The Catholic cross is most meaningful to Catholics who wear this symbol to remind them of the sacrifice Jesus made for them and to declare their religious beliefs publically. The difference between a Catholic cross and other crosses is that the Catholic cross bears a representation of Jesus still hanging.

Some representations of Jesus on the Catholic cross may be an actual figure of a man; others may be a simple circle to signify the head; in all cases, a Catholic cross places emphasis on the sacrifice Jesus made for mankind in an attempt to remind believers that sacrifice is required of all people in order to attain a unity with God.