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Maassen, Friedrich Bernard Christian - Professor of law. (1823-1900)
Mabillon, Jean - Benedictine monk of the Congregation of Saint-Maur. (1632-1707)
Mabinogion - A collection of medieval Welsh tales in prose.
Macao - Diocese; suffragan of Goa.
Macarius - Article on two saints named Macarius, both fourth-century Egyptian monks: St. Macarius the Egyptian ("the Elder") and St. Macarius the Alexandrian ("the Younger").
Macarius Magnes - A Christian apologist of the end of the fourth century.
Macarius of Antioch - A Patriarch, deposed in 681.
Macarius, Saint - Bishop of Jerusalem, d. 334. He was an opponent of Arianism.
Maccabees, The - A priestly family which under the leadership of Mathathias initiated the revolt against the tyranny of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, King of Syria, and after securing Jewish independence ruled the commonwealth till overthrown by Herod the Great.
Maccabees, The Books of - The author, date, and contents of 1 and 2 Machabees. A brief look at 3 and 4 Machabees.
MacCaghwell, Hugh - Archbishop and theologian, born at Saul, Co. Down, 1571; died 22 September, 1626.
MacCarthy, Bartholomew - Irish scholar and chronologist (1843-1904).
MacCarthy, Denis Florence - Well-known Irish poet of the nineteenth century, born in Lower O'Connell Street, Dublin, 26 May, 1817; died at Blackrock, Dublin, 7 April, 1882.
MacCarthy, Nicholas Tuite - Called the Abbé de Lévignac, born in Dublin on 19 May, 1769; died at Annécy, Savoy, 3 May, 1833.
MacDonald, John - Laird of Glenaladale and Glenfinnan, philanthropist, colonizer, soldier, born in Glenaladale, Scotland, about 1742; died at Tracadie, Prince Edward Island, Canada, 1811; he was the son of Alexander and Margaret (MacDonnell of Scotus).
MacDonell, Alexander - First Bishop of Kingston, Ontario, Canada, b. 17 July 1760, at Inchlaggan in Glengarry, Scotland; d. 14 January, 1840, at Dumfries, Scotland.
Mace - A short, richly ornamented staff.
Macedo, Francisco - Known as a S. Augustino, O.F.M., theologian, born at Coimbra, Portugal, 1596; he entered the Jesuit Order in 1610, which however he left in 1638 in order to join the Discalced Franciscans.
Macerata and Tolentino - Located in the Marches, Central Italy.
MacFarland, Francis Patrick - Third Bishop of Hartford (q.v.) born at Franklin, Pennsylvania, 16 April, 1819; died at Hartford, Connecticut, 2 October, 1874.
MacGeoghegan, James - Born at Uisneach, Westmeath, Ireland, 1702; died at Paris, 1763. He came of a long family long settled in Westmeath and long holding a high position among the Leinster chiefs, and was related to that MacGeoghegan who defended the Castle of Dunboy against Carew, and also to Connell MacGeoghegan, who translated the Annals of Clonmacnoise.
MacHale, John - Born March 6, 1791 at Tubbernavine, Co. Mayo, Ireland; died at Tuam, November 4, 1881.
Machiavelli, Nicolò - Including a short biography, a list of his works and a summary of his ideas.
Machpelah - The burial-place in the vicinity of ancient Hebron which Abraham bought from Ephron the Hethite for the interment of Sara (Gen., xxiii, 9, 17).
Machutus, Saint - Also called Malo or Maclovius. According to this article, Machutus was baptized by St. Brendan the Navigator, and accompanied him on his famous voyage.
Mackenzie - This vicariate which was detached from the Athabaska-Mackenzie Vicariate in 1901 and intrusted to Mgr Gabriel Breynat, Titular Bishop of Adramytus, consecrated 6 April 1902, is bounded on the west by the Rocky Mountains, on the south by 60º latitude, on the east by the water-shed and is unlimited on the north towards the pole.
MacMahon, Heber - Bishop of Clogher, Ireland, and patriotic leader, born at Farney, County Monaghan, 1600; executed at Enniskillen in 1650.
MacNeven, William James - Irish-American physician and medical educator. (1763-1841)
Mâcon, Ancient Diocese of - Located in Burgundy. The city of Mâcon, formerly the capital of the Mâconnais, now of the Department of Saône-et-Loire, became a civitas in the fifth century, when it was separated from the Æduan territory.
Macri - A titular see in Mauretania Sitifiensis.
Macrina the Elder, Saint - Grandmother of SS. Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Macrina the Younger.
Macrina the Younger, Saint - Granddaughter of St. Macrina the Elder, and the sister of St. Gregory of Nyssa. She died in 379.
Mactaris - A titular see of the Byzantine Empire.
Madagascar - Island situated to the south-east of Africa.
Madaurus - A titular see of Numidia.
Madeleine-Sophie Barat, Saint - Founder of the Society of the Sacred Heart, d. 1865.
Maderna, Carlo - Known principally by his extension of St. Peter's, at the command of the pope, from the form of a Greek to that of a Latin cross. (1556-1629)
Maderno, Stefano - A sculptor of the Roman School and of the era just preceding Bernini, his contemporary. (1576-1636)
Madianites - An Arabian tribe introduced into history in the texts of Gen., xxv, 1-4 and I Chron., i, 32.
Madras - Archdiocese in India.
Madrid-Alcalá - Province and town in Spain.
Madruzzi, Christopher - Born of a noble family of Trent, 5 July, 1512; died at Tivoli, Italy, 5 July, 1578.
Madura Mission - The Madura mission owes its origin to Robert de Nobili, who commenced at Madura, in 1606, that peculiar method of propagating the faith which has made his name famous.
Maedoc, Saint - First bishop of Ferns, d. 626.
Maelruan, Saint - Founder and first abbot of Tallacht, d. around 791. Co-author with St. Aengus of the Rule of the Célidhé Dé.
Maelrubha, Saint - Abbot and martyr, died in 722.
Maerlant, Jacob van - Flemish poet of the Middle Ages, b. about 1235; d. after 1291.
Maestro di Camera del Papa - The maestro di camera is the real chief chamberlain. His authority extends over all matters concerning the daily personal service of His Holiness.
Maffei, Bernardino - Poet, orator, antiquarian (1514-1549).
Maffei, Francesco - Italian painter. (d. 1660)
Maffei, Marchese Francesco Scipione - Italian littérateur and archaeologist, b. at Verona, 1 June, 1675; d. there, 11 Feb., 1755.
Maffei, Raffaelo - Humanist, historian and theologian (1451-1522).
Magaud, Antoine-Dominique - French painter, b. at Marseilles 1817; d. there, 1899.
Magdala - It is perhaps the Migdal-El mentioned in the Old Testament (Jos., xix, 38) belonging to the tribe of Nephtali.
Magdalens - The members of certain religious communities of penitent women who desired to reform their lives.
Magdeburg - Capital of the Prussian Province of Saxony, situated on the Elbe; pop. 241,000; it is noted for its industries, particularly the production of sugar, its trade, and its commerce. From 968 until 1552 it was the seat of an archbishopric.
Mageddo - Situated on the torrent Qina, on the east of the Plain of Esdraelon opposite Jezrahel, commanded the central of the three passes that join the plain with the seaboard.
Magellan, Ferdinand - Short biographical article on the Portuguese explorer (1480-1521).
Magi - The "wise men from the East" who came to adore Jesus in Bethlehem (Matthew 2).
Magin Catalá - Born at Montblanch, Catalonia, Spain, 29 or 30 January, 1761; died at Santa Clara, California, 22 Nov., 1830. He received the habit of St. Francis at Barcelona on 4 April, 1777, and was ordained priest probably in 1785.
Maginn, Edward - Irish bishop (1802-1849).
Magistris, Simone de - Born in 1728; died 6 October, 1802; a priest of the Oratorio di S. Filippo Neri, at Rome, whom Pius VI created titular Bishop of Cyrene and provost of the Congregation for the correction of the liturgical books of Oriental Rites.
Magliabechi, Antonio - Italian scholar and librarian, b. 20 Oct., 1633, at Florence; d. there, 4 July, 1714.
Magna Carta - The charter of liberties granted by King John of England in 1215 and confirmed with modifications by Henry III in 1216, 1217, and 1225.
Magnesia - A titular see in Lydia, suffragan of Ephesus.
Magnien, Alphonse - An educator of the clergy, born at Bleymard, in the Diocese of Mende, France, 9 June, 1837; died 21 December, 1902.
Magnificat - The title commonly given to the Latin text and vernacular translation of the Canticle (or Song) of Mary.
Magnus, Olaus - Swedish historian and geographer, b. at Skeninge, Sweden, 1490; d. at Rome, 1 Aug., 1558.
Magnus, Saint - His "life" was re-edited twice, so that he is said in it to be a contemporary of St. Gall (early seventh century) but also of the first bishop of Augsburg (mid-eighth century).
Magnus, Valerianus - Born at Milan, 1586, presumably of the noble family of de Magni; died at Salzburg, 29 July, 1661. He received the Capuchin habit at Prague.
Magrath, John Macrory - Born in Munster, Ireland, in the fifteenth certury; date and place of death unknown. Like many of his ancestors, he was chief historian to the O'Briens, princes of Thomond and chiefs of the Dalcassian clans.
Magydus - A titular see of Pamphylia Secunda, suffragan of Perga.
Mai, Angelo - Roman cardinal and celebrated philologist, b. at Schilpario, in the Diocese of Bergamo, 7 March 1782; d. at Albano, 9 September 1854.
Maignan, Emmanuel - French physicist and theologian; b. at Toulouse, 17 July, 1601; d. at Toulouse, 29 October, 1676.
Mailla, Joseph-Anna-Marie de Moyria de - Jesuit missionary; b. 16 Dec., 1669, at Château Maillac on the Isère; d. 28 June, 1748, at Peking, China.
Maillard, Antoine-Simon - Missionary b. in France (parentage, place and date of birth unknown); d. 12 August, 1762.
Maillard, Oliver - Celebrated preacher, b. at Juignac, (?), Brittany, about 1430; d. at Toulouse, 22 July, 1502.
Maimbourg, Louis - French church historian, b. at Nancy, 10 January, 1610; d. at Paris, 13 August, 1686.
Maimonides, Teaching of Moses - Article by William Turner discusses this Jewish thinker's life and doctrines.
