Maassen, Friedrich Bernard Christian Professor of law (1823-1900)

Perpignan, University of - Founded in 1349 by Peter IV of Aragon

Perraud, Adolphe - Cardinal and academician (1828-1906)

Perrault, Charles - French writer (1628-1703)

Perrault, Claude - French architect (1613-1688)

Perreyve, Henri - French priest (1831-1865)

Perrone, Giovanni - Italian Jesuit theologian (1794-1876)

Perry, Stephen Joseph - English Jesuit (1833-1889)

Persecution - The unlawful coercion of another's liberty or his unlawful punishment

Persecutions, Coptic - During the first two centuries the Church of Alexandria seems to have been freer from official persecution at the hands of the Roman Government than its sister churches of Rome and Antioch. . .

Perseverance, Final - The preservation of the state of grace till the end of life

Persia - The history, religion, and civilization of Persia are offshoots from those of Media.

Persian Rite - This rite is used by the Nestorians and also by Eastern Catholic bodies -- in Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Malabar -- who have separated from them

Persico, Ignatius - Italian cardinal (1823-1896)

Person - Discusses (1) the definition of 'person', especially with reference to the doctrine of the Incarnation; and (2) the use of the word 'persona' and its Greek equivalents in connection with the Trinitarian disputes.

Person, Ecclesiastical - Persons whom a special tie connects with the Church, either because they have received holy orders, or because they have taken vows in a religious order or congregation approved by the Church.

Personality - It is proposed in this article to give an account: (1) of the physical constituents of personality in accordance with the scholastic theory; (2) of concepts of personality that conflict with the theory; (3) of abnormalities of consciousness with reference to their bearing on theories of personality.

Persons, Robert - English Jesuit (1546-1610)

Perth - Diocese and city in Western Australia

Pertinax, Publius Helvius - Roman Emperor (A.D. 192)

Peru - A republic on the west coast of South America, founded in 1821 after the war of independence, having been a Spanish colony.

Perugia - Archdiocese and city in Umbria, central Italy

Perugia, University of - Italian university erected in 1308

Perugino - Artist's biography

Peruzzi, Baldassare - Italian architect and painter (1481-1537)

Pesaro - Diocese in central Italy

Pescennius Niger - Emperor of Rome (193-194).

Pesch, Tilman - Jesuit philosopher (1836-1899)

Pescia - Diocese in Tuscany, Italy

Pessimism - Term applied in popular language to persons who habitually take a melancholy view of life; or in philosophy, to a system that attempts to account for the presence of evil in the world.

Pessinus - Titular see of Galatia Secunda

Pestalozzi and Pestalozzianism - One of the greatest pioneers of modern education (1746-1827)

Pétau, Denis - French theologian (1583-1652)

Peter, Basilica of Saint - The present Church of St. Peter stands upon the site where at the beginning of the first century the gardens of Agrippina lay

Peter, Chair of - From the earliest times the Church at Rome celebrated on 18 January the memory of the day when the Apostle held his first service with the faithful of the Eternal City

Peter, Saint - Long article on his life

Peter, Saint, Epistles of - Considers the authenticity, recipients, occasion, object, and date and place of composition of these two epistles

Peter, Sarah - American philanthropist (1800-1877)

Peter, Tomb of Saint - The history of the confusion and conflicting authorities surrounding the location of the tomb of Saint Peter

Peter Baptist, Saint, and Twenty-Five Companions - Crucified in Nagasaki, 1597

Peterborough - Diocese located in Ontario, Canada

Peter Canisius, Blessed - Long essay on the Dutch Jesuit priest, who died in 1597

Peter Cantor - French theologian (d. 1197)

Peter Cellensis - Bishop of Chartres (d. 1183)

Peter Chrysologus, Saint - Bishop of Ravenna, d. 450. Pious, zealous, and a renowned speaker--thus the name 'Chrysologus'

