Aachen , in French, Aix-la-Chapelle, the name by which the city is generally known in Latin Aquæ Grani, later Aquisgranum, is the capital of a presid

 Aaron

 Abaddon

 Abandonment

 Pedro Abarca

 Abarim

 Abba

 Antoine d'Abbadie

 Abban

 Abbé

 Jean Baptiste Abbeloos

 Abbess

 Abbey

 Abbo Cernuus

 St. Abbon

 Abbot

 Henry Abbot

 Methods of Abbreviation

 Ecclesiastical Abbreviations

 Abbreviators

 Abdera

 Abdias

 Abdias of Babylon

 Abdication

 Sts. Abdon and Sennen

 Abduction

 Abecedaria

 Abecedarians

 Abel (1)

 Abel (2)

 Peter Abelard

 Louis Abelly

 Abenakis

 Abraham-ben-Méir Aben-Ezra

 Inscription of Abercius

 John Abercromby

 Robert Abercromby

 Diocese of Aberdeen

 University of Aberdeen

 Moritz von Aberle

 Legend of Abgar

 Abiathar

 Abila

 Abbey of Abingdon

 Thomas Abington

 Missions among the Abipones

 Abisai

 Abjuration

 Abo

 Abner

 Abomination of Desolation

 Abortion

 Physical Effects of Abortion

 Charles François d'Abra de Raconis

 Don Isaac Abrabanel

 Abraham

 Abraham (in Liturgy)

 Bosom of Abraham

 Abraham a Sancta Clara

 Abraham Ecchelensis

 Abrahamites

 Nicholas Abram

 Abrasax

 Absalom

 Absalon of Lund

 Absinthe

 Absolute

 Absolution

 Abstemii

 Abstinence

 Physical Effects of Abstinence

 Abstraction

 Abthain

 Theodore Abucara

 Abundius

 Abydus

 Abyss

 Abyssinia

 Acacia

 Acacians

 Acacius, Bishop of Beroea

 Acacius, Bishop of Caesarea

 Acacius, Patriarch of Constantinople

 St. Acacius

 Roman Academies

 French Academy

 Acadia

 Acanthus (see)

 Acanthus (plant)

 Acathistus

 St. Acca

 Accaron

 Accentus Ecclesiasticus

 Acceptance

 Acceptants

 Accession

 Diocese of Arras

 Councils of Arras

 Pablo José Arriaga

 Juan Arricivita

 Nicola Arrighetti

 Nicolò Arrighetti

 Arsacidæ

 Arsenius Autorianos

 St. Arsenius

 Arsinoe

 Accessus

 Artemon

 James Arthur

 Thomas Arthur

 Articles of Faith

 Organic Articles

 Artoklasia

 Bachelor of Arts

 Faculty of Arts

 Master of Arts

 Seven Liberal Arts

 Acciajuoli

 Artvin

 Thomas Arundel

 Thomas Arundell

 St. Asaph

 Ascalon

 Ascelin

 Ascendente Domino

 Ascension

 Feast of the Ascension

 Asceticism

 Accident

 Joseph, Ritter von Aschbach

 Diocese of Ascoli-Piceno

 Diocese of Ascoli, Satriano, and Cirignola

 Aseity

 Aseneth

 Aser

 Asgaard

 Ash Wednesday

 George Ashby

 Thomas Ashby

 Acclamation

 Ashes

 Ven. Ralph Ashley

 John Ashton

 Ven. Roger Ashton

 Asia

 Asia Minor

 Asiongaber

 Robert Aske

 Asmodeus

 Aspendus

 Acclamation (in Papal Elections)

 Asperges

 Martin Aspilcueta

 The Ass (in Caricature of Christian Beliefs and Practices)

 Prefecture Apostolic of Assam

 Assemani

 Assemblies of the French Clergy

 John Asser

 Feast of Asses

 Assessor of the Holy Office

 Assessors

 Biblical Accommodation

 St. Assicus

 Assideans

 Physiological Assimilation

 Psychological Assimilation

 Diocese of Assisi

 Assistant at the Pontifical Throne

 Assize of Clarendon

 Volume 1

 Volume 3

 Assizes of Jerusalem

 Accomplice

 Ignaz Assmayer

 Right of Voluntary Association

 Association of Ideas

 Association of Priestly Perseverance

 Pious Associations

 Assuerus

 Little Sisters of the Assumption

 Sisters of the Assumption

 Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 Assur (1)

 Francesco Accursius

 Assur (2)