Maina Indians - A group of tribes constituting a distinct linguistic stock, the Mainan, ranging along the north bank of the Marañón.
Maine - Commonly known as the Pine Tree State, but is sometimes called the Star in the East.
Maine de Biran, François-Pierre-Gonthier - A philosopher; born at Grateloup near Bergerac, Dordogne, France, 29 November, 1766; died at Paris, 16 July, 1824.
Maintenon, Françoise, Marquise de - Born at Niort, 28 November 1635; died at Saint-Cyr, 15 April 1719. She was the granddaughter of the celebrated Protestant writer, Agrippa d'Aubigné.
Mainz - German town and bishopric in Hesse; formerly the seat of an archbishop and elector.
Maipure Indians - A former important group of tribes on the Upper Orinoco River, from above the Meta to the entrance of the Cassiquiare, in Venezuela and Columbia, speaking dialects of the Arawakan stock.
Maisonneuve, Paul de Chomedey de - Founder of Montreal (d. 1676).
Maistre, Joseph-Marie, Comte de - Biographical article, summarizing his chief arguments for authority and against Gallicanism.
Maistre, Xavier de - French romance writer, younger brother of Joseph-Marie, Comte de Maistre, b. at Chambery, Savoy, in 1763; d. at St. Petershurg, 12 June, 1852.
Maitland - Located in New South Wales. Maitland, the principal settlement on Hunter River, was chosen as the title for a bishop in 1848.
Majano, Benedetto da - A well-known Florentine sculptor and architect of the Renaissance, b. at Majano, Tuscany. 1442; d. at Florence, 24 May, 1498.
Majorca and Iviza - A suffragan of Valencia, with the episcopal residence at Palma on the Island of Majorca.
Majordomo - Chief steward of the household of the pope.
Majority - The state of a person or thing greater, or superior, in relation to another person or thing.
Majunke, Paul - Catholic journalist, born at Gross-Schmograu in Silesia, 14 July, 1842; died at Hochkirch near Glogau, 21 May, 1899.
Malabar - The name of a district of India stretching about 145 miles along the west coast, south of Mangalore, in the general region of present-day Kerala.
Malabar Rites - Certain customs or practices of the natives of South India, which the Jesuit missionaries allowed their neophytes to retain after conversion, but which were afterwards prohibited by the Holy See.
Malacca - The Diocese of Malacca comprises the southern portions of the Malay Peninsula, otherwise known as the Straits Settlements.
Malachias (Malachi) - Examination of the Old Testament prophet and book.
Malachy, Saint - Abbot of Bangor, later Archbishop of Armagh, d. 1148. Article includes testimony from St. Bernard of Clairvaux on St. Malachy's character.
Malaga - Diocese in Spain, by the Concordat of 1851 made a suffragan of Granada, having previously been dependent on Seville.
Malagrida, Gabriel - A Jesuit missionary to Brazil, b. 18 September or 6 December, 1689, at Menaggio, in Italy; d. 21 September, 1761, at Lisbon.
Malatesta, House of - The name of an Italian family prominent in the history of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, famous alike in the poetry of Dante and in the annals of the early Renaissance.
Malchus - A name common in the Semitic languages and of special interest as being that borne by the Jewish servant whose ear was struck off by St. Peter.
Maldonado, Juan - A theologian and exegete, b. in 1533 at Casas de Reina, in the district of Llerena, 66 leagues from Madrid; d. at Rome, 5 Jan., 1583.
Malebranche, Nicolas - A philosopher and theologian, priest of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri; b. at Paris, 6 Aug., 1638; d. 13 Oct 1715.
Malediction (in Scripture) - Four principal words are rendered maledictio in the Vulgate, "curse" in Douay Version.
Malherbe, François - French poet, b. at Caen, Normandy, in 1555; d. at Paris, 16 October, 1628.
Maliseet Indians - A tribe of Algonquian stock, occupying territory upon the lower St. John River, St. Croix River, and Passamaquody Bay, in western New Brunswick and northeastern Maine, and closely connected linguistically and historically with the Abnaki (Penobscot, etc.) of Maine.
Mallard, Ernest-François - A French mineralogist, b. 4 February, 1833, at Châteauneuf-sur-Cher; d. 6 July, 1894, in Paris.
Mallinckrodt, Herman von - German parliamentarian; born 5 Feb., 1821, at Minden, Westphalia; died 26 May, 1874, at Berlin.
Mallinckrodt, Pauline - A sister of the Catholic political leader Hermann Mallinckrodt, and foundress of the Sisters of Christian Charity, b. at Minden, Westphalia, 3 June, 1817; d. at Paderborn, 30 April, 1881.
Malling Abbey - Benedictine abbey in England.
Mallory, Stephen Russell - An American statesman; born in the Island of Trinidad, W. I., 1813; died at Pensacola, Florida, United States, 9 Nov., 1873.
Mallus - A titular see of Cilicia Prima, suffragan of Tarsus.
Malmesbury - Town in Wiltshire, England, ninety-five miles west of London, formerly the seat of a mitred parliamentary abbey of Benedictine monks.
Malmesbury, The Monk of - Supposed author of a chronicle among the Cottonian manuscripts in the British Museum (Vesp. D. IV. 73) which Tanner states to be only a copy of a chronicle written by Alfred of Beverley in the twelfth century, but which, according to Sir Thomas Hardy, is almost entirely based on that of Geoffrey of Monmouth.
Malone, William - Jesuit missioner and writer; born according to the best authorities, in 1585; died at Seville, 1655.
Malory, Sir Thomas - Writer of the "Morte Arthure", the earliest production of English prose.
Malpighi, Marcello - Founder of comparative physiology, b. at Crevalcore, 10 March, 1628; d. at Rome, 29 Sept., 1694.
Malta - The group of Maltese islands, including Malta, Gozo, Comine and a few inconsiderable islets, lies 58 miles south of Sicily and about 180 miles S.E. by E. of Cape Bon in Tunisia.
Maltret, Claude - French Jesuit, b. at Puy, 3 Oct., 1621; d. Toulouse, 3 Jan., 1674.
Malvenda, Thomas - An exegete and historical critic, b. at Jativa, Valencia, 1566; d. 7 May, 1628.
Malvern - Located in Worcestershire, England, a district covered by a lofty range between the Severn and Wye, known as the Malvern Hills. On its eastern side were formerly two houses of Benedictine monks, the priories of Great and Little Malvern.
Mamachi, Thomas Maria - Dominican theologian and historian, born at Chios in the Archipelago, 4 December, 1713; died at Corneto, near Montefiascone, Italy, 7 June, 1792.
Mame, Alfred-Henri-Amand - Printer and publisher, b. at Tours, 17 Aug., 1811; d. at Tours, 12 April, 1893.
Mameluco - The general term applied in South America to designate the mixed European-Indian race, and more specifically applied in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to the organized bands of Portuguese slave-hunters who desolated the vast interior of South America from the Atlantic to the slopes of the Andes, and from the Paraguay to the Orinoco.
Mamertine Prison - The so-called "Mamertine Prison", beneath the church of S. Giuseppe dei Falegnami, via di Marforio, Rome, is generally accepted as being identical with "the prison ... in the middle of the city, overlooking the forum", mentioned by Livy (I, xxxiii).
Mamertus, Saint - Bishop of Vienne, d. around 476.
Mammon - Mamona; the spelling Mammona is contrary to the textual evidence and seems not to occur in printed Bibles till the edition of Elzevir.
Man - Includes sections on the nature of man, the origin of man, and the end of man.
Manahem - King of Israel.
Manahen, Saint - Or Manaen. Mentioned in Scripture, and traditionally believed to have been one of the first Christians in Antioch.
Manasses - The name of seven persons of the Bible, a tribe of Israel, and one of the apocryphal writings.
Mance, Jeanne - Foundress of the Montreal Hôtel-Dieu, and one of the first women settlers in Canada, b. at Nogent-le-Roi, Champagne, 1606; d. at Montreal, 19 June, 1673.
Manchester - A suffragan of the Archdiocese of Boston, U.S.A.
Manchuria - A north-eastern division of the Chinese Empire and the cradle of the present [1910] imperial dynasty.
Mandan Indians - Tribe occupying jointly with the Hidatsa (Minitari or Grosventre) and Arikara (Ree) the Fort Berthold reservation, on both sides of the Missouri, near its conjunction with the Knife River, North Dakota.
Mandeville, Jean de - The author of a book of travels much read in the Middle Ages, died probably in 1372.
Manfredonia - The city of Manfredonia is situated in the province of Foggia in Apulia, Central Italy, on the borders of Mount Gargano.
Mangalore - Diocese on the west coast of India, suffragan of Bombay.
Mangan, James Clarence - Irish poet, b. in Dublin, 1 May, 1803; d. there, 20 June, 1849. He was the son of James Mangan, a grocer, and of Catherine Smith.
Manharter - A politico-religious sect which arose in Tyrol in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Manichaeism - A religion founded by the Persian Mani in the latter half of the third century.
Manifestation of Conscience - A practice in many religious orders and congregations, by which subjects manifest the state of their conscience to the superior, in order that the latter may know them intimately, and thus further their spiritual progress.
Manila - This archdiocese comprises the city of Manila, the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Cavite, Mindoro, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Rizal, Tarlac, and Zambales; and the Districts of Infanta and Marinduque in the Province of Tayabas.
Manila Observatory - Founded by Father Frederic Faura, S.J., in 1865; constituted officially The Philippine Weather Bureau by decree of the American governor, May, 1901.
Maniple - An ornamental vestment in the form of a band, a little over a yard long and from somewhat over two to almost four inches wide, which is placed on the left arm in such manner that it falls in equal length on both sides of the arm.
Manitoba - History of the Canadian province.
Mann, Theodore Augustine - English naturalist and historian, b. in Yorkshire, 22 June, 1735; d. at Prague in Bohemia, 23 Feb., 1809.
Manna - The food miraculously sent to the Israelites during their forty years sojourn in the desert (Ex., xvi; Num., xi, 6-9).
Manning, Henry Edward - Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster (1808-1892).
Mannyng, Robert - Poet, from Bourne in Lincolnshire, England.
Mansard, François - French architect, born in Paris, probably of Italian stock, in 1598; died there, 1666.
Mansard, Jules - French architect, grand-nephew of François, was originally Jules Hardouin, but took the name of Mansard; was born in Paris, 1646; died at Marly 1708.
