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

Mary, Devotion to the Heart of - Description of this devotion, along with its history

Mary, Devotion to the Virgin - Devotion to Our Blessed Lady in its ultimate analysis must be regarded as a practical application of the doctrine of the Communion of Saints

Mary, Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary - The earliest document commemorating this feast comes from the sixth century. . .

Mary, Little Brothers of - A religious teaching institute, founded in 1817, generally known as the Marists

Mary, Missionaries of the Company of - The Company of Mary was founded by Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort in 1713

Mary, Mother of John Mark - Generally known as Marist School Brothers. This religious teaching institute is modern in its origin, having been founded in 1817, in France, by Benedict Marcellin Champagnat

Mary, Name of - In Scripture and in Catholic use

Mary, Name of - The Hebrew form of her name is Miryam

Mary, Society of (Marist Fathers) - A religious order of priests, so called on account of the special devotion they profess toward the Blessed Virgin

Mary, Society of, of Paris - Founded in 1817 by Very Reverend William Joseph Chaminade at Bordeaux, France

Mary, Tomb of the Blessed Virgin - Explores the question where Mary died and was buried, either Jerusalem or Ephesus

Mary de Cervellione - Popularly called Maria de Socos. First superior of a Third Order branch of the Mercedarians, for women. She died in 1290

Mary of Cleophas - This title occurs only in John, xix, 25. A comparison of the lists of those who stood at the foot of the cross would seem to identify her with Mary, the mother of James the Less and Joseph ( Mark, xv, 40; cf. Matt., xxvii, 56)

Mary of Romans 16:6 - She had 'laboured much among' the Roman Church, hence St. Paul's salutation to her

Mary Anne de Paredes, Blessed - Of Quito, Ecuador, lived as a solitary in her own home and had many extraordinary spiritual gifts. She died in 1645

Mary de Sales Chappuis, Venerable - Belonging to the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, born at Soyhières, a village of the Bernese Jura (then French territory), 16 June, 1793; died at Troyes, 6 October, 1875

Mary Frances of the Five Wounds of Jesus, Saint - Third Order Franciscan, d. 1791

Maryland - One of the thirteen English colonies which after the Revolution of 1776 became the original States of the American Union

Mary Magdalen, Saint - Article on the Apostle to the Apostles

Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi, Saint - Biography of the 17th-century Carmelite mystic

Mary of Egypt, Saint - Biographical article on the penitent and hermit, who died around 421

Mary Queen of Scots - Mary Stuart, born at Linlithgow, 8 December, 1542; died at Fotheringay, 8 February, 1587. She was the only legitimate child of James V of Scotland

Mary Tudor - Queen of England from 1553 to 1558; born 18 February, 1516; died 17 November, 1558. Mary was the daughter and only surviving child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon

Masaccio - Italian painter, born about 1402, at San Giovanni di Valdarno, a stronghold situated between Arezzo and Florence; died, probably at Rome, in 1429

Mascoutens Indians - A Wisconsin tribe of Algonquian stock of considerable missionary importance in the seventeenth century, but long since entirely extinct

Masolino da Panicale - Son of Cristoforo Fini; b. in the subrub of Panicale di Valdese, near Florence, 1383; d, c. 1440

Mason, Richard Angelus a S. Francisco - Franciscan writer; b. in Wiltshire, 1599; d. at Douai, 30 Dec, 1678

Masonry - An overview of Freemasonry and description of its condemnation by the Catholic Church

Maspha - Name of several places in the Bible

Mass, Chapter and Conventual - A conventual Mass sung or said in all cathedrals and collegiate churches that have a chapter; in this case it is often called the 'chapter' Mass

Mass, Liturgy of the - The complex of prayers and ceremonies that make up the service of the Eucharist in the Latin rites

Mass, Music of the - Article covers exclusively the texts of the Mass (not seasonal) which receive a musical treatment