 Assyria

 Asterisk

 Asterius

 Diocese of Asti

 Aston

 Diocese of Astorga

 Astrology

 Astronomy

 Astronomy in the Bible

 Paul-Thérèse-David d'Astros

 Acephali

 Jean Astruc

 Atahuallpa

 Juan Santos Atahualpa

 Atavism

 Vicariate Apostolic of Athabasca

 Athanasian Creed

 St. Athanasius

 Atheism

 Abbey of Athelney

 Athenagoras

 Archdiocese of Acerenza

 Athenry

 Christian Athens

 Modern Diocese of Athens

 Joseph Athias

 Mount Athos

 Juan de Atienza

 James Atkinson

 Nicholas Atkinson

 Paul Atkinson of St. Francis

 Sarah Atkinson

 Achab

 Ven. Thomas Atkinson

 Atom

 Atomism

 Day of Atonement

 Doctrine of the Atonement

 Atrib

 Atrium

 Attainder

 St. Attala

 Attalia

 Achaia

 Michael Attaliates

 Atticus

 Councils of Attigny

 Attila

 Jean Denis Attiret

 Atto

 Atto of Pistoia

 Atto of Vercelli

 St. Attracta

 Divine Attributes

 Achaicus

 Attrition

 Attuda

 Jean-Michel-d'Astorg Aubarède

 Jean-Antoine d'Aubermont

 Joseph Aubery

 François Hédelin, Abbé d'Aubignac

 Pierre d'Aubusson

 Archdiocese of Auch

 Diocese of Auckland

 Auctorem Fidei

 Achaz

 Pontifical Audiences

 Giovanni Battista Audiffredi

 J. M. Vincent Audin

 Guglielmo Audisio

 Auditor

 Audran

 Leopold Auenbrugger

 Jobst Bernhard von Aufsees

 Edmond Auger

 Augilæ

 Lucas d'Achéry

 Diocese of Augsburg

 Synods of Augsburg

 Augusta

 Augustin von Alfeld

 Rule of Saint Augustine

 St. Augustine of Canterbury

 St. Augustine of Hippo

 Teaching of St. Augustine of Hippo

 Works of St. Augustine of Hippo

 Augustinians of the Assumption

 Antonius Augustinus

 Augustinus-Verein

 Achiacharus

 Augustopolis

 Augustus

 Aumbry

 St. Aunarius

 Aurea

 Aurelian

 Aureliopolis

 Aurelius

 Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

 Petrus Aureoli

 Achimaas

 Auriesville

 Giovanni Aurispa

 Aurora Lucis Rutilat

 Ausculta Fili

 Decimus Magnus Ausonius

 John Austin

 Australia

 St. Austrebertha

 St. Austremonius

 Austro-Hungarian Monarchy

 Achimelech

 Authentic

 Authenticity of the Bible

 Civil Authority

 Authorized Version

 Autocephali

 Autos Sacramentales

 Ambrose Autpert

 Joseph Autran

 Diocese of Autun

 Auxentius

 Achitopel

 Councils of Auxerre

 Auxiliary Bishop

 Auxilius of Naples

 Ava

 Nicola Avancini

 Avarice

 Avatār

 Pierre du Bois, Baron d'Avaugour

 Ave Maris Stella

 Ave Regina

 Diocese of Achonry

 Diocese of Avellino

 Avempace

 Fernando Avendano

 Averroes

 Diocese of Aversa

 Avesta

 Theological Aspects of Avesta

 Avicebron

 Avicenna

 Avignon

 Achor Valley

 University of Avignon

 Diocese of Avila

 Francisco de Avila

 Sancho de Avila

 St. Avitus

 Order of Aviz

 Council of Avranches

 Philippe Avril

 Axum

 Diocese of Ayacucho

 Achrida

 Fray Francisco de Ayeta

 Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón

 James Ambrose Dominic Aylward

 Aymará

 Aymeric of Piacenza

 Féliz de Azara

 Aristaces Azaria

 Brother Azarias

 Luiz de Azevedo

 Juan Azor

 Johann Heinrich Achterfeldt

 Azores

 Azotus

 Aztecs

 Azymes

 Azymites

 Theodore William Achtermann

 Valens Acidalius

 Diocese of Aci-Reale

 Leopold Ackermann

 Acmonia

 Acoemetae

 Acolouthia

 Acolyte

 Joaquín Acosta

 José de Acosta

 Diocese of Acquapendente

 Acquaviva

 Claudius Acquaviva

 Diocese of Acqui

 Acre

 Acrostic

 Acta Pilati

 Acta Sanctæ Sedis

 Acta Sanctorum Hiberniæ

 Acta Triadis Thaumaturgæ

 Act of Settlement (Irish)

 Charles Januarius Acton

 John Acton

 John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, Baron Acton

 John Francis Edward Acton

 Canonical Acts

 Human Acts

 Indifferent Acts

 Acts of the Apostles

 Acts of Roman Congregations

 Actus et Potentia

 Actus primus

 Actus Purus

 Acuas

 St. Adalard

 Adalbert

 Adalbert I

 St. Adalbert (of Bohemia)

 St. Adalbert (of Germany)

 Ad Apostolicae Dignitatis Apicem

 Ad Limina Apostolorum

 Ad Sanctam Beati Petri Sedem

 Ad Universalis Ecclesiae

 Adam

 Adam in Early Christian Liturgy and Literature

 Books of Adam

 Adam of Bremen

 Adam of Fulda

 Adam of Murimuth

 Adam of Perseigne

 Adam of St. Victor

 Adam of Usk

 John Adam

 Nicholas Adam

 Adam Scotus

 Andrea Adami da Bolsena

 Adamites

 St. Adamnan

 James Adams

 Ven. John Adams

 Diocese of Adana

 Adar

 Ferdinando d'Adda

 Addas

 Liturgy of Addeus and Maris

 Ecclesiastical Addresses

 Archdiocese of Adelaide

 St. Adelaide, Abbess

 St. Adelaide (Adelheid)

 John Placid Adelham

 Adelmann

 Adelophagi

 Vicariate Apostolic of Aden

 Adeodatus

 Pope St. Adeodatus

 Adeste Fideles

 Adjuration

 Administrator

 Administrator (of Ecclesiastical Property)

 Canonical Admonitions

 Admont

 St. Ado of Vienne

 Adonai

 Adonias

 Adoption

 Canonical Adoption

 Supernatural Adoption

 Adoptionism

 Adoration

 Perpetual Adoration

 Francis Adorno

 Adoro Te Devote

 Diocese of Adria

 Pope Adrian I

 Pope Adrian II

 Pope St. Adrian III

 Pope Adrian IV

 Pope Adrian V

 Pope Adrian VI

 St. Adrian of Canterbury

 Adrian of Castello

 Adrianople

 Christian Kruik van Adrichem

 Adso

 Diego Francisco Aduarte

 Adullam

 Adulteration of Food

 Adultery

 Advent

 Adventists

 Book of Advertisements

 Advocates of Roman Congregations

 Advocates of St. Peter

 Advocatus Diaboli

 Advocatus Ecclesiæ

 Advowson

 Adytum

 St. Aedan of Ferns

 Aedh of Kildare

 Bl. Aegidius of Assisi

 Ægidius of Viterbo

 Aelfric, Abbot of Eynsham

 Ælnoth

 St. Ælred

 Æneas of Gaza

 St. Aengus (the Culdee)

 Ænon

 Æons

 Aër

 Aërius of Pontus

 Æsthetics

 Æterni Patris (Pius IX)

 Æterni Patris (Leo XIII)

 Aëtius

 Affinity (in the Bible)

 Affinity (in Canon Law)

 Affirmation

 Afflighem

 Denis Auguste Affre

 St. Afra

 Africa

 Early African Church

 African Liturgy

 African Synods

 Agabus

 Agape

 Agapetae

 Agapetus

 Pope St. Agapetus I

 Pope Agapetus II

 William Seth Agar

 St. Agatha

 Agathangelus

 Agathias

 Pope St. Agatho

 Agaunum

 Agostini Agazzari

 Council of Agde

 Canonical Age

 Age of Reason

 Diocese of Agen

 Agents of Roman Congregations

 Aggeus (Haggai)

 Unjust Aggressor

 Raymond d'Agiles

 St. Agilulfus

 Agios O Theos

 Giuseppe Agnelli

 Fra Guglielmo Agnelli

 Bl. Agnellus of Pisa

 Andreas Agnellus of Ravenna

 St. Agnes of Assisi

 Bl. Agnes of Bohemia

 St. Agnes of Montepulciano

 St. Agnes of Rome

 Maria Gaetana Agnesi

 Agnetz

 Agnoetae

 Agnosticism

 Agnus Dei

 Agnus Dei (in Liturgy)