Mansi, Gian Domenico - Italian prelate and scholar born at Lucca, of a patrician family, 16 February, 1692; died archbishop of that city, 27 September, 1769.
Mantegna, Andrea - Biography of the Italian painter.
Mantelletta - An outer vestment reaching to the knees, open in front, with slits instead of sleeves on the sides.
Mantua - Diocese of Mantua (Mantuana), in Lombardy.
Manu, The Laws of - The English designation commonly applied to the "Manava Dharma-sastra", a metrical Sanskrit compendium of ancient sacred laws and customs held in the highest reverence by the orthodox adherents of Brahminism.
Manuel Chysoloras - First teacher of Greek in Italy, born at Constantinople about the middle of the fourteenth century; died at Constance, German, and was buried there, 15 April, 1415.
Manuscripts - Every book written by hand on flexible material and intended to be placed in a library is called a manuscript.
Manuscripts, Illuminated - A large number of manuscripts covered with painted ornaments.
Manuscripts of the Bible - Manuscripts are written, as opposed to printed, copies of the original text or of a version either of the whole Bible or of a part thereof.
Manuterge - The name given to the towel used by the priest when engaged liturgically.
Manutius, Aldus - Scholar and printer (1450-1515).
Manzoni, Alessandro - Italian poet and novelist, b. at Milan, 7 March, 1785; d. 22 May, 1873.
Map, Walter - Archdeacon of Oxford, b. at, or in the vicinity of, Hereford, c. 1140, d. between 1208 and 1210.
Maphrian - The Syriac word mafriano signifies one who fructifies, a consecrator. It is used to designate the prelate who holds the second rank after the patriarch among the Jacobite Syrians.
Maran, Prudentius - A learned Benedictine of the Maurist Congregation, b. 14 October, 1683, at Sezanne, in the Department of Marne; d. 2 April, 1762, at Paris.
Marash - An Armenian Catholic Diocese.
Maratta, Carlo - An Italian painter, b. at Camerino, in the March of Ancona, 13 May, 1625, d. in Rome, 15 December, 1713.
Marbodius - Bishop of Rennes, ecclesiastical writer and hymnologist, b. about 1035 at Angers, France, d. there 11 September, 1123.
Marca, Pierre de - French bishop and scholar, b. at Gan in Béarn, 24 Jan., 1594, of a family distinguished in the magistracy; d. at Paris, 29 June, 1662.
Marcellina, Saint - Consecrated virgin, blood sister of St. Ambrose, d. about 398.
Marcellinus Comes - Latin chronicler of the sixth century.
Marcellinus, Flavius - A high official at the court of Emperor Honorius, and possessed the confidence of his imperial master owing to his good sense, and unblemished conduct.
Marcellinus of Civezza, O.F.M. - Modern Franciscan author, born at Civezza in Liguria, Italy, 29 May, 1822; d. at Leghorn, 27 March, 1906.
Marcellinus, Pope Saint - Elected to the papacy in 296. He died in 304, probably of natural causes, since no early source calls him a martyr.
Marcello, Benedetto - Biography focusing on religious works, particularly his Paraphrase of the Psalms.
Marcellus I, Pope Saint - After a vacancy in office following the death of Pope St. Marcellinus, was elected to the papacy in 308. Fairly lengthy biographical article.
Marcellus II, Pope - Born 6 May, 1501, at Montepulciano in Tuscany; died 6 May, 1555, at Rome. His father, Ricardo Cervini, was Apostolic treasurer in the March of Ancona.
Marcellus of Ancyra - One of the bishops present at the Councils of Ancyra and of Nicaea, a strong opponent of Arianism, but in his zeal to combat Arius adopting the opposite extreme of modified Sabellianism and being several times condemned, dying deprived of his see c. A.D. 374.
March, Auzias - A Catalan poet, b. perhaps in the last quarter of the fourteenth century, at Valencia; d. there in 1458.
Marchand, Jean Baptiste - Second principal in order of succession of the Sulpician College of Montreal and missionary of the Detroit Hurons at Sandwich, Ont.; b. at Verchères, Que., 25 Feb. 1760, son of Louis Marchand and Marguerite de Niverville; d. at Sandwich, 14 Apr., 1825.
Marchant, Peter - A theologian, b. at Couvin, a village in the principality of Liege, in 1585; d. at Ghent, 11 Nov., 1661.
Marchesi, Pompeo - A Lombard sculptor of the neoclassic school, born at Saltrio, near Milan, 7 August, 1790; died at Milan, 6 February. 1858.
Marchi, Giuseppe - An archæologist, born at Tolmezzo near Udine, 22 Feb., 1795; died at Rome, 10 Feb., 1860.
Marcian - Roman Emperor at Constantinople, b. in Thrace about 390; d. January, 457.
Marciane - A titular see of Lycia, suffragan of Myra.
Marcianopolis - A titular see in Lower Maesia, on the right bank of the Danube, so called by Trajan after his sister Marciana (Amm. Marcellinus, XXVII, 2) and previously known as Parthenopolis.
Marcionites - Said that the creator "god" of the Old Testament was not the good God and Father of Jesus Christ of the New Testament. Had their own shadow hierarchy and their own Bible, which consisted of parts of Luke and Paul, edited so as to disparage the Old Testament. Only the unmarried were allowed to be baptized. Marcionism may have led to the formation of the Apostle's Creed as rebuttal, and certainly was an incentive in deciding on the canon of the New Testament.
Marcopois - A titular see of Asia Minor, suffragan of Edessa.
Marcosians - A sect of Valentinian Gnostics, founded by Marcus.
Marcoux, Joseph - A missionary among the Iroquois, b. in Canada, 16 March, 1791; d. there 29 May, 1855.
Marcus - The name of three leading Gnostics.
Marcus Diadochus - An obscure writer of the fourth century of whom nothing is known but his name at the head of a "Sermon against the Arians", discovered by Wetsten in a manuscript codex of St. Athanasius at Basle.
Marcus Eremita - A theologian and ascetic writer of some importance in the fifth century.
Mardin - A residential Armenian archbishopric, a Chaldean bishopric, and a residential Syrian bishopric; moreover it is the headquarters of the Capuchin mission of Mardin and Amida.
Marechal, Ambrose - The third Archbishop of Baltimore; born at Ingres near Orléans, France, 28 August, 1764; died at Baltimore, 29 January, 1828.
Marenco - (1), Carlo, Italian dramatist, born at Cassolo (or Cassolnuovo) in Piedmont in 1800; died at Savona in 1846. (2), Leopoldo, Italian dramatic poet, born at Ceva in 1831; died 1899, son of Carlo Marenco.
Marenzio, Luca - Composer (1550-1599).
Margaret Clitherow, Saint - Article on this martyr, d. 1586, who is called the "Pearl of York." St. Margaret was crushed to death for the crime of harboring priests.
Margaret Colona, Blessed - A Roman orphan, hermit, founder of a community of Poor Clares, d. 1284.
Margaret Mary Alacoque, Saint - Biographical article on the apostle of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Margaret of Cortona, Saint - Third Order Franciscan, d. 1297.
Margaret of Hungary, Saint - Princess who became a Dominican at the age of 4. She died in 1270 or 1271, and was canonized in 1943.
Margaret of Lorraine, Blessed - Duchess d'Alencon, widow, became a Poor Clare, d. 1521.
Margaret of Savoy, Blessed - Widow, Third Order Dominican, d. 1464.
Margaret of Scotland, Saint - Biographical entry on the eleventh-century queen.
Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament - French Carmelite nun (1590-1660).
Margaret Pole, Blessed - Biography of the Countess of Salisbury, martyred in 1541.
Margaret, Saint - Also known in the Christian East as St. Marina. Virgin and martyr from Pisidian Antioch.
Margaret Ward, Saint - English martyr, died at Tyburn in 1588.
Margaritae - The canonists of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries who taught canon law by commenting on the Decretum of Gratian and on the various collections of the Decretals, gave the most varied forms and diverse names to their treatises. The "Margaritae" are collections specially intended to help the memory.
Margil, Antonio - Born at Valencia, Spain, 18 August, 1657; died at Mexico, 6 Aug., 1726. He entered the Franciscan Order in his native city on 22 April, 1673. After his ordination to the priesthood he volunteered for the Indian missions in America, and arrived at Vera Cruz on 6 June, 1683.
Margotti, Giacomo - A Catholic publicist, born 11 May, 1823; died 6 May, 1887. He was a native of San Remo, where his father was president of the Chamber of Commerce, and there he studied the classics and philosophy, after which he entered the seminary of Ventimiglia; in 1845, he obtained the doctorate at the University of Genoa and was received into the Royal Academy of Superga, where he remained until 1849.
Maria Theresa - Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria, Roman-German Empress, born 1717; died 1780.
Maria-Laach - A Benedictine abbey on the southwest bank of Lake Laach, near Andernach in Rhineland, Germany.
Mariales, Kantes - A Dominican, born about 1580; died at Venice in April, 1660.
Marian Priests - This term is applied to those English priests who being ordained in or before the reign of Queen Mary (1553-1558), survived into the reign of Elizabeth.
Mariana - Situated in the centre of Minas Geraes, the great mining state of Brazil, is bounded on the north, south and west respectively by its suffragan sees, Diamantina, Pouso Alegre, Goyaz, and Uberaba.
Mariana Islands - The Marianas Archipelago (also called the Ladrone Islands) is a chain of fifteen islands in the Northern Pacific, first discovered in 1521 by Magellan.
Mariana, Juan - Author and Jesuit, b. at Talavern, Toledo, Spain, probably in April, 1536; d. at Toledo, 16 February, 1624.
Mariannhill, Congregation of the Missionaries of - Located in Natal, near Pinetown, 15 miles from Durban, and 56 from Pietermaritzburg.
Marianus of Florence - A Friar Minor and historian, born at Florence about the middle of the fifteenth century, exact date of birth uncertain; died there, 20 July, 1523.
Marianus Scotus - Two Irish scholars of this name attained distinction in the eleventh century. Both spent the greater part of their lives in Germany.
Marie Antoinette - Biography of the Queen of France.
Marie Christine of Savoy, Blessed - The daughter of Victor Emanuel I, married King Ferdinand II of Sicily, d. 1836 at the age of 23.
Marie de France - Twelfth-century French poetess.
Marie de l'Incarnation, Blessed - A.k.a. Madame Acarie. Founded the French Carmel, d. 1618.