Mass, Nuptial - 'Missa pro sponso et sponsa', the last among the votive Masses in the Missal. It is composed of lessons and chants suitable to the Sacrament of Matrimony, contains prayers for persons just married and is interwoven with part of the marriage rite, of which in the complete form it is an element

Mass, Parochial - A Mass celebrated for parishioners on all Sundays and holidays of obligation

Mass, Sacrifice of the - The word Mass (missa) first established itself as the general designation for the Eucharistic Sacrifice in the West after the time of Pope Gregory the Great, the early Church having used the expression the 'breaking of bread' (fractio panis) or 'liturgy'

Massa Candida - The fame of the Massa Candida has been perpetuated chiefly through two early references to them: that of St. Augustine, and that of the poet Prudentius

Massa Carrara - Diocese in Central Italy (Lunigiana and Garfagnana)

Massachusetts - One of the thirteen original United States of America. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts covers part of the territory originally granted to the Plymouth Company of England

Massacre, Saint Bartholomew's Day - This massacre of which Protestants were the victims occurred in Paris on 24 August, 1572 (the feast of St. Bartholomew), and in the provinces of France during the ensuing weeks, and it has been the subject of knotty historical disputes

Massaia, Guglielmo - A Cardinal, born 9 June, 1809, at Piova in Piedmont, Italy; died at Cremona, 6 August, 1889

Massa Marittima - In the Province of Grosseto, in Tuscany, first mentioned in the eighth century

Massé, Enemond - One of the first Jesuits sent to New France; born at Lyons, 1574; died at Sillery, l2 May, 1646

Masses, Bequests for - Information on court cases about the subject

Masses, Bequests for (Canada) - Information on the laws

Masses, Bequests for (England) - Before the Reformation dispositions of property, whether real or personal, for the purposes of Masses, were valid, unless where, in the case of real property, they might happen to conflict with the Mortmain laws by being made to religious congregations

Masses, Devises and Bequests for (United States) - Laws from various states discussed

Massillon, Jean-Baptiste - A celebrated French preacher and bishop; born 24 June, 1663; died 28 September, 1742

Massorah - The textual tradition of Hebrew Bible, an official registration of its words, consonants, vowels and accents

Massoulié, Antoine - Theologian, born at Toulouse, 28 Oct., 1632; died at Rome, 23 Jan., 1706

Massuet, René - Benedictine patrologist, of the Congregation of St. Maur; born 13 August, 1666, at St. Ouen de Mancelles in the diocese of Evreux; died 11 Jan. 1716, at St. Germain des Prés in Paris

Massys, Quentin - A painter, born at Louvain in 1466; died at Antwerp in 1530 (bet. 13 July and 16 September), and not in 1529, as his epitaph states (it dates from the seventeenth century)

Master of Arts - An academic degree higher than that of Bachelor

Master of Liesborn, The - A Westphalian painter, who in 1465 executed an altar-piece of note in the Benedictine monastery of Liesborn, founded by Charlemagne

Master of the Sacred Palace - This office (which has always been entrusted to a Friar Preacher) may briefly be described as being that of the pope's theologian. St. Dominic, appointed in 1218, was the first Master of the Sacred Palace (Magister Sacri Palatii)

Mastrius, Bartholomew - Franciscan, philosopher, and theologian, born near Forli, at Meldola, ltaly, in 1602; died 3 January, 1673

Mataco Indians - Tribes ranging over a great part of the Chaco region, about the headwaters of the Vermejo and the Picomayo, in the Argentine province of Salta and the Bolivian province of Tarija, and noted for the efforts made by Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries in their behalf in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries

Mater - A titular bishopric in the province of Byzantium

Materialism - As the word itself signifies, Materialism is a philosophical system which regards matter as the only reality in the world, which undertakes to explain every event in the universe as resulting from the conditions and activity of matter, and which thus denies the existence of God and the soul

Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Feast of the - Second Sunday in October. The object of this feast is to commemorate the dignity of the Mary as Mother of God

Mathathias - The name of ten persons of the Bible, variant in both Hebrew and Greek of Old Testament and in Greek of New Testament; uniform in Vulgate

Mathew, Theobald - Apostle of Temperance, born at Thomastown Castle, near Cashel, Tipperary, Ireland, 10 October, 1790; died at Queenstown, Cork, 8 December, 1856

Mathieu, François-Désiré - Bishop and cardinal, born 27 May, 1839; died 26 October, 1908

Mathusala - One of the Hebrew patriarchs, mentioned in Genesis 5

Matilda, Saint - Biography of the Queen of Germany, wife of Henry I (the Fowler). She died in 968

Matilda, Saint - Born Matilda von Hackeborn-Wippra, blood sister of the Abbess Gertrude von Hackeborn, monastic herself. Quite plausibly the model for Matelda in Dante's 'Purgatorio.' She died in 1298

Matilda of Canossa - Countess of Tuscany, daughter and heiress of the Marquess Boniface of Tuscany, and Beatrice, daughter of Frederick of Lorraine, b. 1046; d. 24 July, 1114

Matins - Not Morning Prayer, but a nighttime prayer, which has now been replaced by the Office of Readings

Matricula - A term having several meanings in the field of Christian antiquity

Matteo da Siena - Painter (1435-1495)

Matteo di Termini - Counselor to the King of Sicily, joined the Augustinians, renowned for his knowledge of civil and ecclesiastical law, served as the pope's confessor, was General of his Order

Matteo of Aquasparta - Italian Franciscan (1235-1302)

Matter - Taking the term in its widest sense, matter signifies that out of which anything is made or composed

Matteucci, Carlo - Physicist, born at Forli, in the Romagna, 21 June, 1811; died at Ardenza, near Leghorn, 25 July, 1868

Matthew, Saint - The Apostle and Evangelist, in Scripture and tradition

Matthew, Gospel of Saint - Detailed article about the first Gospel

Matthew, Sir Tobie - English priest, born at Salisbury, 3 October, 1577, died at Ghent, 13 October, 1655

Matthew of Bassi - Founder of the Capuchins (1495-1552)

Matthew of Cracow - Renowned scholar and preacher of the fourteenth century, b. at Cracow about 1335, d. at Pisa, 5 March, 1410

Matthias, Saint - The Apostle, in Scripture and legend

Matthias Corvinus - King of Hungary (1440-1490)

Matthias of Neuburg - Chronicler, born towards the close of the thirteenth century, possibly at Neuburg, in Baden; died between 1364 and 1370, probably at Strasburg, in Alsace

Maundy Thursday - The feast of Maundy (or Holy) Thursday solemnly commemorates the institution of the Eucharist and is the oldest of the observances peculiar to Holy Week

Maunoury, Auguste-François - Hellenist and exegete (1811-1898)

Maurice, Saint - Leader of the Theban Legion, killed around 287

Maurice - Roman Emperor, born in 539; died in November, 602

Maurists, The - A congregation of Benedictine monks in France, whose history extends from 1618 to 1818

Maurus, Saint - Deacon, disciple of St. Benedict. Portrayed by St. Gregory the Great as a model of monastic obedience. Died 584

Maurus, Sylvester - Writer on philosophy and theology, b. at Spoleto, 31 Dec., 1619; d. in Rome, 13 Jan., 1687

Maurus Magnentius Rabanus, Blessed - Biographical article on this Benedictine, abbot of Fulda, Archbishop of Mainz, theologian, who died in 856

Maury, Jean-Siffrein - Cardinal and statesman, born at Valréas, near Avignon, 26 June, 1746; died at Rome on 10 May, 1817

Maxentius, Joannes - Leader of the so-called Scythian monks, appears in history at Constantinople in 519 and 520