 Agonistici

 Agony of Christ

 Paolo Agostini

 Bl. Agostino Novello

 Charles Constance César Joseph Matthieu d'Agoult

 Archdiocese of Agra

 Agram

 Agrapha

 Agrarianism

 Maria de Agreda

 Agria

 St. Agricius

 Alexander Agricola

 George Agricola

 Rudolph Agricola

 Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa of Nettesheim

 Agrippinus

 Diocese of Aguas Calientes

 Joseph Saenz de Aguirre

 Ahicam

 Ahriman and Ormuzd

 Johann Caspar Aiblinger

 Gregor Aichinger

 St. Aidan of Lindisfarne

 Duchess of Aiguillon

 Mary Aikenhead

 St. Ailbe

 St. Aileran

 Family of d'Ailleboust

 Pierre d'Ailly

 Mateo Aimerich

 Diocese of Aire

 Giacomo Maria Airoli

 Aisle

 Aistulph

 Archdiocese of Aix

 Councils of Aix-en-Provence

 Diocese of Ajaccio

 Akhmin

 Michael and Nicetas Akominatos

 Alabama

 Alabanda

 Alabaster

 Diocese of Alagoas

 Pietro Alagona

 Alain de l'Isle

 Alalis

 Lucas Alaman

 Niccolò Alamanni

 Alan of Tewkesbury

 Alan of Walsingham

 Alanus de Rupe

 Alaska

 Diocese of Alatri

 Alb

 Diocese of Alba Pompeia

 St. Alban

 Albanenses

 Albania

 Albani

 Albano

 Diocese of Albany

 Diocese of Albenga

 Niccolo Albergati

 Alberic of Monte Cassino

 Alberic of Ostia

 Albero de Montreuil

 Giulio Alberoni

 Albert

 Albert II

 Bl. Albert

 St. Albert

 Bl. Albert Berdini of Sarteano

 Albert of Aachen

 Albert of Brandenburg

 Albert of Castile

 Albert of Stade

 Leandro Alberti

 Leone Battista Alberti

 Nicolò Albertini

 John Baptist Albertrandi

 Bl. Albertus Magnus

 Archdiocese of Albi

 Council of Albi

 Juan de Albi

 Sigismund Albicus

 Albigenses

 Albinus

 Johann G. Albrechtsberger

 Albright Brethren

 Afonzo de Albuquerque

 University of Alcalá

 Military Order of Alcántara

 Antonio de Alcedo

 Alchemy

 St. Alcmund

 Andrea Alciati

 Alcimus

 John Alcock

 Alcoholism

 Alcuin

 St. Aldegundis

 Aldersbach

 Aldfrith

 St. Aldhelm

 St. Aldric

 Ulissi Aldrovandi

 Leonard Alea

 Phillipe Alegambe

 Francisco Xavier Alegre

 Joseph Sadoc Alemany

 Giulio Alenio

 Archdiocese of Aleppo

 Diocese of Ales and Terralba

 Diocese of Alessandria della Paglia

 Galeazzo Alessi

 Diocese of Alessio

 Alexander

 Alexander (Early Bishops)

 Pope St. Alexander I

 Pope Alexander II

 Pope Alexander III

 Pope Alexander IV

 Pope Alexander V

 Pope Alexander VI

 Pope Alexander VII

 Pope Alexander VIII

 St. Alexander

 St. Alexander (II)

 St. Alexander (of Alexandria)

 Bl. Alexander Briant

 Alexander Natalis

 Alexander of Abonoteichos

 Alexander of Hales

 Alexander of Lycopolis

 Bl. Alexander Sauli

 Dom Jacques Alexandre

 Alexandria

 Councils of Alexandria

 Church of Alexandria

 Diocese of Alexandria

 Alexandrian Library

 Alexandrine Liturgy

 Alexian Nuns

 Alexians

 St. Alexis Falconieri

 St. Alexius

 Count Vittorio Alfieri

 Pietro Alfieri

 Alfonso de Zamora

 Alfonso of Burgos

 Michael Alford

 Alfred the Great

 St. Alfrida

 St. Alfwold

 Alger of Liége

 Diocese of Alghero

 Archdiocese of Algiers

 Algonquins

 Diocese of Alife

 Alimentation

 Alimony

 Aliturgical Days

 All Hallows College

 All Saints

 All Souls' Day

 Allah

 Diocese of Allahabad

 Paul Allard

 Leo Allatius

 Joseph Allegranza

 Antonio Allegri

 Gregorio Allegri

 Alleluia

 Jean Allemand

 Edward Patrick Allen

 Frances Allen

 George Allen

 John Allen (I)

 John Allen (II)

 William Allen

 August Allerstein

 Thomas William Allies

 Joseph Franz Allioli

 William Allison

 Allocution

 Allori

 William Allot

 Claude Allouez

 Alma

 Alma Redemptoris Mater

 Diego de Almagro

 John Almeida

 Diocese of Almeria

 Camillo Almici

 Ven. John Almond

 John Almond

 Oliver Almond

 Alms and Almsgiving

 St. Alnoth

 Alogi

 St. Aloysius Gonzaga

 A and Ω

 Alpha and Omega (in Jewish Theology)

 Christian Use of the Alphabet

 St. Alphonsus Liguori

 St. Alphonsus Rodriguez

 Prospero Alpini

 Alsace-Lorraine

 Diego Francisco Altamirano

 Altamura and Acquaviva

 Altar (in Liturgy)

 Altar (in the Greek Church)

 Altar (in Scripture)

 History of the Christian Altar

 Bl. Altmann

 St. Alto

 Diocese of Alton

 Diocese of Altoona

 Altruism

 Alumnus

 Niccolò Alunno

 Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva

 Pedro d'Alva y Astorga

 Alonzo de Alvarado

 Fray Francisco de Alvarado

 Pedro de Alvarado

 Balthazar Alvarez

 Diego Alvarez

 Manoel Alvarez

 Alvarez de Paz

 St. Alypius

 José Antonio Alzate

 Johann Baptist Alzog

 Ama

 Giovanni Antonio Amadeo

 Dioceses of Amadia and Akra

 Amalarius of Metz

 St. Amalberga (1)

 St. Amalberga (2)

 Amalec

 Archdiocese of Amalfi

 Amalricians

 Amalricus Augerii

 St. Amandus

 Amasia

 Amastris

 Thaddeus Amat

 Amathus

 Diocese of Amazones

 Peter Ambarach

 Ambition

 Ambo

 Ambo (in the Russian and Greek Church)