Marie de l'Incarnation, Blessed - Baptismal name Marie Guyard. First superior of the Ursulines of Quebec. Biography.
Marie-Marguérite d'Youville, Saint - Biography of the founder of the Gray Nuns, or Sisters of Charity. She died in 1771.
Marienberg - A Benedictine abbey of the Congregation of St. Joseph near Mals, Tyrol (in Vintschau).
Marignolli, Giovanni de' - Franciscan missionary to Asia (b. 1290).
Marina - The name of an ancient and noble family of the Republic of Genoa, distinguished alike in the Island of Chios, one of its dependencies, where it possessed many beautiful and valuable estates.
Marini, Luigi Gaetano - A natural philosopher, jurist, historian, archeologist, born at Sant' Orcangelo (pagus Acerbotanus), 18 Dec., 1742; died at Paris, 7 May, 1815.
Marinus I, Pope - Reigned 882-884.
Marinus II, Pope - Reigned 942-946; died in April or May, 946.
Mariotte, Edme - French physicist, b. at Dijon, France, about 1620; d. at Paris, 12 May, 1684.
Maris, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum, Saints - Family martyred at Rome in 270. SS. Maris and Martha were husband and wife.
Marisco, Adam de - A Franciscan who probably came from the county of Somerset, but the date of his birth is unknown; died at the end of 1257 or the beginning of 1258.
Marius Aventicus, Saint - Or Aventicensis, so called because he was bishop of Avenches. Goldsmith, chronicler, d. 594.
Marius Maximus, Lucius Perpetuus Aurelianus - Roman historian, lived c. 165-230.
Marius Mercator - Ecclesiastical writer, born probably in Northern Africa about 390; died shortly after 451.
Mark and Marcellian, Saints - Blood brothers martyred at Rome in the Diocletian persecution, probably in 286.
Mark Barkworth, Blessed - Short biography of the English convert, martyred in 1601.
Mark, Gospel of - The Second Gospel, like the other two Synoptics, deals chiefly with the Galilean ministry of Christ, and the events of the last week at Jerusalem.
Mark of Lisbon - Friar minor, historian, and Bishop of Oporto in Portugal, b. at Lisbon (date of birth uncertain); d. in 1591.
Mark, Pope Saint - Reigned for less than 9 months, d. 336.
Mark, Saint - What can be pieced together of St. Mark's life from Scripture. Also reports on tradition surrounding the saint.
Maroni, Paul - Missionary, b. 1 Nov., 1695.
Maronia - A titular see in the province of Rhodopis, suffragan of Trajanopolis.
Maronites - History of the Maronite nation and Church.
Marquesas Islands - Located in Polynesia, includes all the Marquesas Islands.
Marquette, Jacques - Jesuit missionary and discoverer of the Mississippi River, b. in 1636, at Laon, a town in north central France; d. near Ludington, Michigan, 19 May, 1675.
Marquette League - A society founded in New York, in May, 1904, by Rev. H.G. Ganss, of Lancaster, Pa.
Marquette (Michigan) - The Diocese comprises the upper peninsula and the adjacent islands of the State of Michigan, U.S.A.
Marquette University - Marquette University of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is an outgrowth of Marquette College, which was opened in 1881, although it had been planned by Right Rev. John Martin Henni as far back as 1850.
Marriage, Civil - The municipal law deals with this status only as a civil institution.
Marriage, History of - The Catholic views of marriage.
Marriage, Mixed - Those between Catholics and non-Catholics, when the latter have been baptized in some Christian sect. The term is also used to designate unions between Catholics and infidels.
Marriage, Moral and Canonical Aspect of - Marriage is that individual union through which man and woman by their reciprocal rights form one principle of generation.
Marriage, Mystical - In the Old and the New Testament, the love of God for man, and, in particular His relations with His chosen people (whether of the Synagogue or of the Church), are frequently typified under the form of the relations between bridegroom and bride. In like manner, Christian virginity been considered from the earliest centuries as a special offering made by the soul to its spouse, Christ.
Marriage, Ritual of - The form for the celebration of the Sacrament of Matrimony is detailed.
Marriage, Sacrament of - Christian marriage (i.e. marriage between baptized persons) is really a sacrament of the New Law in the strict sense of the word is for all Catholics an indubitable truth.
Marryat, Florence - English novelist and actress (1838-1899).
Marseilles - Diocese of Marseilles (Massiliensis), suffragan of Aix, comprises the district of Marseilles in the Department of Bouches-du-Rhône.
Marshall Islands - These islands, a German possession since 1885, lying in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Caroline islands, between 4 and 13 N. lat., and 161 and 171 E. longitude, were discovered in 1529 by Saavedra, Villalobos and other Spanish mariners, and explored by Marshall and Gilbert in 1788.
Marshall, Thomas William - Controversial writer, b. 1818; d. at Surbiton, Surrey, 14 Dec., 1877.
Marsi - Diocese in the province of Aquila, Central Italy, with its seat at Pescina.
Marsico Nuovo and Potenza - Suffragan diocese of Salerno.
Marsigli, Luigi Ferdinando, Count de - Italian geographer and naturalist, b. at Bologna 10 July, 1658; d. at Bologna 1 Nov., 1730.
Marsilius of Padua - Physician and theologian, b. at Padua about 1270; d. about 1342.
Martène, Edmond - An historian and liturgist, born 22 December, 1654, at Saint-Jean-de-Losne near Dijon; died 20 June, 1739, at Saint-Germain-des-Prés near Paris.
Martha, Saint - Sister of Mary of Bethany and of Lazarus.
Martial, Saint - Third-century bishop of Limoges.
Martiall, John - One of the six companions associated with Dr. Allen in the foundation of the English College at Douai in 1568.
Martianay, Jean - Born 30 Dec., 1647, at Saint-Sever-Cap, Diocese of Aire; died 16 June, 1717, at Saint Germain-des-Prés, Paris. He entered the Benedictine Congregation of St. Maur at an early age, and devoted himself to Biblical studies.
Martianus Capella - Roman writer of Africa who flourished in the fifth century.
Martigny, Joseph-Alexander - Canon of Belley, archaeologist; b at Sauverny, Ain, in 1808; d at Belley, 19 August, 1880.
Martin - Benedictine Abbot of the Schottenkloster of Vienna, b. about 1400; d. 28 July, 1464 (29 July 1470).
Martín, Enrico - Date and place of birth unknown; d. in Mexico in 1632. According to some he was of Spanish descent; Humboldt says that he was either a German or Dutchman, and according to others a Mexican educated in Spain, but in all probability he was a Frenchman.
Martin, Felix - Antiquary, historiographer, architect, educationist, b. 4 October, 1804, at Auray, seat of the famous shrine of St. Ann in Brittany, France; d. at Vaugirard, Paris, 25 November, 1886.
Martin, Gregory - Translator of the Douai Version of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate; b. in Maxfield, parish of Guestling, near Winchelsea, in Sussex; d. at Reims, 28 October, 1582.
Martin I, Pope Saint - Opposed the Monothelites, who were supported by the emperor. He was taken prisoner to Constantinople, but refused to sign a heretical declaration. He died in exile in 655.
Martin IV, Pope - Born at the castle of Montpensier in the old French province of Touraine at an unknown date; d. at Perugia 28 March, 1285. As priest he held a benefice at Rouen for a short time, whereupon he became canon and treasurer at the church of St. Martin in Tours.
Martin, Konrad - Bishop of Paderborn; b. 18 May, 1812, at Geismar, Province of Saxony; d. 16 July, 1879, at Mont St Guibert, near Brussels, Belgium.
Martin of Braga, Saint - Missionary, monastic founder, archbishop, ecclesiastical writer, d. 580.
Martin of Leon, Saint - Augustinian priest, d. 1203.
Martin of Tours, Saint - Fairly lengthy biographical article on this bishop, who died in around 397.
Martin of Troppau - A chronicler, date of birth unknown; died 1278.
Martin of Valencia, O.F.M. - Born at Villa de Valencia, Spain, about the middle of the fifteenth century; died in the odour of sanctity at Tlalmanalco, Mexico, 31 August, 1534. He entered the Franciscan Order at Mayorga in the Province of Santiago, built the monastery of Santa Maria del Berrogal, and was the thief founder of the Custody of San Gabriel, for which he visited Rome.
Martin, Paulin - French Biblical scholar. (1840 - 1890)
Martin V, Pope - Born at Genazzano in the Campagna di Roma, 1368; died at Rome, 20 Feb., 1431.
Martin y Garcia, Luis - Jesuit General (1846-1906).
Martina, Saint - Roman virgin and martyr, d. 226 or (more likely) 228.
Martini, Antonio - Archbishop of Florence, Biblical scholar; b. at Prato in Tuscany, 20 April, 1720; d. at Florence, 31 December 1809.
Martini, Martino - Austrian Jesuit missionary to the Chinese, in the seventeenth century.
Martini, Simone - Sienese painter, born in Siena, 1283; died either in the same place or at Avignon in 1344 or 1349.
Martinique - Diocese; Martinique is one of the French Lesser Antilles, 380 sq. miles in area; It was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493, and colonized by the French about 1625; it was in the hands of the English from 1762-1783, and was again occupied by them in 1792, 1802, 1809, 1815 and again became French territory in 1818.
Martinov, John - Jesuit and writer. Born 7 October, 1821; died 26 April, 1894.
Martinsberg - A Benedictine abbey in Hungary about fourteen English miles south of Raab, and sixty west of Buda-Pesth.
Martinuzzi, George - Monk, bishop, cardinal, b. at Kamicac, Dalmatia, 1482; d. 16 December, 1551. His real name was George Utjesenovic.
Martyr - The Greek word martus signifies a witness who testifies to a fact of which he has knowledge from personal observation. The term martyr came to be exclusively applied to those who had died for the faith.
Martyr d'Anghiera, Peter - Historian of Spain and of the discoveries of her representatives, b. at Arona, near Anghiera, on Lake Maggiore in Italy, 2 February, 1457; d. at Granada in October, 1526.
Martyrology - By martyrology is understood a catalogue of martyrs and saints arranged according to the order of their feasts, i. e., according to the calendar.
Martyropolis - A titular see, suffragan of Amida in the Province of Mesopotamia or Armenia Quarta.
Martyrs, Acts of the - Records of the trials of early Christian martyrs made by the notaries of the court.
