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Wachter, Eberhard - Painter, born at Stuttgart, (1762-1852)
Wakash Indians - A linguistic family inhabiting the western coast of British Columbia, and the west and northwest of Vancouver Island, as well as a small region around Cape Flattery, Washington
Walburga, Saint - Fairly lengthy biographical article on this abbess of a double monastery, and author, who died in 777
Waldenses - An heretical sect which appeared in the second half of the twelfth century
Waldseemüller, Martin - Learned humanist and celebrated cartographer. A canon of St-Die in Lorraine (1475-1522)
Wales - Located in the western portion of Great Britain
Walla-Walla Indians - A Shahaptian tribe dwelling on the Walla-Walla River and the Columbia in Washington and Oregon, from Snake River to the Umatilla
Waltham Abbey - Formerly located near London
War - In its juridical sense, a contention carried on by force of arms between sovereign states, or communities having in this regard the right of states
Ward, Margaret, Saint - English martyr, died at Tyburn in 1588
Ward, Mary - Founded the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Ward, William George - English writer and convert (1812-1882)
Washing of Feet and Hands - Owing to the general use of sandals in Eastern countries the washing of the feet was almost everywhere recognized from the earliest times as a duty of courtesy to be shown to guests
Water, Holy - In the earliest Christian times, water was used for expiatory and purificatory purposes, to a way analogous to its employment under the Jewish Law
Water, Holy, Fonts - Vessels intended for the use of holy water
Water, Liturgical Use of - Besides the holy water which is used in rites of blessing, and the water employed in the washing of feet and hands, and in the baptismal font, water has its recognized place in the ritual of every Mass
Watteau, Jean Antoine - Artist's biography with bibliography
Way of the Cross - Historical background on this devotion
Way or State - Stages in the spiritual life
Wealth, Use of - The term 'wealth' is not used here in the technical sense in which it occurs in treatises on economic subjects
Weber, Karl Maria Friedrich Ernst von - Composer (1786-1826)
Week, Liturgical - The week was regarded as a sacred institution among the Jews owing to the law of the Sabbath rest and its association with the first chapter of Genesis
Weissenau, Monastery of - Suppressed Premonstratensian house in Wuertemberg
Weld - Name of a prominent English Catholic family
Wells in Scripture - It is difficult to realize the importance which a country like Palestine attaches to any source of fresh water
Welsh Church - The term Welsh Church covers 'the British Church during the Roman period', 'the British Church during the period of Saxon Conquest', and 'the Church of Wales'
Welsh Monastic Foundations - The British church was driven into Wales in the fifth century
Wenceslaus, Saint - The patron saint of Bohemia, murdered by his brother c. 929
Werburgh, Saint - Benedictine abbess, died 699 or 700. Biographical article
Wessobrunn - Suppressed Benedictine abbey in Bavaria
West Syrian Rite - The rite used by the Jacobite sect in Syria and by the Catholic Syrians is in its origin simply the old rite of Antioch in the Syriac language
Western Schism - Only a temporary misunderstanding, even though it compelled the Church for forty years to seek its true head; it was fed by politics and passions, and was terminated by the assembling of the councils of Pisa and Constance
Westminster Abbey - This most famous of all English abbeys is situated within the precincts of the Royal Palace of Westminster
Westphalia - Province of Prussia
Whitaker, Venerable Thomas - Brief biography of this Lancashire priest, martyred in 1646
Whitby, Synod of - A conference at the monastery of St. Hilda at Whitby or Streanoeshalch. King Oswy with Bishops Colman and Chad represented the Celtic tradition; Alchfrid, son of Oswy, and Bishops Wilfrid and Agilbert that of Rome
White, Richard, Venerable - Real name, Richard Gwyn. Welsh schoolmaster, husband and father, had a reputation as a scholar, poet, martyred in 1584
White, Robert - English composer (1530-1574)
White Fathers - Missionaries of Our Lady of Africa of Algeria
Whitsunday - A feast which commemorates the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles, fifty days after the Resurrection of Christ
Wichita Indians - A confederacy of Caddoan stock, formerly dwelling between the Arkansas River, Kansas, and the Brazos River, Texas
Widow - Canonical prescriptions concerning widows in the Old Testament refer mainly to the question of remarriage
Widukind - Saxon leader, and one of the heads of the Westphalian nobility
Wigbert, Saint - English-born companion of St. Boniface. Wigbert was abbot of Hersfeld and, for a time, of Ohrdruf. He died in about 746
Wilfrid, Saint - Biographical article on this abbot and bishop, who died in 709
Wilhelm of Herle - Painter, born at Herle in Dutch Limburg at an unknown date in the fourteenth century
Will - This article discusses will in its psychological aspect
Will and Testament of Clerics - Roman law allowed clerics to dispose of their property by will or otherwise
Will, Free - The question of free will, moral liberty, or the liberum arbitrium of the Schoolmen, ranks amongst the three or four most important philosophical problems of all time
Willaert, Adrian - Biography of the composer (1480-1562)
William, Saint - Biographical article on William Fitzherbert, also called William of Thwayt. Twelfth-century Archbishop of York
William Carter, Venerable - English printer, martyred in 1584
William Filby, Blessed - English priest, martyred in 1582. Article also has details on Bl. Laurence Richardson and St. Luke Kirby, his companions in martyrdom
William Lacy, Blessed - English widower, became a priest. He was martyred at York in 1582
William of Gellone, Saint - Late eighth century. The second count of Toulouse, founded a Benedictine monastery, then became a monk himself
William of Norwich, Saint - William's corpse was found showing signs of a violent death. He is the earliest example of a medieval blood libel saint, having died in 1144. His biographer relied on hearsay, and was 'a man of unlimited credulity.'
