Books by Church Fathers, Doctors, Saints, Notable Authors

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• Pacandus

  Titular see, recorded under 'Pacanden.'

• Pacca, Bartolommeo

  Cardinal, scholar and statesman (1756-1844)

• Pachomius, Saint

  Hermit who founded a cenobitical community, d. 346. Some speculation on how and why St. Pachomius came up with the idea of the cenobitical life

• Pachtler, George Michael

  Controversial and educational writer (1825-1889)

• Pacificus

  Disciple of St. Francis of Assisi (d. 1234)

• Pacificus of Ceredano, Blessed

  Franciscan Observant priest, d. 1482

• Pacificus of San Severino, Saint

  Italian Franciscan. Hampered by blindness, deafness, and lameness for almost 29 years. Died 1721

• Pacioli, Lucas

  Tuscan mathematician (d. c. 1509)

• Paderborn

  Suffragan diocese of Cologne, Germany

• Padilla, Juan de

  Sixteenth-century protomartyr of the United States

• Padua

  Diocese in northern Italy

• Padua, University of

  University that dates, according to some anonymous chronicles, from 1222

• Paganism

  Paganism, in the broadest sense includes all religions other than the true one revealed by God, and, in a narrower sense, all except Christianity, Judaism, and Islam

• Pagano, Mario

  Jurisconsult and man of letters (1748-1799)

• Page, Venerable Anthony

  Biographical sketch of the English priest and martyr, who died in 1593

• Pagi, Antoine

  French ecclesiastical historian (1624-1699)

• Pagi, François

  French ecclesiastical historian, nephew of Antoine Pagi (1654-1721)

• Pagnino, Santes

  Italian Dominican (1470-1541)

• Painting, Religious

  Painting has always been associated with the life of the Church...

• Pakawá Indians

  Indian tribe in the region of Texas

• Palæography

  The art of deciphering ancient writing in manuscripts

• Palæontology

  Paleontology, the science of fossils, deals with extinct or prehistoric animals and plants

• Palafox y Mendoza, Juan de

  Spanish priest (1600-1659)

• Palasor, Venerable Thomas

  English priest and martyr. Article also has some details on the his companions in martyrdom the Bl. John Norton and John Talbot. Died in 1600

• Palatinate, Rhenish

  A former German electorate

• Palatini

  The designation, primarily, of certain high officials in the papal court

• Palawan

  Prefecture Apostolic in the Philippine Islands; comprises Palawan, Cuyo, Culion, Twahig, and Calamines Islands.

• Palencia

  Diocese in Spain

• Paleopolis

  Titular see of Asia Minor, suffragan of Ephesus

• Paleotti, Gabriele

  Cardinal and Archbishop of Bologna (1522-1597)

• Palermo

  City and archdiocese in Italy

• Palermo, University of

  The Convent of St. Dominic of Palermo may be considered the nucleus of the future University of Palermo...

• Palestrina

  Diocese and town in central Italy, near Rome

• Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da

  The greatest composer of liturgical music of all time (1514-1594)

• Paley, Frederick Apthorp

  Classical scholar (1815-1888)

• Pall

  A heavy, black cloth, spread over the coffin in the church at a funeral, or over the catafalque at other services for the dead.

• Palladio, Andrea

  Italian architect (1508-1580)

• Palladius

  Galatian writer (368-431)

• Palladius, Saint

  Sent from Rome to Ireland in the mid-fifth century as a bishop

• Pallavicino, Pietro Sforza

  Italian cardinal (1607-1667)

• Pallium

  A circular band about two inches wide, worn about the neck, and having two hanging pendants

• Pallotti, Vincent Mary

  Biography of the founder of the Pious Society of Missions, who are commonly known as the Pallottine Fathers. He died in 1850

• Palma Vecchio

  Italian artist (1480-1528)

• Palmer, William

  English convert (1811-1879)

• Palmieri, Domenico

  Italian theologian (1829-1909)

• Palmieri, Luigi

  Physicist and meteorologist (1807-1896)

• Palm in Christian Symbolism

  A Christian symbol of victory

• Palm Sunday

  The sixth and last Sunday of Lent and beginning of Holy Week

• Palmyra

  Titular metropolitan see in Phoenicia Secunda.

• Palou, Francisco

  Spanish Franciscan (1722-1789)

• Paltus

  Titular see and suffragan of Seleucia Pieria in Syria Prima.

• Paludanus, Peter

  French archbishop and theologian (1275-1342)

• Pamelius

  Belgian theologian (1536-1587)

• Pamiers

  Diocese near Toulouse in France

• Pammachius, Saint

  Roman senator, widower, friend of SS. Augustine and Jerome, d. 409

• Pamphilus of Cæsarea, Saint

  Born in Beirut and studied at the Catechetical School in Alexandria. Priest, scholar, martyr. Beheaded in 309

• Pamplona

  Diocese and city in Spain

• Panama

  Located in Central America

• Pandects

  Name of part of Justinian's legal compilation

• Pandulph

  Papal legate and Bishop of Norwich (d. 1226)

• Panemotichus

  Titular see of Pamphylia Secunda, suffragan of Perge.

• Pange Lingua Gloriosi

  Article on the two hymns of this name. The second is by Thomas Aquinas. The first is 'generally credited' to Venantius Fortunatus, though some believe it is the work of Claudianus Mamertus

• Panigarola, Francesco

  Italian preacher and controversialist (1548-1594)

• Pannartz, Arnold

  Fifteenth-century printers who brought the printing press to Italy

• Pano Indians

  A former important mission tribe in Peru

• Panopolis

  Titular see, suffragan of Antinoe in Thebais Prima

• Panpsychism

  A philosophical theory which holds that everything in the universe, inorganic and organic, has some degree of consciousness

• Pantænus

  Head of the Catechetical School of Alexandria about 180, still alive in 193

• Pantaleon, Saint

  Martyr, died in about 309

• Pantheism

  The false theory according to which God and the world are one

• Panvinio, Onofrio

  Italian historian and archaeologist (1530-1568)

• Panzani, Gregorio

  Bishop of Mileto (d. 1662)

• Paoli, Venerable Angelo

  Carmelite priest, died in 1720

• Papacy, The

  The ecclesiastical system in which the pope governs the Catholic Church as its supreme head; also, the papal influence viewed as a political force in history.

• Pápago Indians

  An important tribe of Shoshonean linguistic stock

• Papal Arbitration

  An institution almost coeval with the papacy itself

• Papal Rescripts

  Responses of the pope or a Sacred Congregation, in writing, to queries or petitions of individuals

• Papal States

  Consists of the civil territory which for over 1000 years (754-1870) acknowledged the pope as temporal ruler

• Paphnutius

  Name of several persons in the early Church

• Paphos

  Titular see, suffragan of Salamis in Cyprus.

• Papias, Saint

  Thorough essay on what is known of this bishop, called by St. Irenaeus 'a hearer of John.' Also an exposition of the writings of Papias, who died around 120

• Papiensis, Bernardus

  Italian canonist of the thirteenth century (d. 1213)

• Papini, Nicholas

  Florentine historian (1751-1834)

• Parables

  A comparison, or a parallel, by which one thing is used to illustrate another.

• Parabolani

  The members of a brotherhood who in the Early Church voluntarily undertook the care of the sick and the burial of the dead.

• Paracelsus, Theophrastus

  Extensive biographical entry on the physician and alchemist

• Paraclete

  Another name for the Holy Ghost.

• Para du Phanjas, François

  French Jesuit writer (1724-1797)

• Paræcopolis

  Titular see of Macedonia, suffragan of Thessalonica.

• Parætonium

  Titular see of Lybia Secunda or Inferior (i.e. Marmarica), suffragan of Darnis.

• Paraguay

  One of the inland republics of South America

• Parahyba

  Diocese in Brazil

• Parallelism

  The balance of verse with verse, an essential and characteristic feature in Hebrew poetry.

• Parallelism, Psycho-Physical

  A doctrine which states that the relation between mental processes, on the one hand, and physical, physiological, or cerebral processes on the other, is one merely of invariable concomitance

• Paralus

  Titular see, suffragan of Cabasa in Aegyptus Secunda.

• Paraná

  Diocese near Buenos Aires in Argentina

• Parasceve

  Among Hellenistic Jews, the name for Friday

• Paray-le-Monial

  A town in France

• Pardies, Ignace-Gaston

  French scientist (1636-1673)

• Pardons of Brittany

  Signifies in Brittany the feast of the patron saint of a church or chapel, at which an indulgence is granted.