Martyrs in China - With the revival of the missions in China with Matteo Ricci, who died at Peking in 1610, the blood of martyrs was soon shed to fertilize the evangelical field; the change of the Ming dynasty to the Manchu dynasty, giving occasion for new prosecution.
Martyrs, Japanese - The most famous of the Japanese martyrs are the twenty-six who were crucified in Nagasaki in 1597, but thousands of other Japanese died for the faith between 1560 and 1860.
Martyrs, The Ten Thousand - On two days is a group of ten thousand martyrs mentioned in the Roman Martyrology.
Maruthas, Saint - Writer, greatly devoted to the martyrs, Mesopotamian bishop, d. before 420.
Mary Anne de Paredes, Saint - Of Quito, Ecuador, lived as a solitary in her own home and had many extraordinary spiritual gifts. She died in 1645.
Mary de Cervellione, Saint - Popularly called Maria de Socos. First superior of a Third Order branch of the Mercedarians, for women. She died in 1290.
Mary de Sales Chappuis, Venerable - Belonging to the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, born at Soyhières, a village of the Bernese Jura (then French territory), 16 June, 1793; died at Troyes, 6 October, 1875.
Mary Frances of the Five Wounds of Jesus, Saint - Third Order Franciscan, d. 1791.
Mary, Little Brothers of - Generally known as Marist School Brothers. This religious teaching institute is modern in its origin, having been founded in 1817, in France, by Benedict Marcellin Champagnat.
Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi, Saint - Biography of the 17th-century Carmelite mystic.
Mary Magdalen, Saint - Article on the Apostle to the Apostles.
Mary, Missionaries of the Company of - The Company of Mary was founded by Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort in 1713.
Mary, Name of - In Scripture and in Catholic use.
Mary of Cleophas - This title occurs only in John, xix, 25. A comparison of the lists of those who stood at the foot of the cross would seem to identify her with Mary, the mother of James the Less and Joseph ( Mark, xv, 40; cf. Matt., xxvii, 56).
Mary of Egypt, Saint - Biographical article on the penitent and hermit, who died around 421.
Mary of Romans 16:6 - She had "laboured much among" the Roman Church, hence St. Paul's salutation to her.
Mary Queen of Scots - Mary Stuart, born at Linlithgow, 8 December, 1542; died at Fotheringay, 8 February, 1587. She was the only legitimate child of James V of Scotland.
Mary, Society of (Marist Fathers) - A religious order of priests, so called on account of the special devotion they profess toward the Blessed Virgin.
Mary, Society of, of Paris - Founded in 1817 by Very Reverend William Joseph Chaminade at Bordeaux, France.
Mary Tudor - Queen of England from 1553 to 1558; born 18 February, 1516; died 17 November, 1558. Mary was the daughter and only surviving child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.
Maryland - One of the thirteen English colonies which after the Revolution of 1776 became the original States of the American Union.
Masaccio - Italian painter, born about 1402, at San Giovanni di Valdarno, a stronghold situated between Arezzo and Florence; died, probably at Rome, in 1429.
Mascoutens Indians - A Wisconsin tribe of Algonquian stock of considerable missionary importance in the seventeenth century, but long since entirely extinct.
Masolino da Panicale - Son of Cristoforo Fini; b. in the subrub of Panicale di Valdese, near Florence, 1383; d, c. 1440.
Mason, Richard Angelus a S. Francisco - Franciscan writer; b. in Wiltshire, 1599; d. at Douai, 30 Dec, 1678.
Masonry (Freemasonry) - An overview of Freemasonry and description of its condemnation by the Catholic Church.
Maspha - Name of several places in the Bible.
Mass, Chapter and Conventual - A conventual Mass sung or said in all cathedrals and collegiate churches that have a chapter; in this case it is often called the "chapter" Mass.
Mass, Liturgy of the - The complex of prayers and ceremonies that make up the service of the Eucharist in the Latin rites.
Mass, Music of the - Article covers exclusively the texts of the Mass (not seasonal) which receive a musical treatment.
Mass, Nuptial - "Missa pro sponso et sponsa", the last among the votive Masses in the Missal. It is composed of lessons and chants suitable to the Sacrament of Matrimony, contains prayers for persons just married and is interwoven with part of the marriage rite, of which in the complete form it is an element.
Mass, Sacrifice of the - The word Mass (missa) first established itself as the general designation for the Eucharistic Sacrifice in the West after the time of Pope Gregory the Great, the early Church having used the expression the "breaking of bread" (fractio panis) or "liturgy".
Massa Candida - The fame of the Massa Candida has been perpetuated chiefly through two early references to them: that of St. Augustine, and that of the poet Prudentius (q.v.).
Massa Carrara - Diocese in Central Italy (Lunigiana and Garfagnana).
Massa Marittima - In the Province of Grosseto, in Tuscany, first mentioned in the eighth century.
Massachusetts - One of the thirteen original United States of America. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts covers part of the territory originally granted to the Plymouth Company of England.
Massaia, Guglielmo - A Cardinal, born 9 June, 1809, at Piova in Piedmont, Italy; died at Cremona, 6 August, 1889.
Massé, Enemond - One of the first Jesuits sent to New France; born at Lyons, 1574; died at Sillery, l2 May, 1646.
Masses, Bequests for - Information on court cases about the subject.
Masses, Bequests for (Canada) - Information on the laws.
Masses, Bequests for (England) - Before the Reformation dispositions of property, whether real or personal, for the purposes of Masses, were valid, unless where, in the case of real property, they might happen to conflict with the Mortmain laws by being made to religious congregations.
Masses, Devises and Bequests for (United States) - Laws from various states discussed.
Massillon, Jean-Baptiste - A celebrated French preacher and bishop; born 24 June, 1663; died 28 September, 1742.
Massorah - The textual tradition of Hebrew Bible, an official registration of its words, consonants, vowels and accents.
Massoulié, Antoine - Theologian, born at Toulouse, 28 Oct., 1632; died at Rome, 23 Jan., 1706.
Massuet, René - Benedictine patrologist, of the Congregation of St. Maur; born 13 August, 1666, at St. Ouen de Mancelles in the diocese of Evreux; died 11 Jan. 1716, at St. Germain des Prés in Paris.
Massys, Quentin - A painter, born at Louvain in 1466; died at Antwerp in 1530 (bet. 13 July and 16 September), and not in 1529, as his epitaph states (it dates from the seventeenth century).
Master of the Sacred Palace - This office (which has always been entrusted to a Friar Preacher) may briefly be described as being that of the pope's theologian. St. Dominic, appointed in 1218, was the first Master of the Sacred Palace (Magister Sacri Palatii).
Mastrius, Bartholomew - Franciscan, philosopher, and theologian, born near Forli, at Meldola, ltaly, in 1602; died 3 January, 1673.
Mataco Indians - Tribes ranging over a great part of the Chaco region, about the headwaters of the Vermejo and the Picomayo, in the Argentine province of Salta and the Bolivian province of Tarija, and noted for the efforts made by Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries in their behalf in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Mater - A titular bishopric in the province of Byzantium.
Materialism - As the word itself signifies, Materialism is a philosophical system which regards matter as the only reality in the world, which undertakes to explain every event in the universe as resulting from the conditions and activity of matter, and which thus denies the existence of God and the soul.
Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Feast of the - Second Sunday in October. The object of this feast is to commemorate the dignity of the Mary as Mother of God.
Mathathias - The name of ten persons of the Bible, variant in both Hebrew and Greek of Old Testament and in Greek of New Testament; uniform in Vulgate.
Mathew Flathers, Blessed - English priest martyred at York in 1607.
Mathew, Theobald - Apostle of Temperance, born at Thomastown Castle, near Cashel, Tipperary, Ireland, 10 October, 1790; died at Queenstown, Cork, 8 December, 1856.
Mathieu, François-Désiré - Bishop and cardinal, born 27 May, 1839; died 26 October, 1908.
Matilda of Canossa - Countess of Tuscany, daughter and heiress of the Marquess Boniface of Tuscany, and Beatrice, daughter of Frederick of Lorraine, b. 1046; d. 24 July, 1114.
Matilda, Saint - Biography of the Queen of Germany, wife of Henry I (the Fowler). She died in 968.
Matins - Not Morning Prayer, but a nighttime prayer, which has now been replaced by the Office of Readings.
Matricula - A term having several meanings in the field of Christian antiquity.
Matteo da Siena - Painter (1435-1495).
Matteo of Aquasparta - Italian Franciscan (1235-1302).
Matter - Taking the term in its widest sense, matter signifies that out of which anything is made or composed.
Matteucci, Carlo - Physicist, born at Forli, in the Romagna, 21 June, 1811; died at Ardenza, near Leghorn, 25 July, 1868.
Matthew, Gospel of Saint - Detailed article about the first Gospel.
Matthew of Cracow - Renowned scholar and preacher of the fourteenth century, b. at Cracow about 1335, d. at Pisa, 5 March, 1410.
Matthew, Saint - The Apostle and Evangelist, in Scripture and tradition.
Matthew, Sir Tobie - English priest, born at Salisbury, 3 October, 1577, died at Ghent, 13 October, 1655.
Matthias Corvinus - King of Hungary (1440-1490).
Matthias of Neuburg - Chronicler, born towards the close of the thirteenth century, possibly at Neuburg, in Baden; died between 1364 and 1370, probably at Strasburg, in Alsace.
Matthias, Saint - The Apostle, in Scripture and legend.
Maundy Thursday - The feast of Maundy (or Holy) Thursday solemnly commemorates the institution of the Eucharist and is the oldest of the observances peculiar to Holy Week.
Maunoury, Auguste-François - Hellenist and exegete (1811-1898).
Maurice - Roman Emperor, born in 539; died in November, 602.
Maurice, Saint - Leader of the Theban Legion, killed around 287.
Maurists, The - A congregation of Benedictine monks in France, whose history extends from 1618 to 1818.
Maurus, Saint - Deacon, disciple of St. Benedict. Portrayed by St. Gregory the Great as a model of monastic obedience. Died 584.
Maurus, Sylvester - Writer on philosophy and theology, b. at Spoleto, 31 Dec., 1619; d. in Rome, 13 Jan., 1687.
Maury, Jean-Siffrein - Cardinal and statesman, born at Valréas, near Avignon, 26 June, 1746; died at Rome on 10 May, 1817.
Maxentius, Joannes - Leader of the so-called Scythian monks, appears in history at Constantinople in 519 and 520.
