pyx

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-pyx.wav

The noun is derived from Late Middle English pix, pixe (“vessel for holding a host, pyx; hip bone socket, pyxis”) [and other forms], from Late Latin pyxis (“vessel for holding a host”), Latin pyxis (“small box for medicines or toiletries; box holding sample coins for testing; hip bone socket; sailor's compass”), from Koine Greek πυξίς (puxís), Ancient Greek πῠξῐ́ς (pŭxĭ́s, “box; box or tablet made of boxwood; cylinder”), from πῠ́ξος (pŭ́xos, “box tree; boxwood”) + -ῐς (-ĭs, suffix forming feminine nouns). Doublet of box, piseog, and pyxis.
The verb is derived from the noun.

ref

From the collection of the Musée de Cluny in Paris, France.

der

[F]oraſmuche as we have often and many tymes, to our inwarde regrete and diſpleaſure, ſeen at oure Jen, in diverſe and many Churches of our Realme, the holie Sacrament of the Aulter kept in ful simple and inhoneſt Pixes, ſpecially Pixes of copre and tymbre: we have appointed and commaunded the Treſourer of our Chambre, and Maiſtre of our Juellhouſe, to cauſe to be made furthwith Pixes of ſilver and gilte, in a greate nombre, for the keping of the holie Sacrament of th'Aultre, after the faction of a Pixe that we have cauſed to be delivered to theim, […]

1509 April 20 (Gregorian calendar), Henry VII of England, edited by [Thomas Astle], The Will of King Henry VII, London: Printed for the editor; and sold by T[homas] Payne, […]; and B[enjamin] White, […], published 1775, →OCLC, pages 37–38:

With Croſſes, Relicks, Crucifixes, / Beads, Pictures, Roſaries and Pixes: / The Tools of working out Salvation, / By meer Mechanick Operation.

1677 (indicated as 1678), [Samuel Butler], “[The Third Part of Hudibras]. Canto I.”, in Hudibras. The Third and Last Part. […], London: […] Robert Horne, […], published 1679, →OCLC; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC, page 86:

They have Pixes and Chalices for the Bleſſed Sacrament five hundred and fifty, ſome of pure Gold, others of Silver and Criſtal; and among them, is one that was offer'd to our Bleſſed Saviour, by one of the three Kings, when they came to Worſhip him, and brought Preſents.

1702, [William Bromley], “[In Italy]”, in Several Years Travels through Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, Prussia, Sweden, Denmark and the United Provinces. […], London: […] A[bel] Roper, […], R. Basset […], and W. Turner […], →OCLC, page 52:

The slight breach was fortunately committed by a distant relation of the Archbishop of Toledo, and consisted merely in his entering the church intoxicated, (a rare vice in Spaniards), attempting to drag the matin preacher from the pulpit, and failing in that, getting astride as well as he could on the altar, dashing down the tapers, overturning the vases and the pix, and trying to scratch out, as with the talons of a demon, the painting that hung over the table, uttering all the while the most horrible blasphemies, and even soliciting the portrait of the Virgin in language not to be repeated.

1820, [Charles Robert Maturin], chapter V, in Melmoth the Wanderer: A Tale. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Company, and Hurst, Robinson, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 273:

[W]here am I to find such a sum? If I sell the very pyx and candlesticks on the altar at Jorvaulx, I shall scarce raise the half; […]

1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter III, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 69:

He [Augustus Pugin] has a most sincere love for his profession, a hearty honest enthusiasm for pixes and piscinas; and though he will never design so much as a pix or piscina thoroughly well, yet better than most of the experimental architects of the day.

1851, John Ruskin, “[Appendix] 12. Romanist Modern Art.”, in The Stones of Venice, volume I (The Foundations), London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 373:

In the twelfth century Germany was at the head of artistic movement, and even France sent to her for skilled workmen in the industrial arts. Her treasuries are still rich in the various beautiful objects comprehended under the name of altar furniture, such as chalices, pyxes and monstrances, missals, reliquaries, and so on.

1870 March 26, “Reviews. Ecclesiastical Art in Germany during the Middle Ages. By Dr. Wilhelm Lübke. London: Simpkin & Marshall.”, in The Architect. A Weekly Illustrated Journal of Art, Civil Engineering, and Building, volume III, London: Gilbert Wood; […], →OCLC, page 152, column 2:

Let chalice, pyx and paten, lamp and candelabrum, crozier and mitre be studded with diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds, and further enriched with figured representations of divine persons and things.

1888 July, “Art and Religion. Annual Lecture of Sir [Frederic] Leighton, President of the Royal Academy. London. The Decline of Art. By Francis Turner Palgrave, Professor of Poetry at Oxford.”, in The American Catholic Quarterly Review, volume XIII, number 51, Philadelphia, Pa.: Hardy and Mahony, […], →OCLC, page 412:

They plundered the abbey of Holyrood at their departure, and afterwards the abbeys of Melrose and Dryburgh in their retreat, venting their rage by slaying the prior of Melrose and a few old monks who were too frail to take to flight, and carrying off a pyx from the altar after they had contemptuously thrown away the host.

1893, Thomas Thomson, Charles Annandale, “Reign of Robert Bruce Continued (1318–1326)”, in A History of the Scottish People from the Earliest Times. […], divisional volume I (Earliest Times till Death of Robert Bruce, 1329), London, Glasgow: Blackie & Son, […], →OCLC, page 259, column 1:

And at the same instant perhaps a priest round the corner is elevating it. Dringdring! And two streets off another locking it into a pyx. Dringadring! And in a ladychapel another taking housel all to his own cheek. Dringdring!

1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 3: Proteus]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part I [Telemachia], page 40:

Inventory references and examples preserved to this day attest to the fact that pyxes were among the objects most frequently made by Limousin workshops. […] It is likely that, as early as the ninth century, pyxes containing the body of Christ (cum corpore Domini) were placed on the altar and used for the Communion of the sick. […] The pyx from the former Côte Collection is among the oldest and most beautiful examples.

1996, “IV. Limoges in Transition (1190–1230)”, in John P. O’Neill, editor, Enamels of Limoges 1100–1350, New York, N.Y.: Metropolitan Museum of Art, →ISBN, entry 74 (Pyx), page 258:

On one of these visits she asked me to get her pyx, a beautiful, golden, highly decorated container used to carry the hosts for Holy Communion. She gave this to her fellow church worker who gave Mum her last Holy Communion.

2009, Claire Leimbach, Trypheyna McShane, Zenith Virago, “Talking about Death”, in The Intimacy of Death and Dying: Simple Guidance to Help You Through, Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Inspired Living, Allen & Unwin, →ISBN, pages 6–7:

(Roman Catholicism, also figurative) A small, usually round container used to hold the host (“consecrated bread or wafer of the Eucharist”), especially when bringing communion to the sick or others unable to attend Mass.


jubilee

en-noun

jubilee (countable and uncountable, plural jubilees)

jubilees (plural)
jubile (alternative)
Jubilee (alternative)

/ˌd͡ʒuːbɪˈliː/

senses 3.3 and 3.4 when spelled jubile, obsolete

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

From Late Middle English jubile [and other forms], from Middle French jubile, from Old French jubilee, jubileus (modern French jubilé), from Late Latin iūbilaeus (adjective, also treated as a noun), from Ancient Greek ἰωβηλαῖος (iōbēlaîos, “of a jubilee”), from ἰώβηλος (iṓbēlos, “jubilee”) + -ῐος (-ĭos, suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Ἰώβηλος (Iṓbēlos) is derived from Hebrew יוֹבֵל (yōḇēl, “ram, trumpet made from a ram’s horn; jubilee”) (because a ram’s horn trumpet was originally used to proclaim the event; see Leviticus 25:9), influenced by Latin iūbilum (“a cry, a shout”) and iūbilō (“to cheer, shout or sing joyfully”). Cognate with Italian giubileo, Spanish jubileo.

der

(Roman Catholicism) A special year (originally held every hundred years, then at more frequent intervals, and now declarable by the Pope at any time and also for periods less than a year) in which plenary indulgences and remission from sin can be granted upon making a pilgrimage to Rome or other designated churches.

禧年

(Roman Catholicism) special year in which plenary indulgences and remission from sin can be granted upon making a pilgrimage


syndic

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-syndic.wav

Borrowed from French syndic (“delegated representative; a chief magistrate of Geneva; a censor; critic (obsolete)”), from Late Latin syndicus (“representative of a corporation or town, syndic”), from Ancient Greek σύνδικος (súndikos, “advocate of a defendant”), from σῠν- (sŭn-, prefix meaning ‘together, with’) + δῐ́κη (dĭ́kē, “law, order; right; judgment; justice; lawsuit; trial”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to point out”)) + -ος (-os, suffix forming nouns).

ref

From the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

der

The larger powers with which the syndic was invested by Martin IV and by his successors, Martin V ("Constitutiones Martinianae") in Wadding, "Annales", X, 301) and Paul IV ("Ex Clementi", 1 July, 1555), gave rise to the appellation syndicus Martinianus in contradistinction to syndicus communis.

1912, Catholic Encyclopedia - Volume 14, page 385:

(Catholicism) A layperson who is given official responsibility for the finances, care, and civil administration of the nonreligious details of a convent or religious community.


magis

(Roman Catholicism) The philosophy of striving to do more for Jesus Christ, associated with Ignatian spirituality and the Society of Jesus.


veronica

A veil that had wiped off the sweat of Christ? Who could possibly believe that? (…) The only true Veronica of this century was the veronica of the matador – the classic slow swing of the cape before the bull’s face, imitating that holy wiping, mocking it.

1973, Nicholas Monsarrat, The Kapillan of Malta:

He wiped the lady’s martini glass, having had some trouble with a kind of veronica of lipstick, spat in it viciously, then washed it again.

(Roman Catholicism) The image of Jesus's face believed to have been made on the cloth with which St Veronica wiped his face as he went to be crucified; or the cloth used for this.

verònica

(Roman Catholicism) image of Jesus's face on a cloth; the cloth itself


mortal sin

en-noun

mortal sin (countable and uncountable, plural mortal sins)

(Roman Catholicism, theology) A sin which causes the loss of God's grace, leading to eternal damnation, unless the sinner repents, which includes their intent to confess and atone; such a sin is defined as a grave transgression against one of the Ten Commandments with the full knowledge and deliberate consent of the sinner.

deadly sin

strictly a different concept, though often used interchangeably


venial sin

(Roman Catholicism, theology) A sin that is not a mortal sin; a sin that is not grave, and/or was not deliberate and/or was committed without a full understanding of the consequences.


introit

PIE word
 *h₁én
From Late Middle English introite (“act of entering in or into, entrance; place of entrance”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman introït, introïte (“introit”), or from its etymon Latin introitus (“act of entering in or into, entrance; passage; place of entrance; (figuratively) beginning, introduction, prelude”), from introeō (“to enter, go in”) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs). Introeō is derived from intrō (“to enter, go into”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én (“in”)) + eō (“to go”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- (“to go”)).

refn

From the collection of the Helsinki University Library in Helsinki, Finland.

der

The Glossary of Terms used by ecclesiastics in the middle ages, who describe a day by the “introit,” or commencement of the service appointed by the church to be performed thereon, and an explanation of the Canonical Hours, Watches, &c. will frequently be found useful.

[1833, [Nicholas] Harris Nicolas, “Preface”, in Dionysius Lardner, editor, The Chronology of History. […] (The Cabinet Cyclopædia; XLIV), London: […] Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman, […]; and John Taylor, […], →OCLC, page xvii:

Adorate Dominum. The introit* and name of the third Sunday after the Epiphany. [Footnote *: Introit.—The first two or more words that form the commencement of a mass, which, from being appropriated to a certain Sunday, or other festival, give the name of such commencement or "introit" to these days.]