• Paré, Ambroise

  French surgeon (1517-1590)

• Pareja, Francisco

  Spanish missionary (1628-1593)

• Parents

  Considers the duties of parents toward their children, and vice versa

• Parenzo-Pola

  Diocese in Italy

• Parini, Giuseppe

  Italian poet (1729-1799)

• Paris

  Archdiocese and city in France

• Paris, Alexis-Paulin

  French philologist (1800-1881)

• Paris, Gaston-Bruno-Paulin

  French philologist (1839-1903)

• Parish

  A portion of a diocese under the authority of a priest legitimately appointed to secure the helps of religion for the faithful dwelling therein

• Paris, Matthew

  Benedictine monk and chronicler (1200-1259)

• Paris, University of

  Famous and ancient university in France

• Parium

  Titular see, suffragan of Cyzicus in the Hellespontus.

• Park, Abbey of the

  Located half a mile south of Louvain, Belgium, founded in 1129 by Duke Godfrey

• Parkinson, Anthony

  English historian (1667-1728)

• Parlais

  Titular see of Pisidia, suffragan of Antioch.

• Parlatore, Filippo

  Italian botanist (1816-1877)

• Parma

  Diocese located in central Italy.

• Parmentier, Antoine-Augustin

  French agriculturist (1737-1813)

• Parmigiano, Il

  Italian painter (1504-1540)

• Parnassus

  Titular see in Cappadocia Secunda, suffragan of Mocessus.

• Parrenin, Dominique

  Jesuit missionary to China (1665-1741)

• Parsis

  Small Zoroastrian community in India

• Partnership

  An unincorporated association of two or more persons, known as partners, having for its object the carrying on in common by the partners of some predetermined occupation for shared profit

• Paruta, Paolo

  Venetian historian and statesman (1540-1598)

• Pascal, Blaise

  French scientist and philosopher (1623-1662)

• Pasch

  Great Jewish holiday

• Paschal III (Antipope)

  Second antipope in the time of Pope Alexander III (d. 1168)

• Paschal II, Pope

  Pope who reigned from 1099-1118

• Paschal I, Pope

  Pope who reigned from 817 to 824

• Paschal Tide

  The fifty days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost

• Paschasius Radbertus, Saint

  Biographical article on the deacon, Benedictine abbot, and theologian, who died in 860

• Paschasius, Saint

  A Roman deacon, and a faithful supporter of the antipope Laurentius. Paschasius died sometime between 511 and 514

• Passaglia, Carlo

  Italian Jesuit (1812-1887)

• Passau

  Diocese and city in Bavaria

• Passerat, Joseph, Venerable

  A Frenchman, he joined the Redemptorists in Poland. As vicar-general, he founded many houses in Europe and the United States. Died in 1858

• Passignano, Domenico

  Venetian painter (1558-1638)

• Passionei, Domenico

  Cardinal and theologian (1682-1761)

• Passionists

  Full title: 'The Congregation of Discalced Clerks of the Most Holy Cross and Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ'.

• Passion Music

  Precisely when, in the development of the liturgy, the history of the Passion of Our Lord ceased, during Holy Week, to be merely read and became a solemn recitation, has not yet been ascertained....

• Passion of Christ, Commemoration of the

  A feast kept on the Tuesday after Sexagesima.

• Passion Offices

  Offices devoted to 'the instruments of the Passion'

• Passion of Jesus Christ

  Devotion to the sufferings of Our Lord, which culminated in His death upon the Cross

• Passion of Jesus Christ in the Four Gospels

  Four separate accounts of the Passion of Our Lord, each of which supplements the others

• Passion Plays

  The modern drama does not originate in the ancient, but in the religious plays of the Middle Ages, themselves an outcome of the liturgy of the Church...

• Passions

  Motions of the sensitive appetite in man which tend towards the attainment of some real or apparent good, or the avoidance of some evil.

• Passion Sunday

  The fifth Sunday of Lent

• Passiontide

  The two weeks between Passion Sunday and Easter.

• Passos

  Certain pious exercises practiced annually during Lent at Goa and throughout India

• Pasteur, Louis

  Founder of physio-chemistry, father of bacteriology, inventor of bio-therapeutics (1822-1895)

• Pasto, Diocese of

  Diocese and town in Colombia, South America

• Pastor

  A priest who has the cure of souls, that is, who is bound in virtue of his office to promote the spiritual welfare of the faithful by preaching, administering the sacraments, and exercising certain powers of external government

• Pastoral Epistles (Timothy and Titus)

  Disciples of St. Paul

• Pastoral Theology

  The science of the care of souls

• Pastoureaux, Crusade of the

  One of the most curious of the popular movements inspired by a desire to deliver the Holy Land.

• Patagonia

  The southernmost extremity of South America.

• Patara

  Titular see of Lycia, suffragan of Myra, formerly a large cornmercial town, opposite Rhodes.

• Paten

  A small shallow plate or disc of precious metal upon which the element of bread is offered to God at the Offertory of the Mass, and upon which the consecrated Host is again placed after the Fraction.

• Patenson, Venerable William

  English priest, martyred at Tyburn in 1592. During his imprisonment, he converted several of the inmates

• Pathology, Mental

  Discusses the mental faculties and varities of insanity

• Patmore, Coventry

  One of the major poets of the nineteenth century

• Patmos

  A small volcanic island in the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Asia Minor

• Patras

  Metropolitan see in Achaia.

• Patriarch

  The word 'patriarch' as applied to Biblical personages comes from the Septuagint version...

• Patriarch and Patriarchate

  Names of the highest ecclesiastical dignitaries after the pope, and of the territory they rule.

• Patrician Brothers

  A brotherhood founded in Ireland by Bishop Daniel Delaney

• Patrick, Saint

  Lengthy biographical article on the Apostle of Ireland

• Patrick's Purgatory, Saint

  This celebrated sanctuary in Donegal dates from the days of St. Patrick...

• Patrizi, Francis Xavier

  Italian Jesuit exegete (1797-1881)

• Patrology

  The study of the writings of the Fathers of the Church

• Patronage of Our Lady, Feast of the

  First permitted by decree for all the provinces of Spain, in memory of the victories obtained over the Saracens, heretics, and other enemies from the sixth century to the reign of Philip IV

• Patron and Patronage

  A determinate sum of rights and obligations entailed upon a definite person, the patron, especially in connection with the assignment and administration of a benefice

• Patron Saints

  Statistics on popular titular patrons of churches in Rome, Belgium, and English-speaking countries. Short lists of some national patrons and patron saints of professional occupations

• Patti, Diocese of

  Diocese in Sicily

• Paula, Saint

  Widowed at the age of 32, Paula embarked on the monastic life in Bethlehem, along with her daughter Eustochium. Paula died in 404

• Paulicians

  Dualistic heretical sect, derived originally from Manichaeism.

• Paul III, Pope

  Pope who reigned from 1534 to 1549

• Paul II, Pope

  Pope who reigned from 1464 to 1471

• Pauli, Johannes

  German Franciscan (1455-1530)

• Paulinus a S. Bartholomaeo

  Missionary and orientalist (1748-1806)

• Paulinus II, Saint

  Patriarch of Aquileia, d. 802

• Paulinus of Pella

  Christian poet of the fifth century

• Paulinus, Saint

  Biographical article on the Roman monk sent by St. Gregory the Great to Kent

• Paulinus, Saint

  Looked upon as a saint even in his own lifetime. He died in 431

• Paul I, Pope

  Biographical article on this eighth-century pontiff

• Paulists

  Various communities of religious that have adopted St. Paul as patron

• Paul IV, Pope

  Pope who reigned from 1555 to 1559

• Paul of Burgos

  Spanish archbishop, lord chancellor and exegete (1351-1435)

• Paul of Middelburg

  Scientist and bishop (1446-1534)

• Paul of Samosata

  Bishop of Antioch (3rd century)

• Paul of the Cross, Saint

  Biographical essay on the Italian-born founder of the Passionists. He died in 1775

• Paul, Saint

  The great Apostle to the Gentiles

• Paul the Deacon

  Lombard historian (720-799)

• Paul the Hermit, Saint

  Fled into the Egyptian desert to escape the Decian persecution. Died at the age of 113

• Paul the Simple, Saint

  Monk, disciple of St. Antony, d. around 339

• Paulus Venetus

  Brief article on this thinker, by Francis E. Tourscher

• Paul V, Pope

  Pope who reigned from 1605 to 1621

• Paul-without-the-Walls, Saint

  An abbey nullius. As early as 200 the burial place of the great Apostle in the Via Ostia was marked by a cella memoriae, near which the Catacomb of Comodilla was established

• Pavia

  Diocese in Lombardy, northern Italy

• Pavia, University of

  Pavia was, even in Roman times, a literary centre...

