O Antiphons
| Seven antiphons to the Magnificat; so called because all begin with the interjection 'O' |
O Deus Ego Amo Te
| The first line of two Latin lyrics sometimes attributed to St. Francis Xavier, but of uncertain date and authorship |
O Filii et Filiae
| The first line of a hymn. celebrating the mystery of Easter |
O Salutaris Hostia
| The first line of the penultimate stanza of the hymn, 'Verbum supernum prodiens', composed by St. Thomas Aquinas for the Hour of Lauds in the Office of the Feast of Corpus Christi |
Oates's Plot
| A 'Popish Plot' which, during the reign of Charles II of England, Titus Oates pretended to have discovered |
Oaths
| An invocation to God to witness the truth of a statement |
Obba
| Titular see in Byzacena, northern Africa |
Obedience
| The complying with a command or precept |
Obedientiaries
| A name commonly used in medieval times for the lesser officials of a monastery who were appointed by will of the superior |
Oblate Sisters of Providence
| A congregation of negro nuns founded at Baltimore, Md., by the Rev. Jacques Hector Nicholas Joubert de la Muraille, for the education of colored children |
Oblates of Mary Immaculate
| Society, founded in 1816 |
Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales
| A congregation of priests founded originally by Saint Francis de Sales at the request of Saint Jane de Chantal |
Oblati, Oblatae, Oblates
| Any persons, not professed monks or friars, who have been offered to God, or have dedicated themselves to His service, in holy religion |
Obligation
| Legal bond which by a legal necessity binds us to do something according to the laws of our State |
Obregonians
| A small congregation of men, who professed the Rule of the Third Order of St. Francis |
Obreption
| Canonical term applied to a species of fraud by which an ecclesiastical rescript is obtained |
Occasionalism
| The metaphysical theory which maintains that finite things have no efficient causality of their own, but that whatever happens in the world is caused by God, creatures being merely the occasions of the Divine activity |
Occasions of Sin
| External circumstances whether of things or persons which either because of their special nature or because of the frailty common to humanity or peculiar to some individual, incite or entice one to sin |
Occult Art, Occultism
| Article deals with the form of Occultism known as 'Magic' |
Occult Compensation
| Extra-legal manner of recovering from loss or damage |
Occurrence (in Liturgy)
| The coinciding or occurring of two liturgical offices on one and the same day; concurrence is the succession of two offices, so that the second vespers of one occur at the same time as the first vespers of the other |
Octavarium Romanum
| A liturgical book, which may be considered as an appendix to the Roman Breviary, but which has not the official position of the other Roman liturgical books |
Octave
| The eighth day |
Odilia, Saint
| Patroness of Alsace, b. at the end of the seventh century; d. about 720 |
Odilo, Saint
| Fifth Abbot of Cluny (q.v.), B. C. 962; d. December 31, 1048 |
Odo
| Bishop of Bayeux and Count of Kent, b. in Normandy previous to 1037; d. at Palermo, February, 1097 |
Odo of Cambrai, Blessed
| Bishop and confessor, called also Odoardus, b. at Orleans, 1050; d. at Anchin, June 19, 1113 |
Odo of Canterbury
| Abbot of Battle, d. 1200, known as Odo Cantianus or of Kent |
Odo of Cheriton
| Preacher and fabulist, d. 1247 |
Odo of Glanfeuil
| Abbot, ninth-century hagiographer |
Odo, Saint (Abbot of Cluny)
| Second Abbot of Cluny, b. 878 or 879, probably near Le Mans; d. November 18, 942 |
Odo, Saint (Archbishop of Canterbury)
| Archbishop of Canterbury, d. June 2, 959 |
Odoric of Pordenone, Blessed
| Franciscan missionary of a Czech family named Mattiussi, b. at Villanova near Pordenone, Friuli, Italy, about 1286; d. at Udine, Jan. 14, 1331 |
Odorico Raynaldi
| Oratorian, b. at Treviso in 1595; d. at Rome, January 22, 1671 |
Oecumenius
| Bishop of Trikka (now Trikkala) in Thessaly about 990 |
Oettingen
| Abbey |
Offa
| King of Mercia, d. July 29, 796 |
Offerings
| Akin to offering, but almost exclusively restricted to matters religious |
Offertory
| The rite by which the bread and wine are presented (offered) to God before they are consecrated and the prayers and chant that accompany it |