Maxentius, Marcus Aurelius - Roman Emperor 306-12, son of the Emperor Maximianus Herculius and son-in-law of the chief Emperor Galerius

Maxfield, Venerable Thomas - Real name, Thomas Macclesfield. Short biographical article on the priest, martyred at Tyburn in 1616

Maximianopolis - A titular see of Palestina Secunda, suffragan of Scythopolis

Maximianus - Roman emperor (d. 310)

Maximilian - Brief profiles of three saints of this name

Maximilian I - Duke of Bavaria (1573-1651)

Maximinus, Saint - Bishop of Trier, d. 349 or 352

Maximinus, Caius Valerius Daja - Under his uncle Augustus Galerius, the Caesar of Syria and Egypt, from the year 305; in 307 following the example of Constantine, he assumed the title of Augustus

Maximinus Thrax - Roman emperor 235-238

Maximopolis - Titular see of Arabia

Maximus of Constantinople, Saint - Also known as Maximus the Theologian or Maximus Confessor. Monk, abbot, wrote on ascetic mysticism, and on the Incarnation against the Monothelites. Died in exile, 662

Maximus of Turin, Saint - Bishop and theological writer (380-465)

Maxwell, William - Fifth Earl of Nithsdale (Lord Nithsdale signed as Nithsdaill) and fourteenth Lord Maxwell, b. in 1676; d. at Rome, 2 March, 1744

Maxwell, Winifred - Countess of Nithsdale, d. at Rome, May, 1749

Maya Indians - The most important of the cultured native peoples of North America, both in the degree of their civilization and in population and resources, formerly occupying a territory of about 60,000 square miles, including the whole of the peninsula of Yucatan, Southern Mexico, together with the adjacent portion of Northern Guatemala

Mayer, Christian - Franciscan writer; b. in Wiltshire, 1599; d. at Douai, 30 Dec, 1678

Mayhew, Edward - Born in 1569; died 14 September, 1625. He belonged to the old English family of Mayhew or Mayow of Winton, near Salisbury, Wiltshire

Mayne, Blessed Cuthbert - Englishman, Protestant minister, converted to Catholicism, died a martyr in 1577. Biographical article

Maynooth College - The National College of Saint Patrick, at Maynooth in County Kildare, about twelve miles from Dublin, founded in the year 1795

Mayo, School of - Was situated in the present parish of Mayo, County Mayo, almost equidistant from the towns of Claremorris and Castlebar. The founder, St. Colman, who flourished about the middle of the seventh century, was in all probability a native of the West of Ireland, and made his ecclesiastical studies at Iona during the abbacy of the renowned Segenius

Mayo Indians - A tribe that occupied some fifteen towns on Mayo and Fuerte rivers, southern Sonora and northern Sinaloa, Mexico

Mayor, John - A Scotch philosopher and historian, b. at Gleghornie near Haddington, 1496; d. at St. Andrew's, 1550

Mayoruna Indians - A tribe of Panoan linguistic stock, ranging the forests between the Ucayali, the Yavari and the Marañon (Amazon) rivers in north-east Peru and the adjacent portions of Brazil

Mayotte, Nossi-Bé, and Comoro - Mayotte is the farthest south and most important of the group of Comoro Islands: Mayotte (Maote), Anjuan (Inzuani), Mohilla (Moheli), and Great Comoro (Komoro, i.e. where there is fire, or Angazidya)

Mayr, Beda - A Bavarian Benedictine philosopher, apologist, and poet, b. 15 January, 1742 at Daiting near Augsburg; d. 28 April, 1794, in the monastery of Heillgenkreuz in Donauworth

Mayron, Francis - Born about 1280, probably at Mayronnes, Department of Basses-Alpes, he entered the Franciscan order at the neighbouring Digne (or Sisteron)

Mazarin, Jules - Born either at Rome or at Piscina in the Abruzzi, of a very old Sicilian family, 14 July, 1602; died at Vincennes, 9 March, 1661