1833, [Nicholas] Harris Nicolas, “A Glossary of Dates; […]”, in Dionysius Lardner, editor, The Chronology of History. […] (The Cabinet Cyclopædia; XLIV), London: […] Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman, […]; and John Taylor, […], →OCLC, page 110, column 1:

At some time during these sacerdotal preces the choir will usually have started the sung introit, the exact time for beginning the item dependent on a number of features such as the distance from sacristy to altar.

1982, Andrew Hughes, “Mass”, in Medieval Manuscripts for Mass and Office: A Guide to Their Organization and Terminology, Toronto, Ont., Buffalo, N.Y.: University of Toronto Press, published 2004, →ISBN, page 84:

The earliest unequivocal reference to the Roman introit is from the turn-of-the-eighth-century Ordo romanus I, where the chant is described in its fully developed early medieval form. Consisting of an antiphon and psalm, it is sung during the entrance of the pope at the beginning of Mass.

2000, James [W.] McKinnon, “The Introit”, in The Advent Project: The Later-seventh-century Creation of the Roman Mass Proper, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Calif., London: University of California Press, →ISBN, page 195:

(Roman Catholicism, music) A prayer, typically part of a psalm or other portion of the Bible, read or sung at the start of Mass while or immediately after the priest ascends to the altar.

ܒܝܬܐ

part of a psalm or other portion of the Bible read or sung at Mass immediately after the priest ascends to the altar


nuncio

From Spanish nuncio,
from Latin nūntius (“envoy”).

Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church

international organization
international organization

(Roman Catholicism) The ecclesiastic title of a permanent diplomatic representative of the Roman Catholic Church to a sovereign state or international organization, who is accorded a rank equivalent to an accredited ambassador, and may also be given additional privileges including recognition as Dean in a country's diplomatic corps.


canonize

en-verb

canonize (third-person singular simple present canonizes, present participle canonizing, simple past and past participle canonized)

tlb

(transitive, American spelling, Oxford British English)

canonizes (present singular third-person)
canonizing (participle present)
canonized (participle past)
canonized (past)
canonise (alternative)

From Late Middle English canonizen (“to declare as a saint; to appoint to an ecclesiastical office”), from Old French canonisier (modern French canoniser (“to canonize”)), or from its etymon Medieval Latin, Late Latin canōnizāre, the present active infinitive of Latin canōnizō (“to recognize as a saint, canonize; to declare as authoritative or official”), from Latin canōn (“measuring line; (figurative) precept, rule, canon; authorized catalogue”) + -izō (suffix forming verbs). The English word is analysable as canon (“general principle, rule; authoritative group of works; catalogue of saints canonized in the Roman Catholic Church”) + -ize.

af

Thomas Becket was canonized in 1173.

Wée maye woorſhippe neyther the Virgine Marie, neyther the Apoſtles, neyther any Saincte, neyther make holy dayes, or Temples for them, muche leſſe Canonize them, which comprehendeth all theſe.

1572, [Christopher Carlile], “The Second Discovrs, wherein is Proued, that neyther Peter, nor the Pope, is the Head of Christes Church”, in A Discourse. Wherein is Plainly Proued by the Order of Time and Place, that Peter was Neuer at Rome. […], London: […] Tho[mas] East and H[enry] Myddleton; for VVilliam Norton, →OCLC, folio 30, recto:

In heaven, are the ſowls of men departed in the popiſh fayth, and delivered from purgatorie: ſome of which, the Pope canonizeth for Saincts, whom the people on earth are religiouſly to honour and pray unto, as their mediators with God.

1613, Henry Ainsworth, “The 5. Point of Difference: In the Letter”, in An Animadversion to Mr Richard Clyftons Advertisement. […], Amsterdam: […] Giles Thorp, →OCLC, page 79:

He muſt be of an eaſie belief, that can be certainly perſwaded that every one whom the Pope Canonizeth, and putteth into the Liſt of Saints, is ſo indeed.

1675, [Mr. Mayo], “Sermon XV. Invocation of Saints and Angels, Unlawful.”, in Nathanael Vincent [i.e., Nathaniel Vincent], editor, The Morning-exercise against Popery. Or, The Principal Errors of the Church of Rome Detected and Confuted, […], London: […] A. Maxwell for Tho[mas] Parkhurst, […], →OCLC, page 527:

Where to pray to thy suppositious saints? Where has it taught thee to enjoin men to pray to imaginary saints, whom thou canonizest from time to time?

1869 September, “Spurious Churches”, in Christ is Coming! […], 5th edition, London: […] [F]or the author by John B. Day, […], published 1871, →OCLC, part V (Re-organization of the One Holy Universal Church of Christ), page 197:

Nay, where pilgrimages are not successful, they begin to canonise saints, not in honor of the saints—for they are sufficiently honored without canonisation—but in order to draw crowds and bring in money.

1947, Martin Luther, “An Open Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, Concerning the Reform of the Christian Estate: 1520”, in [Charles M. Jacobs?], transl., Three Treatises: An Open Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation Concerning the Reform of the Christian Estate. A Prelude on the Babylonian Captivity of the Church. A Treatise on Christian liberty, Philadelphia, Pa.: Muhlenberg Press, →OCLC, page 131:

Since the twelfth century the pope has been the Church's sole authority for canonizing saints. But not even a pope can "make" a saint. As Pope Paul VI explained at the canonization of Julie Billiart (April 8): "We do not create, we do not confer saintliness, we recognize it, we proclaim it."

2001, Sarah Gallick, “Introduction”, in The Big Book of Women Saints, New York, N.Y.: HarperSanFrancisco, →ISBN, page 2:

Prospective candidates for sainthood normally need to have two miracles attributed to them before they can be canonized.

2024 May 24, Christopher Lamb, “Italian teenager nicknamed ‘God’s influencer’ set to become Catholic Church’s first millennial saint”, in CNN:

Pope Francis canonized more saints over the dozen years he led the Roman Catholic Church than any of his predecessors — and he instituted a new path to sainthood, recognizing an added category of virtuous Catholics worthy of veneration.

2025 April 22, Emma Bubola, “Pope Will Lie in State for Three Days Before Funeral on Saturday”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(chiefly Roman Catholicism) To declare (a deceased person) as a saint, and enter them into the canon of saints.


Clarissa

Clarissas (plural)
clarissa (alternative)

Clarissa
Clarissa (novel)
Samuel Richardson

Borrowed from Italian Clarissa, from Medieval Latin Clarissa; see there for more. Popularized in English by Samuel Richardson's 1748 novel Clarissa. Doublet of Clarisse.

Following Francis' example, Clare founded an order of religious women known as the Poor Ladies of Assisi (like Francis' Poor Men), and later as the Clarissas or Poor Clares in her honor.

1991, Thomas Head, “Clare of Assisi”, in An Encyclopedia of Continental Women Writers:

In the protomonastero of Santa Chiara in Assisi, erected from the outset for the Clarissas, however, equally frequent changes and modifications in the location of the nuns' choir suggest that there were still uncertainties as to the best place for it.

1992, Caroline A. Bruzelius, “Hearing Is Believing: Clarissan Architecture, ca. 1213–1340”, in Gesta, volume 31, number 2, page 85:

The rule of Urban IV also clarified the nomenclature of the Clarissas, with the pope designating the group as the Order of St. Claire rather than Poor Ladies, or Poor Recluses, of San Damiano.

1995, Caroline A. Bruzelius, “Queen Sancia of Mallorca and the Convent Church of Sta. Chiara in Naples”, in Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, volume 40, page 75:

(Catholicism) Synonym of Poor Clare: a nun of the Order of Saint Clare.


coadjutor bishop

en-noun

coadjutor bishop (plural coadjutor bishops)

The bishop [...] encouraged his flock to bully this brilliant stranger into being ordained priest and soon Augustine was coadjutor (assistant) bishop in the town.

2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 304:

(Roman Catholicism) An auxiliary bishop with the right of succession, i.e., he becomes bishop upon the death, removal or retirement of the incumbent bishop.


dicastery

From Ancient Greek δικαστήριον (dikastḗrion, “court, tribunal”), from δίκη (díkē, “right, custom, judgement”).

bor

The dicastery will continue to oversee the appointment of bishops in the mission territories. … There is no longer a distinction between congregations and pontifical councils because all the Vatican’s main departments are now defined as dicasteries.

2022 March 21, Andrea Gagliarducci, “Praedicate evangelium: Things you might have missed in the new Vatican constitution”, in Catholic News Agency, Denver: EWTN News, retrieved 2022-03-25:

The Argentine pontiff summoned him to Rome in 2023 to head the powerful dicastery for bishop appointments—a job that allowed him to build networks across the Catholic leadership.

2025 May 10, “Chicagoan pope not afraid of speaking truth to power in US”, in FT Weekend, page 3:

(Roman Catholicism) A ministry or department of the Roman Curia of the Holy See, whether administrative or ecclesiastical.


Angelus bell

(Roman Catholicism) a bell rung to show the time when the Angelus should be recited.


altar bell

(Roman Catholicism) A bell rung at significant times during the Mass.


eschatocol

Borrowed from Byzantine Greek ἔσχατοκολλον (éskhatokollon, “last sheet glued onto a manuscript”), from ἔσχατον (éskhaton) + κόλλα (kólla, “glue”).

ἔσχατοκολλον

(Roman Catholicism) The concluding section of a liturgical preface, following the embolism.


datary

(Roman Catholicism) an officer in the Roman Catholic Church who dispensed benefices

dataria

A Roman Catholic Church officer who dispensed benefices


discalced

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin discalceātus (“barefoot”) + -ed, rendering French déchaussé. By surface analysis, dis- + calced.

Brother John is a member of the Discalced Carmelites.

(Roman Catholicism) Pertaining to a religious order that historically forswore the wearing of shoes.

déchaux

pertaining to a religious order that was historically barefoot


capitule

Borrowed from Late Latin capitulum (“chapter”) (diminutive of Latin caput (“head”)).

At Vespers the following is sung, after the Capitule:

1856, Martin Wilson Foye, Romish Rites, Offices, and Legends, page 202:

In the capitule, and the responsory which follows it, we recall to the memory of our Lord, in the words of his prophet — or, rather, of the Church, to whose sentiments theprophet gives expression— the fact that we are by no means strangers in his sight.

1872, Guild of st. Alban, Church work - Volume 2, page 275:

We collected ourselves, and as the man, I led; the Sister said the alternate verses, and I the capitule and the prayer, and everything that usually falls to the celebrant.

1930, Restif de La Bretonne, Havelock Ellis, Monsieur Nicolas; Or, The Human Heart Unveiled:

Finally, by evening time and the hour of the capitule, the brotherhood joined in laughing about america's taste for “turkey” and the fact that Franklin preferred the ruffled gobbler to the stately bald eagle.

2014, Benjamin W. Farley, By the Waters of Babylon: Meditations on the Psalms for the Solace and Renewal of the Soul, page 100:

(Roman Catholicism) Synonym of chapter: a reading at one of the canonical hours.


Franciscans

Order of Friars Minor
Order of Friars Minor#English

(Catholicism) Synonym of Order of Friars Minor: the religious order of friars founded by St Francis of Assisi.


buskin

Apparently from Old French bousequin, variant of brousequin (compare modern French brodequin), probably from Middle Dutch broseken, of unknown origin.

