Catholicism, specifically the Roman Catholic Church, traces its origins to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ in Roman-occupied Jewish Palestine around 30 CE. According to Catholic tradition, Jesus founded the Church and appointed the twelve Apostles to continue His work. The coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles at Pentecost (around 50 days after Jesus' resurrection) is considered the beginning of the Church's public ministry. The term "Catholic" (from the Greek meaning "universal") was first used to describe the Church in the early 2nd century, with one of the earliest documented mentions in a letter by Saint Ignatius of Antioch around 107 AD. The Church spread across the Roman Empire, gaining legal recognition in 313 CE under Emperor Constantine and becoming the official religion of the Roman Empire by 382 CE. Thus, Catholicism began in the early 1st century with Jesus and the apostles, but it developed its structure and identity over the following centuries, solidifying particularly after Constantine's adoption of Christianity in the 4th century.