 George d'Amboise

 Our Lady of Ambronay

 August Wilhelm Ambros

 St. Ambrose

 St. Ambrose of Camaldoli

 Bl. Ambrose of Sienna

 Ambrosian Basilica

 Ambrosian Chant

 Ambrosian Hymnography

 Ambrosian Library

 Ambrosian Liturgy and Rite

 Ambrosians

 Ambrosiaster

 Ambulatory

 Diocese of Amelia

 Denis Amelote

 Amen

 Amende Honorable

 Veit Amerbach

 America

 Pre-Columbian Discovery of America

 American College in Rome

 American College at Louvain

 South American College

 American Protective Association

 Francis Kerril Amherst

 Ven. John Amias

 Amice

 Antonio Amico

 Francesco Amico

 Diocese of Amida

 Diocese of Amiens

 Joseph Maria Amiot

 Amisus

 Daniel Ammen

 St. Ammon

 Ammon

 Ammonian Sections

 Ammonites

 Amorbach

 Amorios

 Amorrhites

 Eusebius Amort

 Amos

 Amovibility

 Vicariate Apostolic of Amoy

 André Marie Ampère

 Amphilochius of Iconium

 Amphilochius of Sida

 Amphoræ

 Abbey of Ampleforth

 Ampullæ

 Diocese of Ampurias

 Amra

 Amrah

 Amraphel

 Amsterdam

 Amulet

 Use and Abuse of Amulets

 Amyclae

 Jacques Amyot

 Anabaptists

 Pope St. Anacletus

 Anacletus II

 Anæsthesia

 Diocese of Anagni

 Analogy

 Analysis

 Anaphora

 Anarchy

 St. Anastasia

 Anastasiopolis

 St. Anastasius (1)

 Pope St. Anastasius I

 Pope Anastasius II

 Pope Anastasius III

 Pope Anastasius IV

 St. Anastasius (2)

 St. Anastasius Sinaita

 Anathema

 Anathoth

 St. Anatolia

 St. Anatolius (1)

 St. Anatolius (2)

 Anatomy

 Anazarbus

 Pedro de Añazco

 Joseph Anchieta

 Anchor

 Anchorites

 Ancient of Days

 Ancilla Dei

 Ciriaco d'Ancona

 Diocese of Ancona and Umana

 Ancren Riwle

 Ancyra

 Councils of Ancyra

 Andalusia

 William Henry Anderdon

 Anthony Maria Anderledy

 Henry James Anderson

 Lionel Albert Anderson

 Patrick Anderson

 James Anderton

 Ven. Robert Anderton

 Roger Anderton

 Thomas Anderton

 Heinrich Bernhard, Freiherr von Andlaw

 Ven. William Andleby

 Alonso Andrada

 Antonio de Andrada

 Diego Andrada de Payva

 Bernard André

 Yves Marie André

 Giovanni d'Andrea

 Bl. Andrea Dotti

 Andrea Pisano

 Andreas of Ratisbon

 Felix de Andreis

 Juan Andres

 St. Andrew (1)

 St. Andrew (2)

 St. Andrew Avellino

 Bl. Andrew Bobola

 St. Andrew Corsini

 Andrew of Caesarea

 St. Andrew of Crete

 Andrew of Lonjumeau

 Andrew of Rhodes

 St. Andrew the Scot

 William Eusebius Andrews

 Diocese of Andria

 Anemurium

 Felice Anerio

 Giovanni Francesco Anerio

 Filippo Anfossi

 Ange de Saint Joseph

 Ange de Sainte Rosalie

 Angel

 St. Angela Merici

 Bl. Angela of Foligno

 Francesco degli Angeli

 Girolamo degli Angeli

 Angelicals

 Fra Angelico

 Bl. Angelo Carletti di Chivasso

 Angelo Clareno da Cingoli

 Early Christian Representations of Angels

 Angels of the Churches

 Angelus

 Angelus Bell

 Angelus Silesius

 Anger

 Diocese of Angers

 University of Angers

 Notre Dame des Anges

 St. Angilbert

 Francesco Angiolini

 Priory of Anglesea

 Anglican Orders

 Anglicanism

 Timothy Warren Anglin

 Anglo-Saxon Church

 Anglona-Tursi

 Angola and Congo

 Diocese of Angora

 Diocese of Angoulême

 Diocese of Angra

 Pedro Angulo

 Vicariate Apostolic of Anhalt

 Pope St. Anicetus

 College and Church of the Anima (in Rome)

 Anima Christi

 Animals in Christian Art

 Animals in the Bible

 Animism

 Giovanni Animuccia

 Anise

 Anna

 Anna Comnena

 Ecclesiastical Annals

 Annas

 François Annat

 Annates

 St. Anne

 Sainte Anne d'Auray

 Sainte Anne de Beaupré

 Diocese of Annecy

 Joseph Annegarn

 Annibale d'Annibaldi

 Giuseppe d'Annibale

 Annius of Viterbo

 St. Anno

 Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 Orders of the Annunciation

 Louis-Pierre Anquetil

 Casto Innocenzio Ansaldi

 Giordano Ansaloni

 St. Anschar

 Councils of Anse

 Ansegisus

 St. Ansegisus

 St. Anselm (1)

 St. Anselm (2)

 Anselm of Laon

 Anselm of Liège

 St. Anselm of Lucca, the Younger

 Antoine Anselme

 Reyer Anslo

 Thomas Chisholm Anstey

 Antediluvians

 Pope St. Anterus

 Joseph Anthelmi

 Anthemius

 St. Anthony

 Orders of Saint Anthony

 St. Anthony of Padua

 Anthony of Sienna

 Anthony of the Mother of God

 Anthropomorphism

 Antichrist

 Antidicomarianites

 Antidoron

 Diocese of Antigonish

 Antimensium

 Antinoe

 Antinomianism

 Church of Antioch

 Antioch

 Antiochene Liturgy

 Antiochus of Palestine

 Antipater of Bostra

 Antipatris

 Antiphellos

 Antiphon

 Antiphon (in the Greek Church)

 Antiphon (in Greek Liturgy)

 Antiphonary

 Gregorian Antiphonary

 Antipodes

 Antipope

 Archdiocese of Antivari

 Vicariate Apostolic of Antofogaste

 Paul Gabriel Antoine

 Anton Ulrich

 Giacomo Antonelli

 Leonardo Antonelli

 Nicolò Maria Antonelli

 Giovanni Antoniano

 Silvio Antoniano

 Charles Antoniewicz

 St. Antoninus

 Antoninus Pius

 St. Antonio Maria Zaccaria

 Maria Antonio of Vicenza

 Antonius

 Franz Joseph Antony

 Antwerp

 Fray Domingo de la Anunciación

 Fray Juan de la Anunciación

 Diocese of Aosta

 Apaches

 Apameia

 Antonio Aparisi y Guijarro

 Apelles

 St. Aphian

 Aphraates

 Apiarius of Sicca

 Apocalypse

 Apocatastasis

 Apocrisiarius

 Apocrypha

 Apodosis

 Apollinarianism

 St. Apollinaris (1)