Office of the Dead
| First Vespers, Mass, Matins, and Lauds |
Ohio
| The state |
Oil of Saints
| An oily substance, which is said to have flowed, or still flows, from the relics or burial places of certain saints |
Ointment in Scripture
| That the use of oily, fragrant materials to anoint the body is a custom going back to remote antiquity is evidenced by the Old Testament as well as other early literatures. |
Oklahoma
| The state |
Olaf Haraldson, Saint
| Martyr and King of Norway (1015-30), b. 995; d. July 29, 1030 |
Olaus Magnus
| Swedish historian and geographer, b. at Skeninge, Sweden, 1490; d. at Rome, Aug. 1, 1558 |
Olba
| A titular see in Isauria, suffragan of Seleucia |
Old Catholics
| The sect organized in German speaking countries to combat the dogma of Papal Infallibility |
Old Chapter, The
| The origin of the body, formerly known as the Old Chapter, dates from 1623 |
Old Hall
| Near Ware, Hertfordshire, England, founded in 1793 after the fall of the English College, Douai, during the French revolution |
Old Testament
| Inspired Scriptures written before the time of Christ |
Oldenburg
| A grand duchy, one of the twenty-six federated states of the German Empire |
Olenus
| A titular see and suffragan of Patras, in Achaia Quarta |
Oliva
| A suppressed Cistercian abbey near Danzig in Pomerania |
Oliver Almond
| 16th-century English priest and writer, b. in the diocese of Oxford. |
Oliver Legipont
| Benedictine, bibliographer, b. at Soiron, Limburg, Dec. 2, 1698; d. at Trier, Jan. 16 1758 |
Oliver Plunket, Venerable
| Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland, b. at Lougherew near Oldcastle, County Meath, Ireland, 1629; d. July 11, 1681 |
Olivetans
| A branch of the white monks of the Benedictine Order, founded in 1319 |
Olivier de la Marche
| Chronicler and poet, b. 1426, at the Chateau de la Marche, in Franche-Comte; d. at Brussels, 1501 |
Olivier Maillard
| Celebrated preacher, b. about 1430; d. at Toulouse, July 22, 1502 |
Olympe-Philippe Gerbet
| French bishop and writer; b. at Poligny, 1798; d. at Perpignan, 1864 |
Olympias, Saint
| Pious, charitable, and wealthy disciple of St. John Chrysostom; b. 360-5; d. July 25, 408 |
Olympus
| A titular see of Lycia in Asia Minor |
Ombus
| Titular see and suffragan of Ptolemais in Thebais Secunda |
Omer, Saint
| B. of a distinguished family towards the close of the sixth or the beginning of the seventh century, at Guldendal, Switzerland; d. c. 670 |
Omission
| The failure to do something which one can and ought to do |
Omnipotence
| The power of God to effect whatever is not intrinsically impossible |
Onias
| Name of several Jewish pontiffs of the third and second centuries before Christ |
Onno Klopp
| Historian (1822-1903) |
Onofrio Panvinio
| Historian and archaeologist, b. at Verona, February 23, 1530; d. at Palermo, April 7, 1568 |
Ontario
| Province of Canada |
Ontologism
| An ideological system which maintains that God and Divine ideas are the first object of our intelligence and the intuition of God the first act of our intellectual knowledge |
Ontology
| The science or philosophy of being |
Ophir
| In the Bible, designates a people and a country |
Optatus, Saint
| Bishop of Milevis, in Numidia, in the fourth century |
Optimism
| A metaphysical theory, or an emotional disposition |
Oracle
| A Divine communication given at a special place through specially appointed persons; also the place itself |
Orange Free State
| One of the four provinces of the Union of South Africa |
Orans
| Among the subjects depicted in the art of the Roman catacombs one of those most numerously represented is that of a female figure with extended arms known as the Orans, or one who prays. |
Orate Fratres
| The exhortation addressed by the celebrant to the people before the Secrets in the Roman Mass |
Oratorio
| A musical composition for solo voices, chorus, orchestra, and organ, to a religious text generally taken from Holy Scripture |
Oratory
| A place of prayer, but technically it means a structure other than a parish church, set aside by ecclesiastical authority for prayer and the celebration of Mass |
Orcagna
| B. at Florence, early in the fourteenth century; d. there, 1368 |
Orcistus
| Titular see in Galatia Secunda |
Ordeals
