OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/St. Matilda

From volume 10 of the work.
Queen of Germany, wife of King Henry I (The Fowler), b. at the Villa of Engern in Westphalia, about 895; d. at Quedlinburg, 14 March, 968. She was brought up at the monastery of Erfurt. Henry, whose marriage to a young widow, named Hathburg, had been declared invalid, asked for Matilda's hand, and married her in 909 at Walhausen, which he presented to her as a dowry. Matilda became the mother of: Otto I, Emperor of Germany; Henry, Duke of Bavaria; St. Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne; Gerberga, who married Louis IV of France; Hedwig, the mother of Hugh Capet. In 912 Matilda's husband succeeded his father as Duke of Saxony, and in 918 he was chosen to succeed King Conrad of Germany. As queen, Matilda was humble, pious, and generous, and was always ready to help the oppressed and unfortunate. She wielded a wholesome influence over the king. After a reign of seventeen years, he died in 936. He bequeathed to her all his possessions in Quedlinburg, Poehlden, Nordhausen, Grona, and Duderstadt.
It was the king's wish that his eldest son, Otto, should succeed him. Matilda wanted her favourite son Henry on the royal throne. On the plea that he was the first-born son after his father became king, she induced a few nobles to cast their vote for him, but Otto was elected and crowned king on 8 August, 936. Three years later Henry revolted against his brother Otto, but, being unable to wrest the royal crown from him, submitted, and upon the intercession of Matilda was made Duke of Bavaria. Soon, however, the two brothers joined in persecuting their mother, whom they accused of having impoverished the crown by her lavish almsgiving. To satisfy them, she renounced the possessions the deceased king had bequeathed to her, and retired to her villa at Engern in Westphalia. But afterwards, when misfortune overtook her sons, Matilda was called back to the palace, and both Otto and Henry implored her pardon.
Matilda built many churches, and founded or supported numerous monasteries. Her chief foundations were the monasteries at Quedlinburg, Nordhausen, Engern, and Poehlden. She spent many days at these monasteries and was especially fond of Nordhausen. She died at the convents of Sts. Servatius and Dionysius at Quedlinburg, and was buried there by the side of her husband. She was venerated as a saint immediately after her death. Her feast is celebrated on 14 March.
Two old Lives of Matilda are extant; one, Vita antiquior, written in the monastery of Nordhausen and dedicated to the Emperor Otto II; edited by KOEPKE in Mon. Germ. Script., X, 575-582, and reprinted in MIGNE, P.L., CLI, 1313-26. The other, Vita Mahtildis reginae, written by order of the Emperor Henry II, is printed in mon. Germ. Script., IV, 283-302, and in MIGNE, P.L., CXXXV, 889-9220. CLARUS, Die heilige Mathilde, ihr Gemahl Heinrich I, und ihre Sohne Otto I, Heinrich und Bruno (Munster, 1867); SCHWARZ, Die heilige Mathilde, Gemahlin Heinrichs I. Konigs von Deutschland (Ratisbon, 1846); Acta SS., March, II, 351-65.
MICHAEL T. OTT
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/St. Maurus

From volume 10 of the work.
Deacon, son of Equitius, a nobleman of Rome, but claimed also by Fondi, Gallipoli, Lavello etc.; died 584. Feast, 15 Jan. He is represented as an abbot with crozier, or with book and censer, or holding the weights and measures of food and drink given him by his holy master. He is the patron of charcoalburners, coppersmiths etc. — in Belgium of shoemakers — and is invoked against gout, hoarseness etc. He was a disciple of St. Benedict, and his chief support at Subiaco. By St. Gregory the Great (Lib. Dialog., II) he is described as a model of religious virtues, especially of obedience. According to the Vita ("Acta SS." II Jan., 320, and Mabillon "Acta SS. O.S.B.", I, 274) he went to France in 543 and became the founder and superior of the abbey at Glanfeuil, later known by his name. This Vita ascribed to a companion, the monk Faustus of Monte Cassino, has been severely attacked. Delehaye (loc. cit., 106) calls it a forgery of Abbot Odo of Glanfeuil in the ninth century but Adlhoch (Stud. u. Mittheil ., 1903, 3, 1906, 185) makes a zealous defence. On the Signum S. Mauri, a blessing of the sick with invocation of St. Maurus given in the Appendix of Rituale Romanum, see "Studien u. Mittheil." (1882), 165.
FRANCIS MERSHMAN
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/St. Maurice

