Yep, and you can get one from an organization called World Priest, which is the brainchild of Quantum Universal, a group of Catholic communications lay people in Ireland and the US, led by CEO Marion Mulhall, a fascinating person who is now a lay Carmelite.

The Catholic Identity Card project was launched Easter Sunday, with most of the p.r. buzz emanating from Ireland, it seems. (Here’s an Irish Times report.) The card has a picture of Pope Benedict XVI (of course what else says “Catholic” like the pope, eh?) and carries the bearer’s name and the words:

“I am a Catholic.

In the event of an accident or emergency please contact a Catholic priest”.

Mine hasn’t arrived yet, so I’m going on press accounts. According to the website’s background materials, the rationale is thus:

Our wallets are filled with plastic cards proclaiming that we shop at this store, deal with this bank or are a member of that gym. In this context it is surely the right time to stand up and in a gentle way make a statement proclaiming that we are Catholic, and one tangible way to do this is to carry the Catholic Identity Card. The purpose is contained in the title – that we are proclaiming our identity as Catholics.

I’ll probably stick with my miraculous medal for now. Or until I qualify for the kind of card that I priest I know carries around. It reads:

“I am a very important Catholic. In case of emergency, call a Bishop!”