V

Vaast, Abbey of Saint - Situated at Arras, the ancient capital of Artois, Department of Pas-de-Calais, France; founded in 667.

Vacancy - A term applied to an office or position devoid of an incumbent, as a vacant benefice, bishopric, or parish.

Vadstena, Abbey of - Founded in Sweden by St. Bridget in 1346.

Vaga - A titular see of Numidia, frequently mentioned by historians and ancient geographers.

Vaillant de Gueslis, François - Jesuit missionary. (1646-1718)

Vaison, Ancient Diocese of - Suppressed by the Concordat of 1801, its territory is now included in the Dioceses of Avignon.

Valdés, Alfonso de - Spanish Humanist and chancellor of Emperor Charles V. (1500-1532)

Valence, Diocese of - Comprises the Department of Drome.

Valence, University of - Erected 26 July, 1452, by letters patent from the Dauphin Louis, afterwards Louis XI.

Valencia - Located in Spain; comprises the civil Provinces of Valencia, Alicante, and Castellón.

Valencia, University of - At the request of Jaime I the Conqueror, Innocent IV in 1246, authorized by a Bull the establishment of estudios generales in Valencia.

Valens, Flavius - Emperor of the East. (328-378)

Valentine, Pope - Reigned briefly in A.D. 827.

Valentine, Saint - At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under date of 14 February.

Valentinian I - Emperor of the West. (321-375)

Valentinian II - Emperor of the West. (371-392)

Valentinian III - Reigned 425-55, son of Constantius III and Galla Placidia, daughter of Theodosius, succeeded Emperor Honorius.(419-455)

Valentinus and Valentinians - The best known and most influential of the Gnostic heretics, born on the coast of Egypt.

Valerian - Biography of the Roman ruler, focusing on his treatment of Christians.

Validation of Marriage - May be effected by a simple renewal of consent when its nullity arises only from a defective consent in one or both parties.

Valla, Lorenzo - Article by U. Benigni on the teachings of this Italian humanist.

Valladolid, Archdiocese of - Bounded on the north by Palencia, east by Burgos and Segovia, south by Avila and Salamanca, and west by Zamora.

Valladolid, University of - Alfonso XI was the patron of Valladolid.

Vallarsi, Dominic - Italian priest. (1702-1771)

Valle, Pietro della - Italian traveller in the Orient. (1586-1652)

Vallée-Poussin, Charles-Louis-Joseph-Xavier de la - Professor of geology and mineralogy at the Catholic University of Louvain. (1827-1903)

Valleyfield, Diocese of - Situated at the outlet of Lake St. Francis, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence.

Vallgornera, Thomas de - Dominican theologian and ascetical writer. (1595-1665)

Valliscaulian Order - Founded towards the end of the twelfth century by Viard, a lay brother of the Carthusian priory of Loubigny, in the Diocese of Langres.

Vallumbrosan Order - Founded by St. John Gualbert, son of the noble Florentine Gualbert Visdomini.

Valois, Henri - Philologist. (1603-1676)

Valona - Titular see, suffragan of Dyrrachium, in Epirus Nova.

Valroger, Hyacinthe de - French oratorian, first studied medicine, and was later ordained priest. (1814-1876)

Valva and Sulmona, Dioceses of - Located in Italy, Valva, a medieval castle belonging to the Bishop of Sulmona, Baron of Valva, is situated near the ancient Corfinium, chief town of the Peligni, a Samnite tribe.

Valverde, Vincent de - First Bishop of Cuzco. (d. 1541)

Van Beethoven, Ludwig - Composer. (1770-1827)

Van Beneden, Pierre-Joseph - Professor of zoology and comparative anatomy in the Catholic University at Louvain. (1809-1831)

Van Buren, William Home - American surgeon. (1819-1883)

Van de Velde, Peter - Spanish painter. (1503-1580)

Van De Vyver, Augustine - Sixth Bishop of Richmond, Virginia. (1844-1911)

Van den Broek, Theodore J. - Priest and missionary. (1783-1851)

Van der Sandt, Maximilian - Wrote works on philosophy and theology, including a notable controversial reply to the Batavian Calvinist Lawrence in defence of the moral teaching of the Jesuits. (1578-1656)

Van der Weyden, Rogier - Painter. (1399-1464)

Vancouver - Archdiocese; includes that part of the mainland of the Province of British Columbia south of 54 ° N. lat. and west of the Straits of Georgia, together with the Queen Charlotte Islands.

