Roman Catholic Church Hierarchy
Besides normal titles, there are some words that are peculiar to the Catholic Church, being found in European countries of catholic tradition:
- Don - used for members of the secular clergy, more a form of address than a title as such, don comes from a medieval styling for very esteemed persons, it is a colloquial form of Dominus - the Latin for Lord, Sir. It is still used for Bishops, or citizens in some areas (as in Spain, Portugal and Latin America).
- prevosto: provost - title used in northern Italy for important parish priests.
- arciprete: archpriest - usually used for the senior priest in an important or significant town that is not a bishop's seat, i.e. not the center of a diocese.
- curato: curate - parish priest of the countryside.
- canonico: canon - the senior priests attached to the cathedral, who have special liturgcial and administrative responsibilities both there and in the diocese.
Read more about this topic: Italian Honorifics
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