vicar apostolic

noun,plural vicars apostolic.

Roman Catholic Church. a titular bishop serving either in a district where no episcopal see has been established, or in one where the succession of bishops has been interrupted.
Ecclesiastical History. an archbishop, bishop, or other ecclesiastic to whom the pope delegated a portion of his jurisdiction.

Origin of vicar apostolic

First recorded in 1760–70

Also called apostolic vicar .

Words Nearby vicar apostolic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use vicar apostolic in a sentence

I reassured him that both the ex-vicar apostolic and my father found it so.
A Tatter of Scarlet | S. R. Crockett
The outlook on the whole was consoling, for the vicar apostolic, Mgr.
The Jesuits, 1534-1921 | Thomas J. Campbell
The redoubtable vicar-apostolic was not in Canada when Frontenac arrived.
Count Frontenac | William Dawson LeSueur
The archbishop fined him—the vicar apostolic confirmed the sentence.
A Visit to the Philippine Islands | John Bowring
In 1862 an epidemic of cholera broke out in the province and lasted two years; the vicar apostolic, Mgr.
The Jesuits, 1534-1921 | Thomas J. Campbell

British Dictionary definitions for vicar apostolic

vicar apostolic

noun

RC Church a titular bishop having jurisdiction in non-Catholic or missionary countries where the normal hierarchy has not yet been established

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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