Catholic Dictionary

Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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BROTHER

A title of respect variously used in ecclesiastical documents and Catholic Church practice. The Pope regularly addresses the bishops as "venerable brothers," and among men religious the term is commonly used in correspondence and formal discourse. (Etym. Anglo-Saxon brothor; akin to Latin frater; Greek phrat_r, member of the same clan.)