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Mary, the mother of Jesus

(Encyclopedia)Mary, in the Bible, mother of Jesus. Christian tradition reckons her the principal saint, naming her variously the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady, and Mother of God (Gr., theotokos). Her name is the He...

Medici, Cosimo I de'

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Cosimo I de', 1519–74, duke of Florence (1537–69), grand duke of Tuscany (1569–74); son of Giovanni de' Medici (Giovanni delle Bande Nere). In 1537, Lorenzino de' Medici murdered Cosimo'...

Ferdinand I, king of Naples

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand I or Ferrante fār-ränˈtā [key], 1423–94, king of Naples (1458–94), illegitimate son and successor (in Naples) of Alfonso V of Aragón. His succession was challenged by Pope Calixtus ...

Loisy, Alfred Firmin

(Encyclopedia)Loisy, Alfred Firmin älfrĕdˈ fērmăNˈ lwäzēˈ [key], 1857–1940, French theologian, biblical critic, and leading exponent of biblical modernism. He was ordained (1879) a Roman Catholic priest ...

Sertorius, Quintus

(Encyclopedia)Sertorius, Quintus sûrtôrˈēas [key], d. 72 b.c., Roman general. He was a general under Marius but did not take part in Marius' proscriptions. Sertorius was appointed governor of Farther Spain in 8...

Frederick III, Holy Roman emperor and German king

(Encyclopedia)Frederick III, 1415–93, Holy Roman emperor (1452–93) and German king (1440–93). With his brother Albert VI he inherited the duchies of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola. He became head of the hous...

Counter Reformation

(Encyclopedia)Counter Reformation, 16th-century reformation that arose largely in answer to the Protestant Reformation; sometimes called the Catholic Reformation. Although the Roman Catholic reformers shared the Pr...

Gregory XIII

(Encyclopedia)Gregory XIII, 1502–85, pope (1572–85), an Italian named Ugo Buoncompagni, b. Bologna; successor of St. Pius V. He is best known for his work on the calendar, and the reformed calendar, the Gregori...

Concordat of 1801

(Encyclopedia)Concordat of 1801, agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII that reestablished the Roman Catholic Church in France. Napoleon took the initiative in negotiating this agreement; he recogni...

papacy

(Encyclopedia)CE5 papacy pāˈpəsē [key], office of the pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church. He is pope by reason of being bishop of Rome and thus, according to Roman Catholic belief, successor in the see ...