Vandal, Albert - French writer. (1853-1910)

Vandals - A Germanic people belonging to the family of East Germans.

Vane, Thomas - Seventeenth-century convert from Anglicanism.

Vannes, Diocese of - Comprises the Department of Morbihan, and was re-established by the Concordat of 1802.

Vanni, Andrea - Painter and statesman. (1320-1414)

Vanni, Francesco - Siennese painter. (1565-1609)

Vargas, Luis de - Seville painter. (1502-1568)

Vargas y Mexia, Francisco de - Spanish diplomat and ecclesiastical writer, died 1566.

Vasari, Giorgio - Painter, architect, and writer. (1511-1574)

Vasquez, Gabriel - Theologian. (1549-1604)

Vatable, François - Abbot of Bellozane, died 1547.

Vatican as a Scientific Institution, The - Details of scientific activity in the Vatican.

Vatican Council - The twentieth and up to 1912, the last ecumenical council, opened on 8 December, 1869, and adjourned on 20 October, 1870.

Vatican Observatory - Gregory XIII ordered a tower to be erected in a convenient part of the Vatican buildings, and to be fitted out with the greatest and best instruments of the time.

Vatican, The - Detailed history and information.

Vaudreuil - Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil. Governor of Canada, died 1725.

Vaughan, Herbert - Cardinal, and third Archbishop of Westminster. (1832-1903)

Vaughan, Roger William - Second Archbishop of Sydney. (1834-1883)

Vauquelin, Louis-Nicolas - French chemist. (1763-1829)

Vaux, Laurence - Martyr in prison. (1519-1585)

Vaux-de-Cernay - Cistercian abbey situated in the Diocese of Versailles, Seine-et-Oise, in what was called the "Isle-de-France".

Vavasour, Thomas - English physician. (1536-1585)

Vavasseur, François - Humanist and controversialist. (1605-1681)

Vecchietta, Lorenzo di Pietro - Artist. (1412-1480)

Vedas - Sacred books of ancient India.

Vega, Andreas de - Spanish theologian. (d. 1560)

Veghe, Johannes - German preacher and religious writer, died 1504.

Vegio, Maffeo - Humanist, poet, and educator. (1406-1458)

Veglia, Diocese of - In Austria, suffragan of Görz-Gradisca.

Veil, Religious - The bride of Christ, as the vestal virgins had done, adopted the veil, which thus symbolized not so much the purity as the inviolable fidelity to Christ which was to be reverenced in her.

Veit, Philipp - Painter. (1793-1877)

Veith, Johann Emanuel - Preacher. (1787-1876)

Velazquez, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y - Artist's biography by Louis Gillet.

Venezuela - A republic formed out of the provinces which, under Spanish rule, constituted the captaincy general of the same name.

Veni Creator Spiritus - The most famous of hymns, assigned in the Roman Breviary to Vespers (I and II) and Terce of Pentecost and throughout the octave.

Veni Sancte Spiritus Et Emitte Coelitus - Sung at Mass from Whitsunday until the following Saturday inclusively, and comprises ten stanzas.

Veni Sancte Spiritus Reple - A prose invocation of the Holy Ghost.

Venice - The capital of a province in Northern Italy, is formed of a group of 117 small islands joined together by 378 bridges mostly built of stone.

Venosa - Diocese in Southern Italy.

Ventimiglia - Italian diocese.

Ventura di Raulica, Gioacchino - Italian orator, patriot, philosopher. (1792-1861)

Venturino of Bergamo - Preacher. (1304-1346)

Venusti, Raffaele - Italian controversialist. (d. 1543)

Vera Cruz - Diocese of the Mexican Republic, suffragan of the Archbishopric of Mexico.

Verapoly, Archdiocese of - Located on the Malabar Coast, India, having the Diocese of Quilon as suffragan.