Peter Claver, Saint - Biography of the Spanish Jesuit priest who for 33 years ministered to African slaves in the New World, and tried to stop the slave trade. Died in 1654

Peter Comestor - French theological writer (d. 1178)

Peter Damian, Saint - Cardinal, Doctor of the Church. Died in 1072. Biographical article

Peter de Blois - French statesman and theologian (1130-1203)

Peter de Honestis - Medieval monk (1049-1119)

Peter de Regalado, Saint - Spanish Franciscan of the Observance, reformer, d. 1456

Peter de Vinea - Most prominent statesman at the court of Frederick II (1190-1249)

Peter Faber, Saint - French priest, one of the first Jesuits, d. 1546

Peter Fourier, Saint - Parish priest, founder of the Congregation of Notre-Dame, reformer, d. 1640

Peter Fullo - Intruding Monophysite Patriarch of Antioch (d. 488)

Peter Gonzalez, Saint - Spanish Dominican, d. 1246. Patron saint of Spanish and Portuguese sailors

Peter Igneus, Blessed - So-called because he successfully underwent trial by fire. Vallombrosian monk, Cardinal of Albano, d. 1089

Peter Lombard - Biobibliographical essay on the Master of the Sentences

Peter-Louis-Marie Chanel, Saint - Two articles on the French Marist missionary. Martyred in 1841

Peter Mongus - Intruded Monophysite patriarch of Alexandria (d. 490)

Peter Nolasco, Saint - Biographical article on the founder of the Mercedarians

Peter of Alcántara, Saint - Spanish Franciscan priest, reformer, and mystic. Died in 1562

Peter of Alexandria, Saint - Became bishop of Alexandria in 300, and was martyred in 311

Peter of Aquila - Italian Franciscan theologian and bishop (d. 1361)

Peter of Arbues, Saint - More correctly called Peter Arbues, a Spanish canon. Was inquisitor provincial in the Kingdom of Aragon. He was assassinated in 1485

Peter of Auvergne - Philosopher and theologian (d. 1310)

Peter of Bergamo - Italian Dominican theologian (d. 1482)

Peter of Montboissier, Blessed - Better known as Peter the Venerable. General of the Cluniac order, prominent at the General Council of Pisa, commissioned the first Latin translation of the Koran. Renowned for his virtue and learning. Died in 1156

Peter of Poitiers - French scholastic theologian (1130-1215)

Peter of Sebaste, Saint - Brother of SS. Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Macrina the Younger. Peter was bishop of Sebaste, and died in 391

Peter of Verona, Saint - The son of Manichæans, he became a Dominican. He was martyred in 1252, and canonized only one year later

Peter Snow, Venerable - Short biographical profile of the English martyr, who died in 1598

Peterspence - The name traditionally given to an annual contribution or tribute (originally of a penny from each landowner) paid to the Holy See by various peoples of Christendom.

Peterssen, Gerlac - Medieval monk (1377-1411)

Peter the Hermit - Article on a man wrongly named by later writers as the instigator of the Crusades. In later life, Peter founded an abbey. He died in 1115

Peter Urseolus, Saint - The doge of Venice. He left his wife to become a Benedictine monk and later a hermit. Died in 987

Petinessus - Titular see in Galatia Secunda

Petit-Didier, Matthieu - Benedictine theologian and ecclesiastical historian (1659-1728)

Petitions to the Holy See - Requests for faculties, indults, dispensations and other favours, the granting of which is reserved to the Holy See

Petra - Titular metropolitan see of Palaestina Tertia

Petrarch, Francesco - Italian poet and humanist (1304-1374)

Petre, Family of - One of those staunch families that have played a great part in the preservation of the Catholic Faith in England.

