Volume W in the Catholic Encyclopedia

Wörndle, Von, Family - Philip von Wörndle Of Adelsfried and Weierburg, major of a Tyrolese rifle-corps, commandant ...
Würtemberg, Kingdom of - In area the third and in population the fourth of the states of the German Empire. It is situated ...
Würzburg Abbeys - See also DIOCESE OF WÜRZBURG and UNIVERSITY OF WÜRZBURG ABBEYS ; The city of ...
Würzburg, Diocese of - (HERBIPOLENSIS). See also UNIVERSITY OF WÜRZBURG and WÜRZBURG ABBEYS ; Located ...
Würzburg, University of - See also DIOCESE OF WÜRZBURG and WÜRZBURG ABBEYS ; John I of Egloffstein ...
Waagen, Wilhelm Heinrich - Geologist, and palæontologist, born at Munich, 23 June, 1841; died at Vienna, 24 March, ...
Wace, Robert - Poet, born at Jersey, about 1100; died at Bayeux, 1174. His maternal grandfather, Toustein, was a ...
Wachter, Eberhard - Painter, born at Stuttgart, 29 February, 1762; died at Stuttgart, 14 August, 1852. He studied ...
Wadding, Luke - Historian and theologian, born at Waterford, Ireland, 16 October, 1588; died at St. Isidore's ...
Wadding, Michael - (GODINEZ). Mystical theologian, born at Waterford, Ireland, in 1591; died in Mexico, Dec. ...
Waire, Venerable - English friar and martyr, hanged, drawn, and quartered at St. Thomas Waterings in Camberwell (a ...
Waitzen, Diocese of - (VÄCZ or VACIENSIS). Located in Hungary ; suffragan of Gran ; probably founded by King ...
Wakash Indians - A linguistic family inhabiting the western coast of British Columbia from 50° 30' to Garden ...
Walafrid - (Walahfrid; surnamed Strabo -- "the Squinter"). German poet and theologian of the ninth ...
Walburga, Saint - (WALTPURDE, WALPURGIS; at Perche GAUBURGE; in other parts of France VAUBOURG, FALBOURG). Born ...
Waldeck, Principality of - (Or WALDECK-PYRMONT). A former state of the German Empire , with an area of 433 square miles; ...
Waldenses - An heretical sect which appeared in the second half of the twelfth century and, in a ...
Waldsassen, Abbey of - ("Settlement in the woods"). Located on the River Wondreb, Upper Palatinate, near the border ...
Waldseemüller, Martin - (Graecized ILACOMILUS). Learned Humanist and celebrated cartographer, born at Wolfenweiler ...
Walenburch, Adrian and Peter von - Auxiliary bishops of Cologne and celebrated controversial theologians, born at Rotterdam at the ...
Wales - Wales is that western portion of Great Britain which lies between the Irish Sea and the River ...
Walkenried - Formerly one of the most celebrated Cistercian abbeys of Germany, situated in the Duchy of ...
Wall, Venerable John - Martyr, born in Lancashire, 1620; suffered near Worcester, 22 August, 1679; known at Douay and ...
Walla-Walla Indians - A Shahaptian tribe dwelling on the Walla-Walla (i.e. rushing water) River and the Columbia in ...
Wallenstein, Albrecht von - (WALDSTEIN). Born at Hermanic, Bohemia, 24 September, 1583; died at Eger, Bohemia, 24 ...
Wallon Henri-Alexandre - Historian and statesman, born at Valenciennes (Nord), in 1812); died at Paris, in 1904. Fellow of ...
Walmesley, Charles - Bishop of Rama, Vicar Apostolic of the Western District, England, b. 13 Jan., 1722; d. at Bath, ...
Walpole, Ven. Henry - English Jesuit martyr, born at Docking, Norfolk, 1558; martyred at York, 7 April, 1595. He was ...
Walsh, Edward - Irish poet, born at Derry actually Doire, near Kiskeam in County Cork in 1805; died at Cork, ...
Walsh, Patrick - Journalist, United States senator; born at Ballingary, Co. Limerick, Ireland, 1 January, 1840; ...
Walsh, Peter - Irish Franciscan, born at Mooretown, County Kildare, about 1608; died in London, 15 March, 1688. ...
Walsh, Robert - Publicist, diplomat, born at Baltimore, MD., 1785; died at Paris, 7 Feb., 1859. He was one of the ...
Walsh, Thomas - Born in London, October, 1777; d. there, 18 February, 1849. His father, an Irish merchant, ...
Walsh, William - Bishop of Meath, Ireland (1554-77); b. at Dunboyne, Co. Meath, about 1512; d. at Alcalá ...
Walsingham Priory - Walsingham Priory stood a few miles from the sea in the northern part of Norfolk, England. ...
Walsingham, Thomas - Benedictine historian, died about 1422. He is supposed to have been a native of Walsingham, ...
