Monsignor

Monsignor (English pronunciation: /mɒnˈsiːnjə/) is an honorific form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church including bishops, honorary prelates and canons. In some cases, these ecclesiastical honorific titles derive from the pope, but in other cases it is simply a customary or honorary style belonging to a prelate or honorary prelate. These are granted to individuals who have rendered valuable service to the Church, or who provide some special function in Church governance, or who are members of bodies such as certain chapters. The title is never bestowed on those classified as religious in Catholicism. Although in some languages the word is used as a form of address for bishops, which is indeed its primary use in those languages, this is not customary in English.Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord". It is abbreviated Mgr,Msgr, or Mons.

"Monsignor" is a form of address, not an appointment: properly speaking, one cannot be "made a monsignor" or be "the monsignor of a parish". The title or form of address is associated with certain papal awards, which Pope Paul VI reduced to three classes: those of Protonotary Apostolic, Honorary Prelate, and Chaplain of His Holiness.

Apart from those working in the Roman Curia and the diplomatic service of the Holy See, it is usually on the proposal of the local bishop that the Pope grants this title to Catholic diocesan clergy. The grant is subject to criteria of the Holy See that include a minimum age.

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