(Catholicism) A pontifical vestment in the form of a silk stocking, sometimes embroidered or interwoven with gold thread, reaching to the base of the knee and worn over one’s regular socks but under episcopal sandals.


martyrology

martyrologies (plural)
Mart. (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-martyrology.wav

From martyr + -ology or from Latin martyrologium.

վկայաբանություն

Roman Catholicism: a calendar of saints' days, typically with biographical information

... we know that Augustine, a monk in the time of Gregory the Great, took with him into England the martyrology of the Roman Church.

1883, Alessio Aurelio Pelliccia, The Polity of the Christian Church..., p. 311

The study of martyrs and martyrdom; the names and stories of martyrs, particularly

(Roman Catholicism, often capitalized) A liturgical calendar of days for the commemoration of formally recognized saints, usually including some biographical notes.

(Roman Catholicism) Synonym of hagiography, a story of a saint's life and death.


conservator

conservators (plural)
conservatour (alternative)

From Middle English conservatour, from Anglo-Norman conservatour, from Latin cōnservātor (“one who conserves”), agent noun from cōnservō (“I preserve”).

(Roman Catholicism) A judge delegated by the pope to defend certain privileged classes of persons from manifest or notorious injury or violence, without recourse to a judicial process.


sacramental

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-sacramental.wav

From Old French sacramental, from Ecclesiastical Latin sacrāmentālis.

But under the twofold pressure of solafideism’s rejection of "good works" for the sake of merit and sola scriptura’s denial of anything not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, sacramentals such as images, relics, blessings, and pilgrimages became the objects of the dissenters' most bitter condemnation and scorn.

1997, James Monti, The king's good servant but God's first:

The activities in this strategy immerse the young people in the many sacramentals that are part of the daily, weekly, and seasonal Catholic individual and communal religious expressions.

2000, Michael Theisen, Exploring Catholicism, page 17:

(Christianity, chiefly Roman Catholicism) An object (such as holy water or a crucifix) or an action (such as making the sign of the cross) which is regarded as encouraging devotion and thus spiritually aiding the person who uses it.

sakramentalo

an object or action which spiritually aids its faithful users


salvific

en-adj

salvific (comparative more salvific, superlative most salvific)

more salvific (comparative)
most salvific (superlative)

From Late Latin salvificus, from Latin salvus (“saved, safe”) + facio (“make”).

Less well recognized, however, is the central role played in much of early medieval Pure Land Buddhism by deathbed practices and accompanying beliefs about the radical salvific power of one's last nenbutsu, whether understood as the contemplation of the Buddha Amitābha (or Amitāyus, Jpn. Amida) or the invocation of his name.

2004, Jacqueline I. Stone, “By the Power of One's Last Nenbutsu: Deathbed Practices in Early Medieval Japan”, in Richard K[arl] Payne, Kenneth K[en'ichi] Tanaka, editors, Approaching the Land of Bliss: Religious Praxis in the Cult of Amitābha (Kuroda Institute Studies in East Asian Buddhism; 17), Honolulu, Hi.: University of Hawai‛i Press, →ISBN, page 77:

2012, Magdalen Ross (translator), Athanasius Schneider, 7: Adoration and the Sacred Liturgy, Alcuin Reid (editor), From Eucharistic Adoration to Evangelization, Continuum Books (Burns & Oates), page 84,
The fragrance [of this sacrifice] is the most pleasing perfume, the most holy, the most salvific and the most beautiful; […] .

2017, Boris Jakim (translator), Pavel Florensky, Early Religious Writings, 1903-1909, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, page 149,
[…] participation in the liturgy is more salvific than the reading of the Bible; the performance of cult is more important than charitable giving.

2019, Ernest L. Gibson, Salvific Manhood, University of Nebraska Press, page 93,
Nevertheless, as this love truly begins to show itself, as the men became more salvific for each other, David pulls back.

(chiefly Catholicism) Able or intending to provide salvation or redemption.


beatify

en-verb

beatify (third-person singular simple present beatifies, present participle beatifying, simple past and past participle beatified)

beatifies (present singular third-person)
beatifying (participle present)
beatified (participle past)
beatified (past)

From French béatifier, from Medieval Latin beātifico (“I bless”).

(transitive, Roman Catholicism) To carry out the third of four steps in canonization, making someone a blessed.

beatificar

to take step in declaring a person a saint


custos

(Roman Catholicism) A monastic superior, who, under the general of his order, has the direction of all the religious houses of the same fraternity in a given district, called a custody of the order.


carene

From Medieval Latin carēna (“40-day fast; remission of such a fast”), from Late Latin quadragēna (“40-day period, Lent”) or quarantena (“40-day period”), from Latin quadrāgēnus (“40 each”), from quadrāgintā (“four tens, forty”). Doublet of quadragene and quarantine.

der

(Catholicism, historical, rare) A 40-day fast or period of similar abstinence.

You have with much labour, and some charge, purchased to your self so many Quadragenes or Lents of pardon; that is, you have bought off the penances of so many times forty dayes. It is well; but were you well advised, it may be your Quadragenes are not Carenes; that is, are not a quitting the severest penances of fasting so long in bread and water; for there is great difference in the manner of keeping a penitential Lent, and it may be you have purchased but some lighter thing; and then if your demerit arise to so many Carenes, and you purchased but mere Quadragenes, without a minute and table of particulars, you may stay longer in Purgatory than you expected... And they that read... will soon perceive that all this is but a handful of smoke, when you hold it, you hold it not.

1664, Jeremy Taylor, A Disswasive from Popery to the People of Ireland, page 93:

Careen (and its Latin source, quadragene) no longer made sense in the fifteenth century because priests no longer distributed punishments in forty-day parcels, the duration of Lent... the culture had shifted from brief punishments on earth to long punishments in the afterlife, in Purgatory. But the term was still in circulation, and people sought to make sense of it by inventing new definitions for it.

2016, Kathryn M. Rudy, Rubrics, Images, & Indulgences in Late Medieval Netherlandish Manuscripts, pages 47–8:

(Catholicism, historical, rare) An indulgence from 40 days of fasting or similar abstinence, especially during Lent; (later) various equivalent indulgences against punishment in Purgatory.


missal

From Old French messel (“book of the Mass”).

(religion) A prayer book; a church service (book).

(Catholicism) A book containing the prayers and responses needed when celebrating the Roman Catholic Mass throughout the year.


temporale

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin temporāle, substantivisation of temporālis (“of or pertaining to time”).

bor+

The third and final volume of the temporale employs a different stave height and was clearly written later.

2003, Pia Palladino, Treasures of a Lost Art: Italian Manuscript Painting of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, →ISBN, page 53:

In the Roman rite, this period of the year is known as ‘ordinary time’ and, like the Old Hispanic rite, mostly uses quotidian materials for the temporale.

2022, Emma Hornby, Raquel Rojo Carrillo, “The Liturgical Year in the Old Hispanic Rite”, in Emma Hornby et al., editors, Understanding the Old Hispanic Office: Texts, Melodies, and Devotion in Early Medieval Iberia, →ISBN, page 37:

(Roman Catholicism) A cycle of texts to be read or chanted at liturgical services on particular weeks and movable feasts throughout the year; a book that contains this cycle.


subdeacon

Originated 1275–1325 from Middle English subdecon and -dekene, from Late Latin subdiāconus. Equivalent to sub- + deacon.

(Catholicism, chiefly historical) A Catholic clerical rank in the major orders below that of a deacon.

(Catholicism, chiefly historical) A Catholic cleric who assists the deacon at High Mass and normally reads the Epistle at the Eucharist.


seven virtues

(Catholicism) The seven heavenly virtues: the three theological and four cardinal virtues.

Meronyms: chastity, temperance, generosity, diligence, patience, kindness, modesty

(Catholicism) The seven capital virtues; the virtues that are opposed to, or are remedies of, the seven deadly sins.


balteus

Borrowed from Latin balteus (“belt, girdle”).

(Roman Catholicism) The subcinctorium, a papal garment.


numerary

From Latin numerarius, from numerus (“number”). Doublet of numéraire.

Like numeraries, assistant numeraries are celibates who live in Opus Dei centres.

2024 March 16, Antonia Cundy, “The Opus Dei diaries”, in FT Weekend, page 17:

(Roman Catholicism) A celibate lay member of Opus Dei, a Roman Catholic religious institution.


decretal

/dɪˈkɹiːtəɫ/

From Middle French decretal, from Late Latin dēcrētālis, from Latin decretum.

Or els is thys Goddis law,
Decrees or decretals,
Or holy sinodals,
Or els provincyals,
Thus within the wals
Of holy church to deale[…]?

c. 1503–1512, John Skelton, Ware the Hauke; republished in John Scattergood, editor, John Skelton: The Complete English Poems, 1983, →OCLC, page 65, lines 130–135:

DECRETALS... are the answers sent by the Pope to applications made to him as head of the church, chiefly by bishops, but also by synods, and even private individuals, for guidance in cases involving points of doctrine or discipline... From the 4th century onwards they formed the most prolific source of canon law. Decretals... ought, properly speaking, to be distinguished, on the one hand from constitutions... enacted by the Pope sua sponte without reference to any particular case, and on the other hand from rescripts... which apply only to special circumstances or individuals, and constitute no general precedent. But this nomenclature is not strictly observed.

1878, "Decretals" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. VII, p. 22

ecclesiastical letter
ecclesiastical letter

(Roman Catholicism) A papal decree, particularly one derived from an ecclesiastical letter.


mensa

Learned borrowing from Latin mēnsa (“table, altar”). Doublet of mesa.

lbor

Some churches also have an altar stone, a separate stone set into the mensa containing a relic of a saint, although this is becoming extremely rare.

1993, B. Don Taylor, The Complete Training Course for Altar Guilds, →ISBN, page 32:

(Roman Catholicism) The upper surface of an altar.


piscatory ring

(Roman Catholicism) A ring worn by popes, representing the first pope and Christian apostle Peter, who had been a fisherman.


terce

en-noun

terce (countable and uncountable, plural terces)

Late Middle English, from Old French terce, from Latin tertia (“third; the third hour”).

(chiefly Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy) The service appointed for this hour.


processional

[47] Item that the Churchwardens of euery paryshe shall delyuer vnto our visitours the inuentories of vestmentes, copes, and other ornamentes, plate, bookes, and specyallye of Grayles, Couchers, Legendes, Processionalles, Hymnalles, Manuelles, Portuesses, and suche lyke apperteynyng to theyr Church.

1559, Iniunctions geven by the Quenes Maiestie anno Domini MD.LIX, the fyrst yeare of the raigne of our Soueraigne Lady Quene Elizabeth, London:

c. 1640s, John Gregory, “Episcopus Puerorum In Die Innocentium: Or, A Discovery of an Ancient Custom in the Church of Sarum, making an Anniversary Bishop among the Choristers” in The Works of the Reverend and Learned Mr. John Gregory, London: R. Royston and T. Williams, 1671, p. 114,
By the Use of Sarum (for ’tis almost the only place where I can hear any thing of this; that of York in their Processional seems to take no notice of it) upon the Eve to Innocents Day the Chorister-Bishop was to go in solemn Procession with his fellows […]

(Roman Catholicism) A service book relating to ecclesiastical processions.


Spy Wednesday

From the idea that Judas Iscariot was spying on Jesus before betraying him. The Middle Irish equivalent, Cédaín in Braith ["Wednesday of Betrayal" or "Spy Wednesday"], is attested in the 15th-century Leabhar Breac.

CATHEDRAL. Spy-Wednesday—Evening Office of Tenebrae, at 5½ o'clock.

