Roman Catholic Church. a priest deputized by a bishop to assist him in the administration of a diocese.
Church of England. an ecclesiastical officer, usually a layperson, who assists a bishop or an archbishop in the discharge of his judicial or administrative duties.
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Monsignor Stephen Doktorczyk, vicar-general for the Diocese of Orange, said McElroy’s leadership skills have been impressive.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 22, 2022
The project has personal significance for the Rev. Alex Karloutsos, longtime vicar-general for the archdiocese.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 8, 2021
Rossi was for years the vicar-general to DiNardo, the Catholic archbishop of Galveston-Houston and president of the U.S. bishops conference who has been leading the U.S. hierarchy’s response to the sexual abuse scandal.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 21, 2019
"Introducing democracy into administration," as he puts it, Sheen permitted the 583 priests in the diocese to elect his vicar-general, or chief aide, who before had always been appointed by the bishop.
From Time Magazine Archive
Registration of Births.—The registration of baptisms is said to have been first introduced by Thomas Cromwell when vicar-general in 1538, but it is only in comparatively modern times that registration has been fully carried out.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7 "Bible" to "Bisectrix" by Various
The Rev. James Anguiano, moderator of the Curia and vicar general of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, delivered a homily in Spanish and English.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2024
Monsignor Stephen Doktorczyk, vicar general for the Diocese of Orange in Southern California, remembered Benedict as a gracious leader who had the ability to build bridges and foster reconciliation.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 31, 2022
Eugine H. Pereira, vicar general of the archdiocese leading the protesters, said they would not be removing the shelter despite the court order.
From Reuters ● Nov. 23, 2022
Salvatore Genchi, the vicar general of Catania, as he held a copy of the ban in his office behind the city’s basilica.
From New York Times ● Oct. 16, 2021
He was 'way up once, but he lost his big job as vicar general, and then he lost all his big jobs.
From Charred Wood by Shepherd, J. Clinton
The order of Dominicans was equally divided, and elected different vicars-general.
From The History of the Inquisition of Spain from the Time of its Establishment to the Reign of Ferdinand VII. by Llorente, Juan Antonio
The bishops also commonly held visitations in person, or by vicars-general or chancellors, once every third year throughout their dioceses.
From The Elizabethan Parish in its Ecclesiastical and Financial Aspects by Ware, Sedley Lynch
Formerly Brazil constituted an ecclesiastical province under the metropolitan jurisdiction of an archbishop residing at Bahia, with 11 suffragan bishops, 12 vicars-general and about 2000 curates.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 4 "Bradford, William" to "Brequigny, Louis" by Various
Such a body might be the vicars-general, of whom two should be appointed for each diocese.
From The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, Volume 1, November 1864 by
One evening Gaston de Nueil was seated between a dowager and one of the vicars-general of the diocese, in a gray-paneled drawing-room, floored with large white tiles.
From The Deserted Woman by Marriage, Ellen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