 St. Apollinaris (2)

 Apollinaris (the Elder)

 St. Apollinaris Claudius

 St. Apollonia

 Apollonius of Ephesus

 Apologetics

 Apolysis

 Apolytikion

 Apophthegmata Patrum

 Ferrante Aporti

 Apostasy

 Apostle (in Liturgy)

 Apostle Spoons

 Apostles

 Apostles' Creed

 Twelve Apostles of Erin

 Apostleship of Prayer

 Apostolic Camera

 Apostolic Churches

 Apostolic Church-Ordinance

 Apostolic Constitutions

 Apostolic Fathers

 Apostolic Letters

 Apostolic Majesty

 Apostolic See

 Apostolic Succession

 Apostolic Union of Secular Priests

 Apostolicae Curae

 Apostolicae Sedis Moderationi

 Apostolicæ Servitutis

 Apostolici

 Apostolici Ministerii

 Apostolici Regiminis

 Apostolicity

 Apostolicum Pascendi Munus

 Apotactics

 Apotheosis

 Apparitor

 Appeal as from an abuse

 Appeals

 Appetite

 Approbation

 Appropriation

 Apse

 Apse Chapel

 Apsidiole

 Council of Apt

 Aquarians

 Archdiocese of Aquila

 Aquila and Priscilla

 Aquileia

 Councils of Aquileia

 Diocese of Aquino, Sora, and Pontecorvo

 Arabia

 Vicariate Apostolic of Arabia

 Councils of Arabia

 Arabian School of Philosophy

 Arabici

 Arabissus

 Arad

 Monastic School of Aran

 Council of Aranda

 Philip Aranda

 Arason Jón

 Arator

 Prefecture Apostolic of Araucania

 Araucanians

 Antonio de Araujo

 Francisco de Araujo

 Arawaks

 Ignacio de Arbieto

 Arbitration

 St. Arbogast

 Abbey of Arbroath

 Missal of Arbuthnott

 Arca

 Our Lady of Arcachon

 Jacob Arcadelt

 Arcadiopolis

 Arcae

 Arcanum

 Arch

 Commission of Sacred Archæology

 Archange de Lyon

 Archbishop

 Archconfraternity

 Archdeacon

 Richard Archdeacon

 Archdiocese

 Archelais

 James Archer

 Court of Arches

 Archiereus

 Archimandrite

 Filippo Archinto

 Ecclesiastical Archives

 Archontics

 Archpriest

 Arcosolium

 Arculf

 Diocese of Ardagh

 Ardbraccan

 Priory of Ardchattan

 Edward Arden

 Notre Dame des Ardilliers

 Prince Charles d'Aremberg

 Areopagus

 Areopolis

 Diocese of Arequipa

 Arethas of Caesarea

 Arethusa

 Faustino Arévalo

 Rodríguez Sanchez de Arévalo

 Diocese of Arezzo

 Pierre de Voyer d'Argenson

 Argentine Republic

 Charles du Plessis d'Argentré

 Argos

 Luis Antonio Argüello

 Diocese of Argyll and the Isles

 John Argyropulos

 St. Arialdo

 Arianism

 Diocese of Ariano

 Francis Arias

 Pedro Arias de Avila

 Benedictus Arias Montanus

 Ariassus

 Aribo

 Arindela

 Ludovico Ariosto

 Aristeas

 Aristides

 Aristotle

 Arius

 Arizona

 Ark

 Arkansas

 Fray José Arlegui

 Synods of Arles

 Spanish Armada

 Archdiocese of Armagh

 Book of Armagh

 School of Armagh

 Georges d'Armagnac

 Mariano Armellino

 Armenia

 Armenierstadt

 Fray Nicolás Armentia

 Diocese of Armidale

 Arminianism

 Arnauld

 Thomas Augustine Arne

 Arni Thorlaksson

 Arnobius

 Arnold

 Arnold of Brescia

 Alberto Arnoldi

 Bartholomäus Arnoldi

 Arnolfo di Cambio

 Peter Joseph Arnoudt

 Veit Arnpeck

 Arnulf of Bavaria

 Arnulf of Lisieux

 St. Arnulf of Metz

Abbess


The female superior in spirituals and temporals of a community of twelve or more nuns. With a few necessary exceptions, the position of an Abbess in her convent corresponds generally with that of an Abbot in his monastery. The title was originally the distinctive appellation of Benedictine superiors, but in the course of time it came to be a applied also to the conventual superior in other orders, especially to these of the Second Order of St. Francis (Poor Clares) and to these of certain colleges of canonesses.


HISTORICAL ORIGIN

Monastic communities for women had sprung up in the East at a very early period. After their introduction into Europe, towards the close of the fourth century, they began to flourish also in the West, particularly in Gaul, where tradition ascribes the foundation of many religious houses to St. Martin of Tours. Cassian the great organizer of monachishm in Gaul, founded a famous convent at Marseilles, at the beginning of the fifth century, and from this convent at a later period, St. Caesarius (d. 542) called his sister Caesaria, and placed her over a religious house which he was then founding at Arles. St. Benedict is also said to have founded a community of virgins consecrated to God, and to have placed it under the direction of his sister St. Scholastica, but whether or not the great Patriarch established a nunnery, it is certain that in a short time he was looked upon as a guide and father to the many convents already existing. His rule was almost universally adopted by them, and with it the title Abbess came into general use to designate the superior of a convent of nuns. Before this time the title Mater Monasterii, Mater Monacharum, and Praeposisa were more common. The name Abbess appears for the first time in a sepulchral inscription of the year 514, found in 1901 on the site of an ancient convent of virgines sacræ which stood in Rome near the Basilica of St. Agnes extra Muros. The inscription commemorates the Abbess Serena who presided over this convent up to the time of her death at the age of eighty-five years: "Hic requieescit in pace, Serena Abbatissa S. V. quae vixzit annos P. M. LXXXV."