Petrobrusians - Heretics of the twelfth century

Petronilla, Saint - Virgin, martyred at Rome, probably at the end of the first century. She has been venerated as a saint since at least the fourth century

Petronius, Saint - Bishop of Bologna, died sometime before 450

Petropolis - Diocese near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Petrus Alfonsus - A Jewish convert and controversialist (1062-1110)

Petrus Bernardinus - Florentine heretic (1475-1502)

Petrus Diaconus - The name of several men in ecclesiastical history and literature.

Petrus de Natalibus - Venetian bishop, author of a collection of lives of the saints; date of birth unknown; d. between 1400 and 1406.

Petun Nation - One of the three great divisions of the Huron Indians

Peuerbach, George von - Austrian astronomer (1423-1461)

Peutinger, Conrad - Antiquarian and humanist (1465-1547)

Peyto, William - English cardinal (d. 1558)

Pez - Autrian historian (1683-1735)

Pfanner, Franz - Abbot (1825-1909)

Pfefferkorn, Johannes - Convert from Judaism (1469-1521)

Pfister, Adolf - German educationist (1810-1878)

Pflug, Julius Von - The last Catholic Bishop of Naumburg-Zeitz (1499-1564)

Pforta - Former Cistercian monastery (1137-1540) in Germany

Phacusa - Titular see and suffragan of Pelusium, in Augustamnica Prima.

Pharao - The title given in Sacred Scripture to the ancient kings of Egypt

Pharbætus - Titular see and suffragan of Leontopolis, in Augustamnica Secunda.

Pharisees - A politico-religious sect or faction among the adherents of later Judaism, that came into existence as a class about the third century B.C. . . .

Pharsalus - Titular see and suffragan of Larissa in Thessaly.

Phaselis - Titular see in Lycia, suffragan of Myra.

Phasga - A mountain of the Alarm range, east of the Jordan

Phenomenalism - Philosophical theories that assert that there is no knowledge other than that of phenomena

Philadelphia (Lydia) - Titular see in Lydia, suffragan of Sardes.

Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) - Archdiocese in Pennsylvania, United States

Philanthropinism - The system of education educed from the ideas of Rousseau and of the German 'Enlightenment', and established by Basedow on the basis of 'philanthropy'.

Philastrius, Saint - Bishop of Brescia, died before 397. Catalogued heresies, and preached especially against Arianism

Philemon - A citizen of Colossae, to whom St. Paul addressed a private letter, unique in the New Testament, which bears his name.

Philip the Apostle, Saint - Brief article on this New Testament figure in Scripture and Christian tradition

Philip II (Augustus) - King of France (1165-1223)

Philip II - King of Spain (1527-1598)

Philip IV - King of France (1268-1314)

Philip of Jesus, Saint - Biography of the Mexican-born Franciscan martyr, the patron saint of Mexico City. Crucified in Nagasaki in 1597

Philip of the Blessed Trinity - Discalced Carmelite and theologian (1603-1671)

Philip the Arabian - Emperor of Rome (reigned 244-249)

Philip Romolo Neri, Saint - Biographical article on the Apostle of Rome, who died in 1595

Philippi - Macedonian town on the borders of Thracia

Philippi - Titular metropolitan see in Macedonia.

Philippians, Epistle to the - Epistle written by St. Paul to the Christians of Philippi

Philippine Islands - An island nation in the Pacific Ocean

Philippopolis - Titular metropolitan see of Thracia Secunda.

Philippopolis - Titular see in Arabia, suffragan of Bostra.

Philips, Peter - English priest (b. 1560)

Philistines - Inhabitants of the maritime plain of Palestine from the time of Judges onward

Phillip, Robert - French priest (d. 1647)

Phillips, George - Austrian canonist (1804-1872)

Philo Judæus - Article on his life, writings and doctrine, by Emile Brehier

Philomelium - Titular see in Pisidia, suffragan of Antioch.

Philomena, Saint - Skeptical article on St. Philomena, whose supposed relics were discovered at the beginning of the nineteenth century

Philosophy - Detailed article on the history of the 'love of wisdom'

Philoxenus - One of the greatest masters of Syriac prose (d. 523)

Phocæa - Titular see in Asia, suffragan of Ephesus.

