The Catholic Church arrived in what is now the United States during the earliest days of the European colonization of the Americas. At the time the country was founded (meaning the Thirteen Colonies in 1776), only a small fraction of the population there were Catholics (mostly in Maryland); however, as a result of expansion in former French, Spanish and Mexican (i.e., purchase of Louisiana Territory, of Florida, and of territory acquired after the Mexican–American War) and immigration over the country's history, the number of adherents has grown dramatically and it is the largest denomination in the United States today. With over 67 million registered residents professing the faith in 2008, the United States has the fourth largest Catholic population in the world after Brazil, Mexico, and the Philippines, respectively.