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

Melchites - The people of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt who remained faithful to the Council of Chalcedon (451) when the greater part turned Monophysite

Meléndez Valdés, Juan - Spanish poet and politician, b. at Ribera del Fresno (Badajoz) 11 March, 1754; d. in exile at Montpelier, France, 24 May, 1817

Meletius of Antioch - Lengthy article on the career of the gentle bishop who longed for unity in the Church

Meletius of Lycopolis - Bishop of Lycopolis in Egypt, gave his name to a schism of short duration

Melfi and Rapolla - Diocese in the province of Potenza, in Basilicata, southern Italy

Meli, Giovanni - Sicilian poet, b. at Palermo, 4 March, 1740, d. 20 Dec., 1815

Melia, Pius - Italian theologian, b. at Rome, 12 Jan., 1800; d. in London, June 1883

Melissus of Samos - A Greek philosopher, of the Eleatic School, b. at Samos about 470 B C

Melitene - The residence of an Armenian Catholic see, also a titulary archbishopric

Melito, Saint - Bishop of Sardis, ecclesiastical writer, latter half of the second century

Melk, Abbey and Congregation of - Situated on an isolated rock commanding the Danube, Melk has been a noted place since the days of the Romans

Melkites - The people of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt who remained faithful to the Council of Chalcedon (451) when the greater part turned Monophysite

Melleray - Situated in Brittany, Diocese of Nantes, in the vicinity of Chateaubriand, was founded about the year 1134

Mellifont Abbey - Located three miles from Drogheda, Co. Louth, Diocese of Armagh, it was the first Cistercian monastery established in Ireland

Mellitus, Saint - Archbishop of Canterbury, died in 624. Abbot sent to Canterbury by St. Gregory the Great, and the recipient of a letter from Gregory regarding pagan temples, idols, and festivals

Melo - Located in Uruguay

Melos - A titular see, suffragan of Naxos in the Cyclades

Melozzo da Forlí - An Italian painter of the Umbrian School, b. at Forlí, 1438; d. there 1494

Melrose Abbey - Located in Roxburghshire, founded in 1136 by King David I, was the earliest Cistercian monastery established in Scotland

Melrose, Chronicle of - It opens with the year 735, ends abruptly in 1270, and is founded solely upon the Cottonian Manuscript, Faustina B. ix, in the British Museum, the only ancient copy preserved

Melzi, Francesco - Born at Milan, about 1490; died 1568. He was a friend of Leonardo da Vinci, and Vasari tells that he was a Milanese nobleman, and that he possessed the principal part of the anatomical drawings of Leonardo

Memberton - Principal chief of the Micmac Indians of Nova Scotia at the time of the establishment of the French colony under de Monts and Poutrincourt in 1605, and noted in mission annals of the first Christian in the tribe

Membre, Zenobius - Born 1645 at Bapaume, Department of Pas-de-Calais, France, he was a member of the Franciscan province of St. Antony

Memling, Hans - Flemish painter, d. 1494. Artist's biography with bibliography

Memorial Brasses - Earliest existing dated examples are of the thirteenth century

Memory - Memory is the capability of the mind, to store up conscious processes, and reproduce them later with some degree of fidelity

Memphis - Ancient capital of Egypt; diocese of the province of Arcadia or Heptanomos, suffragan of Oxyrynchus

Mena, Juan de - Spanish poet, born 1411 at Cordova; died 1456 at Torrelaguna

Menaion - The name of the twelve books, one for every month, that contain the offices for immovable feasts in the Byzantine rite

Ménard, Léon - Writer, b. at Tarrascon, 12 Sept., 1706; d. in Paris, 1 Oct., 1767

Ménard, Nicolas-Hugues - French Maurist Benedictine teacher and writer, died 1644

Ménard, René - Missionary, b. at Paris, 1604, d. about 10 August, 1661, in what is now Wisconsin

Menas, Saint - Martyred under Diocletian, c. 295. Most likely Menas of Mareotis, Menas of Cotyaes, and Menas of Constantinople, surnamed Kallikelados, are all the same person honored in different places

Mencius - Chinese philosopher (b. 371 B.C.)

