vicar apostolic

American  

noun

vicars apostolic plural

1. 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.

2. Ecclesiastical History. an archbishop, bishop, or other ecclesiastic to whom the pope delegated a portion of his jurisdiction.

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vicar apostolic British  

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• vicars apostolic
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vicar apostolic

First recorded in 1760–70

Example Sentences

Catholicism's first missionary bishop in 1927, when he was consecrated vicar apostolic of Kongmoon.

From Time Magazine Archive

Most notable recent exile was Bishop Gaetano Mignani, vicar apostolic of Kian in Kiangsi, deported for allowing the publication of two pamphlets exposing the government drive.

From Time Magazine Archive

It became my duty to discuss the question of church property with the papal nuncio and vicar apostolic.

From Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White — Volume 1 by White, Andrew Dickson

In the afternoon the vicar apostolic of the Roman Catholic Church, supported by the faithful Deacon Fariuu, himself toiled up the slope to stop the game.

From White Shadows in the South Seas by O'Brien, Frederick

But three years after the arrival of Frontenac a former vicar apostolic, Fran�ois Xavier de Laval de Montmorenci, returned to Quebec as bishop, with a jurisdiction over the whole of Canada.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 2 "French Literature" to "Frost, William" by Various