Phœnicia - A narrow strip of land, about 30 x 150 miles, shut in between the Mediterranean on the west and the high range of Lebanon on the east

Photinus - Heretic, Galatian, deacon to Marcellus, Metropolitan of Ancyra (d. 376)

Photius of Constantinople - Chief author of the great schism between East and West (b. c. 815)

Phylacteries - Small square cases of leather, worn on the forehead and forearm, used for devotional purposes

Physics, History of - An article on the history and theories of physics

Physiocrats - Describes the origins of Physiocratic theory

Physiologus - An early Christian work of a popular theological type, describing animals real or fabulous and giving each an allegorical interpretation.

Piacenza - Diocese in central Italy

Pianciani, Giambattista - Italian Jesuit scientist (1784-1862)

Pianô Carpine, Giovanni da - Italian Franciscan (1182-1252)

Piatto Cardinalizio - An allowance granted by the pope to certain cardinals

Piatus of Mons - Belgian priest and canonist (1815-1904)

Piauhy - Diocese in northeastern Brazil

Piazza Armerina - Located in Sicily, Italy

Piazzi, Giuseppe - Italian astronomer (1746-1826)

Pibush, John - English priest and missionary to his native land, imprisoned for more than six years, on trial twice for the crime of being a priest, martyred at Waterings in 1600 or 1601

Picard, Jean - French astronomer (1620-1682)

Piccolomini, Alessandro - Litterateur, philosopher, astronomer (1508-1578)

Piccolomini-Ammannati, Jacopo - Italian cardinal (1422-1479)

Pichler - Renowned Austrian family of gem-cutters who lived and died in Italy.

Pichler, Vitus - German canonist and controversial writer (1670-1736)

Pickering, Ven. Thomas - Benedictine lay brother, martyred in 1679

Piconio, Bernadine a - French Capuchin (1633-1709)

Picture Bibles - In the Middle Ages the Church made use of pictures as a means of instruction, to supplement the knowledge acquired by reading or oral teaching

Picquet, François - Sulpician missionary in Canada (1708-1781)

Pie, Louis-Edouard-Désiré - French cardinal (1815-1880)

Pieck, Saint Nicholas - Franciscan, studied at Louvain, was ordained a priest. He was martyred in 1572

Piedmont - A region of northern Italy

Piel, Peter - A German pioneer in the movement for reform of church music (1835-1904)

Pie Pelicane, Jesu, Domine - The sixth quatrain of Adoro Te Devote, sometimes used as a separate hymn at Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament

Pierius - Priest and probably head master of the catechetical school at Alexandria (d. after 309)

Pierre de Castelnau, Blessed - Cistercian, worked for the conversion of the Albigensians, was martyred in 1208

Pierre de Maricourt - Article on this 13th-century theorist of optics and magnetism, written by Pierre Duhem

Pierron, Jean - French missionary (b. 1631)

Pierson, Philippe - Belgian Jesuit (1642-1688)

Pietism - Seventeenth-century Protestant reform movement

Pighius, Albert - Theologian, mathematician, and astronomer (1490-1542)

Pignatelli, Venerable Giuseppe Maria - Jesuit priest, novice master, provincial, d. 1811

Pike, William - A Dorset layman, a joiner by trade. Converted to Catholicism. He was martyred in 1591

Pilar, Nuestra Señora del - 'Our Lady of the Pillar', a celebrated church and shrine, at Saragossa, Spain, containing a miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin

Pilate, Pontius - Fifth procurator of Judea (A.D. 26-36) who ordered the crucifixion of Our Lord

Pilchard, Venerable Thomas - Or Pilcher. Short biography of the English priest and martyr. He was executed at Dorchester, 21 March 1586 or 1587

Pileolus - The small, round skullcap of the ecclesiastic

Pilgrimage of Grace - A religious rising in the north of England in 1536.