Walter of Châtillon - (GAUTIER DE LILLE, GUALTERUS DE INSULIS; also GAUTIER DE CHATILLON, GAULTERUS DE CASTILLIONE). ...
Walter of Merton - Bishop of Rochester and founder of Merton College, Oxford, b. probably at Merton in Surrey or ...
Walter of Mortagne - A twelfth-century Scholastic philosopher, and theologian, b. at Mortagne in Flanders in the ...
Walter of St-Victor - Mystic philosopher and theologian of the twelth century. Nothing is known about Walter except ...
Walter of Winterburn - An English Dominican, cardinal, orator, poet, philosopher, theologian, b. in the thirteenth ...
Walter, Ferdinand - Jurist, born at Wetzlar, 30 November, 1794; died at Bonn, 13 December, 1879. After studying at the ...
Waltham Abbey - The Abbey of Waltham Holy Cross stood in Essex, some ten miles to the northeast of London, on ...
Walther von der Vogelweide - Minnesinger and old poet, born about 1170; died in 1228. Only one old document mentions the name ...
Walton, Brian - Biblical scholar, editor of Walton's Polyglot Bible, born at Seymour, or Seamer, near York, in ...
Wandelbert - Benedictine monk and theological writer, born in 813; died at Prüm after 850. Little is ...
Wangnereck, Heinrich - (WAGNERECK). Theologian, preacher, author, born at Munich in July, 1595; died at Dillingen, ...
War - War, in its juridical sense, is a contention carried on by force of arms between sovereign states, ...
Ward, Hugh - ( Irish, ÆDH BUIDH MAC-AN-BHAIRD). Hagiographer, born in Donegal, about 1590; died 8 ...
Ward, James Harman - Born in Hartford, Connecticut, 1806; killed in attack on Matthias Point, Virginia, 27 June, ...
Ward, Margaret, Saint - Martyr, born at Congleton, Cheshire; executed at Tyburn, London, 30 Aug., 1588. Nothing is known ...
Ward, Mary - Foundress, born 23 January, 1585; died 23 January, 1645; eldest daughter of Marmaduke Ward and ...
Ward, Thomas - Born at Danby Castle near Guisborough, Yorkshire, 13 April, 1652; d. at St-Germain, France, ...
Ward, Ven. William - (Real name WEBSTER). Born at Thornby in Westmoreland, about 1560; martyred at Tyburn, 26 ...
Ward, William George - An English writer and convert, eldest son of William Ward, Esq., born in London, 21 March, ...
Warde, Mary Francis Xavier - Born at Belbrook House, Mountrath, Queen's County, Ireland, 1810; died at Manchester, N.H., 17 ...
Warham, William - Archbishop of Canterbury, born at Church Oakley, Hampshire, about 1450; died at Hackington, ...
Warsaw, Archdiocese of - (VARSAVIENSIS). Warsaw (Polish, Warszawa ), on the western bank of the Vistula, is the ...
Wartenberg, Franz Wilhelm, Count von - Bishop of Osnabrück and cardinal, eldest son of Duke Ferdinand of Bavaria and his ...
Washing of Feet and Hands - Owing to the general use of sandals in Eastern countries the washing of the feet was almost ...
Washington, D.C. - (DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA) Washington, the capital of the United States, is situated on the left ...
Washington, State of - One of the Pacific coast states, popularly known as the "Evergreen State", the sixteenth in size ...
Water, Holy - The use of holy water in the earliest days of the Christian Era is attested by documents of ...
Water, Holy, Fonts - Vessels intended for the use of holy water are of very ancient origin, and archaeological ...
Water, Liturgical Use of - Besides the holy water which is used by the Church in so many of her rites of blessing, and ...
Waterford and Lismore - (Waterfordiensis et Lismorensis), suffragan of Cashel. This diocese is almost coterminous with ...
Waterson, Ven. Edward - Born at London ; martyred at Newcastle-on-Tyne, 7 January 1594 (1593 old style). A romantic ...
Waterton, Charles - Naturalist and explorer, born in Walton Hall near Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, in 1782; died ...
Waterworth, James - Born at St. Helen's, Lancashire, 1806; d. at Old Hall, Newark, 28 March, 1876. Educated at ...
Watteau, Jean Antoine - French painter, and founder and leader of the school usually known as that of the painters of Les ...
Waverley, Cistercian Abbey of - Situated in Surrey, near Farnham, founded by William Gifford, Bishop of Winchester, on 24 Nov., ...
Way of the Cross - (Also called Stations of the Cross, Via Crucis, and Via Dolorosa). These names are used to signify ...
Way or State - The word state is used in various senses by theologians and spiritual writers. It may be ...
Way, Ven. William - ( Alias MAY, alias FLOWER). English priest and martyr, born in Exeter Diocese ...
Wealth, Use of - The term "wealth" is not used here in the technical sense in which it occurs in treatises on ...
Wearmouth Abbey - Located on the river Wear, in Durham, England ; a Benedictine monastery founded in 674 by St. ...
