The Sign of the Cross

The most common gesture used by Catholics is the sign of the cross. Latin (Western) Catholics make the sign by using their right hand to touch the forehead, the breast, and then the left and right shoulders. As they do this, they say "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen." This one, long gesture makes a cross with the intersection of the vertical line from forehead to chest and the horizontal line between shoulders.

Byzantine Catholics make a similar sign, but they go from right to left on the shoulders. Byzantine Catholics are former Eastern Orthodox Christians who split from the Church in 1054, but returned into communion in the 17th century when they accepted the authority of the Bishop of Rome as Pope. This group includes: Ruthenian, Ukranian, and Greek Catholics, along with the Melkite, Romanian, and Italo-Albanian Byzantine Churches. Eastern Catholics also include Maronite, Coptic, and Chaldean Catholic Churches, also in communion with Rome.

More importantly, the sign of the cross symbolically reminds Catholics of two essential Christian doctrines: the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and humankind's salvation through Christ's death.