Maxentius, Marcus Aurelius - Roman Emperor 306-12, son of the Emperor Maximianus Herculius and son-in-law of the chief Emperor Galerius.
Maximianopolis - A titular see of Palestina Secunda, suffragan of Scythopolis.
Maximianus - Roman emperor (d. 310).
Maximilian - Brief profiles of three saints of this name.
Maximilian I - Duke of Bavaria (1573-1651).
Maximinus, Caius Valerius Daja - Under his uncle Augustus Galerius, the Caesar of Syria and Egypt, from the year 305; in 307 following the example of Constantine, he assumed the title of Augustus.
Maximinus, Saint - Bishop of Trier, d. 349 or 352.
Maximinus Thrax - Roman emperor 235-238.
Maximopolis - Titular see of Arabia.
Maximus of Constantinople, Saint - Also known as Maximus the Theologian or Maximus Confessor. Monk, abbot, wrote on ascetic mysticism, and on the Incarnation against the Monothelites. Died in exile, 662.
Maximus of Turin, Saint - Bishop and theological writer (380-465).
Maxwell, William - Fifth Earl of Nithsdale (Lord Nithsdale signed as Nithsdaill) and fourteenth Lord Maxwell, b. in 1676; d. at Rome, 2 March, 1744.
Maxwell, Winifred - Countess of Nithsdale, d. at Rome, May, 1749.
Maya Indians - The most important of the cultured native peoples of North America, both in the degree of their civilization and in population and resources, formerly occupying a territory of about 60,000 square miles, including the whole of the peninsula of Yucatan, Southern Mexico, together with the adjacent portion of Northern Guatemala.
Mayer, Christian - Franciscan writer; b. in Wiltshire, 1599; d. at Douai, 30 Dec, 1678.
Mayhew, Edward - Born in 1569; died 14 September, 1625. He belonged to the old English family of Mayhew or Mayow of Winton, near Salisbury, Wiltshire.
Maynooth College - The National College of Saint Patrick, at Maynooth in County Kildare, about twelve miles from Dublin, founded in the year 1795.
Mayo Indians - A tribe that occupied some fifteen towns on Mayo and Fuerte rivers, southern Sonora and northern Sinaloa, Mexico.
Mayo, School of - Was situated in the present parish of Mayo, County Mayo, almost equidistant from the towns of Claremorris and Castlebar. The founder, St. Colman, who flourished about the middle of the seventh century, was in all probability a native of the West of Ireland, and made his ecclesiastical studies at Iona during the abbacy of the renowned Segenius.
Mayor, John - A Scotch philosopher and historian, b. at Gleghornie near Haddington, 1496; d. at St. Andrew's, 1550.
Mayoruna Indians - A tribe of Panoan linguistic stock, ranging the forests between the Ucayali, the Yavari and the Marañon (Amazon) rivers in north-east Peru and the adjacent portions of Brazil.
Mayotte, Nossi-Bé, and Comoro - Mayotte is the farthest south and most important of the group of Comoro Islands: Mayotte (Maote), Anjuan (Inzuani), Mohilla (Moheli), and Great Comoro (Komoro, i.e. where there is fire, or Angazidya).
Mayr, Beda - A Bavarian Benedictine philosopher, apologist, and poet, b. 15 January, 1742 at Daiting near Augsburg; d. 28 April, 1794, in the monastery of Heillgenkreuz in Donauworth.
Mayron, Francis - Born about 1280, probably at Mayronnes, Department of Basses-Alpes, he entered the Franciscan order at the neighbouring Digne (or Sisteron).
Mazarin, Jules - Born either at Rome or at Piscina in the Abruzzi, of a very old Sicilian family, 14 July, 1602; died at Vincennes, 9 March, 1661.
Mazatec Indians - Mexican tribe of Zapotecan linguistic stock, occupying the mountain region of north-east Oaxaca, chiefly in the districts of Cuicatlan and Teotitlan.
Mazzara del Vallo - The city is situated in the province of Trepani, Sicily, on the Mediterranean, at the mouth of the Mazzara River.
Mazzella, Camillo - Theologian and cardinal, born at Vitulano, 10 Feb., 1833; d. at Rome, 26 March, 1900.
Mazzolini, Lodovico - Italian painter, b. in Ferrara in 1480, d., according to one account, in 1528, and to another, in 1530; place of death unknown.
Mazzolini, Sylvester - Theologian, b. at Priero, Piedmont, 1460; d. at Rome, 1523, sometimes confounded with Sylvester Ferrariensis (d. 1526).
Mazzuchelli, Pietro Francesco - Milanese painter, b. at Moranzone near Milan, either in 1571 or 1575; d. at Piacenza in 1626.
Mbaya Indians - A tribe formerly ranging on both sides of the Paraguay River, on the north and northwestern Paraguay frontier, and in the adjacent portion of the province of Matto Grosso, Brazil.
McCabe, Edward - Cardinal, born in Dublin, 1816; died at Kingstown, 11 February, 1885; he was the son of poor parents, educated at Father Doyle's school on the Quays and at Maynooth College, and was ordained priest in 1839.
McCarthy, Justin - Irish politician and writer (1830-1912).
McCloskey, William George - Bishop of Louisville, Kentucky (1823-1909).
McGee, Thomas D'Arcy - An editor, politician, and poet, born at Carlingford, Co. Louth, Ireland, 13 April, 1825; assassinated at Ottawa, Canada, 7 April, 1868.
McLoughlin, John - Physician and pioneer, born in the parish of La Riviere du Loup, Canada, 19 October, 1784; died at Oregon City, 3 September, 1857.
McMahon, Martin Thomas - Soldier, jurist; born at Laprairie, Canada, 21 March, 1838; died in New York, 21 April, 1906.
McMaster, James Alphonsus - An editor, convert, born at Duanesburg, New York, U. S. A., 1 April, 1820; died in Brooklyn, New York, 29 December, 1886.
McQuaid, Bernard John - The first Bishop of Rochester, U. S. A.; born in New York City, 15 December, 1823; died at Rochester, 18 January, 1909.
McSherry, James Jr. - Jurist, son of the author James McSherry; born at Frederick, Maryland, 30 December, 1842; died there 23 October, 1907.
McSherry, James Sr. - Author; born at LibertyTown, Frederick County, Maryland, 29 July, 1819; died at Frederick City, Maryland, 13 July, 1869, was the son of James McSherry and Anne Ridgely Sappington, and the grandson of Patrick McSherry, who came from Ireland in 1745 to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and removed later to Maryland.
McSherry, Richard - Physician; born at Martinsburg, Virginia (now West Virginia), 21 November, 1817; died Baltimore, Md., 7 Ocbober, l885, son of Dr. Richard McSherry.
Meagher, Thomas Francis - Soldier, politician, b. at Waterford, Ireland, 3 August, 1823; accidentally drowned in the Missouri River, Montana Territory, U.S.A., 1 July, 1867.
Meath - Diocese in Ireland, suffragan of Armagh.
Meaux - English Cistercian abbey.
Meaux, Diocese of - Comprises the entire department of Seine and Marne, suffragan of Sens until 1622, and subsequently of Paris.
Mecca - The birthplace of Mohammed and the seat of the famous Kaaba, it was celebrated even in pre-Islamic times as the chief sanctuary of the Arabs, and visited by numerous pilgrims and devotees.
Mechanism - There is no constant meaning in the history of philosophy for the word Mechanism. Originally, the term meant that cosmological theory which ascribes the motion and changes of the world to some external force.
Mechitar - The name taken by Peter Manuk, founder of the religious order of Mechitarists, when he became a monk.
Mechitarists - Armenian Benedictines, founded by Mechitar in 1712.
Mechlin - Archdiocese comprising the two Belgian provinces of Antwerp and Brabant.
Mechtel, Johann - Chronicler; b. 1562 at Pfalzel near Trier (Germany); d. after 1631, perhaps as late as 1653 at Trier.
Mechtilde, Saint - Born Matilda von Hackeborn-Wippra, blood sister of the Abbess Gertrude von Hackeborn, monastic herself. Quite plausibly the model for Matelda in Dante's "Purgatorio." She died in 1298.
Mecklenburg - A division of the German Empire, consists of the two Grand Duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Medaille, Jean Paul - Jesuit missionary; b. at Carcassonne, the capital of the Department of Aude, France, 29 January, 1618; d. at Auch, the capital of the Department of Gers, France, 15 May, 1689.
Medal, Miraculous - The devotion owes its origin to Zoe Labore, a member of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, known in religion as Sister Catherine, to whom the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared three separate times in the year 1830, at the mother-house of the community at Paris.
Medals, Devotional - A medal may be defined to be a piece of metal, usually in the form of a coin, not used as money, but struck or cast for a commemorative purpose, and adorned with some appropriate effigy, device, or inscription. In the present article we are concerned only with religious medals.
Medardus, Saint - Bishop of Noyon, d. around 545.
Medea - A titular see of Thrace, suffragan of Heraclea.
Medellín - Archdiocese in the Republic of Colombia, Metropolitan of Antioquia and Manizales, in the Departments of Medellín, Antioquia, and Manizales.
Media and Medes - An ancient country of Asia and the inhabitants thereof.
Mediator (Christ as Mediator) - A mediator is one who brings estranged parties to an amicable agreement. In New Testament theology the term invariably implies that the estranged beings are God and man, and it is appropriated to Christ, the One Mediator.
Medices, Hieronymus - Illustrious as a scholastic of acumen and penetration, b. at Camerino in Umbria, 1569, whence the surname de Medicis a Camerino.
Medici, House of - A Florentine family, the members of which, having acquired great wealth as bankers, rose in a few generations to be first the unofficial rulers of the republic of Florence and afterwards the recognized sovereigns of Tuscany.
Medici, Maria de' - Queen of France; b. at Florence, 26 April, 1573; d. at Cologne, 3 July, 1642.
Medicine and Canon Law - In the early centuries the practice of medicine by clerics, whether secular or regular, was not treated with disapproval by the Church, nor was it at all uncommon for them to devote a considerable part of their time to the medical avocation. Abuses, however, arose, and in the twelfth century ecclesiastical canons were framed which became more and more adverse to clerics practising the art of medicine.
Medicine, History of - Presents the history of modern medical science from its Greek foundation.
Medina, Bartholomew - Dominican theologian, b. at Medina, 1527; d. at Salamanca, 1581.
Medina, Juan de - Theologian; born 1490; died 1547; he occupied the first rank among the theologians of the sixteenth century.