Weathers, William - Titular Bishop of Amyela; born 12 November, 1814; died at Isleworth, Middlesex, 4 March, 1895. ...
Webb, Benjamin Joseph - Editor, historian, born at Bardstown, Kentucky, 25 February, 1814; died at Louisville, Kentucky, ...
Webbe, Samuel - English composer, born in England in 1742; died in London, 29 May, 1816. He studied under ...
Weber, Beda - Benedictine professor, author, and member of the National German Parliament, born at Lienz in the ...
Weber, Friedrich Wilhelm - Physician, member of the Prussian House of Deputies, and poet, born at Alhausen, near Driburg, ...
Weber, Heinrich - German Church historian, born at Euerdorf in the Diocese of Würzburg , 21 June, 1834; died ...
Weber, Karl Maria Friedrich Ernst von - Composer, born at Eutin, Lower Saxony, 18 December, 1786; died in London, 5 June, 1826. His ...
Weedall, Henry - Born in London, 6 September, 1788; died at Oscott, 7 November, 1859. Both his parents died ...
Week, Liturgical - The week as a measure of time is a sufficiently obvious division of the lunar month, and the ...
Wegg-Prosser, Francis Richard - Only son of Rev. Prebendary Francis Haggit, rector of Newnham Coutney, born at Newnham Courtney, ...
Weingarten - (MONASTERIUM VINEARUM, AD VINEAS, or WEINGARTENSE). A suppressed Benedictine abbey, near ...
Weis, Nicolaus von - Bishop of Speyer, born at Rimlingen, Lorraine, 8 March, 1796; died at Speyer, 13 December, ...
Weislinger, Johann Nikolaus - Polemical writer, born at Puttlingen in German Lorraine, 1691; died at Kappel-Rodeck in Baden, 29 ...
Weiss, Johann Baptist - Born at Ettenheim, Baden, 17 July, 1820; died at Graz, 8 March, 1899. After completing his ...
Weissenau, Monastery of - (Originally OWE_AUGIA, then MINDERLAU-AUGIA MINOR, and finally WEISSEN AU-AUGIA ALBA or CANDIDA). ...
Weitenauer, Ignatius von - Litterateur, exegete, and Orientalist, born at Ingolstadt, Bavaria, 1 November, 1709; died at ...
Welbourne, Ven. Thomas - Martyred at York, 1 August, 1605. Nothing is known about about this martyr except the scanty ...
Weld - The name of an ancient English family (branches of which are found in several parts of England ...
Weld, Frederick Aloysius - Youngest son of Humphrey Weld, born at Chidcock Manor, Dorset, 1823; died there, 1891. He was ...
Welle, Prefecture Apostolic of - Located in the extreme north of Belgian Congo, Africa, separated by a Decree of the Propaganda ...
Wellington, Archdiocese of - (WELLINGTONIENSIS). Located in New Zealand, originally formed part of the Vicariate of ...
Wells in Scripture - It is difficult for inhabitants of a more humid climate to realize the importance which a country ...
Wells, Ven. Smithin - English martyr, born at Brambridge, Hampshire, about 1536; hanged at Gray's Inn Lane, London, ...
Welser, Bartholomeus - German merchant prince, born at Augsburg, 1488; died at Amberg, near Turkheim, Swabia, 1561. His ...
Welsh Church - In giving separate consideration to the Church of Wales, we follow a practice common among ...
Welsh Monastic Foundations - Few saints of the early British Church, as it existed before the Saxon invasion, are known to ...
Welte, Benedict - Exegete, born at Ratzenried in Würtemberg, 25 November, 1825; died 27 May, 1885. After ...
Wenceslaus, Saint - ( Also Vaclav, Vaceslav.) Duke, martyr, and patron of Bohemia, born probably 903; died at ...
Wendelin of Trier, Saint - Born about 554; died probably in 617. His earliest biographies, two in Latin and two in German, ...
Weninger, Francis Xavier - Jesuit missionary and author, born at Wildhaus, Styria, Austria, 31 October, 1805; died at ...
Wenrich of Trier - German ecclesiastico-polical writer of the eleventh century. He was a canon at Verdun, and ...
Werburgh, Saint - (WEREBURGA, WEREBURG, VERBOURG). Benedictine, patroness of Chester, Abbess of Weedon, ...
Werden - (WERTHINA, WEERDA, WERDENA). A suppressed Benedictine monastery near Essen in Rhenish ...
Werner, Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias - Convert, poet, and pulpit orator, born at Konigsberg, Prussia, 18 November, 1768; died at ...
Wessel Goesport, John - (GANSFORT). A fifteenth-century Dutch theologian, born at Gröningen in 1420; died there ...
Wessenberg, Ignaz Heinrich von - Vicar-General and Administrator of the Diocese of Constance, born at Dresden, 4 November, 1774; ...