From volume 10 of the work.
Leader (primicerius) of the Theban Legion, massacred at Agaunum, about 287 (286, 297, 302, 303), by order of Maximian Herculius. Feast, 22 Sept. The legend (Acta SS., VI, Sept., 308, 895) relates that the legion, composed entirely of Christians, had been called from Africa to suppress a revolt of the Bagandæ in Gaul. The soldiers were ordered to sacrifice to the gods in thanksgiving but refused. Every tenth was then killed. Another order to sacrifice and another refusal caused a second decimation and then a general massacre. (On the value of the legend, etc., see Agaunum and Theban Legion.) St. Maurice is represented as a knight in full armour (sometimes as a Moor), bearing a standard and a palm; in Italian paintings with a red cross on his breast, which is the badge of the Sardinian Order of St. Maurice. Many places in Switzerland, Piedmont, France, and Germany have chosen him as celestial patron, as have also the dyers, clothmakers, soldiers, swordsmiths, and others. He is invoked against gout, cramps, etc.
See CHEVALIER, Bio-Bibl., s.v.; Histor. Jahrbuch, XIII, 782.
FRANCIS MERSHMAN
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/St. Maximinus

From volume 10 of the work.
Bishop of Trier, b. at Silly near Poitiers, d. there, 29 May, 352 or 12 Sept., 349. He was educated and ordained priest by St. Agritius, whom he succeeded as Bishop of Trier in 332 or 335. At that time Trier was the government seat of the Western Emperor and, by force of his office, Maximinus stood in close relation with the Emperors Constantine II and Constans. He was a strenuous defender of the orthodox faith against Arianism and an intimate friend of St. Athanasius, whom he harboured as an honoured guest during his exile of two years and four months (336-8) at Trier. He likewise received with honours the banished patriarch Paul of Constantinople in 341 and effected his recall to Constantinople. When four Arian bishops came from Antioch to Trier in 342 with the purpose of winning Emperor Constans to their side, Maximinus refused to receive them and induced the emperor to reject their proposals. In conjunction with Pope Julius I and Bishop Hosius of Cordova, he persuaded the Emperor Constans to convene the Synod of Sardica in 343 and probably took part in it. That the Arians considered him as one of their chief opponents is evident from the fact that they condemned by name along with Pope Julius I and Hosius of Cordova at their heretical synod of Philippopolis in 343 (Mans, "Sacrorum Conc. nova et ampl. Coll.", III, 136 sq.). In 345 he took part in the Synod of Milan and is said to have presided over a synod held at Cologne in 346, where Bishop Euphratas of Cologne was deposed on account of his leanings toward Arianism. {Concerning the authenticity of the Acts of this synod see the new French translation of Hefele's "Conciliengeschichte", I, ii (Paris, 1907), pp. 830-34.} He also sent Sts. Castor and Lubentius as missionaries to the valleys of the Mosel and the Lahn. It is doubtful whether the Maximinus whom the usurper Magnentius sent as legate to Constantinople in the interests of peace is identical with the Bishop of Trier (Athanasius, "Apol. ad Const. Imp.", 9). His cult began right after his death. His feast is celebrated on 29 May, on which day his name stands in the martyrologies of St. Jerome, St. Bede, St. Ado, and others. Trier honours him as its patron. In the autumn of 353 his body was buried in the church of St. John near Trier, where in the seventh century was founded the famous Benedictine abbey of St. Maximinus, which flourished till 1802.
A life, full of fabulous accounts, by a monk of St. Maximinus in the eighth century, is printed in Acta SS., May, VII, 21-24. The same life, revised by SERVATUS LUPUS, is found in MIGNE, P.L. CXIX, 21-24, and in Mon. Germ. Script. rerum Merov., III, 74-82; DIEL, Der heilige Maximinus und der heilige Paulinus, Bischofe von Trier (Trier, 1875); CHAMARD, St. Maximin de Treves, St. Athenase et les semi-Ariens in Revue des Quest. hist., II (Paris, 1867), 66-96; BENNETT in Dict. Christ. Biog., s.v.
MICHAEL OTT
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Denis-Benjamin Viger