Verbiest, Ferdinand - Jesuit missionary and astronomer. (1623-1688)

Verbum Supernum Prodiens - The first line of two hymns celebrating respectively the Nativity of Christ and the Institution of the Holy Eucharist.

Vercelli - Archdiocese in the Province of Novara, Piedmont, Italy.

Vercellone, Carlo - Biblical scholar, born at Biella, Milan; died at Rome, 19 January, 1869.

Verdaguer, Jacinto - Spanish poet. (1845-1902)

Verdi, Giuseppe - Italian composer. (1813-1901)

Verdun, Diocese of - Comprises the Department of the Meuse.

Verecundus - Bishop of Junca, in the African Province of Byzacena, in the middle of the sixth century.

Vergani, Paolo - Italian political economist. (1753-1820)

Vergerio, Pier Paolo, the Elder - Humanist, statesman, and canonist. (b. 1370)

Vergil, Polydore - Commissioned by Henry VII to write the history of England.

Vergilius of Salzburg, Saint - Irish-born Abbot of St. Peter's monastery at Salzburg. He held that the earth was round, for which St. Boniface accused him of heresy. Vergilius freed himself of the charge, and went on to become a missionary, dying in 789.

Vering, Friedrich Heinrich - German canonist. (1833-1896)

Vermont - One of the New England states.

Verna, La - An isolated mountain hallowed by association with St. Francis of Assisi, situated in the centre of the Tuscan Apennines.

Vernazza, Tommasina - Entered the monastery of St. Maria delle Grazie, and became a canoness regular, taking the name of Battistina. (1497-1587)

Verne, Jules - Novelist. (1828-1905)

Vernier, Pierre - Inventor of the instrument which bears his name. (1580-1637)

Veroli, Diocese of - Located in the Province of Rome.

Veron, François - French controversialist, born at Paris about 1575; died at Charenton, 1625.

Verona - Diocese in Venetia (Northern Italy).

Veronica Giuliani, Saint - Short biographical article on this Capuchin, who died in 1727.

Veronica, Saint - Veronica is a name popularly given to one of the women who accompanied Christ to Calvary. "Veronica" is an abbreviation of "vera icon" (true image), and the woman now called Veronica is said to have offered a towel to Christ, on which he left the imprint of his face.

Verot, Augustin - Third Bishop of Savannah, first of St. Augustine. (1804-1876)

Verrazano, Giovanni da - Navigator, died 1527.

Verreau, Hospice-Anthelme - French-Canadian priest, educator, and historian. (1828-1901)

Verri, Count Pietro - Economist.(1728-1797)

Verrocchio, Andrea del - Artist. (1435-1488)

Versailles - Diocese includes the Department of Seine-et-Oise, France.

Versions of the Bible - Article on versions of the Bible in the original languages and in translation. Grouped by source.

Versions of the Bible, Coptic - At least parts of Scripture were translated into all four dialects of the Coptic language, though there is some debate about which of the Coptic versions is oldest.

Verstegan, Richard - Publisher and antiquarian, born at London, about 1548.

Vertin, John - Third Bishop of Marquette, U.S.A. (1844-1899)

Vertot, Réné-Aubert, Sieur de - French historian. (1655-1735)

Veruela - A Cistercian monastery and church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. It is situated five miles north-west of Borja, Saragossa, Spain.

Vesalius, Andreas - The reorganizer of the study of anatomy.

Vespasian - Biography of the Roman Emperor.

Vespasiano da Bisticci - Florentine humanist and librarian. (1421-1498)

Vespers - Historical article on Evening Prayer, one of the two principal canonical hours.

Vespers, Music of - Applies especially to the cathedral Office, i.e., the Liturgy of the Hours in a parish setting.

Vespers, Sicilian - The traditional name given to the insurrection which broke out at Palermo on Easter Tuesday, 31 March, 1282, against the domination of Charles of Anjou.

Vespucci, Amerigo - Biographical article on the Italian navigator (1451-1512).

Vestibule (in Architecture) - A hall projecting in front of the façade of a church, found from the fifth century both in the East and the West.

Vestments - According to the rules of the Church or from ecclesiastical usage, are to be worn by the clergy in performing the ceremonies of the services of the Church.