Wessobrunn - (WESSOGONTANTUM, AD FONTES WESSONIS). A suppressed Benedictine abbey near Weilheim in Upper ...
West Syrian Rite - The rite used by the Jacobite sect in Syria and by the Catholic Syrians is in its origin ...
West Virginia - A state of the American Union, bounded on the northeast by Pennsylvania and Maryland, on the ...
Westcott, Sebastian - English organist, born about 1524, was a chorister, under Redford, at St. Paul's Cathedral, ...
Westeraas, Ancient See of - (AROSI, AROSIENSIS). Located in Sweden. The Catholic diocese included the lands of ...
Western Schism - This schism of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries differs in all points from the Eastern ...
Westminster Abbey - This most famous of all English abbeys is situated within the precincts of the Royal Palace of ...
Westminster Cathedral - As a national expression of religious faith given by Roman Catholics to England since the ...
Westminster, Archdiocese of - (WESTMONASTERIENSIS). Erected and made metropolitan in 1850, comprises the Counties of ...
Westminster, Matthew of - The name given to the supposed author of a well-known English chronicle, the "Flores Historiarum". ...
Weston, William - Jesuit missionary priest, born at Maidstone, 1550 (?); died at Valladolid, Spain, 9 June, ...
Westphalia - A province of Prussia situated between the Rhine and the Weser. It is bounded on the northwest ...
Wettingen-Mehrerau, Abbacy Nullius of - A Cistercian abbey near Bregenz, Vorarlberg, Austria. The Cistercian monastery of Wettingen ...
Wetzer, Heinrich Joseph - Learned Orientalist, born at Anzefahr in Hesse-Cassel, 19 March, 1801; died at Freiburg in ...
Wharton, Ven. Christopher - Born at Middleton, Yorkshire, before 1546; martyred at York, 28 March, 1600. He was the second ...
Wheeling, Diocese of - (WHELINGENSIS). Comprises the State of West Virginia except the following counties, which are ...
Whipple, Amiel Weeks - Military engineer and soldier, born at Greenwich, Massachusetts, 1818; died at Washington, D.C., ...
Whitaker, Venerable Thomas - Born at Burnley, Lancashire, 1614; martyred at Lancaster, 7 August, 1646. Son of Thomas ...
Whitbread, Venerable Thomas - ( Alias HARCOURT). Born in Essex, 1618; martyred at Tyburn, 30 June, 1679. He was ...
Whitby, Abbey of - (Formerly called Streoneshalh). A Benedictine monastery in the North Riding of Yorkshire, ...
Whitby, Synod of - The Christianizing of Britain begun by St. Augustine in A.D. 597 was carried on with varying ...
White Fathers - (MISSIONARIES OF OUR LADY OF AFRICA OF ALGERIA). This society, known under the name of ...
White, Andrew - Missionary, b. at London, 1579; d. at or near London, 27 Dec., 1656 (O.S.). He entered St. ...
White, Charles Ignatius - Editor, historian, born at Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. 1 February, 1807; died at Washington, ...
White, Edward - Grandfather of Stephen Mallory White , born in County Limerick, Ireland, in the latter part of ...
White, Eustace, Venerable - Martyr, born at Louth, Lincolnshire, in 1560; suffered at the London Tyburn, 10 December, 1591. ...
White, Richard, Venerable - ( Vere GWYN). Martyr, born at Llanilloes, Montgomeryshire, about 1537; executed at Wrexham, ...
White, Robert - English composer, b. about 1530; d. Nov., 1574; was educated by his father, and graduated Mus. ...
White, Stephen - Antiquarian and polyhistor; b. at Clonmel, Ireland, in 1574; d. in Galway, 1646. He belonged to a ...
White, Stephen Mallory - American statesman; born at San Francisco , California, 19 January, 1853; died at Los Angeles ...
White, Thomas - ( Alias BLACKLOW, BLACLOE, ALBIUS, ANGLUS). Born in Essex, 1593; died in London, 6 July, ...
Whithorn Priory - Located in Wigtownshire, Scotland, founded about the middle of the twelfth century, in the reign ...
Whiting, Blessed Richard - Last Abbot of Glastonbury and martyr, parentage and date of birth unknown, executed 15 Nov., ...
Whitsunday - A feast of the universal Church which commemorates the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the ...
Whitty, Ellen - In religion Mary Vincent, born at Pouldarrig near Oylgate, a village seven miles form the town of ...
Whitty, Robert - Born at Pouldarrig near Oylgate, 7 January, 1817; died 1 September, 1895. In 1830 he entered ...
Whitty, Rose - Born at Dublin, Ireland, 24 November, 1831; died 4 May, 1911. Of her two sisters one became a ...
Wibald - Abbot of Stavelot ( Stablo ), Malmedy, and Corvey, b. near Stavelot in Belgium in 1098; d. ...
Wichita Indians - A confederacy of Caddoan stock, formerly dwelling between the Arkansas River, Kansas, and the ...
