AMERICAN APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC CHURCH
MISSIONARY DIOCESE OF CHICAGO
MISSIONARIES OF MERCY CMM

1. Our History

The Church is rooted in the tradition, beliefs, and worship of the Roman Catholic Church, with some minor modifications. Our priests are ordained by Catholic bishops or by a bishop with proven apostolic succession.

At the conclusion of World War II, Bishop Carlos Duarte Costa, a Roman Catholic bishop, voiced his disapproval of many practices of the Roman Catholic Church in Brazil, and did so with such force that it led to his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church. He then established a national church called the "Igreja Catolica Apostólica do Brasil" (Catholic Apostolic Church of Brazil) on July 6, 1945. This church movement has spread to several countries and arrived in the United States in 1947, two years after its founding in Brazil.

From coast to coast, the national Catholic movement continues to grow and spread, bringing Christ to many who had abandoned hope for Catholic reforms or even their Catholicism altogether. This movement, which began with Bishop Carlo Duarte of Brazil, has continued to grow.

In the US, it's known as ACCOTUS in New York; in Chicago, it's called ICAAM, the American Catholic Church. It maintains cordial relations with the Catholic Apostolic Church of Brazil (ICAB).