| A means of obtaining evidence by trials, through which, by the direct interposition of God, the guilt or innocence of an accused person was firmly established, in the event that the truth could not be proved by ordinary means |
Order and Abbey of Fontevrault
| Situated in a wooded valley on the confines of Anjou, Tours, and Poitou |
Order of Aviz
| Military body of Portuguese knights |
Order of Friars Minor
| I. General History of the Order; II. The Reform Parties; III. Statistics of the Order; IV. The Various Names of the Friars Minor; V. The Habit; VI. The Constitution of the Order; VII. General Sphere of the Order's Activity; VIII. The Preaching Activity of |
Order of Friars Minor Conventuals
| One of the three separate bodies, with the Friars Minor and the Capuchins, which form what is commonly called the First Order of St. Francis |
Order of Gilbertines
| English order for women founded by St. Gilbert circa 1130 |
Order of Preachers
| As the Order of the Friars Preachers is the principal part of the entire Order of St. Dominic, we shall include under this title the two other parts of the order: the Dominican Sisters (Second Order) and the Brothers of Penitence of St. Dominic (Third Ord |
Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem
| Twelfth-century military order |
Order of Saint Sylvester
| Neither monastic nor military but a purely honorary title created by Gregory XVI, Oct. 31, 1841 |
Order of Servites
| Fifth mendicant order, the objects of which are the sanctification of its members, preaching the Gospel, and the propagation of devotion to the Mother of God, with special reference to her sorrows |
Order of the Holy Ghost
| Religious order originating from a hospital in Rome |
Order of the Knights of Christ
| Military order which sprang out of the famous Order of the Temple |
Order of the Presentation
| Founded at Cork, Ireland |
Order of the Swan
| A pious confraternity, indulgenced by the pope, which arose in 1440 |
Order of the the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament
| Order founded in the early part of the seventeenth century by Jeanne Chezard de Matel |
Order of Trinitarians
| Founder, St. John of Matha, a native of Provence and a doctor of the University of Paris, conceived the project under the inspiration of a pious solitary, St. Felix of Valois, in a hermitage called Cerfroid, which subsequently became the chief house of th |
Ordericus Vitalis
| Historian, b. 1075; d. about 1143 |
Orders of Saint Anthony
| Religious communities or orders under the patronage of St. Anthony the Hermit, father of monasticism, or professing to follow his rule |
Orders of Saint George
| Knights of St. George appear at different historical periods and in different countries as mutually independent bodies having nothing in common but the veneration of St. George, the patron of knighthood |
Orders of the Annunciation, The
| Penitential order founded by St. Jeanne de Valois |
Ordinariate
| All the various organs through which an ordinary, and especially a bishop, exercises the different forms of his authority |
Ordinary
| In ecclesiastical language, denotes any person possessing or exercising ordinary jurisdiction, i.e., jurisdiction connected permanently or at least in a stable way with an office, whether this connection arises from Divine law, as in the case of popes and |
Ordines Romani
| Histories of various Ordos |
Oregon
| The state |
Oremus
| Invitation to pray, said before collects and other short prayers and occuring continually in the Roman Rite |
Organ
| A musical instrument which consists of one or several sets of pipes, each pipe giving only one tone, and which is blown and played by mechanical means |
Organic Articles
| Law regulating public worship |
Oriental Study and Research
| Comprises the scientific investigation and discussion of all topics- linguistics, archaeology, ethnology, etc. connected with the East |
Orientation of Churches
| According to Tertullian the Christians of his time were, by some who concerned themselves with their form of worship, believed to be votaries of the sun |
Orientius
| Christian Latin poet of the fifth century |
Oriflamme
| A royal banner |
Origen and Origenism
| His life and works |
Original Sin
| I. Meaning; II. Principal Adversaries; III. Original Sin in Scripture; IV. Original Sin in Tradition; V. Original Sin in face of the Objections of Human Reason; VI. Nature of Original Sin; VII. How Voluntary |