Mazatec Indians - Mexican tribe of Zapotecan linguistic stock, occupying the mountain region of north-east Oaxaca, chiefly in the districts of Cuicatlan and Teotitlan

Mazenod, Charles Joseph Eugene de - Short biography of the bishop of Marseilles and founder of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate

Mazzara del Vallo - The city is situated in the province of Trepani, Sicily, on the Mediterranean, at the mouth of the Mazzara River

Mazzella, Camillo - Theologian and cardinal, born at Vitulano, 10 Feb., 1833; d. at Rome, 26 March, 1900

Mazzolini, Lodovico - Italian painter, b. in Ferrara in 1480, d., according to one account, in 1528, and to another, in 1530; place of death unknown

Mazzolini, Sylvester - Theologian, b. at Priero, Piedmont, 1460; d. at Rome, 1523, sometimes confounded with Sylvester Ferrariensis (d. 1526)

Mazzuchelli, Pietro Francesco - Milanese painter, b. at Moranzone near Milan, either in 1571 or 1575; d. at Piacenza in 1626

Mbaya Indians - A tribe formerly ranging on both sides of the Paraguay River, on the north and northwestern Paraguay frontier, and in the adjacent portion of the province of Matto Grosso, Brazil

Meagher, Thomas Francis - Soldier, politician, b. at Waterford, Ireland, 3 August, 1823; accidentally drowned in the Missouri River, Montana Territory, U.S.A., 1 July, 1867

Meath - Diocese in Ireland, suffragan of Armagh

Meaux, Diocese of - Comprises the entire department of Seine and Marne, suffragan of Sens until 1622, and subsequently of Paris

Meaux - English Cistercian abbey

Mecca - The birthplace of Mohammed and the seat of the famous Kaaba, it was celebrated even in pre-Islamic times as the chief sanctuary of the Arabs, and visited by numerous pilgrims and devotees

Mechanism - There is no constant meaning in the history of philosophy for the word Mechanism. Originally, the term meant that cosmological theory which ascribes the motion and changes of the world to some external force

Mechitar - The name taken by Peter Manuk, founder of the religious order of Mechitarists, when he became a monk

Mechitarists - Armenian Benedictines, founded by Mechitar in 1712

Mechlin - Archdiocese comprising the two Belgian provinces of Antwerp and Brabant

Mechtel, Johann - Chronicler; b. 1562 at Pfalzel near Trier (Germany); d. after 1631, perhaps as late as 1653 at Trier

Mechtilde, Saint - Born Matilda von Hackeborn-Wippra, blood sister of the Abbess Gertrude von Hackeborn, monastic herself. Quite plausibly the model for Matelda in Dante's 'Purgatorio.' She died in 1298

Mechtild of Magdeburg - A famous medieval mystic (1210-1285)

Mecklenburg - A division of the German Empire, consists of the two Grand Duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Medaille, Jean Paul - Jesuit missionary; b. at Carcassonne, the capital of the Department of Aude, France, 29 January, 1618; d. at Auch, the capital of the Department of Gers, France, 15 May, 1689

Medals, Devotional - A medal may be defined to be a piece of metal, usually in the form of a coin, not used as money, but struck or cast for a commemorative purpose, and adorned with some appropriate effigy, device, or inscription. In the present article we are concerned only with religious medals

Medal, Miraculous - The devotion owes its origin to Zoe Labore, a member of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, known in religion as Sister Catherine, to whom the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared three separate times in the year 1830, at the mother-house of the community at Paris

Medal of Saint Benedict - A medal, originally a cross, dedicated to the devotion in honour of St. Benedict

Medardus, Saint - Bishop of Noyon, d. around 545

Medea - A titular see of Thrace, suffragan of Heraclea

Medellín - Archdiocese in the Republic of Colombia, Metropolitan of Antioquia and Manizales, in the Departments of Medellín, Antioquia, and Manizales

