I think you are referring to "apostolic succession" or "holy tradition."
The Catholic sacred tradition, which includes teachings, rituals, and customs passed down through generations, plays a significant role in shaping the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church. It helps to interpret and understand the teachings of the Bible, guides the Church in matters of faith and morals, and provides a sense of continuity and unity with the early Christian community.
Apostolic Succession
Here's a basic answer for you... A Catholic is a follower of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is founded on the teachings of Jesus. Unlike some other Christian Churches, the Catholic Church is Apostolic. This means the lines of leadership in the Catholic Church come directly from Jesus' Apostles.
mostly catholic but down the north church of Ireland
St. Patrick is buried at Down Cathedral which was a Catholic Church up until the protestant revolt when the English government took it over.
There are probably dozens. Can you narrow it down to a town?
Talk to a Sister or Father and see what they have to say about it, then make up your own mind based on theinformation you get. It comes down to your personal feelings and beliefs, is it bad to have pierced ears and be a Catholic? It comes down to your values and beliefs and personal feelings, "faith" doesn't care what you do, it's what you believe and hold to be true to you and only you. From what I know, I think that it is against the Catholic faith to have any body piercings but as the other answerer said, I think it would be best to speak to the person in charge of your church and find out.
In actual fact, no church denomination, let alone Catholics, were around at the time of Jesus and his apostles! The early church began in peoples' homes before spreading, growing and moving from the immediate area. Only then, a few hundred years later, were church buildings established and the 'Church' established as an organisation. 'Catholic' simply means 'universal' and so, in a sense the catholic (with a small 'c') church has been there since the beginning. However, after the Great Schism where the eastern Orthodox Church split from the Universal Church, and after the Reformation, with the formation of the Protestant Churches, the then 'catholic' church could not claim to be 'universal' and so the name Roman Catholic is now applied to that church, or sometimes Catholic (with a large 'C') for short. One cannot judge others for not being Christian, for that in itself would be an unChristian act and against Christ's teaching. However, there are many who believe that the Roman Catholic Church has moved away from the church as it began 2000 years ago, with the adoption, over the centuries, of non-biblical doctrines such as the over-adulation of Mary, infallibility of the Pope, purgatory, praying to saints, veneration of relics and so on. That said though, the Catholic Church holds dear the teachings of Christ, accepts Jesus Christ as Lord, worships the Trinitarian God, and upholds the Creed set down by the early church to avoid heresy, and therefore is as Christian as any other church denomination including Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists and so on. Do not confuse the beliefs of the Catholic Church, though, with pseudoChristian sects such as the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, as the Catholic Church holds the mainstream beliefs of Christianity although it has regrettably added a few of its own (as have Baptists, Methodists and Anglicans for that matter!!). The Mormons and JWs do not regard Jesus as divine and have their own very unorthodox beliefs that are so different to the Christian Church as to render them pseudoChristian sects rather than Christian Churches.
Those beliefs are typically referred to as "traditions" within the context of the church. They are teachings, practices, or rituals that are handed down from generation to generation within a religious community.
There technically is no "Roman" Catholic Church, the Catholic Church has been around for twenty centuries and has had dozens of ecumenical councils in that time. You would have to narrow it down to a specific time period.
.Catholic AnswerOff the top of my head, I can count twenty-four different St. Gregory's, care to narrow it down?
As the Catholic Church is 2,000 years old, and world-wide, you are going to have to considerably narrow your question down to perhaps a century/decade and a continent or country to get any kind of meaningful answer.