Wichita, Diocese of - (WICHITENSIS). Erected in 1887, from the Diocese of Leavenworth . The territory of the new ...
Wichmans, Francis - In religion AUGUSTINE, born at Antwerp, 1596; died 1661. Having finished his classical studies, ...
Widmer, Joseph - Catholic theologian, born at Hohenraim, Lucerne, Switzerland, 15 Aug., 1779; died at ...
Widow - I. Canonical prescriptions concerning widows in the Old Testament refer mainly to the question ...
Widukind - Saxon leader, and one of the heads of the Westphalian nobility. He was the moving spirit in the ...
Widukind of Corvey - Historian who lived in the tenth century in the Benedictine Abbey of Corvey, Germany. He was a ...
Wiener-Neustadt, Diocese of - (NEOSTADTIENSIS). A suppressed see in Lower Austria. Upon the request of Frederick III it was ...
Wiest, Stephan - Member of the Order of Cistercians, b. at Teisbach in Lower Bavaria, 7 March, 1748; d. at ...
Wigand, Saints - ( Also rendered VENANTIUS). Three saints of this name are mentioned in the Roman ...
Wigbert, Saint - Companion of St. Boniface, born in England about 675; died at Hersfeld about 746. Positive ...
Wigbod - (WICBODUS, WIGBOLD, WIGBALD). Theological writer of the eighth century. Of his works there is ...
Wigley, George J. - Died in Rome, 20 January, 1866. By profession he was an architect, but subsequently devoted ...
Wilberforce, Henry William - Born at Clapham, 22 September, 1807; died at Stroud, Gloucestershire, 23 April, 1873. He was third ...
Wilberforce, Robert Isaac - Born at Clapham, 19 December, 1802; died at Albano, near Rome, 3 Feb. 1857. He was the second son ...
Wilcannia, Diocese of - (WILCANIENSIS). Located in New South Wales, one of the six suffragan sees of Sydney; consists ...
Wilcox, Robert, Venerable - English martyr, born at Chester, 1558; suffered at Canterbury, 1 October, 1588. He arrived at ...
Wild, Johann - Scriptural commentator and preacher, better known by his Latin name FERUS, b. in Swabia, 1497; d. ...
Wilfrid, Saint - Bishop of York, son of a Northumbrian thegn, born in 634; died at Oundle in Northamptonshire, ...
Wilgefortis - A fabulous female saint known also as UNCUMBER, KUMMERNIS, KOMINA, COMERA, CUMERANA, HULFE, ...
Wilhelm of Herle - Painter, born at Herle in Dutch Limburg at an unknown date in the fourteenth century; time and ...
Wilhelm V - Son of Duke Albrecht V. Born at Munich, 29 September, 1548; died at Schlessheim, 7 February, ...
Wilhering, Cistercian Abbey of - (HILARIA). Situated on the right bank of the Danube, in the Diocese of Linz, Austria. Ulric ...
Will - (Latin voluntas, Greek boúlesis, "willing" German Wille, French volonté ). ...
Will and Testament of Clerics - Roman law allowed clerics to dispose of their property by will or otherwise. Bishops, however, ...
Will, Free - RELATION OF THE QUESTION TO DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY HISTORY Free Will in Ancient ...
Willaert, Adrian - Composer and founder of the Venetian school, b. at Bruges, or, according to other authorities, ...
Willehad, Saint - Bishop at Bremen, born in Northumberland before 745; died at Blecazze (Blexen) on the Weser, 8 ...
Willems, Pierre - Philologist, born at Maastricht, 6 January, 1840; died at Louvain, 23 February, 1898. Following ...
William - Born in Brittany, died at Marmoutiers, 23 May, 1124. For a time he was Archdeacon of Nantes, ...
William - Abbot of Saint-Bénigne at Dijon, celebrated Cluniac reformer, b. on the Island of ...
William Carter, Venerable - English martyr, born in London, 1548; suffered for treason at Tyburn, 11 January, 1584. Son of ...
William Exmew, Blessed - Carthusian monk and martyr ; suffered at Tyburn, 19 June, 1535. He studied at Christ's ...
William Filby, Blessed - Blessed William Filby Born in Oxfordshire between 1557 and 1560; suffered at Tyburn, 30 May, ...
William Hart, Blessed - Born at Wells, 1558; suffered at York, 15 March, 1583. Elected Trappes Scholar at Lincoln ...
William Lacy, Blessed - Born at "Hanton", Yorkshire (probably Houghton or Tosside, West Riding); suffered at York, 22 ...
William of Auvergne - Bishop of Paris, medieval philosopher and theologian. Born at Aurillac in Auvergne towards ...
William of Auxerre - A thirteenth-century theologian and professor at the University of Paris . William's name ...
William of Champeaux - A twelfth-century Scholastic, philosopher, and theologian, b. at Champeaux, near Melun, in the ...
