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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HIS HOLINESS
A title of honor and respect reserved in the Western Church for the Holy Father, the Pope, because of his administrative office of holy things. The term is sometimes applied to patriarchs in the East, e.g., to the Melkite patriarch in Antioch, in union with Rome, who is called "Most Holy in the Liturgy," and the Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople, who is spoken of as "His All-Holiness."
