Catholic

The Catholic church was the largest and most powerful branch of the Christian religion. It was, and still is, led by the Pope, with power centered in the Vatican, in Rome, Italy.

Until the reign of Henry VIII (Elizabeth I's father) England had been a predominantly Catholic country. When the Pope refused to grant Henry a divorce, Henry decided to take matters into his own hands and formed the Church of England. The new church was run without any trace of Catholic influence and made England an officially Protestant country.

Which in turn made England an official enemy of the Catholic Church.