Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, or CCC, is an official explanation of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. It was first published in French in 1992 by the authority of Pope John Paul II. The volume, which is a book of over 900 pages, has been translated into many other languages, including English. In 1997, a Latin text was made. The Latin text is now the official text of reference the contents of the first French text were amended at a few points.

"The design of the logo is adapted from a Christian tombstone in the catacombs of Domitilla in Rome, which dates from the end of the third century A.D. This pastoral image, of pagan origin, was used by Christians to symbolize the rest and the happiness that the soul of the departed finds in eternal life. This image also suggests certain characteristic aspects of this Catechism: Christ, the Good Shepherd who leads and protects his faithful (the lamb) by his authority (the staff), draws them by the melodious symphony of the truth (the panpipes), and makes them lie down in the shade of the tree of life, his redeeming Cross which opens paradise."

The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church was published in 2005, and the first edition in English in 2006. It is a more concise and dialogic (written like a conversation) version of the CCC. The text is available in twelve languages on the Vatican website, which gives the text of the Catechism itself in eight languages.