Augustinian cardinal, born in 1835 in Polignano a Mare, Italy; died in 1902 in Rome, Italy. He was entrusted by Pope Leo XIII with several missions and took part in the Vatican Council as a theologian and interpreter for the Oriental bishops. As Oriental scholar he held important positions. He discovered and edited a valuable Arabic version of the "Diatessaron," and published the extant fragments of a very ancient Coptic Old Testament in the Borgian museum. In 1893 he was made secretary for the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
This dictionary contains not only definitions and explanations of every subject in Religion, Scripture, tradition, doctrine, morals, sacraments, rites, customs, devotions and symbolism, but also accounts of the Church in every continent, country, diocese; missions, notable Catholic centers, cities, and places with religious names; religious orders, church societies, sects and false religions. It has brief articles also on historical events and personages, on the Old Testament and New, and on popes, prelates, priests, men and women of distinction, showing what the Church has done for civilization and correcting many errors which have hitherto passed for history.Wikipedia
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