Veszprém - Diocese in Hungary, suffragan of Gran, one of the sees founded about 1009 by King St. Stephen, or perhaps by Queen Gisela, his wife.

Veto, The Royal - Lord Grenville presented a petition for the Catholics in the Lords, and, in moving for a committee, proposed an effective veto for the king on the appointment of bishops.

Vetter, Conrad - Preacher and polemical writer. (1547-1622)

Veuillot, Louis - Journalist and writer. (1813-1883)

Vexilla Regis Prodeunt - Written by Venantius Fortunatus.

Vexiö, Ancient See of - In Sweden, comprised the County of Kronoberg and the hundreds of Ostra, Westra, Östbo, and Westbo in the County of Jönköping.

Vezzosi, Antonio Francesco - Member of the Theatine Congregation and biographical writer. (1708-1783)

Viader, José - Assistant at the Indian mission of Santa Clara.

Viaticum - Among the ancient Greeks the custom prevailed of giving a supper to those setting out on a journey.

Viator, Clerics of Saint - Lector of the cathedral at Lyons, France, in the fourth century.

Viborg, Ancient See of - Located in Denmark.

Vicar - In canon law, the representative of a person clothed with ordinary ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

Vicar Apostolic - In the early ages of the Church, the popes committed to some residentiary bishops the duty of watching over ecclesiastical matters in a certain region.

Vicar Capitular - The administrator of a vacant diocese, elected by a cathedral chapter.

Vicar of Christ - A title of the pope implying his supreme and universal primacy, both of honour and of jurisdiction, over the Church of Christ.

Vicar-General - The highest official of a diocese after the ordinary.

Vicari, Hermann von - Archbishop of Freiburg in Baden. (1773-1868)

Vicariate Apostolic (Updated List) - Recenty erected vicariates Apostolic as of 1913.

Vice - Regarded as a habit inclining one to sin.

Vicelinus, Saint - Biographical article on the Bishop of Oldenburg, who died in 1154.

Vicente, Gil - Portuguese dramatist. (1470-1536)

Vicenza, Diocese of - The city is the capital of a province in Venetia (Northern Italy).

Vich, Diocese of - Suffragan of Tarragona.

Vico, Francescoe de - Astronomer. (1805-1848)

Victimae Paschali Laudes Immolent Christiani - First stanza of the Easter sequence.

Victor - Bishop of Tunnunum in Northern Africa. (d. 569)

Victor I, Pope Saint - Article on the late second-century pope, involved in the Quartodeciman controversy.

Victor II, Pope - Reigned 1055-57.

Victor III, Pope Blessed - Benedictine monk, peacemaker, abbot of Monte Cassino, elected to the papacy in 1086, d. 1087.

Victor IV - Cardinal Gregory Conti, elected in opposition to Innocent II.

Victor of Capua - A sixteenth-century bishop.

Victor Vitensis - An African bishop of the Province of Byzacena.

Victoria - Diocese in southwestern British Columbia.

Victoria Nyanza, Northern - Founded in 1878 by the White Fathers of Cardinal Lavigerie.

Victoria Nyanza, Southern - Vicariate apostolic erected from the mission of Nyanza.

Victorinus, Caius Marius - A fourth-century grammarian, rhetorician, philosopher, and theologian.

Victorinus, Saint - Biographical profile of the bishop of Pettau, an ecclesiastical writer, martyred in the Diocletian persecution.

Vida, Marco Girolamo - Italian Humanist.

Vieira, Antonio - Missionary, diplomat, orator. (1608-1697)

Viel, Nicholas - Died 1625, the first victim of apostolic zeal on the shores of the St. Lawrence.

Vienna - The capital of Austria-Hungary, the residence of the emperor, and the seat of a Latin archbishopric.

Vienna, University of - The oldest university of the former Holy Roman Empire, next to the University of Prague.

Vienne, Council of - Convened 1311-1312, dealing mainly with the Knights Templar.

Vierthaler, Franz Michael - Austrian pedagogue. (1758-1827)

Vieta, François - Father of modern algebra.

Viger, Denis-Benjamin - French-Canadian statesman and writer. (1774-1861)

Viger, Jacques - French-Canadian antiquarian and archaeologist. (1787-1858)

Vigevano - Diocese in Lombardy, Province of Pavia.