Pilgrimages - Journeys made to some place with the purpose of venerating it, or in order to ask there for supernatural aid, or to discharge some religious obligation.

Piligrim - Bishop of Passau (d. 991)

Pillar of Cloud/Fire - A luminous cloud that accompanied the Israelites during their wandering

Pima Indians - An important tribe of Southern Arizona, centering along the middle Gila and the Salt River.

Pinara - Titular see in Lycia, suffragan of Myra

Pinar del Rio - Diocese in Cuba

Pindemonte, Ippolito - Italian poet (1753-1828)

Pineda, John de - Spanish Jesuit (1558-1637)

Pinerolo - Diocese near Turin in Italy

Pingré, Alexandre Guy - French theologian and astronomer (1711-1796)

Pinna da Encarnaçao, Mattheus - Brazilian writer and theologian (1687-1764)

Pinto, Fernão Mendes - Portuguese traveller (1509-1583)

Pinturicchio - Italian artist (1454-1513)

Pinzón, Martín Alonso - Spanish navigator and companion of Columbus (1441-1493)

Piombo, Sebastiano del - Venetian portrait painter (1485-1547)

Pionius, Saint - Martyred at Smyrna in 250

Pious Fund of the Californias, The - Originated in 1697 in voluntary donations made to Jesuits in Mexico for the propagation of the Faith in California

Pious Society of Missions, The - Founded by Vincent Mary Pallotti in 1835; generally called Pallottini Fathers.

Piranesi, Giambattista - Italian etcher and engraver (1720-1778)

Pirhing, Ernricus - German Jesuit (1606-1681)

Pirkheimer - Poor Clare abbess (1466-1532)

Piro Indians - A tribe of considerable importance in northeastern Peru

Pisa - Archdiocese in Tuscany in central Italy

Pisa, Council of - council held in the fifteenth century to settle the question of the Great Western Schism

Pisa, University of - In the eleventh century there were many jurisconsults at Pisa who lectured on law; prominent among them were Opitone and Sigerdo. . .

Pisano, Andrea - An Italian sculptor and architect, b. 1270; d. 1349

Pisano, Niccola - Pisan architect and sculptor (1205-1278)

Piscataway Indians - The first Indian tribe whose Christianization was attempted under English auspices

Piscina - Liturgical structures used in baptisms or priestly ablutions

Pise, Charles Constantine - Priest, poet, and prose writer (1801-1866)

Pisidia - A country in the southwestern part of Asia Minor

Pistoia, Synod of - Held in 1786 by Scipio de' Ricci in an effort to advance Jansenism

Pistoia and Prato - Diocese near Florence, Italy

Pistorius, Johann - German controversialist and historian (1546-1608)

Pithou, Pierre - French writer (1539-1596)

Pitoni, Joseph - Italian musician (1657-1743)

Pitra, Jean-Baptiste-François - Cardinal, archaeologist and theologian (1812-1889)

Pitts, John - English priest (1560-1616)

Pittsburgh - Diocese in western Pennsylvania in the United States of America

Pityus - Titular see in Pontus Polemoniacus, suffragan of Neocaesarea.

Pius I, Pope Saint - He excommunicated Marcion, and died in about 154

Pius II, Pope - Pope who reigned from 1458 to 1464

Pius III, Pope - Pope who reigned for four weeks in 1503

Pius IV, Pope - Pope who reigned from 1559 to 1565

Pius V, Pope Saint - Biography of the sixteenth-century pontiff

Pius VI, Pope - Pope who reigned from 1775 to 1799

Pius VII, Pope - Pope who reigned from 1800 to 1823

Pius VIII, Pope - Pope who reigned from 1829 to 1830

Pius IX, Pope - Biography of this pope, who died in 1878

Pius X, Pope Saint - Long article on the pontiff

Piusverein - The name given to Catholic associations in various countries of Europe.

