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Pedro II

(Encyclopedia)Pedro II (Dom Pedro II de Alcântara), 1825–91, emperor of Brazil (1831–89). At the age of five, he succeeded under a regency when his father, Pedro I, abdicated. He was declared of age in 1840. P...

Cooke, Terence James

(Encyclopedia)Cooke, Terence James, 1921–83, American Roman Catholic clergyman, b. New York City. He was ordained in 1945 after earning a B.A. from St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y. In 1957, Cooke was named ...

collect

(Encyclopedia)collect kŏlˈĕkt [key] [Late Lat.,=meeting], in Western liturgies, short prayer proper to an occasion, often asking a particular favor. In the Roman Catholic Church the collect is said, typically, a...

Anastasia, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Anastasia, Saint ănəstāˈshə [key], 4th cent., Roman noblewoman, kind to the poor, martyred under Diocletian. Her cult can be traced back to 5th-century Rome. In the Roman Catholic Church, her fea...

Lackawanna, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Lackawanna lăkəwäˈnə [key], city (1990 pop. 20,585), Erie co., W N.Y., on Lake Erie; inc. 1909. Formerly a major steel-making center, Lackawanna experienced the rapid and total decline of its for...

Sisters of Charity

(Encyclopedia)Sisters of Charity, in the Roman Catholic Church, name of many independent communities of women. Most of them owe their origin to the institute of St. Vincent de Paul, founded (1634) for works of merc...

Villanova University

(Encyclopedia)Villanova University vĭlˌənōˈvə [key], at Villanova, Pa., near Philadelphia; Roman Catholic; est. 1842 as a men's school, coeducational since 1967. It has schools of arts and sciences, engineeri...

orders, holy

(Encyclopedia)orders, holy [Lat. ordo,=rank], in Christianity, the traditional degrees of the clergy, conferred by the Sacrament of Holy Order. The episcopacy, priesthood or presbyterate, and diaconate were in gene...

Emser, Hieronymus

(Encyclopedia)Emser, Hieronymus hēˌĕrōˈnümo͝os ĕmˈzər [key], 1477–1527, German Roman Catholic theologian. He was secretary to the elector of Saxony and urged reform of clerical abuse. In 1519 his enmity...

Franck, Sebastian

(Encyclopedia)Franck, Sebastian sābäsˈtyän frängk [key], 1499–1542, German religious writer. He was a Roman Catholic priest who came under the influence of the Reformation, but he shortly broke with the Luth...