William of Conches - A twelfth-century Scholastic philosopher and theologian, b. about the year 1100. After having ...
William of Digulleville - (DEGULLEVILLE). A French poet of the fourteenth century. Nothing is known of his life, except ...
William of Ebelholt, Saint - (Also called WILLIAM OF PARIS and WILLIAM OF THE PARACLETE.) Died on Easter Sunday, 1203, and ...
William of Gellone, Saint - Born 755; died 28 May, c. 812; was the second count of Toulouse, having attained that dignity in ...
William of Jumièges - (Surnamed CALCULUS.) Benedictine historian of the eleventh century. Practically nothing seems ...
William of Maleval, Saint - (or ST. WILLIAM THE GREAT). Died 10 February, 1157; beatified in 1202. His life, written ...
William of Malmesbury - Born 30 November, about 1090; died about 1143. He was educated at Malmesbury, where he became a ...
William of Moerbeke - Scholar, Orientalist, philosopher, and one of the most distinguished men of letters of the ...
William of Nangis - (GUILHELMUS). A medieval chronicler, who takes his name from the City of Nancy, France. ...
William of Newburgh - Historian, b. at Bridlington, Yorkshire, 1136; d. at Newburgh, Yorkshire, 1198, where he went as ...
William of Norwich, Saint - Born 1132; died 22 March, 1144. On Holy Saturday, 25 March, 1144, a boy's corpse showing signs of ...
William of Ockham - Fourteenth-century Scholastic philosopher and controversial writer, born at or near the village ...
William of Paris, Saint - Abbot of Eskill in Denmark, born 1105; died 1202. He was born of a noble French family, and ...
William of Perth, Saint - (Or ST. WILLIAM OF ROCHESTER). Martyr, born at Perth ; died about 1201. Practically all that ...
William of Poitiers - Norman historian, born of a noted family, at Préaux near Pont Audemer, Normandy, about 1020. ...
William of Ramsey - Flourished about 1219. Nothing is known of his life except that he was a monk of Crowland Abbey ...
William of Sens - A twelfth-century French architect, supposed to have been born at Sens. He is referred to in ...
William of Shoreham - ( Or de Schorham.) An English religious writer of the Anglo-Norman period, born at ...
William of St-Amour - A thirteenth century theologian and controversialist, born in Burgundy in the first decades of ...
William of St-Thierry - Theologian and mystic, and so called from the monastery of which he was abbot, b. at ...
William of Turbeville - (TURBE, TURBO, or DE TURBEVILLE). Bishop of Norwich (1146-74), b. about 1095; d. at Norwich ...
William of Tyre - Archbishop of Tyre and historian, born probably in Palestine, of a European family which had ...
William of Vercelli - (Or WILLIAM OF MONTE VERGINE.) The founder of the Hermits of Monte Vergine, or Williamites, ...
William of Ware - (William de Warre, Guard, Guaro, Varro or Varron.) Born at Ware in Herts; the date of his ...
William of Wayneflete - Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England, b. towards the end of the fourteenth century; ...
William of Wykeham - Bishop of Winchester, Chancellor of England and founder of Winchester College ; b. between ...
William Perault - (PERAULD, PERALDUS, PERALTUS). Writer and preacher, b. at Perault, France ; d. at Lyons ; ...
William the Clerk (of Normandy) - French poet of the thirteenth century. Nothing is known of his life except that he was a clerk of ...
William the Conqueror - King of England and Duke of Normandy. William was the natural son of Robert, Duke of ...
William the Walloon - Date of birth unknown; d. (probably) 22 Dec., 1089. He became Abbot of St. Arnoul at Metz in ...
William, Blessed - Abbot of Hirschau, monastic reformer, born in Bavaria ; died at Hirschau, 5 July 1091. He ...
William, Saint - (WILLIAM FITZHERBERT, also called WILLIAM OF THWAYT). Archbishop of York. Tradition ...
William, Saint - Bishop of St-Brieuc, born in the parish of St. Alban, Brittany, between 1178 and 1184; died ...
Williamites - There were two minor religious orders or congregations of this name: (1) a Benedictine ...
Willibald and Winnebald, Saints - (WUNIBALD, WYNNEBALD). Members of the Order of St. Benedict, brothers, natives probably of ...
Willibrord, Saint - Bishop of Utrecht, Apostle of the Frisians, and son of St. Hilgis, born in Northumbria, 658; ...
Willigis, Saint - Archbishop of Mainz, d. 23 Feb., 1011. Feast, 23 February or 18 April. Though of humble birth ...
Williram - (WALTRAM, WILTRAM). Scriptural scholar, b. in Franconia (near Worms), Germany ; d. in 1085 at ...
Wilmers, Wilhelm - Professor of philosophy and theology, b. at Boke in Westphalia, 30 January, 1817; d. at ...
Wilmington, Diocese of - (WILMINGTONIENSIS). Erected 3 March, 1868. It includes what is known as the Delmarvia ...