Orkneys
| A group of islands lying to the north of Scotland |
Orlandus de Lassus
| Composer, b. at Mons, Hainault, Belgium, in 1520, d. at Munich, June 14, 1594 |
Oropus
| Titular see, suffragan of Anazarbus in Cilicia Secunda |
Orphans and Orphanages
| The death of one or both parents makes the child of the very poor a ward of the community. |
Orsini
| One of the most ancient and distinguished families of the Roman nobility, whose members often played an important role in the history of Italy, particularly in that of Rome and of the Papal States |
Orsisius
| An Egyptian monk of the fourth century, was a disciple of Pachomius on the island Tabenna in the Nile |
Orthodox Church
| The technical name for the body of Christians who use the Byzantine Rite in various languages and are in union with the Patriarch of Constantinople but in schism with the Pope of Rome |
Orthodoxy
| Signifies right belief or purity of faith |
Orthosias
| A titular see of Phoenicia Prima, suffragan of Tyre |
Ortolano Ferrarese
| Painter of the Ferrara School, b. in Ferrara, about 1490; d. about 1525 |
Ortwin Gratius
| Humanist; b. 1475; d. 1542 |
Orval
| Formerly a Cistercian abbey in Belgian Luxemburg, Diocese of Trier |
Osbald
| King of Northumbria, d. 799 |
Osbern
| Hagiographer, sometimes confused with Osbert de Clare alias Osbern de Westminister, b. at Canterbury and brought up by Godric, who was dean from 1058-80 |
Osbern Bokenham
| English Augustinian friar and poet (1393 - ca. 1447) |
Oscott
| Hamlet north of Birmingham (England); location of St. Mary's College |
Osee
| One of the Minor Prophets |
Osmund, Saint
| Bishop of Salisbury, d. 1099 |
Osorio Francisco Meneses
| Spanish painter, b. at Seville, 1630; d. probably in the same place, 1705 |
Ostensorium
| A vessel designed for the more convenient exhibition of some object of piety |
Ostiensis
| Surname of Leo Marsicanus, Benedictine chronicler, b. about 1045; d. May 22, 1115, 1116, or 1117 |
Ostracine
| Titular see and suffragan of Pelusium in Augustamnica prima |
Ostrogoths
| One of the two chief tribes of the Goths, a Germanic people |
Oswald, Saint (Archbishop of York)
| Archbishop of York, d. on February 29, 992 |
Oswald, Saint (king and martyr)
| King and martyr; b., probably, 605; d. Aug. 5, 642 |
Oswin, Saint
| King, and martyr, murdered at Gilling, near Richmond, Yorkshire, England, on August 20, 651, son of Osric, King of Deira in Britain |
Otfried of Weissenburg
| The oldest German poet known by name, author of the 'Evangelienbuch', a rhymed version of the Gospels, flourished in the ninth century, but the exact dates of his life are unknown |
Othlo
| A Benedictine monk of St. Emmeran's, Ratisbon, b. 1013 in the Diocese of. Freising; d. 1072 |
Othmar, Saint
| Priest; d. Nov. 16, 759, on the island of Werd in the Rhine, near Eschnez, Switzerland |
Ottavio Dei Petrucci
| Inventor of movable metal type for printing mensural and polyphonic music, b. at Fossombrone near Urbino, Italy, June 18, 1466; d. there, May 7, 1539 |
Ottmar Luscinius
| Alsatian Humanist, b. at Strasburg, 1487; d. at Freiburg, 1537 |
Otto II
| King of the Germans and Emperor of Rome, son of Otto I and Adelaide, b. 955; d. in Rome, Dec. 7, 983 |
Otto III
| German king and Roman emperor, b. 980; d. at Paterno, Jan. 24, 1002 |
Otto IV
| German king and Roman emperor, b. at Argentau (Dept. of Orne), c. 1182; d. May 19, 1218 |
Otto of Freising
| Bishop and historian, b. between 1111 and 1114, d. at Morimond, Champagne, France, September 22, 1158 |
Otto of Passau
| Franciscan |
Otto of St. Blasien
| Chronicler, b. about the middle of the twelfth century; d. 23 July, 1223, at St. Blasien in the Black Forest, Baden |
Otto Truchsess von Waldburg
| Cardinal-Bishop of Augsburg (1543-73), b. at Castle Scheer in Swabia, Feb. 26, 1514; d. at Rome. April 2, 1573 |
Otto, Saint
| Bishop of Bamberg, b. about 1060; d. June 30, 1139 |
Ottobeuren
| Formerly a Benedictine abbey, now a priory, near Memmingen in the Bavarian Allgau |
Ouen, Saint
| Archbishop of Rouen, b. at Sancy, near Soissons about 609; d. at Clichy-la-Garenne, near Paris, Aug. 24, 683 |
Our Lady of Ambronay
| Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin at Ambronay, France |
Our Lady of Arcachon
| Miraculous image venerated at Arcachon, France |