1844 March 30, “Order of Service in Holy Week.”, in Bengal Catholic Herald, Vol.VI No.13 p.174:

On Spy Wednesday 1916 Thomas McDonagh gave B Company, 2nd Battalion, Irish Volunteers a pep talk.

1974 January 23, Seamus de Burca, "Peadar Kearney (1883–1942)" Dublin Historical Record (Old Dublin Society) Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 42–56 : 49


papal infallibility

Before examining specific interpretations of papal infallibility, we will first give a general introduction to the doctrine. This chapter begins with an overview of the pontificate of Pius IX and the historical setting of Vatican I. This overview is ...

2009, Mark E. Powell, Papal Infallibility: A Protestant Evaluation of an Ecumenical Issue, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, →ISBN, page 20:

(Roman Catholicism) The concept that the Pope, under certain circumstance (when making a statement on faith or morals, etc.) is protected by the Holy Spirit from being able to make a mistake.


canonized

(Catholicism) In the Roman Catholic Church, officially declared a saint.

canonizat

Roman Catholic Church: officially declared a saint


trad

trad (countable and uncountable, plural trads)

And just because leftoids make tripe from their position of strength is no reason for trads to make schlock from their position of weakness.

2024 June 18, Spencer Klavan, “A Matter of Taste”, in The American Mind:

(informal, Catholicism) A traditionalist.


beatified

(Roman Catholicism) Having been recognized and declared, by the church, that a deceased has entered heaven; having attained this step in the process of canonization.

zalig

declared that a deceased has entered heaven


suburbicarian

/səˌbɜː.bəˈkɛəɹi.ən/

(Roman Catholicism) Describing any of the six dioceses surrounding Rome, which are always headed by Cardinals of the highest rank.

suburbicari

describing any of the six dioceses surrounding Rome


Apostolicship

(rare, Catholicism) The office of a Pope


Tlaxcala

/tlɑːʃˈkɑːlə/

Borrowed from Spanish Tlaxcala, from Classical Nahuatl Tlaxcallān.

Tascala (alternative obsolete)
Tascalla (alternative obsolete)
Taxcala (alternative obsolete)
Tlascala (alternative obsolete)
Tlascalla (alternative obsolete)
Tlaxcalla (alternative obsolete)

Aguascalientes · Baja California · Baja California Sur · Campeche · Chiapas · Chihuahua · Coahuila · Colima · Durango · Guanajuato · Guerrero · Hidalgo · Jalisco · Mexico · Michoacán · Morelos · Nayarit · Nuevo León · Oaxaca · Puebla · Querétaro · Quintana Roo · San Luis Potosí · Sinaloa · Sonora · Tabasco · Tamaulipas · Tlaxcala · Veracruz · Yucatán · Zacatecas

The Biſhopricke of Tlaſcala, which by another name is called de los Angeles, between the Archbiſhopricke of Mexico, and the Biſhopricke of Guaxaca, if of 100. leagues, and more in length, from the Coaſt of the South to that of the North, and betwixt the confines of the Archbiſhopricke, and of Guaxaca 80. and as many in breadth, by the Coaſt of the North sea, and no more then 18. or 20. by that of the South.

1625, Samuel Purchas, Purchas His Pilgrimes, volume 3, London: William Stansby, page 872:

On information received from Julian Garces, Bishop of Tlascala, of the Order of Friars Preachers, Pope Paul III. issued in 1537 bulls vindicating the liberty of the Indians and their dignity as human beings.

1885, Heinrich Brueck, History of the Catholic Church for Use in Seminaries and Colleges, volume II, New York, Cincinnati, Chicago, Einsideln: Benziger Brothers, page 143:

Puebla de los Ángeles
Puebla de los Ángeles

(Catholicism, history) Until 1903, a Roman Catholic diocese; now the archdiocese of Puebla de los Ángeles.

(Catholicism) A Roman Catholic diocese erected in 1959.


EF

Extraordinary Form
Extraordinary Form#English

(Roman Catholicism) Initialism of Extraordinary Form.


Clarisse

Borrowed from French Clarisse, from Italian Clarissa, from Medieval Latin Clarissa (“Poor Clare”); see there for more. Doublet of Clarissa and Clarice.

Clara... withdrew herself... to the Church of St. Damian, and there gave beginning to the poor Maids, called from her name Clarisses...

1693, Gabriel d'Emillianne, translated by Antonio Gavin, A Short History of Monastical Orders, page 253:

(Catholicism) Synonym of Poor Clare: a nun of the Order of Saint Clare, sometimes particularly such a nun who followed the original rules of Saint Clare of Assisi.


nuptial act

(Catholicism) Vaginal intercourse between a married couple.


allocution

allocution (countable and uncountable, plural allocutions)

The recent papal allocution To the International Congress on Life-Sustaining Treatment and Vegetative State: Scientific Advances and Ethical Dilemmas has been the occasion for much discussion concerning the use of artificial feeding tubes for nutrition and hydration.

2004, Thomas Shannon, James Walter, “Implications of the Papal Allocution on Feeding Tubes,”, in The Hastings Center Report, volume 34, number 4, page 18:

(Roman Catholicism) A pronouncement by a pope to an assembly of church officials concerning a matter of church policy.


mantelletta

Borrowed from Italian mantelletta, from mantello (“cloak, mantle”) + -etta (from -etto (diminutive suffix)), probably from Late Latin mantelletum (“a short, sleeveless cape or cloak; a mantlet”). Doublet of mantlet.

der

We were without comestibles, and we had no garments except those we wore, not even a shirt, and the habits, such as they were, were most inconvenient for travelling; for the Pope [Pius VII] wore his mozzetta and stola, and I [Bartolomeo Pacca] the rocchetto and mozzetta, together with the mantelletta.

1850 August 31, “Historical Memoirs of Cardinal Pacca, Prime Minister to Pius VII. Written by Himself. Translated from the Italian, by Sir George Head. 2 vols. Longman & Co.”, in The Athenæum: Journal of English and Foreign Literature, Science, and the Fine Arts, number 1192, London: Printed by James Holmes, Took's Court, Chancery Lane; published at the Office, 14 Wellington Street North, Strand, by J. Francis, →OCLC, page 921, column 2:

In Rome the cardinals wear the mozzetta over the mantelletta, except in their titular churches, when it is worn immediately over the rochet.

1912, “The Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church”, in Herman Joseph Heuser, editor, The Ecclesiastical Review: A Monthly Publication for the Clergy, volume XLVI, Philadelphia, Pa.: American Ecclesiastical Review, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 145:

In the presence of the Pope and within the Archbishopric of Rome, the cardinals and the bishops had to conceal the rochet beneath a so-called mantelletta, a knee-length coat, which was open at the front.

2015, Philipp Zitzlsperger, “A Change in Forms and the Migration of Bodies in Rome – From the Cardinal’s Tomb to the Cenotaph”, in Tarald Rasmussen, Jon Øygarden Flæten, editors, Preparing for Death, Remembering the Dead, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, →ISBN, page 84:

(Roman Catholicism) A sleeveless, knee-length vestment open at the front which is worn by Roman Catholic prelates.


confiteor

From Latin cōnfiteor (“I confess”), the first word of the prayer and used as its title in Ecclesiastical Latin. Doublet of confess.

“Pugh!” she said. “You are disgusting! Go into the chapel now and say a confiteor each for your sin.”

1967, The Saturday Evening Post, volume 240, page 80:

(Christianity, chiefly Roman Catholicism) A prayer, typically beginning “I confess to Almighty God…” in English, in which public confession of sins is made.


OFM

Haymo of Faversham, O.F.M.

John Duns Scotus ofm

Massimo Fusarelli, ofm

Ordo Fratrum Minorem
Ordo Fratrum Minorem#English

(Catholicism) Initialism of Order of Friars Minor or Ordo Fratrum Minorem; the Franciscans, a religious order of mendicant friars.


Order of Friars Minor

the Order of Friars Minor (canonical)
OFM (alternative)

A calque of Medieval Latin Ordo Fratres Minores (“the Order of Lesser Brothers”), chosen by Francis of Assisi to inculcate humility in its members.

(Catholicism) The religious order of friars established by St Francis of Assisi.


oremus

From Latin ōrēmus (“let us pray”, first person plural active subjunctive of ōrō), often used to introduce a prayer in the liturgy.

bor

first person plural active subjunctive of <i class="Latn mention" lang="la">ōrō</i>

The priest recited long oremuses in Latin, after which he said in the same language to the little seagull: Ingredere, Petre, in domum Domini.

1923, Pierre Loti, translated by W. P. Baines, A Tale of Brittany, page 144:

(Roman Catholicism) A liturgical prayer.


pome

en-noun

pome (plural pomes or (heraldry) pomeis)

From Middle English pome (“fruit, meatball”), from Old French pome (“apple”), from Latin pōmum. For the verb, compare French pommer. Doublet of pomme.

(Roman Catholicism) A ball of silver or other metal, filled with hot water and used by a Roman Catholic priest in cold weather to warm his hands during the service.


nuntius

Borrowed from Latin nūntius (“messenger”).


monsignor

en-noun

monsignor (plural monsignors or monsignori)

monsignors (plural)
monsignori (plural)
Monsignor (alternative)
Msgr. (alternative)
Mons. (alternative)

From Italian monsignore, from signore under influence from Middle French monseigneur. Doublet of monseigneur and monsieur.

He goes one day to hear Father Hecker preach on the Destiny of Man, on another to hear Monsignor Pie, Bishop of Poitiers, then Archbishop Manning, and again Monsignor Mermillod and Father Burke. […] We have just made her a grand festa for her day, the 20th—twelve Masses, cardinal, two archbishops, two monsignori, the other seven, priests.

1892, “Great Events in Rome”, in John Morris, editor, The Life of Mother Henrietta Kerr, Religious of the Sacred Heart, 3rd edition, Roehampton, pages 182 and 197:

We were passed on from one room to another, and finally came to a halt in a large square room, where there were more priests, one or two monsignori, in their violet robes, and two officers. […] We had barely time to exchange a few remarks, as Monsignor Bicletis was waiting for us to advance.

1905, Mary King Waddington, “Italy Revisited”, in Italian Letters of a Diplomat’s Wife; January–May 1880; February–April, 1904, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, pages 249–250:

He wore the dress of an abbot and was accompanied by two monsignori in simple black. […] It was a letter from Monsignor Chatrousse, the Bishop of Valence in France.

1955, Francis Beauchesne Thornton, Cross upon Cross: The Life of Pope Pius IX, New York, N.Y.: Benziger Brothers, Inc., pages 83 (The Pope Begins His Reign) and 114 (The Flight to Gaeta):

He was accompanied by two monsignori, one of whom was Henry Cosgrove, an acquaintance of mine from Brooklyn. […] “It is obvious that I need no translator. Henry,” I said, turning to the American monsignor, “you can be my secretary.”

1999, Francis X[avier] Murphy, “Introduction to the 1999 Edition”, in Vatican Council II, Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, →ISBN, page xii:

He had only been in office for a couple of months when the brilliant polymath, Monsignor Ivan Illich, was summoned to Rome. Illich was an American citizen of mixed Spanish, German, Croat and Jewish origins, and a priest of New York archdiocese who worked in Cuernavaca in Mexico to prepare missionaries for Latin America. Two minor CDF monsignori, Sergio de Magistris and Giuseppe Casoria, attempted to interrogate him in the back rooms of the Palazzo.

2001, Paul Collins, “Palazzo del Sant’Uffizio”, in From Inquisition to Freedom: Seven Prominent Catholics and Their Struggle with the Vatican, Sydney, N.S.W.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 19:

He paid half the $850 monthly tuition, and the church monsignor covered the rest.