Mendaña de Neyra, Alvaro de - A Spanish navigator and explorer, born in Saragossa, 1541; died in Santa Cruz, Solomon Islands, 18 October, 1596

Mende - This diocese includes the department of Lozère, in France. Suffragan of Bourges under the old régime, it was re-established by the Concordat of 1801 as a suffragan of Lyons and united with the department of Ardèche

Mendel, Mendelism - Gregor Johann Mendel (the first name was taken on entrance to his order), b. 22 July, 1822, at Heinzendorf near Odrau, in Austrian Silesia; d. 6 January 1884, at the Augustinian Abbey of St. Thomas, Brunn

Mendes de Silva, João - Better known as Amadeus of Portugal, b. 1420, d. at Milan, 1482, began his religious life in the Hieronnymite monastery of Notre-Dame de Guadalupe (Spain), where he spent about ten years

Méndez and Gualaquiza - Vicariate Apostolic in Ecuador

Mendíburu, Manuel de - Nineteenth-century Peruvian-born soldier and diplomat

Mendicant Friars - Members of those religious orders which, originally, by vow of poverty renounced all proprietorship not only individually but also (and in this differing from the monks) in common, relying for support on their own work and on the charity of the faithful. Hence the name of begging friars

Mendieta, Jerónimo - A Spanish missionary; born at Vitoria, Spain, 1525; died in the City of Mexico, 9 May, 1604

Mendoza, Diego Hurtade de - A Spanish diplomat and writer, and one of the greatest figures in the history of Spanish politics and letters; born in Granada, of noble parentage, about 1503; died in Madrid, 1575

Mendoza, Francisco Sarmiento de - A Spanish canonist and bishop; b. of a noble family at Burgos; d. 1595, at Jaen

Mendoza, Pedro Gonzalez de - Cardinal and Primate of Spain, b. at Guadalajara, 3 May, 1428; d. there, 11 January, 1495

Meneses, Osorio Francisco - Spanish painter, b. at Seville, 1630; d. probably in the same place, 1705

Menéndez y Pelayo, Marcelino - Spanish poet and historian (1856-1912)

Menestrier, Claude-François - French antiquarian (1631-1705)

Menevia - Said to be derived from Menapia, the name of an ancient Roman settlement supposed to have existed in Pembrokeshire, or Hen Meneu (vetus rubus) where St. David was born

Mengarini, Gregario - Pioneer missionary of the Flathead tribe and philologist of their language, b. in Rome, 21 July, 1811; d. at Santa Clara, California, 23 September, 1886

Mengs, Anthon Rafael - A Bohemian painter, usually regarded as belonging to the Italian or Spanish school, b. at Aussig in Bohemia, 12 March, 1728; d. in Rome, 29 June, 1779

Mennas - Patriarch of Constantinople from 536 to 552

Mennonites - A Protestant denomination of Europe and America which arose in Switzerland in the sixteenth century and derived its name from Menno Simons, its leader in Holland

Menochio, Giovanni Stefano - Jesuit biblical scholar, b. at Padua, 1575; d. in Rome, 4 Feb., 1655

Men of Understanding - Name assumed by a heretical sect which in 1410-11 was cited before the Inquisition at Brussels

Menologium - A particular service-book of the Greek Church. From its derivation the term Menologium means 'month-set', in other words, a book arranged according to the months

Menominee Indians - A considerable tribe of Algonquian linguistic stock, formerly ranging over north-eastern Wisconsin to the west of Menominee River and Green Bay

