Jesus never said He was FOUNDING a church.
He said He would BUILD His church.
There’s a difference.
And there’s no proof from Scripture that the Catholic church is what He was referring to when He made that statement.
Ah a wordsmith? You always seem to want proof. What proof do you offer? Just an anti-Catholic bias (from one who is a baptized Catholic).
A founder - One who establishes. To take the first steps of building. The leader in establishing an organization based on principles with Christ as the Head and the members as the Body of Christ.
A Builder. One that builds, esp one that contracts to build and supervises building operations.
So did Jesus stay around to direct and supervise the building? Of course He sent the Holy Spirit to guide the Apostles and their successors to grow and build the Catholic Church by spreading the Goods News. They did a good job in growing His Church in spite of some heresies that led people away from God.