2007 February 4, Alexis Rehrmann, “Her Parents Couldn’t Take Care of Her. This Home Could.”, in New York Times:

“Chances are if you had any efforts to modify it, you’d have parades of monsignors, ministers and rabbis trooping up to Capitol Hill,” said Professor Baker.

2007 October 21, Peter Applebome, “A Court Decision Elbows a Village in Favor of Religious Rights”, in New York Times:

Monsignor, at least, was happier, because oblivious, and just went on transforming the ducks and capons bestowed on him into flesh. […] As chaplain and special counsellor of Casa Frumier he’d been able to garner the esteem of the many priests and monsignori who were guests there, for he never lacked either those saintly maxims or those agile mutations of conscience that allowed him to attract both the one and the other; […]

2014, Ippolito Nievo, translated by Frederika Randall, Confessions of an Italian, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN:

(Roman Catholicism) An ecclesiastic title bestowed on some Roman Catholic clerics by the Pope


Our Lady of Sorrows

Calque of Latin Māter Dolōrōsa (“Sorrowful Mother”) under influence from Domina Nostra (“Our Lady”) and their descendants in other languages.

calque

(Christianity, chiefly Catholicism) Synonym of Mary, mother of Jesus, in particular reference to her grief at the Christ's crucifixion.

Mare de Déu dels Dolors

the grieving Mary — see also Mary, Mother of God, Our Lady, Queen of Heaven


Divine Mercy Sunday

en-proper noun

Divine Mercy Sunday (plural Divine Mercy Sundays)

(Roman Catholicism) The Sunday after Easter.


supererogate

en-verb

supererogate (third-person singular simple present supererogates, present participle supererogating, simple past and past participle supererogated)

supererogates (present singular third-person)
supererogating (participle present)
supererogated (participle past)
supererogated (past)

/ˌs(j)uːpəɹˈɛɹəɡeɪt/

/ˌsupəɹˈɛɹəˌɡeɪt/

Borrowed from Latin supererogare. See supererogation.

They who, in their obedience, attain to the greatest height which is possible in this life, are so far from being able to supererogate, and to do more than God requires, […]

The Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter XVI, article iv

Were this all, therefore, or my task confined to such a relation, I should supererogate indeed in making this appearance.

1897, Stanley John Weyman, chapter I, in Shrewsbury:

(intransitive, theology, Catholicism) To do more than God commands.


manuductor

From Latin manus (“hand”) + ductor (“leader”).

(Catholicism) The chief novice in an order.


manuterge

(Catholicism) A towel used by a priest during liturgy


Absolution Day

(Roman Catholicism) The Tuesday before Easter.


counterreformer

From counterreform + -er or counter- + reformer.

According to John Bossy, the Catholic counterreformers attempted to make the parish the primary focus of religious life […]

1986, Joseph H. Lynch, Godparents and Kinship in Early Medieval Europe, →ISBN, page 26:

The council [of Trent] also urged caution in the use of vocal polyphony […] Notably, the counterreformers did not follow Luther and Calvin in advocating congregational song in the vernacular.

2008, Steven R. Guthrie, “Theology and Music”, in The Encyclopedia of Christianity, volume 5, Eerdmans-Brill, →ISBN, page 371:

This stands in significant contrast, for example, to the Catholic counterreformer Ignatius of Loyola who, in his Spiritual Exercises, requires that the retreatant consider the idea that God created the whole world for her.

2020, Brendan Thomas Sammon, “Beauty and the Good in Dionysius the Areopagite”, in Alice M. Ramos, editor, Beauty and the Good: Recovering the Classical Tradition from Plato to Duns Scotus, →ISBN, page 204:

(historical, Roman Catholicism) Alternative spelling of Counter-Reformer (“proponent of the Counter-Reformation”).


indult

That’s why, for instance, most American Catholics now receive communion in the hand (permission for which was originally granted as an “indult,” an exception), […]

2015 August 27, Ross Douthat, “Catholic Exceptions and Catholic Rules”, in New York Times Opinion Pages, retrieved 2021-06-03:

(Catholicism) A permission or privilege granted by the church authority that excepts an individual from what is otherwise a norm of church law, such as a release from monastic vows.


binate

binate (third-person singular simple present binates, present participle binating, simple past and past participle binated)

binates (present singular third-person)
binating (participle present)
binated (participle past)
binated (past)

From Latin bīnātus, past participle of bīnō (“to binate”), from bīnus (“two each, in pairs”). Equivalent to Latin bīnō + -ate (verb-forming suffix).

(Catholicism, intransitive) To perform bination; to hold Mass twice on the same day.


dataria

From Late Latin, from Latin datum (“given”).

(Roman Catholicism, historical) Part of the Roman Catholic Curia, abolished in 1967, from which were sent graces or favours such as appointments to benefices.


seminarist

(Roman Catholicism) A student training to be a priest at a Roman Catholic seminary.


Carmelite

(Catholicism) Of or related to the Carmelites.


age of reason

en-noun

age of reason (usually uncountable, plural ages of reason)

vastuullinen ikä

age at which a person is morally liable for the sins that he or she commits

Book 1:
Reason alone teaches us to know good and bad. . . . Before the age of reason we do good and bad without knowing it, and there is no morality in our actions. . . . A child wants to upset everything he sees; he smashes, breaks everything he can reach.
Book 4:
We hold that no child who dies before the age of reason will be deprived of eternal happiness. . . . The whole difference I see here between you and me is that you claim that children have this capacity [i.e., to recognize the divinity] at seven, and I do not even accord it to them at fifteen.

1762, Jean Jacques Rousseau, translated by Allan Bloom, Émile, or, on Education:

On September tenth — the morning of my seventh birthday — I came downstairs to the kitchen, where my mother was washing the dishes and my father was… reading the paper or something, and I sort-of presented myself to them in the doorway, and they said “Hey! Happy birthday!” And I said “I’m seven.” And my father smiled and said “Well, you know what that means, don’t you?” And I said “Yeah… that I’m gonna have a party and a cake and get a lot of presents (?)” And my dad said “Well, yes, but more importantly, being seven means that you’ve reached the age of reason, and you’re now capable of committing any and all sins against God and man.”

2006, February: Julia Sweeney, “Letting Go of God” performed at TED2006, 0:16–0:54

Since the Church has traditionally understood the age of reason to be seven years old, your daughter would not be too young to receive confirmation at age eight.

c. 2008, Michelle Arnold, "What is the correct age for confirmation?," www.catholic.com (retrieved 29 Oct 2013)

(Roman Catholicism) Seven years of age, at which age a person is morally liable for the sins that he or she commits.


probabilism

probabilism (usually uncountable, plural probabilisms)

Coordinate term: probabiliorism

(theology, chiefly Catholicism) The casuistic doctrine that, in difficult matters of conscience, one may safely follow a doctrine that is probable, e.g. approved by a recognized Doctor of the Church, even if the opposite opinion is more probable.


celebret

Borrowed from Latin celebret (“may he celebrate”).

bor+

(Roman Catholicism) A letter signed by a bishop or other higher official stating that a certain priest is allowed to say Mass in a different diocese.


definitor

(Catholicism) One who oversees either an ecclesiastical property under a bishop or possesses an office in a religious order.


dubia

en-noun

dubia pl (normally plural, singular dubium)

Borrowed from Latin dubia, plural of dubium (literally “doubt”).

Coordinate term: responsa

The dubia began as a private letter, as is usual with such requests for doctrinal clarity. Francis offered no reply.

2016 November 26, Ross Douthat, “His Holiness Declines to Answer”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

Eleven dubia, have been raised regarding the application of the Motu proprio Traditionis custodes through which in July 2021 Pope Francis promulgated new norms regarding the use of the liturgical books in use prior to the reform enacted by the Second Vatican Council.

2021 December 18, “Celebration of old rite: Holy See responds to questions presented by bishops”, in Vatican News:

On July 10, Cardinal Burke and other leading traditionalist cardinals sent a letter to Francis known as a “dubia” that conveyed their concerns about the Synod, and demanded that he clear up, among other issues, the blessing of same-sex unions.

[2023 October 3, Jason Horowitz, “Conservative Catholics, Relegated to Sidelines, Denounce Papal Gathering”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(Roman Catholicism) A set of questions on doctrine sent by Catholic bishops to the Holy See.


hebdomadary

From Late Latin hebdomadārius, from hebdomas (“week”).

(Roman Catholicism) A member of a chapter or convent whose week it is to officiate in the choir and perform other services, which, on extraordinary occasions, are performed by the superiors.


andor

andors (plural)
andas (alternative)
andola (alternative)

From Portuguese andor, from Malayalam, from Sanskrit हिन्दोल (hindola, “swinging cradle, hammock litter, dooly”). Compare dooly from Sanskrit दुल् (dul) via Hindi.

der

(Portugal, Roman Catholicism) Synonym of litter, used in religious processions of saints' figurines.


caliga

(Catholicism) A pontifical vestment in the form of a silk stocking, sometimes embroidered or interwoven with gold thread, reaching to the base of the knee and worn over one’s regular socks but under episcopal sandals.


Rota

en-proper noun

Rota (countable and uncountable, plural Rotas)

From Italian Rota, from Latin Rota, from Latin rota (“wheel”).

The Rota consists of twelve Doctors, chosen out of the four Nations of Italy, France, Spain, and Germany.

1728, Ephraim Chambers, Cyclopaedia, s.v. "Rota"

(Catholicism) A branch of the papal Curia which serves as an appellate court in ecclesiastical cases, including cases of marriage nullity.


quadragene

en-noun

quadragene (plural quadragenes or quadragenae)

quadragenes (plural)
quadragenae (plural)
Quadragene (alternative)

From Late Latin quadragēna (“40-day period, Lent”), from Latin quadrāgēnus (“40 each”), from quadrāgintā (“four tens, forty”). Doublet of carene and quarantine.

der

You have with much labour, and some charge, purchased to your self so many Quadragenes or Lents of pardon; that is, you have bought off the penances of so many times forty dayes. It is well; but were you well advised, it may be your Quadragenes are not Carenes; that is, are not a quitting the severest penances of fasting so long in bread and water; for there is great difference in the manner of keeping a penitential Lent, and it may be you have purchased but some lighter thing; and then if your demerit arise to so many Carenes, and you purchased but mere Quadragenes, without a minute and table of particulars, you may stay longer in Purgatory than you expected... And they that read... will soon perceive that all this is but a handful of smoke, when you hold it, you hold it not.

1664, Jeremy Taylor, A Disswasive from Popery to the People of Ireland, page 93:

Careen (and its Latin source, quadragene) no longer made sense in the fifteenth century because priests no longer distributed punishments in forty-day parcels, the duration of Lent... the culture had shifted from brief punishments on earth to long punishments in the afterlife, in Purgatory. But the term was still in circulation, and people sought to make sense of it by inventing new definitions for it.

2016, Kathryn M. Rudy, Rubrics, Images, & Indulgences in Late Medieval Netherlandish Manuscripts, pages 47–8:

(Catholicism, historical) An indulgence from 40 days of fasting or similar abstinence, especially during Lent; (later) various equivalent indulgences against punishment in Purgatory.

Actors and spectators were often granted indulgences; generally^([sic]) to the scale of one Quadragene (a forty-day fast on bread and water in return for divine grace).