MODE OF ELECTION

The office of an Abbess is elective, the choice being by the secret suffrages of the sister. By the common law of the Church, all the nuns of a community, professed for the choir, and free from censures, are entitled to vote; but by particular law some constitutions extend the right of an active voice only to those who have been professed for a certain number of years. Lay sister are excluded by the constitutions of most orders, but in communities where they have the right to vote their privilage is to be respected. In nonexempt monasteries the election is presided over by the ordinary of the diocese of his vicar; in exempt houses, under the immediate jurisdiction of the Holy See, the Bishop likewish presides, but only as the delegate of the Pope. In those under the jurisdiction of a regular prelate the nuns are obliged to inform the diocesan of the day and time of election, so that if he wish, he or his representative may be present. The Bishop and the regular prelate preside jointly, but in no instance have they aa vote, not even a casting vote. And the Council of Trent prescribes, further, that "he who preside at the election, whether it be the Bishop or other superior, shall not enter the enclosure of the monastery, but shall listen to or receive the vote of each at the grille." (Cone. Trid., Sess. XXV, De regular, et monial., Cap. Vii.) The voting must be strictly secret, and if secrecy be not observed (whether through ignorance of the law or not), the election is null and void. A simple majority of votes for one candidate is sufficient for a valid election, unless the constitutions of an order require more than the bare majority. The result is to be proclaimed at once, by announcing the number of votes cast for each nun, so that in case of a dispute an immediate opportunity may be afforded for checking the vote. In case no candidate should receive the require number of votes, the Bishop or the regular prelate orders a new election, and for the time appoints a superior. If the community again fails to agree upon any candidate, the Bishop or other superior can nominate the one whom he judges to be the most worthy and depute her as Abbess. The newly appointed Abbess enters upon the duties of her office immediately after confirmation, which is obtained for non-exempt convents from the diocesan, and for exempt houses either from the regular prelate, if they be under his jurisdiction, or from the Holy See directly. (Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca; Abbatisa.-Cf. Taunton, The Law of the Church.)


ELIGIBILITY

Touching the age at which a nun becomes eligible for the office, the discipline of the Church has varied at different times. Pope Leo I prescribed forty years. St. Gregory the Great insisted that the Abbesses chosen by the communities should be at least sixty-women to whom years had given dignity, discretion, and the power to withstand temptation. He very strongly prohibited the appointment of young women as Abbesses (Ep. 55 ch. xi). Popes Innocent IV and Boniface VIII, on the other hand, were both content with thirty years. According to the present legislation, which is that of the Council of Trent, no nun "can be elected as Abbess unless she has completed the fortieth year of her age, and the eighth year of her religious profession. "But should no one be found in any convent with these qualifications, one may be elected out of another convent of the same order. But if the superior who presides over the election shall deem even this an inconvenience, there may be chosen, with the convent of the Bishop or other superior, one from amongst those in the same convent who are beyond their thirtieth year, and have since their profession passed at least five of those years in an upright manner. . . In other particulars, the constitution of each order or convent shall be observed." (Conc. Trid., Sess, xxv, De regular. et monial., Cap. vii.) By various decision of the Sacred Congregation of the Council and of the Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regulars, it is forbidden, without a dispensation from the Holy See, to elect a nun of illegitimate birth; one not of virginal integrity of body; or one who has had to undergo a public penance (unless it were only salutary); a widow; a blind or deaf nun; or one of three sisters alive at the same time in the same convent. No nun is permitted to vote for herself. (Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheea; Abbatissa.-Taunton, op, cit.) Abbesses are generally elected for life. In Italy, however, and the adjacent islands, by the Bull of Gregory XIII. "Exposcit debitum" (1 January, 1583), they are elected for three years only, and then must vacate the office for a period of three years, during which time they cannot act even as vicars.


RITE OF BENEDIICTION

Abbesses elected for life can be solemnly blessed according to the rite prescribeed in the Pontificale Romanum. This benediction (also called ordination or consecration) they must seek, under pain of deprivation, within a year of their election, from the Bishop of the diocese. The ceremony, which take place during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, can be performed of any day of the week. No mention is made in the Pontificale of a conferring of the staff, customary in many places at the installation of an Abbess, but the rite is prescribed in many monastic rituals, and as a rule the Abbess, like the Abbot, bears the crosier as a symbol of her office and of her rank; she has also a right to the ring. The induction of an Abbess into office early assumed a liturgical character. St. Redegundis, in one of her letters, speaks of it, and informs us that Agnes, the Abbess of Sainte-Croix, before entering on her charge, received the solemn Rite of Benediction from St. Germain, the Bishop of Paris. Since the time of St. Gregory the Great, the blessing was reserved to the bishop of the diocese. At present some Abbesses are privileged to receive it from certain regular prelates.


AUTHORITY OF ABBESS

An Abbess can exercise supreme domestic authority (potestas dominativa) over her monastery and all its dependencies, but as a female, she is debarred from exercising any power of spiritual jurisdiction, such as belongs to an abbot. She is empowered therefore to administer the temporal possessions of the convent; to issue commands to her nuns "in virtue of holy obedience", thus binding them in conscience, provided the obedience she demands be in accordance with the rule and statutes of the order; and to prescribe and ordain whatever may be necessary for the maintenance of discipline in the house, or conducive to the proper observance of the rule, and the preservation of peace and order in the community. She can also irritate directly, the vows of her professed sisters, and indirectly, those of the novices, but she cannot commute those vows, nor dispense from them. Neither can she dispense her subjects from any regular and ecclesiastical observances, without the leave of her prelate, though she can, in particular instance declare that a certain precept ceases to bind. She cannot publicly bless her nuns, as a priest or a prelate blesses, but she can bless them in the way that a mother blesses her children. She is not permitted to preach, though she may in chapter, exhort her nuns by conferences. An Abbess has, morever, a certain power of coercion, which authorizes her to impose punishments of a lighter nature, in harmony with the provisions of the rule, but in no instance has she a right to inflict the graver ecclesiastical penalties, such as censures. By the decree "Quemadmodum", 17 December, 1890, of Leo XIII, abbesses and other superiors are absolutely inhibited "from endeavouring, directly or indirectly, by command, counsel, fear, threats, or blandishments, to induce their subjects to make to them the secret manifestations of conscience in whatsoever manner or under what name soever." The same decree declares that permission or prohibition as to Holy Communion "belongs solely to the ordinary or extraordinary confessor, the superiors having no right whatever to interfere in the matter, save only the case in which any one of their subjects had given scandal to the community since. . . her last confession, or had been guilty of some grievous public fault, and this only until the guilty one had once more received the Sacrament of Penance." With regard to the administration of monastic property it must be noted that in affairs of greater moment an Abbess is always more or less dependent on the Ordinary, if subject to him, or on the regular prelate if her abbey is exempt. By the Constitution "Inscrutabili," 5 February, 1622, of Gregory XV, all Abbesses, exempt as well as non-exempt, are furthermore obliged to present an annual statement of their temporalities to the bishop of the diocese.