• Pavillon, Nicolas

  Bishop of Alet (1597-1677)

• Pax

  A tablet to be kissed

• Pax in the Liturgy

  A liturgical salutation ('Peace be with you')

• Payeras, Mariano

  Spanish Franciscan (1784-1793)

• Pázmány, Peter

  Famous Hungarian ecclesiastic (d. 1637)

• Peace Congresses

  Meetings of representatives of different nations to obtain a peaceful settlement of differences

• Peace of the Church

  The condition of the Church after the publication at Milan in 313 by Emperor Constantine of an edict of toleration

• Peasants, War of the (1524-25)

  A revolt of the peasants of southern and central Germany

• Peba Indians

  The principal of a small group of South American Indian tribes

• Pecham, John

  Archbishop of Canterbury (1240-1292)

• Pecock, Reginald

  Welsh bishop of Chichester (1395-1460)

• Pectoral

  The breastplate worn by the high priest in the Old Testament

• Pectorale

  The cross worn by the pope, cardinals, bishops and other prelates

• Pectorius of Autun

  The name with which the important document frequently known as the Inscription of Autun concludes.

• Pednelissus

  Titular see in Pamphylia Secunda, suffragan of Perge

• Pelagia

  Discusses four saints of this name

• Pelagius and Pelagianism

  Fifth-century heresy which denied original sin as well as Christian grace.

• Pelagius II, Pope

  Pope who succeeded Benedict I, when the Lombards were besieging Rome (d. 590)

• Pelagius I, Pope

  Pope (d. 561)

• Pelargus, Ambrose

  German theologian (1488-1557)

• Pelisson-Fontanier, Paul

  French writer (1624-1693)

• Pella

  Titular see and suffragan of Scythopolis in Palaestina Secunda.

• Pelletier, Pierre-Joseph

  French scientist (1788-1842)

• Pellico, Silvio

  Italian author and patriot (1788-1854)

• Pellissier, Guillaume

  French bishop (1490-1568)

• Pelotas

  Diocese in Brazil

• Pelouze, Théophile-Jules

  French scientist (1807-1867)

• Peltrie, Madeleine de la

  French noblewoman and foundress (1603-1671)

• Pelusium

  Titular metropolitan see in Egypt, mentioned in Ezekiel 30:15

• Pembroke

  Diocese in Ottawa, in Canada

• Peña, Francisco

  Spanish canonist (1540-1612)

• Peñalver y Cardenas, Luis Ignatius

  Bishop of New Orleans and Archbishop of Guatemala (1749-1810)

• Penance (as a Virtue)

  Penance designates (1) a virtue; (2) a sacrament of the New Law; (3) a canonical punishment inflicted according to the earlier discipline of the Church; (4) a work of satisfaction enjoined upon the recipient of the sacrament.

• Pendleton, Henry

  English controversialist (d. 1557)

• Penelakut Indians

  A small tribe of Salishan stock in British Columbia

• Penitential Orders

  A general name for religious congregations whose members are bound to perform extraordinary works of penance, or to provide others with the means of atoning for grave faults.

• Penitents, Confraternities of

  Various congregations with statutes prescribing various penitential works

• Penne and Atri, Diocese of

  Diocese and city near Abruzzi in central Italy

• Pennsylvania

  One of the thirteen original United States of America

• Penobscot Indians

  The principal tribe of the famous Abenaki confederacy of Maine

• Pension, Ecclesiastical

  The right to a certain sum of money to be paid yearly out of the revenues of a church or benefice to a cleric

• Pentacomia

  Titular see of Palestine, suffragan of Areopolis or Rabbah.

• Pentapolis

  The region where stood the five cities of Sodom, Gomorrha, Zoar, Adama and Seboim

• Pentecost

  A feast which commemorates the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles, fifty days after the Resurrection of Christ

• Pentecost (Jewish Feast)

  The second in importance of the great Jewish feasts.

• Peoria

  Diocese in Illinois, United States

• Peoria Indians

  A principal tribe of the confederated Illinois Indians

• Pepin the Short

  King of the Franks (714-768)

• Percy, Blessed Thomas

  Earl of Northumberland, martyr, born in 1528; died at York, 22 August, 1572

• Percy, John

  English Jesuit (1569-1641)

• Peregrinus

  Texts prefixed to the Pauline epistles in many manuscripts

• Pereira, Benedict

  Philosopher, theologian and exegete (1535-1610)

• Pérez de Hita, Ginés

  Sixteenth-century Spanish writer

• Perez, Juan

  Confessor to Queen Isabella of Spain (d. before 1513)

• Perfection, Christian and Religious

  A thing is perfect in which nothing is wanting of its nature, purpose, or end

• Pergamus

  Titular see, suffragan of Ephesus.

• Perge

  Titular metropolitan see in Pamphylia Secunda.

• Pergolesi, Giovanni Battista

  Notes his torn allegiances between sacred and secular music

• Pericui Indians

  Baja California Indian tribe

• Périgueux

  Diocese near Bordeaux in France

• Periodi

  The name under which the Pseudo-Clementine writings are quoted by Epiphanius, Jerome, and the 'Philocalia'.

• Periodical Literature, Catholic

  Publications appearing at intervals either regular or irregular.

• Perjury

  The crime and sin of taking a false oath

• Permaneder, Franz Michael

  Bavarian canonist (1794-1862)

• Pernter, Joseph Maria

  Jesuit scientist (1848-1908)

• Perpetual Adoration, Religious of

  A Belgian congregation founded in 1857

• Perpetual Adoration, Religious of the

  Contemplative Benedictine congregation, founded in 1526 by Sister Elizabeth Zwirer in Switzerland

• Perpetual Adoration, Sisters of the

  An institute of nuns devoted to perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and to the education of orphan children

• Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament

  Founded in Paris in 1601

• Perpetual Help, Our Lady of, Sisters of

  Congregation founded in Canada in 1892

• Perpetuus, Saint

  Eighth bishop of Tours, d. 490 or 491. St. Perpetuus was greatly devoted to his predecessor St. Martin of Tours

• Perpignan, Diocese of

  Diocese in France

• Perpignan, University of

  Founded in 1349 by Peter IV of Aragon

• Perraud, Adolphe

  Cardinal and academician (1828-1906)

• Perrault, Charles

  French writer (1628-1703)

• Perrault, Claude

  French architect (1613-1688)

• Perreyve, Henri

  French priest (1831-1865)

• Perrone, Giovanni

  Italian Jesuit theologian (1794-1876)

• Perry, Stephen Joseph

  English Jesuit (1833-1889)

• Persecution

  The unlawful coercion of another's liberty or his unlawful punishment

• Persia

  The history, religion, and civilization of Persia are offshoots from those of Media.

• Persico, Ignatius

  Italian cardinal (1823-1896)

• Person

  Discusses (1) the definition of 'person', especially with reference to the doctrine of the Incarnation; and (2) the use of the word 'persona' and its Greek equivalents in connection with the Trinitarian disputes.

• Personality

  It is proposed in this article to give an account: (1) of the physical constituents of personality in accordance with the scholastic theory; (2) of concepts of personality that conflict with the theory; (3) of abnormalities of consciousness with reference to their bearing on theories of personality.

• Person, Ecclesiastical

  Persons whom a special tie connects with the Church, either because they have received holy orders, or because they have taken vows in a religious order or congregation approved by the Church.

• Persons, Robert

  English Jesuit (1546-1610)

• Perth

  Diocese and city in Western Australia

• Pertinax, Publius Helvius

  Roman Emperor (A.D. 192)

• Peru

  A republic on the west coast of South America, founded in 1821 after the war of independence, having been a Spanish colony.

• Perugia

  Archdiocese and city in Umbria, central Italy

• Perugia, University of

  Italian university erected in 1308

• Perugino

  Artist's biography

• Peruzzi, Baldassare

  Italian architect and painter (1481-1537)

• Pesaro

  Diocese in central Italy

• Pescennius Niger

  Emperor of Rome (193-194).

• Pesch, Tilman

  Jesuit philosopher (1836-1899)

• Pescia

  Diocese in Tuscany, Italy

• Pessimism

  Term applied in popular language to persons who habitually take a melancholy view of life; or in philosophy, to a system that attempts to account for the presence of evil in the world.