Wilton Abbey - A Benedictine convent in Wiltshire, England, three miles from Salisbury. A first foundation was ...
Wilton, Richard - Died December 21, 1239. He was a medieval scholar of whom little is known except that he was an ...
Wimborne Minster - ( Also WIMBURN or WINBURN). Located in Dorsetshire, England. Between the years 705-23 a ...
Wimmer, Boniface - Archabbot, b. at Thalmassing, Bavaria, 14 January, 1809; d. at St. Vincent Archabbey, Beatty, ...
Wimpfeling, Jakob - Humanist and theologian, b. at Schlettstadt, Alsace, 25 July 1450; d. there, 17 Nov., 1528. He ...
Wimpina, Konrad - (WIMINAE, WIMINESIS). Theologian, b. at Buchen in Baden, about 1465; d. at Amorbach in Lower ...
Winchester, Ancient See of - (WINTONIA, WINTONIENSIS). This diocese came into existence in 635 when the great ...
Winckelmann, Johann Joachim - Archaeologist and historian of ancient art, born at Stendal near Magdeburg, in 1717; assassinated ...
Windesheim - An Augustinian monastery situated about four miles south of Zwolle on the Issel, in the Kingdom ...
Winding Sheet of Christ, Feast of the Holy - In 1206 one of the (supposed) Winding Sheets used at the burial of Christ was brought to ...
Windischmann, Friedrich Heinrich Hugo - Orientalist and exegete, b. at Aschaffenburg, 13 December, 1811; d. at Munich, 23 August, ...
Windischmann, Karl Joseph Hieronymus - Philosopher, b. at Mainz, 25 August, 1775; d. at Bonn, 23 April, 1839. He attended the gymnasium ...
Window, Rose - A circular window, with mullions and traceries generally radiating from the centre, and filled ...
Windows in Church Architecture - From the beginning Christian churches, in contrast to the ancient temples, were intended to be ...
Windsor - A town of great antiquity, on the Thames, in Berkshire, England ; quaintly rendered Ventus ...
Windthorst, Ludwig - Born near Osnabrück, 17 January, 1812; died 14 March, 1891. He came from a family of ...
Wine, Altar - Wine is one of the two elements absolutely necessary for the sacrifice of the Eucharist. For valid ...
Winefride, Saint - Born at Holywell, Wales, about 600; died at Gwytherin, Wales, 3 Nov., 660. Her father was ...
Wingham, Thomas - Born in London, 5 January, 1846; died there, 24 March, 1893. He studied music at Wylde's London ...
Winnebago Indians - A tribe of Siouan stock closely related in speech to the Iowa, Missouri, and Oto, and more ...
Winnebald and Willibald, Saints - (WUNIBALD, WYNNEBALD). Members of the Order of St. Benedict, brothers, natives probably of ...
Winnoc, Saint - Abbot or Prior or Wormhoult, died 716 or 717. Three lives of this saint are extant: the best of ...
Winona, Diocese of - (WINONENSIS). Established in 1889, suffragan of St. Paul, comprises the following counties in ...
Winslow, Jakob Benignus - (WINSLOW). Physician and anatomist, b. at Odense, Denmark, 27 April, 1669; d. in Paris, 3 ...
Winwallus, Saint - Abbot of Landevennec; d. 3 March, probably at the beginning of the sixth century, though the ...
Winzet, Ninian - Benedictine abbot and controversial writer, b. at Renfrew, Scotland, 1518; d. at Ratisbon, 21 ...
Wipo - (WIPPO). Apparently a native of Burgundy, lived in the first half of the eleventh century. He ...
Wireker, Nigel - Satirist, lived about 1190. He describes himself as old in the "Speculum Stultorum", which was ...
Wirt, Wigand - Theologian, born at Frankfort about 1460; died at Steyer, 30 June, 1519. He entered the ...
Wisconsin - Known as the "Badger State", admitted to the Union on 29 May, 1848, the seventeenth state ...
Wisdom, Book of - One of the deutero-canonical writings of the Old Testament, placed in the Vulgate between the ...
Wisdom, Daughters of - (LES FILLES DE LA SAGESSE). Founded at Poitiers by Blessed Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort ...
Wise Men (Magi) - (Plural of Latin magus ; Greek magoi ). The "wise men from the East" who came to adore ...
Wiseman, Nicholas Patrick - Cardinal, first Archbishop of Westminster ; b. at Seville, 2 Aug., 1802; d. in London, 15 ...
Witchcraft - It is not easy to draw a clear distinction between magic and witchcraft. Both are concerned with ...
Witness - One who is present, bears testimony, furnishes evidence or proof. Witnesses are employed in ...
Witt, Francis Xavier - Reformer of church music, founder of the St. CeciliaSociety for German-speaking countries, ...
Wittenberg - The city is in Prussian Saxony and was founded by Albert the Bear (d. 1170). He had conquered ...