Media and Medes - An ancient country of Asia and the inhabitants thereof

Mediator (Christ as Mediator) - A mediator is one who brings estranged parties to an amicable agreement. In New Testament theology the term invariably implies that the estranged beings are God and man, and it is appropriated to Christ, the One Mediator

Medices, Hieronymus - Illustrious as a scholastic of acumen and penetration, b. at Camerino in Umbria, 1569, whence the surname de Medicis a Camerino

Medici, House of - A Florentine family, the members of which, having acquired great wealth as bankers, rose in a few generations to be first the unofficial rulers of the republic of Florence and afterwards the recognized sovereigns of Tuscany

Medici, Catherine de' - Born 13 April, 1519; died 5 January, 1589; she was the daughter of Lorenzo de' Medici (II), Duke of Urbino, and Madeleine de la Tour d' Auvergne who, by her mother, Catherine of Bourbon, was related to the royal house of France

Medici, Maria de' - Queen of France; b. at Florence, 26 April, 1573; d. at Cologne, 3 July, 1642

Medicine, History of - Presents the history of modern medical science from its Greek foundation

Medicine and Canon Law - In the early centuries the practice of medicine by clerics, whether secular or regular, was not treated with disapproval by the Church, nor was it at all uncommon for them to devote a considerable part of their time to the medical avocation. Abuses, however, arose, and in the twelfth century ecclesiastical canons were framed which became more and more adverse to clerics practising the art of medicine

Medina, Bartholomew - Dominican theologian, b. at Medina, 1527; d. at Salamanca, 1581

Medina, Juan de - Theologian; born 1490; died 1547; he occupied the first rank among the theologians of the sixteenth century

Medina, Miguel de - Theologian, born at Belalcazar, Spain, 1489; died at Toledo, May, 1578

Medrano, Francisco - A Spanish lyric poet, b. in Seville, not to be confounded with Sebastian Francisco de Medrano who was also a poet and lived at about the same time

Medulic, Andras - A Croatian painter and engraver, called by Italian authors Medola, Medula, Schiavone, Schiaon, etc., b. at Sibenik, Dalmatia, 1522; d. at Venice 1582

Meehan, Charles Patrick - Irish historical writer and translator, b. in Dublin, 12 July, 1812; d. there 14 March 1890

Megara - A titular see, suffragan to Corinth, in Achaia

Megarians - Short article on the history and teachings of this school of philosophy by William Turner

Mège, Antoine-Joseph - A Maurist Benedictine. Writer and translator. He died in 1691

Mehrerau - Formerly a Benedictine, now a Cistercian Abbey, is situated on Lake Constance, west of Bregenz, in the district of Vorarlberg, Austria

Meignan, Guillaume-René - Cardinal Archbishop of Tours, French apologist and Scriptural exegete, b. at Chauvigné, France, 12 April, 1817; d. at Tours, 20 January 1896

Meilleur, Jean-Baptiste - French Canadian physician and educator, b. at St. Laurent, P.Q., 9 May, 1796; d. 7 Dec., 1878

Meinwerk, Blessed - Also called Meginwerk. The energetic tenth bishop of Paderborn, d. 1036

Meissen - A former see of north-east Germany

Meissonier, Ernest - French painter, b. at Lyons 21 February,1815; d. at Paris, 31 January, 1891

Melancthon, Philipp - Extensive article, informative. Thorough examination of his humanism and his contributions to western educational theory and practice

Melania (the Younger), Saint - Granddaughter of St. Melania the Elder, and a friend of St. Jerome

Melbourne - Located in the state of Victoria, Southeastern Australia

Melchers, Paul - Cardinal, Archbishop of Cologne, b. 6 Jan., 1813, at Münster, Westphalia; d. 14 December, 1895, at Rome

Melchisedech - King of Salem (Gen. xiv, 18-20)

Melchisedechians - A branch of the Monarchians, founded by Theodotus the banker