From volume 15 of the work.
French-Canadian statesman and writer, b. at Montreal, 19 Aug., 1774; d. 1861. After studying classics and philosophy at the Sulpician college of his native city, he joined the bar, was elected (1808) member of Parliament for Montreal, and re-elected for other constituencies for 1810, 1814, and 1827. He was sent (1828) to represent French Canadian interests against Lord Dalhousie's administration before the English Parliament. In 1830, though a member of the Upper House, he spent two years refuting Attorney-General Stuart's memoir. His patriotism did not impair his loyalty. Yet, in 1838, he was imprisoned for nineteen months, refusing bail, and demanding a trial. After the union of the Canadas, he was twice returned to Parliament (1841 and 1845). His knowledge of constitutional law urged him to side with Governor Metcalfe, and accept Lafontaine's heritage as premier; whereby he assumed the responsibility of dividing the Liberal party. His friends misunderstood him and suspected him of inclining towards British influence. He was accused of personal ambition, though he acted through loftier motives-the dread lest responsible government be compromised. In a pamphlet, "La crise ministerielle" (1844), he rightly defines constitutional government. He was the first president of the national society of St. Jean-Baptiste. Fordham University gave him the degree of LL.D. (1853). He wrote many newspaper articles and several important political treatises demonstrating England's interest in maintaining the laws, usages, and education of Lower Canada. He contributed to the foundation of the newspapers "La Minerve" and "L'Aurore des Canadas". His writings are noted for their logic, depth, and erudition.
BIBAUD, Le Pantheon canadien (Montreal, 1891); TURCOTTE, Le Canada sous l'Union (Quebec, 1871); ROYAL, Viger in Journal d l'Instruction publique (March, 1861); MORGAN, Bibliotheca canadensis (Ottawa, 1867).
LIONEL LINDSAY
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Denis Amelote

From volume 1 of the work.
Born at Saintes, 1609; died in Paris, 7 October, 1678. He was ordained in 1631, was a Doctor of the Sorbonne, and member of the French Oratory. His French translation of the New Testament (4 vols. 1666–70) was highly valued and often reprinted. His other Scriptural works are mostly extracts from his New Testament edition. As a strenuous opponent of the Jansenists, he wrote “Defensio Constitutionum Innocentii XI et Alexandri VII”.
Hurter. Nomenclator, II, 146; Ingold in Vig., Dict. de la bible (Paris, 1895).
A. J. Maas.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Denis Auguste Affre

From volume 1 of the work.
​Affre, Denis Auguste, Archbishop of Paris, b. at St. Rome-de-Tarn, in the Department of Tarn, 27 September, 1793; d. in Paris, 27 June, 1848. At the age of fourteen he entered the seminary of Saint Sulpice, then under the direction of his uncle, Denis Boyer. He completed his studies with great credit, and spent some time as professor of philosophy in the seminary at Nantes. He was ordained a priest 16 May, 1818, and joined the Sulpician community. He was successively Vicar-General of the Dioceses of Luçon and Amiens, and was appointed Coadjutor of Strasburg in 1839.
Tomb of Archbishop Affre at Paris
This post, however, he never filled, being called on to act as Vicar-Capitular of Paris, conjointly with MM. Auger and Morel, at the death of Archbishop Quélen. Five months later he was nominated to the vacant see (1840). His tenure of this office was marked by a zealous devotion to the improvement of clerical studies and to the free exercise of the teaching office (liberté d'enseignement). During the insurrection of 1848 the Archbishop was led to believe that his presence at the barricades might be the means of restoring peace. He accordingly applied to General Cavaignac, who warned him of the risk he was about to incur. "My life", the Archbishop answered, "is of little value, I will gladly risk it." Soon afterwards, the firing having ceased at his request, he appeared on the barricade at the entrance to the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, accompanied by M. Albert, of the national guard, who wore the dress of a workingman, and bore a green branch as a sign of peace, and by Tellier, a devoted servant. His reception was not very favourable, and he had spoken only a few words, when the insurgents, hearing some shots, and thinking they were betrayed, opened fire on the National Guard, and the Archbishop fell. He was removed to his palace, where he died. Next day the National Assembly issued a decree expressing their great sorrow at his death. The public funeral, 7 July, was one of the most striking spectacles of its kind. Archbishop Affre wrote, in addition to his pastorals and various articles in "La France Chrétienne", "Traité de l'administration temporelle des paroisses" (Paris, 1827; 11th ed., 1890), "Traité de la propriété des biens ecclésiastiques" (Paris, 1837), "Introduction philosophique à l'étude du Christianisme" (Paris, 5th ed., 1846).
Fisquet, La France pontificale (Paris, 1867), I, 619; D'Avenel, Les évêques et archevêques de Paris (Paris, 1878), II, 264; The Biographies of De Riancey (Paris, 1848); Cruice (Paris, 1850); Castan (1864).
Francis W. Grey.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Denis Mary Bradley