Medina, Miguel de - Theologian, born at Belalcazar, Spain, 1489; died at Toledo, May, 1578.
Medrano, Francisco - A Spanish lyric poet, b. in Seville, not to be confounded with Sebastian Francisco de Medrano who was also a poet and lived at about the same time.
Medulic, Andras - A Croatian painter and engraver, called by Italian authors Medola, Medula, Schiavone, Schiaon, etc., b. at Sibenik, Dalmatia, 1522; d. at Venice 1582.
Meehan, Charles Patrick - Irish historical writer and translator, b. in Dublin, 12 July, 1812; d. there 14 March 1890.
Megara - A titular see, suffragan to Corinth, in Achaia.
Megarians - Short article on the history and teachings of this school of philosophy by William Turner.
Mège, Antoine-Joseph - A Maurist Benedictine. Writer and translator. He died in 1691.
Mehrerau - Formerly a Benedictine, now a Cistercian Abbey, is situated on Lake Constance, west of Bregenz, in the district of Vorarlberg, Austria.
Meignan, Guillaume-René - Cardinal Archbishop of Tours, French apologist and Scriptural exegete, b. at Chauvigné, France, 12 April, 1817; d. at Tours, 20 January 1896.
Meilleur, Jean-Baptiste - French Canadian physician and educator, b. at St. Laurent, P.Q., 9 May, 1796; d. 7 Dec., 1878.
Meinwerk, Blessed - Also called Meginwerk. The energetic tenth bishop of Paderborn, d. 1036.
Meissen - A former see of north-east Germany.
Meissonier, Ernest - French painter, b. at Lyons 21 February,1815; d. at Paris, 31 January, 1891.
Melancthon, Philipp - Extensive article, informative. Thorough examination of his humanism and his contributions to western educational theory and practice.
Melania (the Younger), Saint - Granddaughter of St. Melania the Elder, and a friend of St. Jerome.
Melbourne - Located in the state of Victoria, Southeastern Australia.
Melchers, Paul - Cardinal, Archbishop of Cologne, b. 6 Jan., 1813, at Münster, Westphalia; d. 14 December, 1895, at Rome.
Melchisedech - King of Salem (Gen. xiv, 18-20).
Melchisedechians - A branch of the Monarchians, founded by Theodotus the banker.
Melchites - The people of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt who remained faithful to the Council of Chalcedon (451) when the greater part turned Monophysite.
Meléndez Valdés, Juan - Spanish poet and politician, b. at Ribera del Fresno (Badajoz) 11 March, 1754; d. in exile at Montpelier, France, 24 May, 1817.
Meletius of Antioch, Saint - Lengthy article on the career of the gentle bishop who longed for unity in the Church.
Meletius of Lycopolis - Bishop of Lycopolis in Egypt, gave his name to a schism of short duration.
Melfi and Rapolla - Diocese in the province of Potenza, in Basilicata, southern Italy.
Meli, Giovanni - Sicilian poet, b. at Palermo, 4 March, 1740, d. 20 Dec., 1815.
Melia, Pius - Italian theologian, b. at Rome, 12 Jan., 1800; d. in London, June 1883.
Melissus of Samos - A Greek philosopher, of the Eleatic School, b. at Samos about 470 B C.
Melitene - The residence of an Armenian Catholic see, also a titulary archbishopric.
Melito, Saint - Bishop of Sardis, ecclesiastical writer, latter half of the second century.
Melk, Abbey and Congregation of - Situated on an isolated rock commanding the Danube, Melk has been a noted place since the days of the Romans.
Melleray - Situated in Brittany, Diocese of Nantes, in the vicinity of Chateaubriand, was founded about the year 1134.
Mellifont Abbey - Located three miles from Drogheda, Co. Louth, Diocese of Armagh, it was the first Cistercian monastery established in Ireland.
Mellitus, Saint - Archbishop of Canterbury, died in 624. Abbot sent to Canterbury by St. Gregory the Great, and the recipient of a letter from Gregory regarding pagan temples, idols, and festivals.
Melo - Located in Uruguay.
Melos - A titular see, suffragan of Naxos in the Cyclades.
Melozzo da Forlí - An Italian painter of the Umbrian School, b. at Forlí, 1438; d. there 1494.
Melrose Abbey - Located in Roxburghshire, founded in 1136 by King David I, was the earliest Cistercian monastery established in Scotland.
Melrose, Chronicle of - It opens with the year 735, ends abruptly in 1270, and is founded solely upon the Cottonian Manuscript, Faustina B. ix, in the British Museum, the only ancient copy preserved.
Melzi, Francesco - Born at Milan, about 1490; died 1568. He was a friend of Leonardo da Vinci, and Vasari tells that he was a Milanese nobleman, and that he possessed the principal part of the anatomical drawings of Leonardo.
Memberton - Principal chief of the Micmac Indians of Nova Scotia at the time of the establishment of the French colony under de Monts and Poutrincourt in 1605, and noted in mission annals of the first Christian in the tribe.
Membre, Zenobius - Born 1645 at Bapaume, Department of Pas-de-Calais, France, he was a member of the Franciscan province of St. Antony.
Memling, Hans - Flemish painter, d. 1494. Artist's biography with bibliography.
Memory - Memory is the capability of the mind, to store up conscious processes, and reproduce them later with some degree of fidelity.
Memphis - Ancient capital of Egypt; diocese of the province of Arcadia or Heptanomos, suffragan of Oxyrynchus.
Men of Understanding - Name assumed by a heretical sect which in 1410-11 was cited before the Inquisition at Brussels.
Mena, Juan de - Spanish poet, born 1411 at Cordova; died 1456 at Torrelaguna.
Menaion - The name of the twelve books, one for every month, that contain the offices for immovable feasts in the Byzantine rite.
Ménard, Léon - Writer, b. at Tarrascon, 12 Sept., 1706; d. in Paris, 1 Oct., 1767.
Ménard, Nicolas-Hugues - French Maurist Benedictine teacher and writer, died 1644.
Ménard, René - Missionary, b. at Paris, 1604, d. about 10 August, 1661, in what is now Wisconsin.
Menas, Saint - Martyred under Diocletian, c. 295. Most likely Menas of Mareotis, Menas of Cotyaes, and Menas of Constantinople, surnamed Kallikelados, are all the same person honored in different places.
Mencius - Chinese philosopher (b. 371 B.C.).
Mendaña de Neyra, Alvaro de - A Spanish navigator and explorer, born in Saragossa, 1541; died in Santa Cruz, Solomon Islands, 18 October, 1596.
Mende - This diocese includes the department of Lozère, in France. Suffragan of Bourges under the old régime, it was re-established by the Concordat of 1801 as a suffragan of Lyons and united with the department of Ardèche.
Mendel, Mendelism - Gregor Johann Mendel (the first name was taken on entrance to his order), b. 22 July, 1822, at Heinzendorf near Odrau, in Austrian Silesia; d. 6 January 1884, at the Augustinian Abbey of St. Thomas, Brunn.
Mendes de Silva, João - Better known as Amadeus of Portugal, b. 1420, d. at Milan, 1482, began his religious life in the Hieronnymite monastery of Notre-Dame de Guadalupe (Spain), where he spent about ten years.
Méndez and Gualaquiza - Vicariate Apostolic in Ecuador.
Mendíburu, Manuel de - Nineteenth-century Peruvian-born soldier and diplomat.
Mendicant Friars - Members of those religious orders which, originally, by vow of poverty renounced all proprietorship not only individually but also (and in this differing from the monks) in common, relying for support on their own work and on the charity of the faithful. Hence the name of begging friars.
Mendieta, Jerónimo - A Spanish missionary; born at Vitoria, Spain, 1525; died in the City of Mexico, 9 May, 1604.
Mendoza, Diego Hurtade de - A Spanish diplomat and writer, and one of the greatest figures in the history of Spanish politics and letters; born in Granada, of noble parentage, about 1503; died in Madrid, 1575.
Mendoza, Francisco Sarmiento de - A Spanish canonist and bishop; b. of a noble family at Burgos; d. 1595, at Jaen.
Mendoza, Pedro Gonzalez de - Cardinal and Primate of Spain, b. at Guadalajara, 3 May, 1428; d. there, 11 January, 1495.
Menéndez y Pelayo, Marcelino - Spanish poet and historian (1856-1912).
Meneses, Osorio Francisco - Spanish painter, b. at Seville, 1630; d. probably in the same place, 1705.
Menestrier, Claude-François - French antiquarian (1631-1705).
Menevia - Said to be derived from Menapia, the name of an ancient Roman settlement supposed to have existed in Pembrokeshire, or Hen Meneu (vetus rubus) where St. David was born.
Mengarini, Gregario - Pioneer missionary of the Flathead tribe and philologist of their language, b. in Rome, 21 July, 1811; d. at Santa Clara, California, 23 September, 1886.
Mengs, Anthon Rafael - A Bohemian painter, usually regarded as belonging to the Italian or Spanish school, b. at Aussig in Bohemia, 12 March, 1728; d. in Rome, 29 June, 1779.
Mennas - Patriarch of Constantinople from 536 to 552.
Mennonites - A Protestant denomination of Europe and America which arose in Switzerland in the sixteenth century and derived its name from Menno Simons, its leader in Holland.
Menochio, Giovanni Stefano - Jesuit biblical scholar, b. at Padua, 1575; d. in Rome, 4 Feb., 1655.
Menologium - A particular service-book of the Greek Church. From its derivation the term Menologium means "month-set", in other words, a book arranged according to the months.
Menominee Indians - A considerable tribe of Algonquian linguistic stock, formerly ranging over north-eastern Wisconsin to the west of Menominee River and Green Bay.
Mensa, Mensal Revenue - The Latin word mensa has for its primitive signification "a table for meals"; it designates by extension the expenses, or better, the necessary resources of sustenance, and generally, all the resources for personal support. He who lives at the expense of another, and at his table, is his "commensal". In ecclesiastical language, the mensa is that portion of the property of a church which is appropriated to defraying the expenses either of the prelate or of the community which serves the church, and is administered at the will of the one or the other.
Mensing, John - A theologian and celebrated opponent of Luther, born according to some at Zütphen, Holland, but more probably at Magdeburg, Saxony, date unknown; died about 1541.
Mental Reservation - The name applied to a doctrine which has grown out of the common Catholic teaching about lying and which is its complement.