In medieval times the Abbesses of the larger and more important houses were not uncommonly women of great power and distinction, whose authority and influence rivalled, at times, that of the most venerate bishops and abbots. In Saxon England, "they had often the retinue and state of princesses, especially when they came of royal blood. They treated with kings, bishops, and the greatest lords on terms of perfect equality;. . . they were present at all great religious and national solemnities, at the dedication of churches, and even, like the queens, took part in the deliberation of the national assemblies, and affixed their signatures to the charters therein granted." (Montalembert, "The Monks of the West," Bk. XV.) They appeared also at Church councils in the midst of the bishops and abbots and priests, as did the Abbess Hilda at the Synod of Whitby in 664, and the Abbess Elfleda, who succeeded her, at that of the River Nith in 705. Five Abbesses were present at the Council of Becanfield in 694, where they signed the decrees before the presbyters. At a later time the Abbess "took titles from churches impropriated to her house, presented the secular vicars to serve the parochia churches, and had all the privileges of a landlord over the temporal estates attached to her abbey. The Abbess of Shaftesbury, for instance, at one time, found seven knights' fees for the King's service and held manor courts, Wilton. Barking, and Nunnaminster, as well as Shaftesbury, 'held of the king by an entire barony,' and by right of this tenure had, for a period, the privilge of being summoned to Parliament." (Gasquet, "English Monastic Life," 39.) In Germany the Abbesses of Quedimburg, Gandersheim, Lindau, Buchau, Obermünster, etc., all ranked among the independent princes of the Empire, and as such sat and voted in the Diet as members of the Rhenish bench of bishops. They lived in princely state with a court of their own, ruled their extensive conventual estates like temporal lords, and recognized no ecclesiastic superior except the Pope. After the Reformation, their Protestant successors continued to enjoy the same imperial privileges up to comparatively recent times. In France, Italy, and Spain, the female superiors of the great monastic houses were likewise very powerful. But the external splendour and glory of medieval days have now departed from all.


CONFESSION TO THE ABBESS

Abbesses have no spiritual jurisdiction, and can excrcise no authority that is in any way connceted with the power of the keys or of orders. During the Middle Ages, however, attempts were not infrequently made to usurp this spiritual power of the priesthood, and we read of Abbesses who besides being guilty of many minor encroachments on the functions of the sacerdotal office, presumed to interfere even in the administration of the sacrament of penance and confessed their nuns. Thus, in the Capitularics of Charlemagne, mention is made of "certain Abbesses, who contrary to the established discipline of the Church of God, presume to bless the people, impose their hands on them, make the sign of the cross on the foreheads of men, and confer the veil on virgins, employing during that ceremony the blessing reserved exclusively to the priest," all of which practice the bishops are urged to forbid absolutely in their respective dioceses. (Thomassin, "Vetus et Nova Ecclesae Disciplina," pars I, lib. II, xii, no. 17.) The "Monastieum Cisterciense " records the stern inhibition which Innocent III, in 1220, place upon Cistercian Abbesses of Burgos and Palencia in Spain, "who blessed their religious, heard the confession of their sins, and when reading the Gospel, presumed publicly to preach." (Thomassin, op. cit., pars I, lib. III. xlix, no. 4.) The Pope characterized the intrusion of these women as a thing "unheard of, most indecorous, and highly preposterous." Dom Martene, the Benedictine savant, in his work "De Antiquis Ecclesiae Ritibus," speaks of other Abbesses who likewish confessed their nuns, and adds, not without a touch of humour, that "these Abbesses had evidently overated their spiritual powers a trifle." And as late as 1658, the Sacred Congregation Rites categorically condemned the acts of the Abbess of Fontevrault in France, who of her own authority, obliged the monks and nuns of her obedience to recite offices, say Masses, and observe rites and ceremonies which had never been sanctioned or approved of by Rome. (Analecta Juris Pontificii, VII, col. 348.) In this connection it must, however, be observed, that when the older monastic rule prescribe confession to the superor, they do not refer to sacramental confession, but to the "chapter of faults" or the culpa, at which the religious accuse themselves of ordinary external fault patent to all, and of minor infractions of the rule. This "confession" may be made either privately to the superior or publicly in the chapter-house; no absolution is given and the penance assigned is merely disciplinary. The "chapter of faults" is a form of religious exercise still practised in all the monasteries of the ancient orders.

But reference must be made to certain exceptional cases, where Abbesses have been permitted, by Apstolical concession and privilege, it is alleged, to exercise a most extraordinary power of jurisdiction. Thus, the Abbess of the Cistercian Monastery of Santa Maria la Real de las Huelgas, near Burgos, in Spain, was, by the terms of her official protocol, a "noble lady, the superior, prclate, and lawful administratrix in spirituals and temporals of the said royal abbey, and of all the conents, churches, and hermitages of its filiation, of the villages and places under its jurisdiction, seigniory, and vassalage, in virtue of Bulls and Apostolical concessions, with plenary jurisdiction, privative, quasi-episopal, nullius diacesis." (Florez, "España sagada," XXVII, Madrid 1772, col. 578.) By the favour of the king, she was, moreover, invested with almost royal prerogatives, and exercised an unlimited secular authority over more than fifty villages. Like the Lord Bishops, she held heer own courts, in civil and criminal cases, granted letters dismissorial for ordination, and issued licenses authorizing priests, within the limits of her abbatial jurisdicttion, to hear confessions, to preach, and to engage in the cure of souls. She was privilege also to confirm Abbesses, to impose censures, and to convoke synods. ("España sagrada," XXVII, col. 581.) At a General Chapter of the Cistercians held in 1189, she was made Abbess General of the Order for the Kingdom of Leon and Castile, with the privilege of convoking annually a general chapter at Burgos. The Abbess of Las Huelgas retained her ancient prestige up to the time of the Council of Trent.

A power of jurisdiction almost equal to that of the Abbess of Las Huelgas was at one time exercised by the Cistercian Abbess of Converano in Italy. Among the many privileges enjoyed by this Abbess may be specially mentioned, that of appointing her own vicar-general through whom she governed her abbatial territory; that of selecting and approving confessors for the laity; and that of authorizing clerics to have the cure of souls in the churches under her jurisdiction. Every newly appointed Abbess of Converano was likewise entitiled to receive the public "homage" of her clergy,—the ceremony of which was sufficiently elaborate. On the appointed day, the clergy, in a body repaired to the abbey; at the great gate of her monastery, the Abbess, with mitre and corsier, sat enthroned under a canopy, and as each member of the clergy passed before her, he made his obeisance, and kissed her hand. The clergy, however, wished to do away with the distasteful practice, and, in 1709, appealed to Rome; the Sacred Congregatior of Bishops and Regulars thereupon modified some of ceremonial details, but recognized the right of the Abbess to the homage. Finally, in 1750, the practice was wholly abolished, and the Abbess deprived of all her power of jurisdiction. (Cf. "Analecta Juris Pontificii," XXXVIII, col. 723: and Bizzari, "Collectanea," 322.) among other Abbesses said to have exercised like powers of jurisdiction, for aa period at least, may be mentioned the Abbess of Fontevrault in France, and of Quedlinburg in Germany. (Ferraris, "Biblioth. Prompta; Abbatissa.")