From volume 2 of the work.
First Bishop of Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.A., b. 25 February, 1846, at Castle-island, County Kerry, Ireland; d. at Manchester 13 December, 1903. Shortly after his father's death his mother, with a family of five, emigrated to the United States and settled at Manchester. He was then eight years old. After attending the local schools, he was sent to Holy Cross College, Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1863, and closed his academic career there in June, 1867. He was then enrolled as an ecclesiastical student at St. Joseph's Seminary, Troy, New York, where he was ordained priest 3 June, 1871. Shortly after this he was located at Portland, Maine, under Bishop Bacon, and subsequently under Bishop Healy, by whom he was appointed rector of the cathedral and chancellor of the diocese. In June, 1881, he was made pastor of St. Joseph's, Manchester, which became his cathedral when he was consecrated first Bishop of the new See of Manchester, 11 June, 1884. He had the honour of being the first alumnus of St. Joseph's Seminary of Troy, New York, to be raised to the episcopacy.
In the rural sections of New Hampshire thee were many scattered Catholics who up to that time had few facilities for practising their faith, and his first and earnest efforts were directed towards providing for them, and with the most gratifying results. He held the first synod of the diocese 24 October, 1886, and under the energizing influence of his zeal and enthusiasm there was a general upbuiliding of Catholicism throughout the State. The silver jubilee of his ordination was made the occasion of a striking demonstration of his great personal popularity, and this had another manifestation when every non-Catholic pulpit in Manchester bore sincere testimony to the loss his death had occasioned to the city and to the State.
Catholic News files (New York, December, 1903); Catholic Directory (Milwaukee, 1904); REUSS, Biog. Encyl. Of the Cath. Hierarchy (Milwaukee, 1898); GABRIELS, History of St. Joseph's Seminary, Troy (New York, 1906).
THOMAS F. MEEHAN
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Denis-Nicolas Le Nourry

From volume 9 of the work.
Denis-Nicolas Le Nourry, of the Congregation of St-Maur, ecclesiastical writer, b. at Dieppe in Normandy, 18 Feb., 1647; d. at the Abbey of St-Germain in Paris, 24 March, 1724. He received his first education from the priests of the Oratory at his native place; then entered the Benedictine Order at Jumieges, 8 July, 1665. After completing his theological studies and being ordained to the priesthood, he was sent to Rouen, where, in the Abbey of Bonnenouvelle, he assisted John Garet in publishing the writings of Cassiodorus (1679). For this work he wrote the preface and the life of the author. In the edition of the works of St. Ambrose he aided Jean du Chesne and Julien Bellaise at Rouen, and later Jacques du Frische at Paris, where he spent the last forty years of his life. His greatest work is the "Apparatus ad bibliothecam maximam veterum patrum et antiquorum scriptorum", published at Paris in two volumes (1703 and 1715) as an aid to the study of the Lyons collection of the Fathers. In extensive dissertations he gives the biography of each writer; the occasion, design, scope, and genuineness of every writing; a history of the time in which the author lived; its dogmatical and moral tendency, and its struggles against heathenism or heresies. The work was well received. In 1710 he edited the "Liber ad Donatum confessorem de mortibus persecutorum", and in a special dissertation tries hard to prove that the book was written by Lucius Caecilius and not by Lactantius. Besides these he edited the "Epitome institutionum divinarum" of Lactantius, the "Expositum de die paschae et mensis" of Hilarianus, and a fragment "De origine generis humani".
TASSIN, Histoire litt. de la cong. de Saint-Maur (Paris, 1770), 436: HURTER, Nomenclator, II (Innsbruck, 1893), 1117: Tubinger Quartalscchrift (1834), 15; Dux in Kirchenlez., s. v.; NICERON, Memoires, I (Paris, 1727-38), 275-8.
FRANCIS MERSHMAN
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Denis Jamay

From volume 8 of the work.
Franciscan, missionary, date and place of birth unknown; died in France, 1625; an important figure in the early history of the Church in Canada. In 1615 he was chosen by his superiors in France as provincial commissary and chief of the first band of Recollect friars, who were also the first missionaries of Canada. Leaving France on the 24 April, 1615, he arrived at Tadoussac on 24 May, and went immediately with Champlain to meet the savages at Sault St. Louis. On 24 June, 1615, at Riviere des Prairies, he celebrated the first Mass said in the country by its first missionaries. In 1616 Father Jamay returned to France with Champlain to urge before the king and the "Associates" of Rouen the material and spiritual interests of the colony. In 1620, again elected commissary provincial, he returned to Canada with Champlain and his wife. On reaching Quebec he exhorted the colonists to obey the viceroy and his lieutenant, Champlain. Having completed the first regular convent of the Recollects at Quebec, he blessed it and dedicated it to Our Lady of the Angels. He returned to France in 1621.
Odoric-M. Jouve.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Diocese of Cattaro (Catharum)