Vigilius - Bishop of Tapsus, in the African Province of Byzacena.

Vigilius, Pope - Reigned 537-55.

Vigilius, Saint - Biographical essay on the Bishop of Trent, martyred 26 June, 405.

Vignola, Giacomo Barozzi da - A theoretical and practical architect of the Transition Period between the Renaissance and Baroque styles. (1507-1573)

Vigor, Simon - French bishop and controversialist. (1515-1575)

Villalpandus, Juan Bautista - His fame rests mainly on a "Commentary on Ezechiel".

Villani, Giovanni - Florentine historian, b. about 1276; d. of the plague in 1348.

Villanovanus, Arnaldus - Physician and alchemist. (1235-1312)

Villefranche, Jacques-Melchior - Publicist. (1829-1904)

Villehardouin, Geoffroi de - Maréchal de Champagne, warrior, and first historian in the French language.

Villeneuve-Barcement, Jean-Paul-Alban - Vicomte de, b. at Saint-Auban, Var, 8 Aug., 1784; d. at Paris, 8 June, 1850.

Villermé, Louis-René - French economist. (1782-1863)

Villers, Cistercian Abbey of - Situated on the confines of Villers and Tilly, Duchy of Brabant, present Diocese of Namur (Belgium), and first monastery of the order in this territory.

Vilna - The capital of Lithuania, situated at the junction of the Rivers Vileika and Vilja.

Vincent de Paul, Saint - Biography of the French priest, founder of the Congregation of the Mission, who died in 1660.

Vincent Ferrer, Saint - Biography of this Spanish-born Dominican missionary, who died in 1419.

Vincent Kadlubek, Blessed - Bishop of Cracow, resigned his office and became the first Pole to join the Cistercians. He died in 1223.

Vincent Mary Pallotti, Saint - Biography of the founder of the Pious Society of Missions, who are commonly known as the Pallottine Fathers. He died in 1850.

Vincent of Beauvais - Priest and encyclopedist. (1190-1264)

Vincent of Lérins, Saint - Essay on the fifth-century monk and ecclesiastical writer.

Vincent, Saint - Also called Maldegarius, married to St. Waldetrude. Their four children are also among the saints. SS. Vincent and Waldetrude both entered monastic life, he founding the monasteries of Hautmont and Soignies. He died in 677.

Vincent, Saint - Essay on the deacon, a native of Saragossa, martyred in 304.

Vincenzo de Vit - Latinist. (1810-1892)

Vinci, Leonardo di Ser Piero da - Florentine painter, sculptor, architect, engineer and scholar. (1452-1519)

Vindicianus, Saint - Biography of the bishop of Cambrai-Arras, born about 620.

Vineam Domini - An Apostolic Constitution issued by Clement XI against the Jansenists on 16 July, 1705.

Violence - The stimulus or moving cause must come from without; no one can do violence to himself.

Viotti, Giovanni Battista - Founder of the modern school of violinist.

Virgilius, Saint - Essay on the monk, archbishop of Arles.

Virgin Birth of Christ - The dogma which teaches that the Blessed Mother of Jesus Christ was a virgin before, during, and after the conception and birth of her Divine Son.

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

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

Virgin Mary, The - The Blessed Virgin Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, the mother of God.

Virginia - One of the thirteen original states.

Virginity - Morally, virginity signifies the reverence for bodily integrity which is suggested by a virtuous motive.

Virtue - According to its etymology the word virtue (Latin virtus) signifies manliness or courage.

Vischer, Peter - Sculptor and metal founder. (1460-1529)

Visdelou, Claude de - One of the missionaries sent to China by Louis XIV in 1687.

Visigoths - One of the two principal branches of the Goths.

Visions and Apparitions - The article deals not with natural but with supernatural visions, that is, visions due to the direct intervention of a power superior to man.

Visit ad Limina - The obligation incumbent on certain members of the hierarchy of visiting, the "thresholds of the Apostles", Sts. Peter and Paul, and of presenting themselves before the pope to give an account of the state of their dioceses.

Visitation, Canonical - The act of an ecclesiastical superior who in the discharge of his office visits persons or places with a view of maintaining faith and discipline, and of correcting abuses by the application of proper remedies.