PROTESTANT ABBESSES OF GERMANY

In some parts of Germany, notably in Hanover, Wurtemberg, Brunswick, and Schleswig-Holstein, a number of Protestant educational establishments, and certain Lutheran sisterhoods are directed by superiors who style themselves Abbesses even to the present day. All these establishments were, at one time, Catholic convents and monasteries, and the "Abbesses" now presiding over them, are, in every instance, the Protestant successors of a former line of Catholic Abbesses. The transformation into Protestant community houses and seminaries was effected, of course, during the religious revolution of the sixteenth century, when the nuns who remained loyal to the Catholic faith were driven from the cloister, and Lutheran sisterhoods put in possessing of their abbeys. In many religious communities, Protestantism was forcibly imposed on the members, while in some few, particularly in North Germany, it was voluntarily embraced. But in all these houses, where the ancient monastic offices were continued the titles of the officials were likewise retained. And thus there have been, since the sixteenth century, both Catholic and Protestant Abbesses in Germany. The Abbey of Quedinburg was one of the first to embrace the Reformation. Its last Catholic Abbess, Magdalena, Princess of Anhalt, died in 1514. As early as 1539, the Abbess Anna II of Stolberg, who had been elected to the office when she was scarcely thirteen years of age, introduced Lutheranism in all the houses under her jurisdiction. The choir service in the abbey church was abandoned, and the Catholic religion wholly abrogated. The monastic offices were reduced to four, but the ancient official titles retained. Thereafter the institution continued as a Lutheran sisterhood till the secularization of the abbey in 1803. The last two Abbesses were the Princess Anna Amelia (d. 1787), sister of Frederick the Great, and the Princess Sophia Albertina (d. 1829), daughter of King Adolphus Frederick of Sweden. In 1542, under the Abbess Clare of the house of Brunswick, the Sclamalkaldic League forcibly imposed Protestantism on the members of the ancient and venerable Benedictinre Abbey of Gandersheim; but though the Lutheran intruders were driven out again in 1547 by Clare's father, Duke Henry the Younger, a loyal Catholic, Lutheranism was permanently introduced, a few years laater, by Julius, Duke of Brunswick. Margaret, the last Catholic Abbess, diied in 1589, and after that period Lutheran Abbesses were appointed to the foundation. These continued to enjoy the imperial privileges of their predecessors till 1802, when Gandersheim was incorporated with Brunswick. Among the houses of minor importance still in existence, the Abbey of Drubeck may be specially noticed. At one time a Catholic convent, it fell into Protestant hands during the Reformation. In 1687, the Elector Frederick William I of Brandenburg granted the revenues of the house to the Counts of Stolberg, stipulating, however, that women of noble birth and professing the Evangelical faith, should always find a home in the convent, be adequately provided for, and live there under the government of an Abbess. The wish of the Elector is apparently still respected.


SECULAR ABBESS IN AUSTRIA

In the Hradschin of Prague, there is a noted Catholic Imperial Institute, whose directress always bears the title Abbess. The institute, now the most exclusive and the best endowed of its kind in Austria, was founded in 1755 by the Empress Maria Theresa for impoverished noblewomen of ancient lineage. The Abbess is always an Austrian Archduchess, and must be at least eighteen years of age before she can assume the duties of her office. Her insignia are a pectoral cross, the ring, the staff, and a princely cornet. It was formerly an exclusive privilege of this Abbess to crown the Queen of Bohemia — a ceremony last performed in 1808, for the Empress Maria Louisa. Candidates for admission to the Institute must be twenty-nine years of age, of irreproachable morals and able to trace back their noble ancestry, paternal and maternal, for eight generations. They make no vows, but live in community and are obliged to assist twice daily at divine service in the Stifskirche, and must go to confession and receive Holy Communion four times a year on appointed days. They are all Hoffähig.


NUMBER AND DISTRIBUTION, BY COUNTRIES, OF ABBESSES

The Abbesses of the Black Benedictines number at present 120. Of these there are 71 in Italy, 15 in Spain, 12 in Austro-Hungary, 11 in France (before the Associations Law), 4 in England, 3 in Belgium, 2 in Germany, and 2 in Switzerland. The Cisterecians of all Observances have a total of 77 Abbesses. Of these 74 belong to the Cisterecians of the Common Observance, who have most of their houses in Spain and in Italy. The Cistercians of the Strict Observance have 2 Abbesses in France and 1 in Germany. There are no Abbesses in the United States. In England the superior of the following houses are Abbesses: St. Mary's Abbey, Stanbrook, Worcesster: St. Mary's Abbey, East Bergholt, Suffolk; St. Mary's Abbey, Oulton, Staffordshire; St. Scholastica's Abbey, Teignmouth, Devon; St. Bridget's Abbey of Syon, Chudleigh, Devon (Brigttine); St. Clare's Abbey, Darlington, Durham (Poor Clares). In Ireland: Convent of Poor Clares, Ballyjamesduff.

MONTALEMBERT, The Monks of the West (GASQUET'S ed., in 6 vols., New York, 1896), Bk. XV; GASQUET, English Monastic Life (London, 1808), viii; TAUSTON, The English Black Monks of St. Benedict (London, 1808), I, vi; TAUNTON, The Law of the Church (St. Louis, 1906), ECNENSTEIX, Women under Monasticism (London 1896), FERRAIS, Prompta Bibliotheca Canonica (Rome 1885); BIZZARRI, Collectanea S. C. Episc. Et Reg. (Rome 1885); PETRA, Comment. ad Constitut. Apostolicas (Rome 1705); THOMASSINI, Vetus et Nova Ecclesia Disciplina (Mainz, 1787); FAGNANI, Jus Conon., s. Comment. in Decret, (Cologne, 1704); TAMBURINI, De jure et privilegiis abbat. pralat., abbatiss., et monial (Cologne, 1691); LAURAIN, De Vinterrention des laiques, des diacres et des abbesses dans Vadministration de lapcnitence (Paris, 1897); SAGULLER, Lehrbuch des katholischen Kirchenrechts (Freiburg im Breisgau, 1904).

THOMAS OESTREICH