2001, Erika Fischer-Lichte, translated by Jo Riley, History of European Drama and Theatre, page 47:

(Catholicism, historical) An indulgence provided by 40 days of fasting.


mozzetta

mozzettas (plural)
mozzette (plural)
mosette (alternative)
mozetta (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-mozzetta.wav

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-mozzette.wav

Borrowed from French mozzete (obsolete) (modern French mosette, mossette), and from its etymon Italian mozzetta; further etymology uncertain, possibly either:
* from Italian mozzo (“cut off; shortened”, adjective) (from Vulgar Latin *mutius, from Latin mutilus (“mutilated”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *mut- (“cut short”)); or
* from Late Latin almucia (“hood or cape with a hood worn by clergy”) (further etymology unknown)
+ Italian -etta (feminine form of -etto (diminutive suffix)).
The plural form mozzette is borrowed from Italian mozzette.

Benedict [XVI], the first pope to resign voluntarily in six centuries, will dress in a simple white cassock, forgoing the mozzetta, the elbow-length cape worn by some Catholic clergymen, the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, told reporters at a news briefing.

2013 February 26, Gaia Pianigiani, Elisabetta Povoledo, “Benedict XVI to be known as emeritus in retirement”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-06-24:

On that night of his election he [Pope Francis] stepped out on to the balcony overlooking Saint Peter's Square in simple white robes, refusing the fancy red mozzetta or cape that Benedict [XVI] had sported when he had been announced as pope. When told to put on white trousers, he later remembered in his autobiography, he replied: "I don't want to be an ice-cream seller."

2025 April 21, Peter Stanford, “Pope Francis obituary: Leader of the Catholic church who pushed for social and economic justice, and an urgent response to the climate crisis”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2025-04-25:

The most notable figure in the room is Irish-American Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is the Pope [Francis]'s "camerlengo" or chamberlain and runs the Vatican until a new Pope is chosen. The cardinal – in red mozzetta and cassock – is shown blessing the body of the late Pope during the rite of the declaration of death.

2025 April 22, “In Pictures: Symbolism on Show as Pope Francis Lies in Open Coffin”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 2025-04-28:

(Roman Catholicism) A short cape covering the shoulders and buttoned in front, with a hood, which is worn by the pope, cardinals, bishops, and other senior clergy.

muceta

short cape with a hood worn by senior clergy


antidoron

From Byzantine Greek αντίδωρον (antídōron) from Koine Greek ἀντίδωρον (antídōron) from Ancient Greek ἀντί + δῶρον (antí + dôron, “gift in return; instead of a gift”).

ἀντί + δῶρον

(Christianity, Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Catholicism) A piece of ordinary leavened bread, taken from remnants of loaves used for the Eucharist, which has been blessed but not consecrated; distributed in churches that use the Byzantine Rite.


cephalophore

From Ancient Greek κεφαλή (kephalḗ, “head”) + -φορος (-phoros, “bearing”), a derivative of φέρω (phérō, “I bear, I carry”); in the Christian sense, via French céphalophore, coined by Marcel Hébert in 1914.

According to William of Worcester, quite a large number of Cornish saints were cephalophores: besides S. Nectan and S. Willow, he tells us that “there were three brothers under the name of Genesius and each one carried his head.”

1960, Gilbert Hunter Doble, The Saints of Cornwall, volume 5, page 60:

(Roman Catholicism) Any of a group of saints depicted in art carrying heads in their hands.


transelementation

(obsolete, especially Roman Catholicism) transubstantiation


Barnabite

(Roman Catholicism) A member of a religious order originally associated with the church of St. Barnabas in Milan.


rotal

From Italian and Latin Rota (“an ecclesiastical appellate court in the Catholic Church”) + -al (“forming adjectives”), under the influence of Latin rotālis.

(Catholicism) Of or relating to the Rota.


Gallicanism

en-noun

Gallicanism (countable and uncountable, plural Gallicanisms)

[…] after being ordained, [Wake] went to Paris in 1682 as chaplain to Viscount Preston. Here Wake came into close touch with Gallicanism […]

1912, “Wake, William”, in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, volume 12, page 237:

Moreover, the enthusiasm with which Hecker’s ideas had been received among Catholic liberals in France served to increase Leo XIII’s suspicion that Americanism was yet another attempt, not so very different from the Gallicanisms of the past, to assert the independence of a national church from Rome.

1999, Michael W. Cuneo, The Smoke of Satan: Conservative and Traditionalist Dissent in Contemporary American Catholicism, →ISBN, page 8:

(historical, chiefly Roman Catholicism) The doctrine that the church of France is autonomous, especially in relation to the pope; also, the intellectual movement in support of this doctrine and the policies expressing it.

高卢主义

doctrine of autonomy of the French church


sacramentary

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin sacramentarium; compare French sacramentaire.

bor+

(Roman Catholicism) An ancient book of the Roman Catholic Church, containing the rites for Mass, the sacraments, etc.

sakramentář

ancient book containing the rites for Mass, the sacraments, etc.


Gallican

Borrowed from Latin Gallicānus (“pertaining to Gaul or France; Gallican”), from Gallicus (“Gaulish, French”) (from Gallia (“Gaul”)) + -ānus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’).

the Gallican church or clergy

Relating to the French Roman Catholic church, especially before the late 19th century.

高卢教会的

relating to the French Roman Catholic church

(Roman Catholicism, chiefly historical)
Relating to Gallicanism.


incensation

en-noun

incensation (countable and uncountable, plural incensations)

After the third incensation, the censer is given to a priest, vested in surplice, who, till the end of the consecration, continues going around the altar, incensing it on all sides, save when the bishop uses the censer.

(Roman Catholicism) The offering of incense.


incameration

The Treaty of Pisa, signed the 17th of February 1664, ended the quarrels between the court of France and the pope. . . . ‘The pope shall revoke the incameration of the duchies of Castro and Ronciglione. The duke of Parma shall take possession of them, paying to the apostolical chamber the sum he owes it, of a million three hundred twenty-nine thousand seven hundred and fifty crowns.’

1762, Paul M. Rapin de Thoyras, Nicolas Tindal, The History of England, Volume 12, page 382:

(obsolete, Roman Catholicism) The incorporation of certain property, rights, or income into the dominion of the Pope.


solicitant

Latin solicitans, present participle of sollicitō.

How like to the conduct of a Titular Bishop of Derry, who, when a Priest was accused of the crime of "solicitant at confession," expressed his abhorrence of the offence, and punished the offender by removing him to a better parish!

1840, The Orthodox Presbyterian Theological Review and Missionary Recorder:

Solicitant, one who, abusing the privacy of the confessional, tempts women to a violation of chastity.

1894, James Strong, Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, volume 9, page 861:

That the Confessional has been grossly used for immoral purposes, by evil-disposed priests, and that to a gigantic extent in the Church of Rom, is amply proved, beyond the possibility of refutation, by the Bulls of the Popes themselves against solicitant priests.

1898, Walter Walsh, The Secret History of the Oxford Movement, page 118:

(Catholicism, historical) A priest who abused the confessional to solicit women.


Laetare Sunday

From Latin Laetare (“Rejoice!”), the first word of the introit of the day's mass, traditionally a Latin translation of Isaiah 66:10.

Mothering Sunday
Mothering Sunday#English

(Roman Catholicism) Synonym of Mothering Sunday: the fourth Sunday of Lent.


postcommunion

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin postcommūniō. By surface analysis, post- + communion.

bor+

(Roman Catholicism) A prayer or prayers which the priest says at Mass, after the ablutions.


Minorite

Minorites (plural)
minorite (alternative)

From Medieval Latin Minorita, from Latin minor + -īta (“-ite”), from Ordo Fratres Minores (“Order of Friars Minor”), literally the "Order of the Lesser Brothers", chosen by St. Francis to inculcate humility in its members. Equivalent to minor + -ite. Doublet of minister.

Minores or Minorites descende from the aforesayd Barefootes, which be also vnder the rule and clothynge of S. Frauncisce.

1537, Anonymous, Original & Sprynge of All Sectes & Orders..., sig, C5v

Order of Friars Minor
Order of Friars Minor

(Catholicism) Synonym of Franciscan: a friar of the Order of Friars Minor.


Minorite

The order of the Minors or Minorite Friers descended from one Francis... of... Asisium.

1563 March 30 (Gregorian calendar), John Foxe, Actes and Monuments of These Latter and Perillous Dayes, […], London: […] Iohn Day, […], →OCLC, book I, page [70]:

...a Frier Minorite, called Simon de Sanct. Quintin...

1598, Vincent of Beauvais, translated by Richard Hakluyt, The Principal Navigations... of the English Nation, volume I, page 53:

(Catholicism) Synonym of Franciscan: Of or related to the Franciscans.


Minorites

(Catholicism) Synonym of Order of Friars Minor: the Franciscans, sometimes particularly the Conventuals.


protopope

From Ancient Greek πρωτόπαπας (prōtópapas); see proto- + pope.

(Christianity, Eastern Orthodoxy, Byzantine Catholicism) A protopresbyter


Minoress

Minoresses (plural)
minoress (alternative)

From Medieval Latin minorissa, from Latin minor (“little, lesser”) + -issa (“-ess”), under influence from Norman frere-menouresse and Middle French sereur meneuresse (“lesser sister”), from menour (“minor”) + -esse (“-ess”), after the model of Medieval Latin Fratres Minores (“Lesser Brothers”), chosen by St. Francis to inculcate humility in the order's members. Equivalent to minor + -ess. Doublet of minoress and Sister Minor.

der

Also I. bequethe to the Religiouse Wommen the Menouresses dwellyngge witħoute algate of london̄, C. s. to be departed amonge [hem] by euene porcion̄, for to synge and rede and to praye diuine seruice for my lordes soule Sir Thomas West, and myn, and for alle christene soules, and for the estates of Thomas my sone, and Iohane his wyf, and for her children.

1395, Alice West, last will and testement, p. 3

These Nunnes were of the order of S. Clare, and called Minoresses.

1631, John Weever, Ancient Funerall Monuments, page 755:

The chief house of the Clares in England stood near Aldgate; it was built by Blanche, queen of Navarre, and her husband Edmund, earl of Lancaster, Leicester and Darby, son to Henry III. and brother to Edward I. These nuns were Urbanists, and enjoyed revenues. They were called Clares or Minoresses, and their house the Minories...

1759, Alban Butler, The Lives of the... Saints, volume IV, page 87:

(Catholicism) Synonym of Poor Clare: a nun of the Order of Saint Clare.


in petto

Borrowed from Italian in petto (“in the chest”).

In future you will have the right to dress in red — indeed, you are already cardinal in petto, and you will be proclaimed at the next conclave.

1845, Eliakim Littell, Robert S. Littell, “Metternich”, in The Living Age:

(Roman Catholicism) Designated as a cardinal but not yet announced.


subreption

en-noun

subreption (countable and uncountable, plural subreptions)

/sʌbˈɹɛpʃən/

From Latin subreptio, from subripere, subreptum (“to snatch or take away secretly”). Compare French subreption. See surreptitious, surreptition.

lest there should be any subreption in this sacred business, it is ordered, that these Ordinations should be no other than solemn

1644, Bishop Joseph Hall, A Modest Offer:

(Catholicism) The act of obtaining a favour or grant by unfair representation through suppression or fraudulent concealment of facts.


abbot primate

abbot primate (plural abbots primate or abbot primates)

abbots primate (plural)
abbot primates (plural)

(Catholicism) The representative leader of all Benedictine congregations.


Vicar of Christ

Vicar of Christ (plural Vicars of Christ)

Vicars of Christ (plural)
Vicar of Jesus Christ (alternative)

Calque of Ecclesiastical Latin vicārius Christī.

calque

"We should never have had the law of 1571, against bulls, and Agnus Deis, and blessed grains, if the Pope's bull of 1569 had not made them matter of treason."
"What, sir?" almost roared Parsons, "do you dare to speak evil of the edicts of the Vicar of Christ?"