• Pessinus

  Titular see of Galatia Secunda

• Pestalozzi and Pestalozzianism

  One of the greatest pioneers of modern education (1746-1827)

• Pétau, Denis

  French theologian (1583-1652)

• Peter Baptist, Saint, and Twenty-Five Companions

  Crucified in Nagasaki, 1597

• Peter, Basilica of Saint

  The present Church of St. Peter stands upon the site where at the beginning of the first century the gardens of Agrippina lay

• Peterborough

  Diocese located in Ontario, Canada

• Peter Cantor

  French theologian (d. 1197)

• Peter Cellensis

  Bishop of Chartres (d. 1183)

• Peter Chrysologus, Saint

  Bishop of Ravenna, d. 450. Pious, zealous, and a renowned speaker--thus the name 'Chrysologus'

• Peter Comestor

  French theological writer (d. 1178)

• Peter Damian, Saint

  Cardinal, Doctor of the Church. Died in 1072. Biographical article

• Peter de Blois

  French statesman and theologian (1130-1203)

• Peter de Honestis

  Medieval monk (1049-1119)

• Peter de Regalado, Saint

  Spanish Franciscan of the Observance, reformer, d. 1456

• Peter de Vinea

  Most prominent statesman at the court of Frederick II (1190-1249)

• Peter Fourier, Saint

  Parish priest, founder of the Congregation of Notre-Dame, reformer, d. 1640

• Peter of Alcántara, Saint

  Spanish Franciscan priest, reformer, and mystic. Died in 1562

• Peter of Alexandria, Saint

  Became bishop of Alexandria in 300, and was martyred in 311

• Peter of Aquila

  Italian Franciscan theologian and bishop (d. 1361)

• Peter of Arbues, Saint

  More correctly called Peter Arbues, a Spanish canon. Was inquisitor provincial in the Kingdom of Aragon. He was assassinated in 1485

• Peter of Auvergne

  Philosopher and theologian (d. 1310)

• Peter of Bergamo

  Italian Dominican theologian (d. 1482)

• Peter of Poitiers

  French scholastic theologian (1130-1215)

• Peter of Sebaste, Saint

  Brother of SS. Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Macrina the Younger. Peter was bishop of Sebaste, and died in 391

• Peter of Verona, Saint

  The son of Manichaeans, he became a Dominican. He was martyred in 1252, and canonized only one year later

• Peter, Saint

  Long article on his life

• Peter, Saint, Epistles of

  Considers the authenticity, recipients, occasion, object, and date and place of composition of these two epistles

• Peter, Sarah

  American philanthropist (1800-1877)

• Peter Snow, Venerable

  Short biographical profile of the English martyr, who died in 1598

• Peterspence

  The name traditionally given to an annual contribution or tribute (originally of a penny from each landowner) paid to the Holy See by various peoples of Christendom.

• Peterssen, Gerlac

  Medieval monk (1377-1411)

• Peter the Hermit

  Article on a man wrongly named by later writers as the instigator of the Crusades. In later life, Peter founded an abbey. He died in 1115

• Peter, Tomb of Saint

  The history of the confusion and conflicting authorities surrounding the location of the tomb of Saint Peter

• Peter Urseolus, Saint

  The doge of Venice. He left his wife to become a Benedictine monk and later a hermit. Died in 987

• Petinessus

  Titular see in Galatia Secunda

• Petit-Didier, Matthieu

  Benedictine theologian and ecclesiastical historian (1659-1728)

• Petitions to the Holy See

  Requests for faculties, indults, dispensations and other favours, the granting of which is reserved to the Holy See

• Petra

  Titular metropolitan see of Palaestina Tertia

• Petrarch, Francesco

  Italian poet and humanist (1304-1374)

• Petre, Family of

  One of those staunch families that have played a great part in the preservation of the Catholic Faith in England.

• Petrobrusians

  Heretics of the twelfth century

• Petronilla, Saint

  Virgin, martyred at Rome, probably at the end of the first century. She has been venerated as a saint since at least the fourth century

• Petronius, Saint

  Bishop of Bologna, died sometime before 450

• Petropolis

  Diocese near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• Petrus Alfonsus

  A Jewish convert and controversialist (1062-1110)

• Petrus Bernardinus

  Florentine heretic (1475-1502)

• Petrus de Natalibus

  Venetian bishop, author of a collection of lives of the saints; date of birth unknown; d. between 1400 and 1406.

• Petrus Diaconus

  The name of several men in ecclesiastical history and literature.

• Petun Nation

  One of the three great divisions of the Huron Indians

• Peuerbach, George von

  Austrian astronomer (1423-1461)

• Peutinger, Conrad

  Antiquarian and humanist (1465-1547)

• Peyto, William

  English cardinal (d. 1558)

• Pez

  Autrian historian (1683-1735)

• Pfanner, Franz

  Abbot (1825-1909)

• Pfefferkorn, Johannes

  Convert from Judaism (1469-1521)

• Pfister, Adolf

  German educationist (1810-1878)

• Pflug, Julius Von

  The last Catholic Bishop of Naumburg-Zeitz (1499-1564)

• Pforta

  Former Cistercian monastery (1137-1540) in Germany

• Phacusa

  Titular see and suffragan of Pelusium, in Augustamnica Prima.

• Pharao

  The title given in Sacred Scripture to the ancient kings of Egypt

• Pharbætus

  Titular see and suffragan of Leontopolis, in Augustamnica Secunda.

• Pharisees

  A politico-religious sect or faction among the adherents of later Judaism, that came into existence as a class about the third century B.C....

• Pharsalus

  Titular see and suffragan of Larissa in Thessaly.

• Phaselis

  Titular see in Lycia, suffragan of Myra.

• Phasga

  A mountain of the Alarm range, east of the Jordan

• Phenomenalism

  Philosophical theories that assert that there is no knowledge other than that of phenomena

• Philadelphia (Lydia)

  Titular see in Lydia, suffragan of Sardes.

• Philadelphia (Pennsylvania)

  Archdiocese in Pennsylvania, United States

• Philanthropinism

  The system of education educed from the ideas of Rousseau and of the German 'Enlightenment', and established by Basedow on the basis of 'philanthropy'.

• Philastrius, Saint

  Bishop of Brescia, died before 397. Catalogued heresies, and preached especially against Arianism

• Philemon

  A citizen of Colossae, to whom St. Paul addressed a private letter, unique in the New Testament, which bears his name.

• Philip II

  King of Spain (1527-1598)

• Philip II (Augustus)

  King of France (1165-1223)

• Philip IV

  King of France (1268-1314)

• Philip of Jesus, Saint

  Biography of the Mexican-born Franciscan martyr, the patron saint of Mexico City. Crucified in Nagasaki in 1597

• Philip of the Blessed Trinity

  Discalced Carmelite and theologian (1603-1671)

• Philippi

  Macedonian town on the borders of Thracia

• Philippi

  Titular metropolitan see in Macedonia.

• Philippians, Epistle to the

  Epistle written by St. Paul to the Christians of Philippi

• Philippine Islands

  An island nation in the Pacific Ocean

• Philippopolis

  Titular metropolitan see of Thracia Secunda.

• Philippopolis

  Titular see in Arabia, suffragan of Bostra.

• Philips, Peter

  English priest (b. 1560)

• Philip the Apostle, Saint

  Brief article on this New Testament figure in Scripture and Christian tradition

• Philip the Arabian

  Emperor of Rome (reigned 244-249)

• Philistines

  Inhabitants of the maritime plain of Palestine from the time of Judges onward

• Phillip, Robert

  French priest (d. 1647)

• Phillips, George

  Austrian canonist (1804-1872)

• Philo Judæus

  Article on his life, writings and doctrine, by Emile Brehier

• Philomelium

  Titular see in Pisidia, suffragan of Antioch.

• Philomena, Saint

  An article on St. Philomena, whose relics were discovered at the beginning of the nineteenth century

• Philosophy

  Detailed article on the history of the 'love of wisdom'

• Philoxenus

  One of the greatest masters of Syriac prose (d. 523)

• Phocæa

  Titular see in Asia, suffragan of Ephesus.

• Phœnicia

  A narrow strip of land, about 30 x 150 miles, shut in between the Mediterranean on the west and the high range of Lebanon on the east

• Photinus

  Heretic, Galatian, deacon to Marcellus, Metropolitan of Ancyra (d. 376)

• Photius of Constantinople

  Chief author of the great schism between East and West (b. c. 815)

• Phylacteries

  Small square cases of leather, worn on the forehead and forearm, used for devotional purposes

• Physics, History of

  An article on the history and theories of physics

• Physiocrats

  Describes the origins of Physiocratic theory

• Physiologus

  An early Christian work of a popular theological type, describing animals real or fabulous and giving each an allegorical interpretation.