Visitation Convent, Georgetown - Located in the District of Columbia, United States of America.

Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Article on the event and the feast.

Visitation Order - The nuns of the Visitation of Mary, called also Filles de Sainte-Marie, Visitandines, and Salesian Sisters, were founded in 1610.

Visitors Apostolic - Officials whom canonists commonly class with papal legates.

Visits to the Blessed Sacrament - A devotional practice of relatively modern development, honoring the Real Presence of Christ.

Vitalian, Pope Saint - He tried to win over the Monothelites who then held sway in Constantinople, and was the reigning pope at the time of the Synod of Whitby. He died in 672.

Vitalini, Bonifazio - Jurist, died 1388.

Vitalis and Agricola, Saints - Vitalis was a slave, converted to Christianity by his master Agricola. Both were martyred at Bologna about 304.

Vitalis of Savigny, Saint - Founder of the monastery and Congregation of Savigny. Died 1122.

Vitalis, Saint - Martyr in about 171. Husband of St. Valeria (also a martyr), and father of SS. Gervasius and Protasius.

Vitelleschi, Muzio - Born at Rome 2 Dec., 1563; died there 9 Feb., 1645.

Vitellius, Lucius - Proclaimed Roman Emperor by the soldiers at Cologne during the civil war of A.D. 69; d. at Rome, 21 Dec., 69.

Viterbo and Toscanella - The city of Viterbo in the Province of Rome stands at the foot of Monte Cimino, in Central Italy.

Vitoria - Diocese; suffragan of Burgos, in Spain.

Vittorino da Feltre - Humanist educator. (1397-1446)

Vitus, Modestus, and Crescentia, Saints - According to the legend, martyrs under Diocletian.

Viva, Domenico - Writer. (1648-1726)

Vivarini - A family of Italian painters. Alvise, Antonio, and Bartolommeo (Bartolommeo da Murano).

Vives, Juan Luis - Article on his life and works, by Paul Lejay.

Viviers - Diocese; includes the Department of Ardèche, France.

Vivisection - Defined literally the word vivisection signifies the dissection of living creatures.

Vizagapatam, Diocese of - Located in the east of India, suffragan to Madras.

Vizeu - Diocese in north central Portugal.

Vladimir the Great, Saint - Biography of the grandson of St. Olga. Grand Duke of Kiev and All Russia, first ruler of Russia to convert to Christianity, d. 1015.

Vocation, Ecclesiastical and Religious - The special gift of those who, in the Church of God, follow with a pure intention the ecclesiastical profession of the evangelical counsels.

Vogler, George Joseph - Theorist, composer, organist. (1749-1814)

Vogüé, Eugène-Melchior, Vicomte de - Critic, novelist, and historian. (1848-1910)

Volk, Wilhelm - Pseudonym, Ludwig Clarus.

Volksverein - Organization of German Catholics opposing heresies and revolutionary tendencies in the social world, and for the defence of Christian order in society.

Volta, Alessandro - Physicist. (1745-1827)

Volterra - Diocese in Tuscany.

Volterra, Daniele da - Italian painter. (1509-1566)

Voluntarism - In the modern metaphysical sense is a theory which explains the universe as emanating ultimately from some form of will.

Voluntary - Wilful, proceeding from the will.

Voluspa - A wise woman.

Von Gagern, Max, Freiherr - Born at Weilburg (in Nassau), Germany, 25 March, 1810; died at Vienna, 17 October, 1889.

Vondel, Joost van Den - Netherland poet and convert. (1587-1679)

Votive Mass - A Mass offered for a votum, a special intention.

Votive Offerings - The general name given to those things vowed or dedicated to God, or a saint, and in consequence looked upon as set apart by this act of consecration.

Votive Offices - One not entered in the general calendar, but adopted with a view to satisfying a special devotion.

Vows - A promise made to God.

Vrau, Philibert - "The holy man of Lille", organizer of numerous Catholic activities. (1829-1905)

Vrie, Theodoric - Fourteenth-century historian.

Vulgate, Revision of - In the spring of 1907 the public press announced that Pius X had determined to begin preparations for a critical revision of the Latin Bible.