Catholic Encyclopedia · A
Abbé
Historical Article from The Catholic Encyclopedia
Read this historical Catholic Encyclopedia article within the CatholicG33k reference library.
Catholic Encyclopedia
Historical Context
This article preserves the historical wording and context of the printed encyclopedia. Dates, statistics, terminology, disciplinary descriptions, and civic or ecclesiastical circumstances may reflect the period in which the article was published.
Article Text
A French word meaning primarily and strictly an abbot or superior of a monastery of men. It came eventually to be applied, in France, to every man who wears the dress of a secular ecclesiastic (Littré). This extension of meaning dates from the time of Francis I (1515-47), who, by consent of the Holy See, named secular clerics Abbots in commendam (See ABBOT: Kinds of Abbot). During the following centuries the name was applied to clerics, often not in sacred Orders, engaged as professors or tutors, or in some similar capacity in the houses of the nobility.
Source Record
- Author
- A’Becket, John Joseph
- Publication
- The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1907.
- Nihil Obstat
- Nihil Obstat. March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.
- Imprimatur
- Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.