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Curated category

Catholic terminology

  • PurgatoryThe word purgatory entered English via Anglo-Norman and Old French, appearing as a noun perhaps only between 1160 and 1180.
  • Military order (religious society)In 1053, Pope Leo IX founded the Knights of Saint Peter as a militia to counter Norman forces at the Battle of Civitate.
  • UltramontanismA non-Italian pope was once called papa ultramontano by his contemporaries in the Middle Ages. This Latin phrase meant a pope from beyond the mountains…