1855, Charles Kingsley, chapter 4, in Westward Ho!:

[I]n the spacious ceremonial library of the 16th century Apostolic Palace, the czar of world atheism, Mikhail Gorbachev, will visit the Vicar of Christ, Pope John Paul II.

1989 December 4, Richard N. Ostling et al., “Religion: Cross Meets Kremlin—Gorbachev and Pope John Paul II”, in Time:

Not since 1522, when a Dutch theologian was elected Pope Adrian VI, had a non-Italian attained the role of Vicar of Christ.

2004 January 11, Roberto Pazzi, “Why the Next Pope Needs to Be Italian”, in New York Times:


chirograph

From Middle French chirographe, from Ancient Greek χειρόγραφος (kheirógraphos, “written with the hand”) χείρ (kheír, “hand”) + γράφω (gráphō, “write”).

der

(law, Catholicism) A papal decree whose circulation, unlike an encyclical, is limited to the Roman curia.


Celestine

(Roman Catholicism) A member of a Roman Catholic monastic order, a branch of the Benedictines, founded in 1244.


habemus papam

Unadapted borrowing from Ecclesiastical Latin habēmus pāpam (literally “we have a pope”).

ubor

(Catholicism) Used by the Vatican to announce the election of a new Pope.


habemus papam

(Catholicism) A short, formulaic speech in Latin that announces the identity of a newly elected pope.


Mart.

In the Mart. of Donegal, this is the day of St. Comgall (Comhgall), placed in the Menology on the 27th June, as having no day.

1892, Richard Stanton, A Menology of England and Wales..., p. 645

(Roman Catholicism) Abbreviation of martyrology.


heavenly virtues

(Catholicism) All the cardinal virtues and theological virtues.


age of discretion

en-noun

age of discretion (usually uncountable, plural ages of discretion)

(Roman Catholicism) Synonym of age of reason.


diriment impediment

diriment impediment (plural diriment impediments)

(Roman Catholicism) An impediment that nullifies marriage.


antipapist

(Roman Catholicism) One who subscribes to antipapism.


bid beads

en-verb

bid beads (third-person singular simple present bids beads, present participle bidding beads, simple past bade beads, past participle bidden beads)

bids beads (present singular third-person)
bidding beads (participle present)
bade beads (past)
bidden beads (participle past)

(archaic, Catholicism) To pray with beads, in Roman Catholic fashion, distinguishing each bead by a prayer.


Borromean

en-adj

Borromean (comparative more Borromean, superlative most Borromean)

more Borromean (comparative)
most Borromean (superlative)

/bɒɹəˈmiːən/

(Roman Catholicism) of or relating to Saint Charles Borromeo or any religious orders or institutions that trace their origin to him


Blackloism

(Roman Catholicism, historical) The beliefs of the Blackloists.


Blackloist

From Blackloe + -ist, from the alias of Thomas White (1593–1676), an influential member of the group.

(Roman Catholicism, historical) One of a school of dissident English Roman Catholics in the 17th–18th centuries, opposed to ultramontanism and advocating obedience to secular authorities and dogmatic views similar to Jansenism.


clarissa

Borrowed from Italian clarissa, from Medieval Latin Clarissa; see there for more. Doublet of Clarisse, Clare, and Clarist.

[…] all these obscene references of a sexual nature punctuate the ritualistic prodigality of the Northeast and its winter cycle, and if in the main popular qualification of the character of the clarissa nun called Maria Ermelinda Correia, the composer of the sweet in the mouth of the people, as an expression of her overblown greediness.

2020, Richardo Ferreira de Almeida et al., “Popular Sweets in Douro Valley”, in Advances in Tourism, Technology, and Systems, page 188:

(Catholicism) Alternative letter-case form of Clarissa: a nun of the Order of Saint Clare.


Marianist

And Catholic Marianists, for their part, have looked for ultimate authority instead in the miraculous realm of mystical visions and end-time prophecy. Mainly because of their passionate commitment to anti-abortion activism, Catholic conservatives have thus far wielded a far greater public presence than either separatists or Marianists.

1999, Michael W. Cuneo, The Smoke of Satan, JHU Press, →ISBN, page 179:

(Roman Catholicism) A member of the Society of Mary, a congregation of Roman Catholic brothers and priests who look to the Virgin Mary as a model of faith and spirituality.


archconfraternity

/ˌɑː(ɹ)t͡ʃˌkɒnfɹəˈtɜː(ɹ)nɪti/

From arch- + confraternity, calque of Ecclesiastical Latin archiconfrāternitās.

calque

(Roman Catholicism) A religious confraternity that, as a special concession of the Holy See, can join or affiliate with, and extend privileges to, other similar brotherhoods.

arciconfraternita

religious confraternity that can join with and extend privileges to other similar brotherhoods


manteletta

(Roman Catholicism) A long silk or woollen vestment, fastened in front, with a low collar and no sleeves, worn by cardinals, bishops, abbots, and the prelates of the Roman court.


material heresy

en-noun

material heresy (plural material heresies)

Calque of Ecclesiastical Latin haeresis māteriālis.

calque

Coordinate term: formal heresy

(Roman Catholicism) An opinion that is objectively contradictory to the teachings of the Church, and as such heretical, but which is uttered by a person without the subjective knowledge of it being so.


prozymite

prozymites (plural)
Prozymite (alternative)

Borrowed from German Prozymit, from Medieval Latin prozymīta, from Byzantine Greek προζυμίτης (prozumítēs), from Ancient Greek προζύμιον (prozúmion, “leaven”) + -ῑ́της (-ī́tēs, suffix forming masculine nouns meaning being connected to or a member of something, or coming from a particular place). προζύμιον is derived from προ- (pro-, suffix meaning ‘before, in front’) + ζύμη (zúmē, “leaven, yeast”) + -ιον (-ion, suffix forming nouns). The English word is analysable as, by surface analysis, pro- + zym- + -ite.

der

Whosever shall obstinately blame the faith of the Holy See of Rome and its sacrifices, let him be anathema, and let him not be deemed Catholic, but a prozymite heretic, that is to say, Defender of the Leaven.

1867, [Alexis-François] Artaud de Montor, “153. St. Leo IX.—a.d. 1049.”, in [William Hayes] Neligan, editor, The Lives and Times of the Roman Pontiffs, from St. Peter to Pius IX. … Translated from the French, New York, N.Y.: Published by D[enis] & J[ames] Sadlier & Co., […], →OCLC, pages 284–285:

The inclusion not only of [Michael I] Cerularius, but of all his followers, and the denunciation of the Greeks as prozymite heretics, does look like a condemnation of the whole Byzantine church until it should change its practices.

1989, Colin Morris, “Greeks and Saracens”, in The Papal Monarchy: The Western Church from 1050 to 1250 (Oxford History of the Christian Church), Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 2001, →ISBN, part I (The Papal Reform Movement and the Conflict with the Empire (c. 1046–1122), page 139:

For example, Greeks using leavened bread for the consecration, were in opposition with the unleavened bread of the Latin Church, and stigmatised as fermentarians or prozymites.

2014, Hara Procopiou, “Barley Meal Processing in the Aegean World: A Look at Diversity”, in Annelou van Gijn, John C. Whittaker, Patricia C. Anderson, editors, Exploring and Explaining Diversity in Agricultural Technology (Early Agricultural Remnants and Technical Heritage (EARTH); 2), Oxford, Havertown, Pa.: Oxbow Books, →ISBN, section 2 (The Agricultural Process: Tools and Techniques in Cultural Context):

Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church

(Roman Catholicism, historical, derogatory) One who administers the Eucharist with leavened bread, in particular a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Prozymit

one who administers the Eucharist with leavened bread


acolytate

Secondly, only men are eligible to be "installed" or "instituted" in the lay ministries of lector and acolyte (c.230 §1). These two ministries used to be among the “minor orders,” but Pope Paul VI suppressed the minor orders and established the lectorate and acolytate as lay ministries in 1972; since that time, lay men—and only men—may be installed (or instituted) as lectors and acolytes (c.230 §1).

2016, Marie Failinger, Feminism, Law, and Religion, page 352:

(Catholicism) The minor order of acolytes.


First Communion

en-noun

First Communion (plural First Communions)

(Roman Catholicism) The first time that a person, usually a child, receives the sacrament of Communion.

Erstkommunion

first time that a person receives the sacrament of Communion

(Roman Catholicism) The celebration of the former, consisting of a solemn mass and generally a following private party.

Erstkommunion

celebration consisting of a mass and a party


Paulite

(Catholicism) A member of the Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit.


apostolic visitor

apostolic visitor (plural apostolic visitors)

(Catholicism) In the Catholic Church, a papal representative with a transient mission to perform a canonical visitation of relatively short duration and to submit a report to the Holy See afterwards.


protopriest

(Roman Catholicism) The first cardinal priest in the order of precedence in the College of Cardinals, who has the honour of pronouncing the formal prayer for the new pope at the papal inauguration.


Liturgy of the Hours

(Catholicism) A liturgy for daily use at each of the canonical hours obligatory to all Catholic bishops, priests, and transitional deacons and composed of psalms, hymns, and readings but lacking the eucharist.


transitional deacon

transitional deacon (plural transitional deacons)

(Catholicism) A deacon intending to become a priest and therefore obliged to begin assuming additional responsibilities, such as the recitation of the breviary.


greyfriar

greyfriars (plural)
grey friar (alternative)
grayfriar (alternative)
gray friar (alternative)
Greyfriar (alternative)
Grey Friar (alternative)
Grayfriar (alternative)
Gray Friar (alternative)

From grey + friar, from the grey habit worn by the Conventual Franciscans.

(Catholicism) Synonym of Franciscan: a member of the Order of the Friars Minor.


S.J.

SJ (alternative)
S. J. (alternative)
SI (alternative)
S.I. (alternative)
S. I. (alternative)
SJ (alternative)
S. J. (alternative)

Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus#English

(Roman Catholicism) Abbreviation of Society of Jesus (the Jesuits).


trination

(Catholicism) In the Catholic Church, the offering up of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass three times on the same day by the same celebrant.


bination

bination (countable and uncountable, plural binations)

(Catholicism) In the Catholic Church, the offering up of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass twice on the same day by the same celebrant.


vicar forane

Borrowed from Latin vicārius forāneus. See forane.

(Roman Catholicism) A priest entrusted by the bishop with a certain degree of leadership in a territorial division of a diocese or a pastoral region.


patriarchal church

patriarchal church (plural patriarchal churches)

(Roman Catholicism) A church in Rome that previously served as the seat for one of the 5 patriarchs during visits to the city, St John Lateran, St Peter’s, St Paul’s outside the Walls, St Mary Major’s, and St Lawrence’s outside the Walls.


Canon

* As an English, Scottish, and Irish surname, variant of Cannon.
* As a French topographical surname, from placenames derived from canne (“reed, cane, tube”).
* As a Chaldean/Chaldean Neo-Aramaic surname, variant of Kanon, Kanoun, from [script needed] (Kānūn), the Classical Syriac name of the ninth and tenth months of the Assyrian calendar, from ܟܢܘܢ ܒ.

(Roman Catholicism, with definite article) The Canon of the Mass.