• Piacenza

  Diocese in central Italy

• Pianciani, Giambattista

  Italian Jesuit scientist (1784-1862)

• Pianô Carpine, Giovanni da

  Italian Franciscan (1182-1252)

• Piatto Cardinalizio

  An allowance granted by the pope to certain cardinals

• Piatus of Mons

  Belgian priest and canonist (1815-1904)

• Piauhy

  Diocese in northeastern Brazil

• Piazza Armerina

  Located in Sicily, Italy

• Piazzi, Giuseppe

  Italian astronomer (1746-1826)

• Pibush, John

  English priest and missionary to his native land, imprisoned for more than six years, on trial twice for the crime of being a priest, martyred at Waterings in 1600 or 1601

• Picard, Jean

  French astronomer (1620-1682)

• Piccolomini, Alessandro

  Litterateur, philosopher, astronomer (1508-1578)

• Piccolomini-Ammannati, Jacopo

  Italian cardinal (1422-1479)

• Pichler

  Renowned Austrian family of gem-cutters who lived and died in Italy.

• Pichler, Vitus

  German canonist and controversial writer (1670-1736)

• Pickering, Ven. Thomas

  Benedictine lay brother, martyred in 1679

• Piconio, Bernadine a

  French Capuchin (1633-1709)

• Picquet, François

  Sulpician missionary in Canada (1708-1781)

• Piedmont

  A region of northern Italy

• Pie, Louis-Edouard-Désiré

  French cardinal (1815-1880)

• Piel, Peter

  A German pioneer in the movement for reform of church music (1835-1904)

• Pie Pelicane, Jesu, Domine

  The sixth quatrain of Adoro Te Devote, sometimes used as a separate hymn at Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament

• Pierius

  Priest and probably head master of the catechetical school at Alexandria (d. after 309)

• Pierre de Castelnau, Blessed

  Cistercian, worked for the conversion of the Albigensians, was martyred in 1208

• Pierre de Maricourt

  Article on this 13th-century theorist of optics and magnetism, written by Pierre Duhem

• Pierron, Jean

  French missionary (b. 1631)

• Pierson, Philippe

  Belgian Jesuit (1642-1688)

• Pietism

  Seventeenth-century Protestant reform movement

• Pighius, Albert

  Theologian, mathematician, and astronomer (1490-1542)

• Pignatelli, Venerable Giuseppe Maria

  Jesuit priest, novice master, provincial, d. 1811

• Pike, William

  A Dorset layman, a joiner by trade. Converted to Catholicism. He was martyred in 1591

• Pilar, Nuestra Señora del

  'Our Lady of the Pillar', a celebrated church and shrine, at Saragossa, Spain, containing a miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin

• Pilate, Pontius

  Fifth procurator of Judea (A.D. 26-36) who ordered the crucifixion of Our Lord

• Pilchard, Venerable Thomas

  Or Pilcher. Short biography of the English priest and martyr. He was executed at Dorchester, 21 March 1586 or 1587

• Pileolus

  The small, round skullcap of the ecclesiastic

• Pilgrimage of Grace

  A religious rising in the north of England in 1536.

• Pilgrimages

  Journeys made to some place with the purpose of venerating it, or in order to ask there for supernatural aid, or to discharge some religious obligation.

• Piligrim

  Bishop of Passau (d. 991)

• Pillar of Cloud/Fire

  A luminous cloud that accompanied the Israelites during their wandering

• Pima Indians

  An important tribe of Southern Arizona, centering along the middle Gila and the Salt River.

• Pinara

  Titular see in Lycia, suffragan of Myra

• Pinar del Rio

  Diocese in Cuba

• Pindemonte, Ippolito

  Italian poet (1753-1828)

• Pineda, John de

  Spanish Jesuit (1558-1637)

• Pinerolo

  Diocese near Turin in Italy

• Pingré, Alexandre Guy

  French theologian and astronomer (1711-1796)

• Pinna da Encarnaçao, Mattheus

  Brazilian writer and theologian (1687-1764)

• Pinto, Fernão Mendes

  Portuguese traveller (1509-1583)

• Pinturicchio

  Italian artist (1454-1513)

• Pinzón, Martín Alonso

  Spanish navigator and companion of Columbus (1441-1493)

• Piombo, Sebastiano del

  Venetian portrait painter (1485-1547)

• Pionius, Saint

  Martyred at Smyrna in 250

• Pious Fund of the Californias, The

  Originated in 1697 in voluntary donations made to Jesuits in Mexico for the propagation of the Faith in California

• Pious Society of Missions, The

  Founded by Vincent Mary Pallotti in 1835; generally called Pallottini Fathers.

• Piranesi, Giambattista

  Italian etcher and engraver (1720-1778)

• Pirhing, Ernricus

  German Jesuit (1606-1681)

• Pirkheimer

  Poor Clare abbess (1466-1532)

• Piro Indians

  A tribe of considerable importance in northeastern Peru

• Pisa

  Archdiocese in Tuscany in central Italy

• Pisa, Council of

  council held in the fifteenth century to settle the question of the Great Western Schism

• Pisa, University of

  In the eleventh century there were many jurisconsults at Pisa who lectured on law; prominent among them were Opitone and Sigerdo...

• Piscataway Indians

  The first Indian tribe whose Christianization was attempted under English auspices

• Piscina

  Liturgical structures used in baptisms or priestly ablutions

• Pise, Charles Constantine

  Priest, poet, and prose writer (1801-1866)

• Pisidia

  A country in the southwestern part of Asia Minor

• Pistoia and Prato

  Diocese near Florence, Italy

• Pistoia, Synod of

  Held in 1786 by Scipio de' Ricci in an effort to advance Jansenism

• Pistorius, Johann

  German controversialist and historian (1546-1608)

• Pithou, Pierre

  French writer (1539-1596)

• Pitoni, Joseph

  Italian musician (1657-1743)

• Pitra, Jean-Baptiste-François

  Cardinal, archaeologist and theologian (1812-1889)

• Pittsburgh

  Diocese in western Pennsylvania in the United States of America

• Pitts, John

  English priest (1560-1616)

• Pityus

  Titular see in Pontus Polemoniacus, suffragan of Neocaesarea.

• Pius III, Pope

  Pope who reigned for four weeks in 1503

• Pius II, Pope

  Pope who reigned from 1458 to 1464

• Pius I, Pope Saint

  He excommunicated Marcion, and died in about 154

• Pius IV, Pope

  Pope who reigned from 1559 to 1565

• Pius IX, Pope

  Biography of this pope, who died in 1878

• Piusverein

  The name given to Catholic associations in various countries of Europe.

• Pius VIII, Pope

  Pope who reigned from 1829 to 1830

• Pius VII, Pope

  Pope who reigned from 1800 to 1823

• Pius VI, Pope

  Pope who reigned from 1775 to 1799

• Pius V, Pope Saint

  Biography of the sixteenth-century pontiff

• Pius X, Pope Saint

  Long article on the pontiff

• Pizarro, Francisco

  Concise biographical article on the explorer

• Placidus, Saint

  An early follower of St. Benedict

• Plagues of Egypt

  Ten calamities inflicted on the Egyptians to overcome Pharaoh's obstinacy and force him to let the Israelites to leave Egypt

• Plantaganet, Henry Beaufort

  Cardinal, Bishop of Winchester (1377-1447)

• Plantin, Christophe

  Book-binder and publisher in Antwerp (1514-1589)

• Plants in the Bible

  Discusses all of the types of plants mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures

• Plasencia

  Diocese in Italy

• Plateau, Joseph-Antoine

  Belgian physicist (1801-1883)

• Platina, Bartolomeo

  Humanist and Vatican librarian (1421-1481)

• Plato and Platonism

  Greek philosopher (b. c. 428 B.C.)

• Play, Pierre-Guillaume-Frédéric Le

  French economist (1806-1882)

• Plegmund

  Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 914)

• Plenarium

  A book of formulae and texts.

• Plessis, Joseph-Octave

  Bishop of Quebec (1763-1822)

• Plethon, Georgius Gemistus

  Philosopher in Constantinople (1355-1450)

• Plock

  Diocese near Warsaw

• Plowden, Charles

  English Jesuit (1743-1821)

• Plowden, Edmund

  English jurist and writer (1517-1584)

• Plowden, Francis

  English jurist and writer (1749-1819)

• Plowden, Robert

  Belgian Jesuit (1740-1823)

• Plowden, Thomas

  English Jesuit (1594-1664)

• Plowden, Thomas Percy

  English Jesuit (1672-1745)

• Plumier, Charles

  French botanist (1646-1704)

• Plunket, Blessed Oliver

  Biographical article on the professor of theology, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, martyred in 1681

• Pluscarden Priory

  Valliscaulian monastery founded in 1230

• Plymouth

  Diocese in England

• Poetry, Hebrew, of the Old Testament

  No one can read attentively the poorest version of the Old Testament without feeling how strong a vein of poetry runs through its pages...