Mensa, Mensal Revenue - The Latin word mensa has for its primitive signification 'a table for meals'; it designates by extension the expenses, or better, the necessary resources of sustenance, and generally, all the resources for personal support. He who lives at the expense of another, and at his table, is his 'commensal'. In ecclesiastical language, the mensa is that portion of the property of a church which is appropriated to defraying the expenses either of the prelate or of the community which serves the church, and is administered at the will of the one or the other

Mensing, John - A theologian and celebrated opponent of Luther, born according to some at Zütphen, Holland, but more probably at Magdeburg, Saxony, date unknown; died about 1541

Mental Reservation - The name applied to a doctrine which has grown out of the common Catholic teaching about lying and which is its complement

Mentelin, Johannes - Born c. 1410; died 12 Dec., 1478; an eminent German typographer of the fifteenth century, and the first printer and bookseller at Strasburg (Alsace)

Menzini, Benedetto - Priest and poet, b. at Florence, 1646; d. at Rome, 7 Sept., 1704

Mercadé, Eustache - French dramatic poet of the fifteenth century

Mercedarians - A congregation of men founded in 1218 by St. Peter Nolasco, born 1189, at Mas-des-Saintes-Puelles, Department of Aude, France

Mercier, Louis-Honoré - French Canadian statesman (1840-1894)

Mercuriali, Geronimo - Italian philologist and physician (1530-1606)

Mercy, Brothers of Our Lady of - Founded at Mechlin in 1839 by Canon J. B. Cornelius Scheppers for the instruction and care of prisoners and of the sick

Mercy, Corporal and Spiritual Works of - Mercy as it is here contemplated is said to be a virtue influencing one's will to have compassion for, and, if possible, to alleviate another's misfortune

Mercy, Sisters of - A congregation of women founded in Dublin, Ireland, in 1827, by Catherine Elizabeth McAuley, born 29 September, 1787, at Stormanstown House, County Dublin

Mercy, Sisters of, of St. Borromeo - Originally a pious association of ladies formed in 1626 for the care of the sick in the hospital of St. Charles at Nancy, but constituted a religious community in 1652 after being generously endowed by the father of Emmanuel Chauvenel, a young advocate who had given his life in the service of the sick

Meredith, Edward - English Catholic controversialist, b. in 1648, was a son of the rector of Landulph, Cornwall

Merici, Saint Angela - Biography of the founder of the Ursulines, who died in 1540

Mérida - Diocese in Venezuela

Merit - By merit (meritum) in general is understood that property of a good work which entitles the doer to receive a reward from him in whose service the work is done

Mermillod, Gaspard - Bishop of Lausanne and cardinal, born at Carouge, Switzerland, 22 September, 1824; died in Rome, 23 February, 1892

Merneptah I - The fourth king of the nineteenth Egyptian dynasty and the supposed Pharaoh of the Exodus, was the thirteenth son of Rameses II whom he succeeded in or about 1234 B.C., being then long past middle age

Mérode, Frédéric-François-Xavier Ghislain de - A Belgian prelate and statesman, born at Brussels, 1820; died at Rome, 1874

Mersenne, Marin - Article by C.A. Dubray reviewing the intellectual career of this learned Minim friar

Mesa - A King of Moab in the ninth century B. C.

Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, and Armenia - Created by Gregory XVI on 17 Dec., 1832. Mgr. Trioche, Archbishop of Babylon or Bagdad, became its first titular; he resided habitually in Bagdad

Mesrob - One of the greatest figures in Armenian history, he was born about 361 at Hassik in the Province of Taron; died at Valarsabad, 441

Messalians - An heretical sect which originated in Mesopotamia about 360 and survived in the East until the ninth century

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

Messias - The Greek form Messias is a transliteration of the Hebrew, Messiah, 'the anointed'. The word appears only twice of the promised prince (Daniel 9:26; Psalm 2:2); yet, when a name was wanted for the promised one, who was to be at once King and Saviour, it was natural to employ this synonym for the royal title, denoting at the same time the King's royal dignity and His relation to God