Pizarro, Francisco - Concise biographical article on the explorer

Placidus, Saint - An early follower of St. Benedict

Plagues of Egypt - Ten calamities inflicted on the Egyptians to overcome Pharaoh's obstinacy and force him to let the Israelites to leave Egypt

Plain Chant - Description and history of the precursor to Gregorian chant

Plantaganet, Henry Beaufort - Cardinal, Bishop of Winchester (1377-1447)

Plantin, Christophe - Book-binder and publisher in Antwerp (1514-1589)

Plants in the Bible - Discusses all of the types of plants mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures

Plasencia - Diocese in Italy

Plateau, Joseph-Antoine - Belgian physicist (1801-1883)

Platina, Bartolomeo - Humanist and Vatican librarian (1421-1481)

Plato and Platonism - Greek philosopher (b. c. 428 B.C.)

Play, Pierre-Guillaume-Frédéric Le - French economist (1806-1882)

Plegmund - Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 914)

Plenarium - A book of formulae and texts.

Plenary Council - A canonical term applied to various kinds of ecclesiastical synods.

Plessis, Joseph-Octave - Bishop of Quebec (1763-1822)

Plethon, Georgius Gemistus - Philosopher in Constantinople (1355-1450)

Plock - Diocese near Warsaw

Plowden, Charles - English Jesuit (1743-1821)

Plowden, Edmund - English jurist and writer (1517-1584)

Plowden, Francis - English jurist and writer (1749-1819)

Plowden, Robert - Belgian Jesuit (1740-1823)

Plowden, Thomas - English Jesuit (1594-1664)

Plowden, Thomas Percy - English Jesuit (1672-1745)

Plumier, Charles - French botanist (1646-1704)

Plunket, Blessed Oliver - Biographical article on the professor of theology, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, martyred in 1681

Pluscarden Priory - Valliscaulian monastery founded in 1230

Plymouth - Diocese in England

Pneumatomachi (Macedonians) - A fourth- and fifth-century heretical sect that denied the divinity of the Holy Ghost

Poetry, Hebrew, of the Old Testament - No one can read attentively the poorest version of the Old Testament without feeling how strong a vein of poetry runs through its pages. . .

Poggio Bracciolini, Giovanni Francesco - Italian humanist and historian (1380-1459)

Poggio Mirteto - Diocese in central Italy

Pogla - Titular see in Pamphylia Secunda

Poitiers - Diocese and city in France

Poland - Country in eastern Europe

Polding, John Bede - Archbishop of Sydney (1794-1877)

Pole, Blessed Margaret - Biography of the Countess of Salisbury, martyred in 1541

Pole, Reginald - English cardinal (1500-1558)

Polemonium - Titular see in Pontus Polemoniacus, suffragan of Neocaesarea.

Poleni, Giovanni - Italian marquess, physicist, and antiquarian (1683-1761)

Poles in the United States - Covers the causes and history of the Polish immigration

Policastro - Diocese near Salerno in southern Italy

Polignac, Melchior de - Cardinal, diplomatist, and writer (1661-1742)

Polish Literature - Of the literature of Poland before the advent of Christianity (965) very few traces indeed are extant . . .

Politi, Lancelot - Siennese canon lawyer (1483-1553)

Politian - Italian humanist (1454-1494)

Political Economy, Science of - The social science which treats of man's activities in providing the material means to satisfy his wants

Pollajuolo, Antonio and Piero Benci - Florentine portrait painters in the fifteenth century

Polo, Marco - Venetian traveller (1251-1324)

Polybotus - Titular see in Phrygia Salutaris, suffragan of Synnada.

Polycarp, Saint - Long article on what we can know about St. Polycarp, from ancient sources. Martyred in 155

Polycarpus - The title of a canonical collection in eight books composed in Italy by Cardinal Gregorius.