• Poggio Bracciolini, Giovanni Francesco

  Italian humanist and historian (1380-1459)

• Poggio Mirteto

  Diocese in central Italy

• Pogla

  Titular see in Pamphylia Secunda

• Poitiers

  Diocese and city in France

• Poland

  Country in eastern Europe

• Polding, John Bede

  Archbishop of Sydney (1794-1877)

• Polemonium

  Titular see in Pontus Polemoniacus, suffragan of Neocaesarea.

• Poleni, Giovanni

  Italian marquess, physicist, and antiquarian (1683-1761)

• Pole, Reginald

  English cardinal (1500-1558)

• Poles in the United States

  Covers the causes and history of the Polish immigration

• Policastro

  Diocese near Salerno in southern Italy

• Polignac, Melchior de

  Cardinal, diplomatist, and writer (1661-1742)

• Polish Literature

  Of the literature of Poland before the advent of Christianity (965) very few traces indeed are extant...

• Politian

  Italian humanist (1454-1494)

• Politi, Lancelot

  Siennese canon lawyer (1483-1553)

• Pollajuolo, Antonio and Piero Benci

  Florentine portrait painters in the fifteenth century

• Polybotus

  Titular see in Phrygia Salutaris, suffragan of Synnada.

• Polycarp, Saint

  Long article on what we can know about St. Polycarp, from ancient sources. Martyred in 155

• Polycarpus

  The title of a canonical collection in eight books composed in Italy by Cardinal Gregorius.

• Polyglot Bibles

  The first Bible which may be considered a Polyglot is that edited at Alcala, Spain, in 1502-17...

• Polystylum

  Titular see of Macedonia Secunda, suffragan of Philippi.

• Polytheism

  The belief in, and consequent worship of, many gods.

• Pomaria

  Titular see in Mauretania Caesarea.

• Pombal, Marquis de

  Portuguese prime minister (1699-1782)

• Pomerania

  Prussian province on the Baltic Sea situated on both banks of the River Oder

• Pompeiopolis

  Titular see in Paphlagonia.

• Pomponazzi, Pietro

  Short article on the philosopher, by U. Benigni

• Ponce de León, Juan

  Concise biographical article on the explorer

• Ponce, John

  Irish philosopher and theologian (1603-1670)

• Poncet, Joseph Anthony de la Rivière

  French missionary (1610-1675)

• Pondicherry

  Archdiocese located in India

• Pontefract Priory

  Cluniac monastery founded about 1090 in England

• Pontian, Pope Saint

  He was exiled to the Sardinian mines in 235 and died there of privation

• Pontifical Colleges

  Institutions of higher learning placed under the Holy See

• Pontificale

  A liturgical book which contains the rites for the performance of certain episcopal functions

• Pontificalia

  Episcopal insignia which are rightfully worn by bishops alone

• Pontifical Mass

  The solemn Mass celebrated by a bishop with the ceremonies prescribed in the 'Caeremoniale Episcoporum'

• Pontigny, Abbey of

  Second daughter of Citeaux in the Diocese of Sens

• Pontius Carbonell

  Spanish Franciscan (d. 1320)

• Pontus

  The ancient name of the northeastern province of Asia Minor, a long and narrow strip of land in the Black Sea, from which the designation was later transferred to the country.

• Pools in Scripture

  In the English Bibles, the word 'pool' stands for three Hebrew words...

• Poona

  Diocese in India

• Poor Brothers of St. Francis Seraphicus

  Congregation of lay brothers of the Third Order of St. Francis

• Poor, Care of, by the Church

  The care of the poor is a branch of charity, which is the exercise of mercy toward one's fellowman rooted in the love of God

• Poor Catholics

  A religious mendicant order, organized in 1208, to reunite the Waldenses with the Church and combat heresies such as Albigensianism

• Poor Child Jesus, Sisters of the

  A congregation founded at Aachen in 1844 for the support and education of poor, orphan, and destitute children

• Poor Clares

  The second order of St. Francis

• Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ

  Religious community founded by Catherine Kasper

• Poor Handmaids of the Mother of God

  Religious congregation founded in 1808 by Mother Mary Magdalen Taylor in conjunction with Lady Georgiana Fullerton

• Poor Laws

  Those legal enactments which have been made at various periods of the world's history in many countries for the relief of various forms of distress and sickness prevailing amongst the destitute.

• Poor, Little Sisters of the

  An active, unenclosed religious congregation founded 1839 in Brittany

• Poor, Sisters of the, of St. Francis

  A congregation founded by Mother Frances Schervier at Aachen in the year 1845

• Popayán

  Archdiocese established by Pope Paul III in 1547

• Pope, Alexander

  English poet, son of Alexander Pope (1688-1744)

• Popes, Chronological Lists of the

  The historical lists of popes, from those drawn up in the second century to those of the present day, form in themselves a considerable body of literature...

• Popes, Election of the

  The pope becomes chief pastor because he is the Bishop of Rome; he does not become Bishop of Rome because he has been chosen to be head of the universal Church...

• Popes, List of

  In chronological order. Links to a biographical essay on each. For popes up through Pope St. Pius X (d. 1914), entries are taken from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia. Information on later popes is taken from Joseph Brusher's 'Popes Through the Ages.'

• Pope, The

  The bishop of Rome, successor of St. Peter, chief of the whole Church, and the Vicar of Christ on earth

• Poppo, Saint

  Cluniac Benedictine abbot and reformer. Died in 1048

• Porch (or Vestibule, in Architecture)

  A hall projecting in front of the facade of a church, found from the fifth century both in the East and the West

• Pordenone, Giovanni Antonio

  Italian painter (1483-1539)

• Pordenone, Ordric of

  Franciscan missionary (1286-1331)

• Pormort, Ven. Thomas

  English priest twice imprisoned. The second time he was tortured, and finally martyred in 1592

• Porphyreon

  Titular see, suffragan of Tyre in Phoenicia Prima.

• Porphyrius, Saint

  Bishop of Gaza, died in 420

• Porrecta, Serafino

  Italian theologian (1536-1614)

• Porta, Carlo

  Milanese poet (1775-1821)

• Porta, Giacomo della

  Architect and sculptor (1541-1604)

• Portalegre

  Suffragan diocese of Lisbon, Portugal, established by Pope Julius III in 1550

• Port Augusta

  Diocese in southern Australia

• Port-au-Prince

  Archdiocese and city in Haiti

• Porter, George

  Archbishop of Bombay (1825-1889)

• Portiuncula

  A town and parish near Assisi, Italy

• Portland

  Diocese in Maine; suffragan of Boston

• Port Louis

  Diocese in the Indian Ocean

• Porto Alegre

  Archdiocese in eastern Brazil

• Porto Alegre

  Diocese and city in Brazil

• Porto and Santa-Rufina

  United diocese in Italy

• Port of Spain

  Archdiocese and town in Trinidad

• Porto Rico

  More properly spelled 'Puerto Rico'; the smallest and most easterly of the Greater Antilles

• Portoviejo

  Diocese near Quito in Ecuador

• Port-Royal

  A celebrated Benedictine abbey which profoundly influenced the religious and literary life of France during the seventeenth century.

• Portsmouth

  Diocese in England, created in 1882

• Portugal

  A country on the west side of the Iberian Peninsula

• Portuguese East Africa

  Portuguese activity on that coast began in 1505 with the foundation of the Captaincy of Sofala, and in 1558 a fortress was built at Mozambique...

• Portuguese Literature

  The Portuguese language was developed gradually from the 'lingua rustica' spoken in the countries which formed part of the Roman Empire...

• Portuguese West Africa

  The name usually given to the Province of Angola.

• Port Victoria

  Diocese in the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean

• Positivism

  A system of philosophical and religious doctrines elaborated by Auguste Comte.

• Possession, Demonical

  The control of a man's body — though never his soul — from within by evil spirits

• Possevinus, Antonius

  Theologian and papal envoy (1533-1611)

• Possidius, Saint

  Bishop of Calama, was a friend of St. Augustine for 40 years

• Postcommunion

  The final prayers of thanksgiving and petition at the end of every Mass

• Postgate, Nicholas

  Brief profile of the English priest and martyr, who died at York in 1679

• Postulant

  A preliminary stage to the novitiate existing from the institution of monasticism.