Mentelin, Johannes - Born c. 1410; died 12 Dec., 1478; an eminent German typographer of the fifteenth century, and the first printer and bookseller at Strasburg (Alsace).
Menzini, Benedetto - Priest and poet, b. at Florence, 1646; d. at Rome, 7 Sept., 1704.
Mercadé, Eustache - French dramatic poet of the fifteenth century.
Mercedarians - A congregation of men founded in 1218 by St. Peter Nolasco, born 1189, at Mas-des-Saintes-Puelles, Department of Aude, France.
Mercier, Louis-Honoré - French Canadian statesman (1840-1894).
Mercuriali, Geronimo - Italian philologist and physician (1530-1606).
Mercy, Brothers of Our Lady of - Founded at Mechlin in 1839 by Canon J. B. Cornelius Scheppers for the instruction and care of prisoners and of the sick.
Mercy, Corporal and Spiritual Works of - Mercy as it is here contemplated is said to be a virtue influencing one's will to have compassion for, and, if possible, to alleviate another's misfortune.
Mercy, Sisters of - A congregation of women founded in Dublin, Ireland, in 1827, by Catherine Elizabeth McAuley, born 29 September, 1787, at Stormanstown House, County Dublin.
Mercy, Sisters of, of St. Borromeo - Originally a pious association of ladies formed in 1626 for the care of the sick in the hospital of St. Charles at Nancy, but constituted a religious community in 1652 after being generously endowed by the father of Emmanuel Chauvenel, a young advocate who had given his life in the service of the sick.
Meredith, Edward - English Catholic controversialist, b. in 1648, was a son of the rector of Landulph, Cornwall.
Mérida, Diocese of - Diocese in Venezuela.
Merit - By merit (meritum) in general is understood that property of a good work which entitles the doer to receive a reward from him in whose service the work is done.
Mermillod, Gaspard - Bishop of Lausanne and cardinal, born at Carouge, Switzerland, 22 September, 1824; died in Rome, 23 February, 1892.
Merneptah I - The fourth king of the nineteenth Egyptian dynasty and the supposed Pharaoh of the Exodus, was the thirteenth son of Rameses II whom he succeeded in or about 1234 B.C., being then long past middle age.
Mérode, Frédéric-François-Xavier Ghislain de - A Belgian prelate and statesman, born at Brussels, 1820; died at Rome, 1874.
Mersenne, Marin - Article by C.A. Dubray reviewing the intellectual career of this learned Minim friar.
Mesa - A King of Moab in the ninth century B. C., whose history is given in IV Kings, iii.
Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, and Armenia - Created by Gregory XVI on 17 Dec., 1832. Mgr. Trioche, Archbishop of Babylon or Bagdad, became its first titular; he resided habitually in Bagdad.
Mesrob - One of the greatest figures in Armenian history, he was born about 361 at Hassik in the Province of Taron; died at Valarsabad, 441.
Messalians - An heretical sect which originated in Mesopotamia about 360 and survived in the East until the ninth century.
Messene - A titular see, suffragan to Corinth, in Achaia.
Messias - The Greek form Messias is a transliteration of the Hebrew, Messiah, "the anointed". The word appears only twice of the promised prince (Daniel 9:26; Psalm 2:2); yet, when a name was wanted for the promised one, who was to be at once King and Saviour, it was natural to employ this synonym for the royal title, denoting at the same time the King's royal dignity and His relation to God.
Messina - Located in Sicily.
Messina, Antonello da - Painter, born at Messina, about 1430; died 1497.
Messingham, Thomas - An Irish hagiologist, born in the Diocese of Meath, and studied in the Irish College, Paris, proceeding to the degree of S.T.D.
Metalwork in the Service of the Church - From the earliest days the Church has employed utensils and vessels of metal in its liturgical ceremonies. This practice increased during the Middle Ages.
Metaphrastes, Symeon - The principal compiler of the legends of saints in the Menologia of the Byzantine Church.
Metaphysics - That portion of philosophy which treats of the most general and fundamental principles underlying all reality and all knowledge.
Metastasio, Pietro - Brief biography of the Italian librettist.
Metcalfe, Edward - Born in Yorkshire, 1792; died a martyr of charity at Leeds, 7 May, 1847.
Metellopolis - A titular see of Phrygia Pacatiana, in Asia Minor.
Metempsychosis - The doctrine of the transmigration of souls, teaches that the same soul inhabits in succession the bodies of different beings, both men and animals.
Metham, Sir Thomas - A knight, confessor of the Faith, died in York Castle, 1573.
Methodism - A religious movement which was originated in 1739 by John Wesley in the Anglican Church, and subsequently gave rise to numerous separate denominations.
Methodius I - Patriarch of Constantinople (842-846), defender of images during the second Iconoclast persecution, b. at Syracuse, towards the end of the eighth century; d. at Constantinople, 14 June, 846.
Methodius of Olympus, Saint - Bishop, ecclesiastical writer, martyr, died c. 311.
Methuselah - One of the Hebrew patriarchs, mentioned in Genesis 5.
Methymna - A titular see in the island of Lesbos.
Metrophanes of Smyrna - A leader of the faithful Ignatian bishops at the time of the Photian schism (867). Baronius (Ann. Ecci., ad an. 843, I) says that his mother was the woman who was bribed to bring a false accusation of rape against the Patriarch Methodius I (842-846) during the Iconoclast troubles.
Metropolis - A titular episcopal see and suffragan of Ephesus.
Metropolitan - In ecclesiastical language, refers to whatever relates to the metropolis, the principal city, or see, of an ecclesiastical province.
Metternich, Klemens Lothar Wenzel Von - Statesman; born at Coblenz, 15 May, 1773; died at Vienna, 11 June, 1859.
Metz - A town and bishopric in Lorraine.
Meun, Jean Clopinel de - French poet, b. c. 1260 in the little city of Meung-sur-Loire; d. at Paris between 1305 and 1320.
Mexico - Situated at the extreme point of the North American continent, bounded on the north by the United States, on the east by the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, British Honduras, and Guatemala, and on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean.
Mexico, Archdiocese of - Information about the boundaries and bishops.
Mezger, Francis, Joseph, and Paul - Three brothers, learned Benedictines of the monastery of St. Peter in Salsburg, and professors at the University of Salzburg.
Mezzofanti, Giuseppe - A cardinal, the greatest of polyglots, born 19 September, 1774; died 15 March, 1849.
Miami Indians - An important tribe of Algonquian stock formerly claiming prior dominion over the whole of what is now Indiana and western Ohio, including the territories drained by the Wabash, St. Joseph, Maumee, and Miami rivers.
Michael Caerularius - Patriarch of Constantinople (1043-58), author of the second and final schism of the Byzantine Church, date of birth unknown; d. 1058.
Michael de Sanctis, Saint - Or Michael de los Santos. Catalonian, member of the Discalced Trinitarians, d. 1625.
Michael, Military Orders of Saint - Information on three groups by this name.
Michael of Cesena - A Friar Minor, Minister General of the Franciscan Order, and theologian, born at Cesena, a small town in Central Italy, about 1270; died at Munich, 29 Nov., 1342.
Michael Scotus - A thirteenth century mathematician, philosopher, and scholar.
Michael the Archangel, Saint - Article about this angel in Scripture and tradition.
Michaud, Joseph-François - Historian, born at Albens, Savoy, 1767; died at Passy, 30 September, 1839.
Micheas, Book of - Micheas (Hebr. Mikhah; Jeremiah 26:18: Mikhayah keth.), the author of the book which holds the sixth place in the collection of the Twelve Minor Prophets, was born at Moresheth (Micheas 1:1; Jeremiah 26:18), a locality not far from the town of Geth (Micheas 1:14).
Micheas of Ephraim - The Book of Judges (17-18) contains the history of a certain Michas (Hebrews 17:1 and 4: Mikhayehu; elsewhere Mikhah), a resident of the hill country of Ephraim who founded an idolatrous sanctuary.
Micheas, Son of Jemla - A prophet of the Kingdom of Samaria, contemporary with Elias and Eliseus.
Michel, Jean - A French dramatic poet of the fifteenth century.
Michelians - A German Protestant sect which derives its name from "Michel", the popular designation of its founder Johann Michael Hahn.
Michelis, Edward - A theologian, born in St. Mauritz, 6 Feb., 1813; died in Luxemburg, 8 June, 1855.
Michelozzo di Bartolommeo - An architect and sculptor, born at Florence circa 1391; died 1472.
Michigan - Information on history, geography, statistics, religion, and education of the state.
Michoacan - Located in Mexico, the Diocese of Michoacan was established in 1536 by Pope Paul III at the instance of the Emperor Charles V, its boundaries to coincide with those of the ancient Kingdom of Michoacan.
Mickiewicz, Adam - Born near Novogrodek, Lithuania, 1798; died at Constantinople, 1855.
Micmacs - The easternmost of the Algonquin tribes and probably the first visited by a white man, formerly occupied what is now Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton, as well as part of New Brunswick, Quebec, and south-western Newfoundland.
Micrologus - Either a "synopsis" or a "short explanation", and in the Middle Ages used as an equivalent for "Manual".
Middendorp, Jakob - Theologian and historian; b. about 1537 at Oldenzaal, or, according to others, at Ootmarsum, Overyssel, Holland; d. at Cologne, 13 Jan., 1611.
Middle Ages - A term commonly used to designate that period of European history between the Fall of the Roman Empire and about the middle of the fifteenth century.
Middlesbrough - In medieval history it was known as Myddilburga or Middilburga, with many other variations of form.
Midrashim - The term commonly designates ancient rabbinical commentaries on the Hebrew Scriptures.
Midwives - Come under the canon law of the Church in their relation towards two of the sacraments, baptism and matrimony.
Migazzi, Christoph Anton - Cardinal, Prince Archbishop of Vienna, b. 1714, in the Tyrol, d. 14 April, 1803, at Vienna.
Mignard, Pierre - A French painter, born at Troyes, 7 November, 1612; died at Paris, 30 May, 1695.
Migne, Jacques-Paul - Priest, and publisher of theological works, born at Saint-Flour, 25 October, 1800; died at Paris, 24 October, 1875.
Migration - The movement of populations from place to place.
Milan - Located in Lombardy, northern Italy.
Milde, Vinzenz Eduard - Prince-Archbishop of Vienna, born at Brünn, in Moravia, in 1777; died at Vienna in 1853.
Miles, George Henry - A dramatist and man of letters, born in B

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