St. Francis

Saint Francis (alternative)
Saint-Francis (alternative)
St-Francis (alternative)
St.-Francis (alternative)
St Francis (alternative)

St. Francis be my ſpeed, how oft to night / Haue my old feet ſtumbled at graues?

c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii], page 76:

(Roman Catholicism) Saint Francis of Assisi

Any of several saints
Saint Francis of Assisi


minoress

The chronicler Charles Wriothesley is the sole authority for the marriage of one Mistress Bures, a minoress of some 16 years standing, to the quondam abbot of Walden, Essex in 1538.

1992, Catherine Paxton, The Nunneries of London and Its Environs in the Later Middle Ages, page 302:

(Catholicism) Alternative letter-case form of Minoress: a Poor Clare.


Pornocracy

Monsters of impurity, avaricious wretches, poisoners, have occupied the papal see. A learned bishop (Maret of the General Council) expresses himself with holy indignation in reference to the frightful enormities of the tenth century. This epoch deserves to be designated under the title of the Pornocracy; that is to say, the governmentof prostitutes, for Theodora, Marozia, and other ladies of rank at that time, placed on the pontifical throne their paramours and their sons, who were no better than themselves.

1870 July, Jean-Henri Merle d’Aubigné, “Art. VII.—Dr Merle D’Aubigne on the Council and Infallibility. The Council and Infallibility: An Address Delivered at Geneva, 10th December 1869, by M. Merle D’Aubigne, D.D. Paris: Michel Levy, 1870.”, in The British and Foreign Evangelical Review, volume XIX, number LXXIII, London: James Nisbet & Co., Berners Street; Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, →OCLC, page 591:

(Roman Catholicism, historical) Alternative letter-case form of pornocracy.


resourcement

If this strategy of resourcement is a call for the American Church to become more deeply Catholic than it has perhaps even been, it should be clear that it is a call to become a very different kind of Catholic than prevailed in the pre-Vatican II Church.

1982 -, John Aloysius Coleman, An American strategic theology, →ISBN, page 165:

Insofar as these norms require modifications of the ideals and social goals that Catholicism aspired to in the long period from Constantine to Napoleon, they can be seen as encouraging either a progressive development of doctrine in social matters or a resourcement in which the church returns to patterns of organization and social aspiration which were appropriate to its early formative experiences as a minority group more concerned to survive hostility and contempt than to mold society.

1990, R. Bruce Douglass, Gerald M. Mara, Henry S. Richardson, Liberalism and the good, page 113:

After the Second World War there was, on the one hand, the movement striving for what was called resourcement, a return to the sources. Typically, it was not the Bible but the Church Fathers that were considered to embody the true and living source of theology, and, what was more, the true way of understanding the position of the theologian.

2010, Lieven Boeve, Frederiek Depoortere, Stephan van Erp, Edward Schillebeeckx and Contemporary Theology, →ISBN, page 247:

In Roman Catholic circles, Henri de Lubac powerfully and controversially championed a resourcement of theology, looking beyond the manuals and commentaries authoritative in his day to the still living voice of the Fathers and great Scholastics.

2014, Steven D. Cone, An Ocean Vast of Blessing: A Theology of Grace, →ISBN, page x:

(Catholicism) A theological movement involving a return to the original sources of the Catholic church.


Sunday obligation

(Christianity, chiefly Roman Catholicism) the obligation to attend a church service (mass) on Sundays; failing to fulfil this obligation without excuse constitutes a grave sin


Febronianism

Derived from the pseudonym Justinus Febronius adopted by Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, coadjutor bishop of Trier, in publishing his book De statu ecclesiae et legitima potestae Romani pontificis; + -ism.

(Roman Catholicism, historical) A powerful movement within the Roman Catholic Church in Germany in the latter part of the 18th century, directed towards the nationalizing of Catholicism, the restriction of the power of the papacy in favour of that of the episcopate, and the reunion of the dissident churches with Catholic Christendom.


in partibus infidelium

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin in partibus īnfidēlium (literally “in the regions of the infidels”), so named because such bishops were assigned sees corresponding to territories that had passed under the control of other religions, and so did not imply a duty of residence or diocesan responsibilities.

bor+

in partibus (alternative)
i.p.i. (alternative)

(Roman Catholicism, historical, postpositive) Of a bishop or see: merely titular, without regular jurisdiction, and serving to assist some other bishop or to act as delegates of the pope where no hierarchy had yet been established.


Queen of Heaven

Calque of Latin Regina Caeli and its descendants in other languages. Cf. Our Lady.

(Christianity, chiefly Catholicism) Synonym of Mary, mother of Jesus, in particular reference to her role as queen of Heaven.

বেহেশ্তের রাণী

Mary, mother of Jesus, as queen of Heaven — see also Mary, Mother of God, Our Lady, Our Lady of Sorrows


particular church

en-noun

particular church (plural particular churches)

(Catholicism) An ecclesiastical community of faithful headed by a bishop (or equivalent) as defined by Catholic canon law and ecclesiology.


holy day of obligation

holy day of obligation (plural holy days of obligation)

(Catholicism) A feast day on which the faithful are expected to attend Mass.


Latin Church

(Catholicism) One of the 24 particular churches (sui juris) in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church which uses the Latin liturgical rites.


coredemptrix

Mary's involvement in salvation was said to make her coredemptrix along with Christ.

2001, “Mariology”, in Walter A. Elwell, editor, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Baker Academic, →ISBN, page 736:

(chiefly Roman Catholicism) A female coredeemer.


His Eminence

(Roman Catholicism) An honorific style for a cardinal


pre-scrutiny

(Roman Catholicism) In electing a pope, the phase before scrutiny, during which ballot papers are prepared and scrutineers are selected.


horarium

Pre-conciliar changes to the horarium or any entrenched practices were often small in scope...

2020, Carmen M. Mangion, Catholic Nuns and Sisters in a Secular Age:

(Catholicism) The daily schedule of a religious house or seminary.


Canon of the Mass

(Roman Catholicism) The oldest anaphora used in the Roman rite of Mass.


parish priest

(Roman Catholicism) The main priest serving a parish.


Reminiscere Sunday

From Latin Reminiscere (“Remember!”), the beginning of the introit of the day's mass, traditionally drawn from Latin translations of Psalm 25.

(Roman Catholicism) The second Sunday in Lent.


Oculi Sunday

From Latin oculi (“eyes”), from the 1st word of the introit of the day's mass, traditionally a Latin translation of Psalm 25:15.

(Roman Catholicism) The third Sunday in Lent.


dark night of the soul

dark night of the soul (plural dark nights of the soul)

Your dear friend ought to take heart. From what you have told me, it is quite likely that they are going through a dark night of the soul.

(Catholicism) a period of time in which a holy person (someone believed to be potentially on their way to sainthood) experiences a seeming withdrawal of God's previously-felt presence in their lives, and undergoes stark spiritual attacks. This period of time is seen (by Catholics) to be a period in which God is calling the holy person to rid themselves of any remaining vestiges of self-pride and vanity that they may have.

a lélek sötét éjszakája

a period of time in which a holy person experiences a seeming withdrawal of God’s previously-felt presence in their lives, and undergoes stark spiritual attacks


dry mass

From dry + mass. In the liturgical sense, a calque of Ecclesiastical Latin missa sicca.

calque

Alongside the mass as a means of providing access to the consecrated elements, there is the oddity of the holding of masses without any consecration. These ‘dry masses’ are one of the more shadowy elements of medieval devotion, ill-documented and little considered.

1995, Robert N. Swanson, Religion and Devotion in Europe, c.1215–c.1515, page 139:

(Roman Catholicism, historical) A demonstrative celebration of most of the liturgy of the Mass, omitting the consecration of the elements.


supply priest

(Catholicism, Anglicanism) A priest not assigned to a particular parish who is available to substitute temporarily for a parish priest who is ill, on vacation, or otherwise unavailable.


Novus Ordo

/ˈnɒ.vəs ˈɔːdəʊ/

/ˈnəʊ.vəs ˈɔːdəʊ/

Ellipsis of Ecclesiastical Latin Novus Ordō Missae (“New Order of the Mass”).

bor

A Catholic may consider the Novus Ordo banal, but he may not proclaim that the new rite is invalid.

2004, Michael Daniel, “What Constitutes a Valid Consecration?”, in CatholicCulture.org:

[…] the material in the interview indicated to me that he’s celebrating a Novus Ordo Mass in Latin.

2006, The Catholic World Report, volume 16:

I’ve heard many make the case that the Novus Ordo actually more closely resembles the Mass of the first 1000 years of Church history than the recent practice of the Tridentine (Latin) Masses. Surely Jesus didn’t speak Latin at the Last Supper. But many others point out that what has become of the Novus Ordo Mass was not what was originally intended either.

2019, Matthew Warner, “Which is Better: Latin Mass or Novus Ordo?”, in National Catholic Register:

(Roman Catholicism) The version of the Roman Rite of the Mass established in 1969, the Mass of Paul VI, usually celebrated in a vernacular language.


Roman Canon

(Roman Catholicism) The Canon of the Mass, the oldest anaphora of the Roman rite of the Mass.


Gelasian dyarchy

Father Murray is concerned to restate the Gelasian dyarchy in democratic terms.

1953, Religion in Life, volume 23, page 178:

Between secularists and anticlericals who would subject the Church to the state or entirely separate the institutions, and fanatical medievalists and curialists who would, against all reasonable hope, cling to their own inaccurate versions of theocracy, the pope steered a middle course that recalled the Gelasian dyarchy.

1962, Newman C. Eberhardt, A Summary of Catholic History, volume 2, page 161:

Determining the popes’ view of the relationship between church and state was their interpretation of “the Gelasian dyarchy,” the ancient papal teaching that “this world is ruled by two powers.”

2004, Robert Krieg, Catholic Theologians in Nazi Germany, →ISBN, page 18:

(Roman Catholicism, politics) The doctrine, traced back to Pope Gelasius I, that there are two authorities governing human affairs, the spiritual authority of the church and the temporal authority of the empire or secular government.


two swords

Allegorical interpretation of Luke 22:38, “Behold, here are two swords”.

The most clear-cut definition of the Pope's possession of the two swords was given in Boniface VIII’s famous bull Unam Sanctam, which stressed the unity of Christendom under its single head.

1952, C. W. Previté-Orton, The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History, volume 2, page 943:

[…] the dispute between the two swords cut deep into the countryside in ways that the authors of ecclesiastical and revolutionary policy neither intended nor anticipated.

2004, Matthew Butler, Popular Piety and Political Identity in Mexico's Cristero Rebellion: Michoacán, 1927–29, →ISBN, page 3:

In the crusader theology, the two swords were totally united and not divided as Bernard would have it.

2009, Peter Lodberg, Religion, Politics, and Law, →ISBN, page 146:

(chiefly history, Roman Catholicism) Spiritual and temporal power, church and state.


formal heresy

Calque of Ecclesiastical Latin haeresis fōrmālis.

calque

Coordinate term: material heresy

(Roman Catholicism) The teaching or expression of an opinion in the conscious knowledge that it is contradictory to the teachings of the Church, and as such heretical.


Camaldolese

From Italian camaldolese, from Camaldoli + -ese. The order was founded by Sain Romuald around 1012 in Camaldoli, Tuscany, Italy.

(Roman Catholicism) Pertaining to the Camaldolese Order of Italy.


Camaldolese

(Roman Catholicism) A monk or nun belonging to the Camaldolese Order of Italy.

camaldolese

mon or nun belonging to the Camaldolese Order


Iotaba

From Latin Iotaba, from Ancient Greek Ἰωτάβη (Iōtábē).

Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church#English

(Roman Catholicism) A titular see in Tiran, Palestina, Roman Catholic Church (located on the island)