Messina, Antonello da - Painter, born at Messina, about 1430; died 1497

Messina - Located in Sicily

Messingham, Thomas - An Irish hagiologist, born in the Diocese of Meath, and studied in the Irish College, Paris, proceeding to the degree of S.T.D

Metalwork in the Service of the Church - From the earliest days the Church has employed utensils and vessels of metal in its liturgical ceremonies. This practice increased during the Middle Ages

Metaphrastes, Symeon - The principal compiler of the legends of saints in the Menologia of the Byzantine Church

Metaphysics - That portion of philosophy which treats of the most general and fundamental principles underlying all reality and all knowledge

Metastasio, Pietro - Brief biography of the Italian librettist

Metcalfe, Edward - Born in Yorkshire, 1792; died a martyr of charity at Leeds, 7 May, 1847

Metellopolis - A titular see of Phrygia Pacatiana, in Asia Minor

Metempsychosis - The doctrine of the transmigration of souls, teaches that the same soul inhabits in succession the bodies of different beings, both men and animals

Metham, Thomas - A knight, confessor of the Faith, died in York Castle, 1573

Methodism - A religious movement which was originated in 1739 by John Wesley in the Anglican Church, and subsequently gave rise to numerous separate denominations

Methodius I - Patriarch of Constantinople (842-846), defender of images during the second Iconoclast persecution, b. at Syracuse, towards the end of the eighth century; d. at Constantinople, 14 June, 846

Methodius and Cyril, Saints - Also called Constantine and Methodius. Biography of these ninth-century brothers, Apostles of the Slavs

Methodius of Olympus, Saint - Bishop, ecclesiastical writer, martyr, died c. 311

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

Methymna - A titular see in the island of Lesbos

Metrophanes of Smyrna - A leader of the faithful Ignatian bishops at the time of the Photian schism (867). Baronius (Ann. Ecci., ad an. 843, I) says that his mother was the woman who was bribed to bring a false accusation of rape against the Patriarch Methodius I (842-846) during the Iconoclast troubles

Metropolis - A titular episcopal see and suffragan of Ephesus

Metropolitan - In ecclesiastical language, refers to whatever relates to the metropolis, the principal city, or see, of an ecclesiastical province

Metternich, Klemens Lothar Wenzel Von - Statesman; born at Coblenz, 15 May, 1773; died at Vienna, 11 June, 1859

Metz - A town and bishopric in Lorraine

Meun, Jean Clopinel de - French poet, b. c. 1260 in the little city of Meung-sur-Loire; d. at Paris between 1305 and 1320

Mexico - Situated at the extreme point of the North American continent, bounded on the north by the United States, on the east by the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, British Honduras, and Guatemala, and on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean

Mexico, Archdiocese of - Information about the boundaries and bishops

Mezger, Francis, Joseph, and Paul - Three brothers, learned Benedictines of the monastery of St. Peter in Salsburg, and professors at the University of Salzburg

Mezzofanti, Giuseppe - A cardinal, the greatest of polyglots, born 19 September, 1774; died 15 March, 1849

Miami Indians - An important tribe of Algonquian stock formerly claiming prior dominion over the whole of what is now Indiana and western Ohio, including the territories drained by the Wabash, St. Joseph, Maumee, and Miami rivers

Michael the Archangel, Saint - Article about this angel in Scripture and tradition

Michael, Military Orders of Saint - Information on three groups by this name

Michael Cærularius - Patriarch of Constantinople (1043-58), author of the second and final schism of the Byzantine Church, date of birth unknown; d. 1058

Michael de Sanctis, Saint - Or Michael de los Santos. Catalonian, member of the Discalced Trinitarians, d. 1625

Michael of Cesena - A Friar Minor, Minister General of the Franciscan Order, and theologian, born at Cesena, a small town in Central Italy, about 1270; died at Munich, 29 Nov., 1342

Michael O'Loghlen - Irish jurist (1789-1846)

