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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PREFECT APOSTOLIC
A priest with special faculties of jurisdiction in mission territory and in lands where the episcopal hierarchy has not yet been established. Subject directly to the Holy See, such a priest enjoys many rights similar to those of a resident bishop, but he cannot confer major orders. (Etym. Latin praefectus, overseer, chief, prefect.)