From volume 3 of the work.
DIOCESE OF CATTARO (CATARENSIS).
Suffragan of Zara. Cattaro, the principal town in one of the four divisions of Dalmatia, is situated at the foot of steep limestone rocks, on one of the small bays of the Adriatic, and nearly surrounded by mountains. The Gulf of Cattaro, itself a natural port, is divided into four smaller bays called Bocche di Cattaro, one of the most picturesque sites in Europe. The ancients called the town Ascrivium, and its gulf, Sinus Rhizonicus. Early in the Christian Era Ascrivium became a Roman colony; it was destroyed about 860 by the Saracens, but was rebuilt by the inhabitants of the town of Cattaro, who had been driven from home by the Hungarians. In the twelfth century, Cattaro seems to have been a republic; as early as 1178 its coins appear, bearing the image of St. Trypho. Later on it passed successively under Byzantine and Servian rule, and in 1368 formed an alliance with King Louis of Hungary. Having sided with the Genoese against the Venetians it was captured and burned by the latter (1378). In 1423 Cattaro voluntarily submitted to Venice, though retaining a certain autonomy. The long rule of Venice is reflected in the architecture of the town. During the Napoleonic period it passed successively into the hands of the Austrians, the French, the Russians, the French, and the Montenegrins, who sacked it after the departure of the French (1814). It then fell under Austrian rule, and is now a seaport of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and the commercial outlet of Montenegro. Situated as it was, Cattaro must have received the Gospel at an early period, according to legend from St. Boimus. The list of bishops, however, does not go farther back than 877. The Catholic population of the diocese is 13,363, the non-Catholic, 15,000. There are 19 parishes, 11 vicariates, 50 secular and 12 regular priests.
U. BENIGNI
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Diocese of Cayes

From volume 3 of the work.
Cayes, Diocese of (Cajesensis), in the republic of Haiti, suffragan to Port-au-Prince. The actual ecclesiastical province of Port-au-Prince (the archdiocese and the four suffragan dioceses of Cap Haïtien, Gonaives, Cayes, and Port-de-Paix) dates only from the reorganization following upon the Concordat of 1860 between Pope Pius IX and the Republic of Haiti; but the Faith was planted in this part of Santo Domingo towards the end of fifteenth century, and despite the many political and social vicissitudes of the island has never been quite extinguished there. The jurisdiction of Bishop of Cayes (Monseigneur Jean-Marie-Alexandre Morice, elected 4 March, 1893) extends over the whole civil Department of the South (Werner, Orb.Terr.Cath., Freiburg 1890) and his episcopal see is at Cayes (commonly spoken of as Aux Cayes), a seaport in the extreme south-western part of the island. This diocese is divided into 25 parishes containing altogether a population of 500,000, almost without exception Catholics by profession. According to the "Annuaire pontifical" for 1907, there were 95 churches or chapels in the diocese, with 35 secular priests.
The Catholic progress of Cayes since the first settlement of Santo Domingo, as well as the educational, racial, and economic conditions and development of the district, have been substantially the same as in the northern diocese of Haiti. (See Cap Haïtien.)
M. Chatté.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Diocese of Cava and Sarno

From volume 3 of the work.
Cava and Sarno, Diocese of (Cavensis et Sarnensis). Cava dei Tirreni is a city picturesquely situated in the province of Salerno, in Southern Italy. It was built by the inhabitants of Marina, after the destruction of that city by the Vandals (c. 455). In 980 St. Alferio Pappacarbona, monk of Cluny, withdrew to a deep cleft in Monte Finestre which dominates the city, and became the founder of one of the most celebrated of Italian monasteries. Its abbots received many privileges from the popes, especially from Urban II, who visited the monastery, and from Boniface IX, who in 1394 attached the episcopal dignity to the abbot's office. The cathedral of Cava, famous for its organ, has been since 1513 the principal church of the city. The library of the monastery is very rich in ancient parchments, mostly private in character, written in Greek, Latin, Italian, and Arabic. It has also a beautiful gallery of paintings. Since 1860 the monastery has been one of the "national monuments"; some monks remain as its custodians. There are in Cava a college, gymnasium, and lyceum, in charge of Benedictines. In 1818 the Diocese of Sarno was united to that of Cava. Sarno is a city in the province of Salerno, situated on the river of the same name. It was made an episcopal see in 1066, the first bishop being Riso. Cardinal Sfondrato, Archbishop of Amalfi, was at one time Bishop of Sarno. The united dioceses are immediately subject to the Holy See. They contain a population of 58,200, with 27 parishes, 5 religious houses of men and 7 of women.
U. BENIGNI