Wittman, George Michael - Bishop-elect of Ratisbon, b. near Pleistein, Oberpfalz, Bavaria, 22 (23?) Jan., 1760; d. at ...
Wittman, Patrizius - Catholic journalist, b. at Ellwanger, Würtemberg, 4 January, 1818; d. at Munich, 3 ...
Witzel, Georg - (WICELIUS). Theologian, b. at Vacha, Province of Hesse, 1501; d. at Mainz, 16 Feb., 1573. He ...
Wladislaw, Diocese of - (Polish WLOCLAWEK; Latin VLADISLAVIENSIS ET POMERANLAE). The historical origin of this ...
Wolff, George Dering - Editor, b. at Martinsburg, West Virginia , 25 Aug., 1822; d. at Norristown, Pennsylvania, 29 ...
Wolfgang, Saint - Bishop of Ratisbon (972-994), born about 934; died at the village of Pupping in upper Austria, ...
Wolfram von Eschenbach - Generally regarded as the greatest of Middle-High-German epic poets, date of birth unknown; d. ...
Wolgemut, Michael - Painter and engraver, b. at Nuremberg, 1434; d. there, 1519. He was the most prominent artist of ...
Wolowski, Louis-François-Michel-Reymond - Born at Warsaw, 31 Aug., 1810; d. at Gisors, Eure, 15 Aug., 1876. His father, a member of the ...
Wolsey, Thomas - Cardinal, Archbishop of York, b. at Ipswitch, the usually accepted date, 1471, being probably ...
Wolstan, Saint - Benedictine, and Bishop of Worcester, b. at Long Itchington, Warwickshire, England, about 1008; ...
Woman - Of late years the position of woman in human society has given rise to a discussion which, as part ...
Wood, Thomas - Priest and confessor, b. about 1499; d. in Wisbech Castle before 1588. After being prebendary ...
Wood-Carving - In general, the production from wood of objects of trade or art by means of sharp instruments, as ...
Woodcock, Venerable John - English Franciscan martyr, b. at Leyland, Lancashire, 1603; suffered at Lancaster, 7 August, ...
Woodhead, Abraham - Born at Almonbury, Yorkshire, about March, 1609; died at Hoxton, Middlesex, 4 May, 1678. This ...
Woodhouse, Blessed Thomas - Martyr who suffered at Tyburn 19 June, 1573, being disembowelled alive. Ordained in Mary's ...
Woods, Julian Edmund Tenison - Priest and scientist, b. at Southwark, London, 15 Nov., 1832; d. at Sydney, New South Wales, 7 ...
Worcester, Ancient Diocese of - (WIGORNIENSIS.) Located in England, created in 680 when, at the Synod of Hatfield under ...
Words (in Canon Law) - To give the right value to words is a very important factor in the proper interpretation of ...
World, Antiquity of the - Various attempts have been made to establish the age of the world. Two groups of scientists have ...
Wormwood - ( Hebrew la'anah .) Wormwood, known for its repulsive bitterness ( Jeremiah 9:15 ; 23:15 ; ...
Worship, Christian - NOTION AND CHARACTERISTICS The word worship (Saxon weorthscipe , "honour"; from worth , ...
Worsley, Edward - Born in Lancashire, England, 1605; died at Antwerp, 2 Sept., 1676. He is said to have been ...
Worthington, Thomas, D.D. - Third President of Douai College , b. 1549 at Blainscough Hall, near Wigan, Lancashire; d. at ...
Wounds, The Five Sacred - Devotion The revival of religious life and the zealous activity of St. Bernard and St. ...
Wouters, G. Henry - Historian, b. at Oostham, Belgian Limburg, 3 May, 1802; d. 5 January, 1872. In 1829 he became ...
Wright, Venerable Peter - Martyr, b. at Slipton, Northamptonshire, 1603; suffered at Tyburn, 19 May, 1651. After spending ...
Wright, William - Born at York, 1562; died 18 Jan., 1639. Though he came late (23) to his studies, he then made ...
Wulfen, Franz Xaver Freiherr von - Botanist, b. at Belgrade, 5 November, 1728; d. at Klagenfurt, 17 March, 1805. He was the son of ...
Wulfram, Saint - (VULFRAMNUS.) Bishop of Sens, missionary in Frisi, born at Milly near Fontainebleau, probably ...
Wyart, Théophile-Louis-Henri - (In religion DOM SEBASTIAN). Abbot of Cîteaux and Abbot-General of the Order of ...
Wyche, Saint Richard de - Bishop and confessor, b. about 1197 at Droitwich, Worcestershire, from which his surname is ...
Wyclif, John - (WYCLIFFE, or WICLIF, etc.). Writer and "reformer", b. probably at Hipswell near Richmond, ...
Wyntoun, Andrew of - Scottish chronicler, born (as we know from the internal evidence of his writings) in the reign ...
Wyoming - Wyoming, the forty-fourth state admitted to the American Union, derives its name from the Delaware ...