and I promise and swear true obedience to the ROMAN PONTIFF, successor of Saint Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and Vicar of Jesus Christ.

Besides I accept, without hesitation, and profess all that has been handed down, defined, and declared by the Sacred Canons and by the general Councils, especially by the SACRED COUNCIL OF TRENT and by the (First) Vatican Ecumenical Council, and in a special manner concerning the PRIMACY AND INFALLIBILITY OF THE ROMAN PONTIFF. At the same time I condemn, reject and damn everything contrary to those teachings as well as any other heresy ever condemned, rejected or damned by the Church.

This same Catholic Faith without which nobody can be saved, which I now freely profess and to which I truly adhere, the same I promise, vow, and swear to maintain and profess, with the help of God, entire, inviolate, and with firm constancy until the last breath of life. AND I SHALL STRIVE, AS FAR AS POSSIBLE, THAT THIS SAME FAITH SHALL BE HELD, TAUGHT, AND PUBLICLY PROFESSED BY ALL THOSE UNDER MY AUTHORITY OR, ENTRUSTED TO MY RESPONSIBILITY. This, I, N.N._____________________ promise, vow, and swear. So help me God and these God's Holy Gospels which I touch with my hand.