Michael Scotus - A thirteenth century mathematician, philosopher, and scholar

Michaud, Joseph-François - Historian, born at Albens, Savoy, 1767; died at Passy, 30 September, 1839

Micheas of Ephraim - The Book of Judges (17-18) contains the history of a certain Michas (Hebrews 17:1 and 4: Mikhayehu; elsewhere Mikhah), a resident of the hill country of Ephraim who founded an idolatrous sanctuary

Micheas, Son of Jemla - A prophet of the Kingdom of Samaria, contemporary with Elias and Eliseus

Micheas, Book of - Micheas (Hebr. Mikhah; Jeremiah 26:18: Mikhayah keth.), the author of the book which holds the sixth place in the collection of the Twelve Minor Prophets, was born at Moresheth (Micheas 1:1; Jeremiah 26:18), a locality not far from the town of Geth (Micheas 1:14)

Michel, Jean - A French dramatic poet of the fifteenth century

Michelangelo Buonarroti - Italian sculptor, painter, and architect (1475-1564)

Michelians - A German Protestant sect which derives its name from 'Michel', the popular designation of its founder Johann Michael Hahn

Michelis, Edward - A theologian, born in St. Mauritz, 6 Feb., 1813; died in Luxemburg, 8 June, 1855

Michelozzo di Bartolommeo - An architect and sculptor, born at Florence circa 1391; died 1472

Michigan - Information on history, geography, statistics, religion, and education of the state

Michoacan - Located in Mexico, the Diocese of Michoacan was established in 1536 by Pope Paul III at the instance of the Emperor Charles V, its boundaries to coincide with those of the ancient Kingdom of Michoacan

Mickiewicz, Adam - Born near Novogrodek, Lithuania, 1798; died at Constantinople, 1855

Micmacs - The easternmost of the Algonquin tribes and probably the first visited by a white man, formerly occupied what is now Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton, as well as part of New Brunswick, Quebec, and south-western Newfoundland

Micrologus - Either a 'synopsis' or a 'short explanation', and in the Middle Ages used as an equivalent for 'Manual'

Middendorp, Jakob - Theologian and historian; b. about 1537 at Oldenzaal, or, according to others, at Ootmarsum, Overyssel, Holland; d. at Cologne, 13 Jan., 1611

Middle Ages - A term commonly used to designate that period of European history between the Fall of the Roman Empire and about the middle of the fifteenth century

Middlesbrough - In medieval history it was known as Myddilburga or Middilburga, with many other variations of form

Midianites - An Arabian tribe introduced into history in the texts of Gen., xxv, 1-4 and I Chron., i, 32

Midrashim - The term commonly designates ancient rabbinical commentaries on the Hebrew Scriptures

Midwives - Come under the canon law of the Church in their relation towards two of the sacraments, baptism and matrimony

Migazzi, Christoph Anton - Cardinal, Prince Archbishop of Vienna, b. 1714, in the Tyrol, d. 14 April, 1803, at Vienna

Mignard, Pierre - A French painter, born at Troyes, 7 November, 1612; died at Paris, 30 May, 1695

Migne, Jacques-Paul - Priest, and publisher of theological works, born at Saint-Flour, 25 October, 1800; died at Paris, 24 October, 1875

Migration - The movement of populations from place to place

Milan - Located in Lombardy, northern Italy

Milde, Vinzenz Eduard - Prince-Archbishop of Vienna, born at Brünn, in Moravia, in 1777; died at Vienna in 1853

Miles, George Henry - A dramatist and man of letters, born in Baltimore, Maryland, 31 July, 1824; died near Emmitsburg, 23 July, 1871

