Institution of the Catholic Church by Christ

Matthew 28:18-20: And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."

Unlike the Protestant churches, the Catholic Church traces its history all the way back to Christ, himself. Martin Luther, an excommunicated Catholic priest, established his breakaway church in 1517. Thousands of Protestant sects have formed subsequently from his move of rebellion.