• Postulation

  A petition presented to a competent ecclesiastical superior, that he may promote to a certain dignity a person who is not strictly eligible on account of some canonical impediment

• Potawatomi Indians

  An important tribe of Algonquin linguistic stock

• Pothier, Robert Joseph

  French lawyer (1699-1772)

• Pouget, Jean-François-Albert du

  French anthropologist (1817-1904)

• Pounde, Thomas

  English lay brother (1538-1612)

• Poussin, Nicolas

  An article about the artist, with bibliography

• Poverty

  Discusses poverty as a concept and canonical discipline

• Poverty and Pauperism

  Persons whose existence is dependent for any considerable period upon charitable assistance, whether this assistance be public or private.

• Powel, Philip

  Short biography of the Benedictine priest and martyr. He was executed at Tyburn in 1646

• Poynter, William

  English priest (1762-1827)

• Pozzo, Andreas

  Italian painter and architect (1642-1709)

• Pozzuoli

  Diocese near Naples in southern Italy

• Prades, Jean-Martin de

  Theologian (1720-1782)

• Prado, Jerome de

  Spanish exegete (1547-1595)

• Praelatus Nullius

  A prelate who exercises quasi-episcopal jurisdiction in a territory not comprised in any diocese

• Pragmatic Sanction

  An edict formally issued by the emperor or king

• Pragmatism

  As a tendency in philosophy, signifies the insistence on usefulness or practical consequences as a test of truth.

• Prague

  An archdiocese in Bohemia.

• Prague, University of

  Founded by Charles IV in 1345

• Praxeas

  An early anti-Montanist mentioned by Tertullian

• Praxedes and Pudentiana

  Martyrs of an unknown era.

• Prayer

  The raising of the heart and mind to God

• Prayer-Books

  A collection of forms of prayer intended for private devotion, and in so far distinct from the 'service books' which contain the liturgical formularies used in public worship.

• Prayer of Christ, Feast of the

  A feast that commemorates the prolonged prayer which Christ offered in Gethsemane in preparation for His Sacred Passion.

• Prayer of Quiet

  A degree of contemplation in which the soul experiences an extraordinary peace and rest

• Pray, George

  Hungarian abbot, canon, librarian and historian (1723-1801)

• Preacher Apostolic

  A dignitary of the pontifical household.

• Preadamites

  The supposed inhabitants of the earth prior to Adam.

• Prebend

  The right of a member of a chapter to his share in the revenues of the cathedral; also the share to which he is entitled

• Precaria

  A contract granting to a petitioner the use and usufruct of a revenue-bearing ecclesiastical property

• Precedence

  The right to enjoy a prerogative of honour before other persons

• Precentor

  A word describing sometimes an ecclesiastical dignitary, sometimes an administrative or ceremonial officer

• Precept

  Precept, in its common acceptation, is opposed to 'counsel', inasmuch as the former imposes an obligation, while the latter is a persuasion

• Precious Blood

  The blood of our Divine Saviour.

• Precious Blood, Congregation of the Most

  An association of secular priests living in community, whose principal aim is to give missions and retreats.

• Precious Blood, Congregations of the

  A congregation of nuns, no longer in existence, founded by Mother Ballou with the assistance of St. Francis de Sales, as an offshoot of the reformed Cistercianesses.

• Precipiano, Humbert-Guillaume de, Count

  Prelate (1626-1711)

• Preconization

  The ratification in a public consistory of the choice made by a third person of a particular benefice

• Predestinarianism

  A heresy which reduces the eternal salvation of the elect as well as the eternal damnation of the reprobate to one cause alone, namely to the sovereign will of God, and thereby excludes the free co-operation of man as a secondary factor in bringing about a happy or unhappy future in the life to come.

• Predestination

  Those divine decrees which have reference to the supernatural end of rational beings, especially of man

• Preface

  The first part of the Eucharistic prayers in all rites

• Prefect Apostolic

  A type of ecclesiastical jurisdiction

• Prefecture Apostolic (Supplemental List)

  A list of the prefectures Apostolic that have been erected or changed during the publication of the earlier volumes of this work

• Prelate

  The holder of a prelature

• Prémare, Joseph Henri Marie de

  Jesuit missionary and sinologist (1666-1736)

• Prémontré, Abbey of

  Located in France; founded by St. Norbert.

• Presbyterianism

  One of the groups of ecclesiastical bodies that represent the features of Protestantism emphasized by Calvin.

• Presbytery

  The part of the church reserved for the higher clergy

• Prescription

  A method created by law for acquiring ownership or ridding oneself of certain burdens on the fulfilment of fixed conditions

• Prescription in Civil Jurisprudence

  Prescription 'in some form and under some name' is said to have existed as a part of the municipal law of every civilized nation, except the Jewish...

• Presence of God

  It is of faith that God is present by His essence everywhere and in all things by reason of His 'immensity'...

• Presentation Brothers

  In the early part of the nineteenth century when the Penal Laws were relaxed, and the ban which was placed on the Catholic education of youth in Ireland...

• Presentation of Mary, Congregation of the

  French congregation devoted to the education of young girls

• Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Feast of the

  According to some apocryphal writings, Mary, at the age of three, was brought by her parents to the Temple, in fulfillment of a vow, there to be educated

• Presentation, Order of the

  An order founded at Cork, Ireland

• Presentation, Religious Congregations of the

  Various religious orders

• Presentation, Right of

  The naming to the ecclesiastical authorities of a suitable cleric for a particular benefice.

• Prester John

  Name of a legendary Eastern priest and king.

• Preston, Thomas

  English Benedictine (d. 1640)

• Preston, Thomas Scott

  New York priest, convert and author (1824-1891)

• Presumption

  A product of pride, and a vice opposed to the theological virtue of hope

• Presumption

  A term signifying a reasonable conjecture concerning something doubtful, drawn from arguments and appearances, which by the force of circumstances can be accepted as a proof

• Pretorium

  The building Pilate occupied at the time of Christ's Passion

• Pride

  The excessive love of one's own excellence.

• Priene

  Titular see of Asia Minor, suffragan of Ephesus.

• Priest

  The minister of Divine worship and sacrifice

• Priest, Assistant

  The first and highest in dignity of the ministers who assist the bishop in pontifical functions.

• Priesthood

  Brief yet thorough examination of this sacrament

• Priests' Communion League

  Association of priests established at Rome in 1906

• Priests, Confraternities of

  A society of persons associated for some pious object.

• Priests' Eucharistic League

  Established in Paris by Pierre-Julien Eymard

• Primacy

  The supreme episcopal jurisdiction of the pope as pastor and governor of the Universal Church

• Primate

  A bishop possessing superior authority, not only over the bishops of his own province, but over several provinces and metropolitans

• Prime

  Article on the office of Prime, now suppressed

• Primer, The

  The common English name for a book of devotions which from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century was the ordinary prayer-book used by the laity.

• Primicerius

  The heads of the colleges of Notarii and Defensores, which occupied an important place in the early administration of the Church

• Prince Albert, Diocese of

  Suffragan see in Saskatchewan, Canada.

• Prior

  A monastic superior.

• Prioress

  A superioress in a monastic community for women

• Priory

  A monastery whose superior is a prior.

• Prisca, Saint

  Roman martyr of unknown date

• Priscianus

  Sixth-century Latin grammarian

• Priscillianism

  A heresy that originated in Spain in the fourth century and was derived from the Gnostic-Manichaean doctrines taught by Marcus, an Egyptian from Memphis.

• Prisons

  Discusses the history of prisons, as well as the influence of Christianity in their development and modern reform

• Prisons, Ecclesiastical

  The ecclesiastical idea of imprisonment is that confinement be made use of both as a punishment and as affording an opportunity for reformation and reflection...

• Privilege

  A permanent concession made by a legislator outside of the common law

• Privileges, Ecclesiastical

  Exceptions to the Law made in favour of the clergy or in favour of consecrated and sacred objects and places.

• Probabilism

  The moral system which holds that, when there is question solely of the lawfulness or unlawfulness of an action, it is permissible to follow a solidly probable opinion in favour of liberty even though the opposing view is more probable.

• Proba, Faltonia

  Christian poetess of the fourth century.

• Probus, Marcus Aurelius

  Roman Emperor (276-82)

• Processional Cross

  A crucifix which is carried at the head of a procession, and which is usually mounted upon a long staff or handle

• Processional, Roman

  This book consists of a single section of the Roman Ritual with sundry supplementary materials taken from the Missal and the Pontifical.

• Processions

  Processions, an element in all ceremonial, are to be found, as we should expect, in almost every form of religious worship....