Miles Gerard, Venerable - Priest martyred in 1590

Mileto - Located in Calabria, in the province of Reggio, southern Italy

Miletopolis - A titular see of Asia Minor, suffragan of Cyzicus

Miletus - A titular see of Asia Minor, suffragan of Aphrodisias, in Caria

Miletus, Vitus - A Catholic theologian, born 1549; died at Mainz, 11 Sept., 1615

Milevum - A titular see of Numidia

Milic, Jan - A pre-Hussite reform preacher and religious enthusiast, born at Kremsier in Moravia, died 29 June, 1374, at Avignon

Military Orders, The - A historical review of dozens of military orders

Millennium and Millenarianism - At the end of time Christ will return in all His splendour to gather together the just, to annihilate hostile powers, and to found a glorious kingdom on earth for the enjoyment of the highest spiritual and material blessings; He Himself will reign as its king, and all the just, including the saints recalled to life, will participate in it

Miller, Ferdinand Von - Born 1813; died at Munich, 1887. He laboured for the development of the bronze founders' craft and the uplifting of the artistic profession, far beyond the borders of Bavaria

Millet, Jean-François - French painter; b. at Gruchy, near Cherbourg, 4 October, 1814; d. at Barbizon, 20 January, 1875

Millet, Pierre - A celebrated early Jesuit missionary in New York State, b. at Bourges, France, 19 November, 1635 (al. 1631); d. at Quebec, 31 December, 1708

Milner, John - Writer and controversialist. Born in London, 14 October, 1752: died at Wolverhampton, 19 April, 1826

Milner, Venerable Ralph - A husband and father, convert to Catholicism, arrested the day of his first Communion, and martyred in 1591

Milo Crispin - Monk, and cantor of the Benedictine Abbey of Bec, wrote the lives of five of its abbots: Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, Gulielmus de Bellomonte, Boso, Theobaldus, and Letardus

Milopotamos - A titular see of Crete, suffragan of Candia

Miltiades, Pope Saint - Died in 314. An African, his name is also sometimes given as Miltiadea or Melchiades

Miltiz, Karl von - Papal chamberlain and nuncio (1480-1529)

Milwaukee - Established as a diocese, 28 Nov., 1843

Mind - Explores the term in relation to consciousness, matter, and mechanism

Minden - Minden on the Weser is first heard of in 798, and in 803 in the Treaty of Salz, made with the Saxons, it is spoken of as a see

Ming, John - A philosopher and writer, born at Gyswyl, Unterwalden, Switzerland, 20 Sept., 1838; died at Brooklyn, Ohio, U. S. A., 17 June, 1910

Minimi - Members of the religious order founded by St. Francis of Paula

Minister - Even before the Reformation the word minister was occasionally used in English to describe those of the clergy actually taking part in a function, or the celebrant as distinguished from the assistants, but it was not then used sine addito to designate an ecclesiastic. This employment of the term dates from Calvin

Minkelers, Jean-Pierre - Inventor of illuminating gas (1748-1824)

Minnesota - One of the North Central States of the American Union, lies about midway between the eastern and western shores of the continent, and about midway between the gulf of Mexico and Hudson's Bay

Mino di Giovanni - Artist (1431-1484)

Minor - That which is less, or inferior in comparison with another, the term being employed as well of things as of persons

Minorca - Suffragan of Valencia, comprises the Island of Minorca, the second in size of the Balearic Islands, which are possessions of Spain

Minor Orders - The lower degrees of the hierarchy are designated by the name of minor orders, in opposition to the 'major' or 'sacred' orders

Minsk - A suffragan of Mohileff, in Western Russia

Mint, Papal - History of the coins

Minucius Felix - Christian apologist, flourished between 160 and 300; the exact date is not known

Mirabilia Urbis Romæ - The title of a medieval Latin description of the city of Rome, dating from about 1150

Miracle - In general, a wonderful thing, the word being so used in classical Latin; in a specific sense, the Latin Vulgate designates by miracula wonders of a peculiar kind, expressed more clearly in the Greek text by the terms terata, dynameis, semeia, i.e., wonders performed by supernatural power as signs of some special mission or gift and explicitly ascribed to God