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States of the Church

(Encyclopedia)States of the Church: see Papal States. ...

Saint Bernard, two Alpine passes

(Encyclopedia)Saint Bernard, two Alpine passes, both used since antiquity. The Great Saint Bernard (alt. 8,110 ft/2,472 m), on the Italian-Swiss border, links Valais canton, Switzerland, with Valle d'Aosta, Italy. ...

saint, in Christianity

(Encyclopedia)saint [O.Fr., from Latin sanctus=holy], in Christianity, a person who is recognized as worthy of veneration. Accounts of saints' lives have been favorite reading material for many, and at times thei...

Mont-Saint-Michel

(Encyclopedia)Mont-Saint-Michel môN-săN-mēshĕlˈ [key], rocky isle (1993 est. pop. 72) in the Gulf of Saint-Malo, an arm of the English Channel, Manche dept., NW France, 1 mi (1.6 km) off the coast, near Avranc...

Damasus I, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Damasus I, Saint dămˈəsəs [key], c.305–384, pope (366–84), a Spaniard; successor of Liberius. His election was opposed by the Arian Ursinus (antipope 366–67). The Roman emperor Valentinian I...

Venantius Fortunatus, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Venantius Fortunatus, Saint (Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus) vēnănˈshəs fôrˌtyo͞onāˈtəs [key], d. c.600, Latin poet, b. near Treviso, Italy. A priest in Gaul and later bishop of ...

Pius X, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Pius X, Saint, 1835–1914, pope (1903–14), an Italian named Giuseppe Sarto, b. near Treviso; successor of Leo XIII and predecessor of Benedict XV. Ordained in 1858, he became bishop of Mantua (1884...

John Paul II, Saint

(Encyclopedia)John Paul II, Saint 1920–2005, pope (1978–2005), a Pole (b. Wadowice) named Karol Józef Wojtyła; successor of John Paul I. He was the first non-Italian pope elected since the Dutch Adrian VI (15...

John of Damascus, Saint

(Encyclopedia)John of Damascus, Saint, or Saint John Damascene dămˈəsēn [key], c.675–c.749, Syrian theologian, Father of the Church and Doctor of the Church. He was brought up at the court of the caliph in Da...

infallibility

(Encyclopedia)infallibility ĭnfălˌəbĭlˈətē [key], in Christian thought, exemption from the possibility of error, bestowed on the church as a teaching authority, as a gift of the Holy Spirit. It has been bel...