• Proclus, Saint

  Patriarch of Constantinople, disciple of St. John Chrysostom, and died in 446 or 447

• Proconnesus

  A titular see in Hellespont

• Procopius of Caesarea

  Biographical article providing an overview of the historian's life and major writings

• Procter, Adelaide Anne

  English poetess and philanthropist (1825-1864)

• Procurator

  A person who manages the affairs of another by virtue of a charge received from him.

• Profession, Religious

  Describes both a declaration openly made, and a state of life publicly embraced

• Promise, Divine

  Embraces promises made by man to his fellowman, by man to God, and by God to man

• Promotor Fidei

  An official of the Roman Congregation of Rites

• Promulgation

  The act by which the legislative power makes legislative enactments known to the authorities entrusted with their execution and to the subjects bound to observe them

• Proof

  The establishment of a disputed or controverted matter by lawful means or arguments.

• Propaganda, Sacred Congregation of

  The department of the pontifical administration charged with the spread of Catholicism and with the regulation of ecclesiastical affairs in non-Catholic countries.

• Propagation of the Faith, The Society for the

  An international association for the assistance by prayers and alms of Catholic missionary priests, brothers, and nuns engaged in preaching the Gospel in non-Catholic countries.

• Property

  The person who enjoys the full right to dispose of it insofar as is not forbidden by law

• Property, Ecclesiastical

  That the Church has the right to acquire and possess temporal goods is a proposition which may now probably be considered an established principle. But though almost self-evident and universally acted upon in practice, this truth has met with many contradictors...

• Property, Ecclesiastical, in the United States

  The Third Plenary Council of Baltimore decreed: 'We must hold, holily and inviolably, that the complete right of ownership and dominion over ecclesiastical goods resides in the Church'...

• Prophecy

  Says that in the strict sense, prophecy is the revelation of future events, but points out that in Scripture, prophecy may also be related to the gift of knowledge and sometimes is used to refer to divine inspiration concerning any secret

• Prophecy, Prophet, and Prophetess

  Discusses prophecy and prophets in the Old and New Testaments

• Proprium

  Forms in the present liturgy the two principal portions of our breviary and missals

• Proschko, Franz Isidor

  Austrian author (1816-1891)

• Proselyte

  As used in the New Testament, a convert to Judaism

• Prose or Sequence

  A liturgical hymn used on certain festivals before the Gospel in the Mass

• Proske, Karl

  Silesian physician (1794-1861)

• Prosper of Aquitaine, Tiro

  Christian writer and disciple of St. Augustine (c. 390-465)

• Protectorate of Missions

  The right of protection exercised by a Christian power in an infidel country with regard to the persons and establishments of the missionaries.

• Protectories

  The institutions for the shelter and training of the young, designed to afford neglected or abandoned children shelter, food, clothing and education

• Protestantism

  Discussion of Protestant beliefs and doctrines

• Prothonotary Apostolic

  A member of the highest college of prelates in the Roman Curia

• Protocol

  The formula used at the beginning of public acts drawn up by notaries; also, the compact register in which notaries register these acts; finally, the first draft of these acts

• Protopope

  A priest of higher rank in the Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches, corresponding in general to the Western archpriest or dean.

• Prout, Father

  The name by which Irish author Father Francis Mahony is generally known

• Provancher, Léon Abel

  Quebec naturalist (1820-1892)

• Proverbs, Book of

  One of the Sapiential writings of the Old Testament

• Providence, Congregations of (I)

  Focuses on the Daughters of Providence in particular

• Providence, Congregations of (II)

  Focuses on the Sisters of Providence in particular

• Providence, Congregations of (III)

  Focuses on the Sisters of Charity in Montreal

• Providence, Congregations of (IV)

  Describes the Sisters of Sainte Anne in Turin

• Providence, Congregations of (V)

  Sisters of the Institute of Charity

• Providence, Diocese of

  Diocese in Rhode Island in the United States

• Providence, Divine

  Providence is God Himself considered in that act by which in His wisdom He so orders all events within the universe that the end for which it was created may be realized.

• Province, Ecclesiastical

  An ecclesiastical administrative district under the jurisdiction of an archbishop.

• Provincial

  An officer acting under the superior general of a religious order, and exercising a general supervision over all the local superiors in a division of the order called a province.

• Provincial Council

  A deliberative assembly of the bishops of an ecclesiastical province, summoned and presided over by the metropolitan, to discuss ecclesiastical affairs and enact disciplinary regulations for the province.

• Provision, Canonical

  A term signifying regular induction into a benefice

• Provisors, Statute of

  The English statute usually so designated is the 25th of Edward III...

• Provost

  An official in a chapter

• Prudence

  One of the four cardinal virtues

• Prudentius

  Bishop of Troyes (d. 861)

• Prudentius, Aurelius Clemens

  Biographical article on the poet

• Prüm

  Former Benedictine abbey near Trier, founded in 720

• Prusias ad Hypium

  Titular see, suffragan of Claudiopolis in the Honoriad.

• Prussia

  The Kingdom of Prussia covers 134,616 square miles and includes about 64.8 per cent of the area of the German Empire.

• Przemysl

  Latin see in Galicia, suffragan of Lemberg

• Przemysl, Sambor, and Sanok

  Eastern Catholic diocese of Western Galicia in Austria

• Psalms

  The Psalter, or Book of Psalms, is the first book of the 'Writings', i.e. of the third section of the printed Hebrew Bible of today.

• Psalms, Alphabetic

  Psalms that begin with the successive letters of the alphabet.

• Psalterium

  The Book of the Psalms only concerns us here in so far as it was transcribed and used for liturgical purposes...

• Psaume, Nicholas

  Bishop of Verdun (1518-1575)

• Psellus, Michael

  Byzantine statesman, scholar and author (1018-1078)

• Psychology

  The science which treats of the soul and its operations

• Psychotherapy

  That branch of therapeutics which uses the mind to influence the body

• Ptolemais

  Titular see in Egypt, metropolis of Thebais Secunda.

• Ptolemy the Gnostic

  Second-century heretic and personal disciple of Valentinus.

• Publican

  A member or employee of the Roman financial companies who collected the taxes.

• Public Honesty (Decency)

  A diriment matrimonial impediment consisting in a relationship, which arises from a valid betrothal, or from a marriage approved by the Church but not consummated.

• Pueblo Indians

  Indians of central New Mexico and northeastern Arizona

• Puget, Pierre

  Painter, sculptor, architect, and naval constructor (1622-1694)

• Pugh, George Ellis

  American jurist and statesman (1822-1876)

• Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore

  Life and work of the architect

• Puiseux, Victor-Alexandre

  French mathematician and astronomer (1820-1883)

• Pulaski, Casimir

  Polish-American patriot and soldier (1748-1779)

• Pulati

  Ancient diocese located in former Albania

• Pulcheria, Saint

  Empress of the Eastern Roman Empire, staunch opponent of Nestorianism and Eutychianism, d. 453

• Pulci, Luigi

  Italian poet (1432-1484)

• Pullen, Robert

  Medieval theologian (d. 1147)

• Pullus, Robert

  Twelfth-century Cardinal, English philosopher and theologian

• Pulpit

  An elevated stand to preach on

• Puno

  Diocese near Lima, Peru

• Purcell, John Baptist

  Archbishop of Cincinnati (1800-1883)

• Purgatorial Societies

  Pious associations or confraternities in the Catholic Church, which have as their purpose to assist in every possible way the poor souls in purgatory.

• Purgatory

  A place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God's grace, are, not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions.

• Purim

  Jewish feast that commemorates the deliverance of the Jews from Haman

• Puritans

  In its original meaning it signified those who strove for a worship purified from all taint of Catholicism...

• Pusey and Puseyism

  Anglican divine, patristic scholar, voluminous writer, preacher and controversialist (1800-1882)

• Pustet

  The name of a family of well-known Catholic publishers.

• Puteanus, Erycius

  Belgian humanist and philologist (1574-1646)

• Putzer, Joseph

  Theologian and canonist (1836-1904)

• Puvis de Chavannes, Pierre

  French painter (1824-1898)

• Puyallup Indians

  Tribe of Salishan linguistic stock in Washington

• Pyrker, Johann Ladislaus von Oberwart

  Hungarian priest (1772-1847)

• Pyrrhonism

  A system of skepticism founded by the Greek philosopher Pyrrho

• Pythagoras and Pythagoreanism

  Concise summary of doctrines attributed to Pythagoras

• Pyx

  Small vessel in which the Holy Eucharist is carried to the sick.