William of Ockham - Biographical article on the fourteenth-century Franciscan philosopher
William of Perth, Saint - Honored as a martyr because he was on pilgrimage to Jerusalem when murdered by his adopted son
William of St-Thierry - Theologian and mystic (1085-1148)
William the Conqueror - King of England and Duke of Normandy
Williamites - Name of two minor religious orders
Willibrord, Saint - Article on the Benedictine missionary and bishop, who died in 739
Wimborne Minster - Monastery in Dorsetshire, England
Winckelmann, Johann Joachim - Archaeologist and historian of ancient art (1717-1768)
Winding Sheet of Christ, Feast of the Holy - In 1206 one of the (supposed) Winding Sheets used at the burial of Christ was brought to Besancon by Otto de La Roche, and the feast of its arrival (Susceptio) was ordered to be kept on 11 July
Window, Rose - A circular window, with mullions and traceries generally radiating from the centre, and filled with stained glasses
Windows in Church Architecture - A history of the use and form of windows in Christian houses of worship
Wine, Altar - Wine is one of the two elements absolutely necessary for the sacrifice of the Eucharist. For valid and licit consecration vinum de vite, i.e. the pure juice of the grape naturally and properly fermented, is to be used
Winnebago Indians - A Siouan tribe closely related in speech to the Iowa, Missouri, and Oto, and more remotely to the Dakota and Ponca
Winnoc, Saint - Early eighth-century Benedictine prior
Wisdom, Book of - One of the deutero-canonical writings of the Old Testament, placed in the Vulgate between the Canticle of Canticles and Ecclesiasticus
Wisdom, Daughters of - Founded at Poitiers by Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort in 1703
Wise Men (Magi) - The 'wise men from the East' who came to adore Jesus in Bethlehem (Matthew 2)
Witchcraft - As commonly understood, involves the idea of a diabolical pact or at least an appeal to the intervention of the spirits of evil
Witness - One who is present, bears testimony, furnishes evidence or proof
Witt, Francis Xavier - Composer and reformer of church music (1834-1888)
Wittenberg - City and University
Wolfgang, Saint - Tenth-century Benedictine bishop of Ratisbon (Regensburg)
Wolgemut, Michael - Painter and engraver (1434-1519)
Wolsey, Thomas - Cardinal Archbishop of York (1471-1530)
Woman - The position of woman in society has given rise to a discussion which, is known under the name of the 'woman question'
Wood-Carving - Discusses the branch of wood-carving dealing with artistic objects, belonging either to plastic (as statues, crucifixes, and similar carvings), or to industrial art (as arabesques and rosettes), and which serve mainly for the ornamentation of cabinet work
Woods, Julian Edmund Tenison - Priest and scientist (1832-1889)
Words (in Canon Law) - Canonists give many rules for the exact acceptation of words, in order that decrees may be correctly understood and the extent of their obligation determined
World, Antiquity of the - Various attempts have been made to establish the age of the world
Wormwood - Wormwood, known for its repulsive bitterness
Wörndle, Von, Family - Philip, Edmund, and August
Worship, Christian - In its most general sense, homage paid to a person or a thing
Wounds, The Five Sacred - The revival of religious life and the zealous activity of St. Bernard and St. Francis in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, together with the enthusiasm of the Crusaders returning from the Holy Land, increased devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ and particularly to practices in honour of the Wounds in His Sacred Hands, Feet, and Side
Wyche, Saint Richard de - The devoted companion of St. Edmund Rich, was bishop of Chichester. Richard died in 1253, and was canonized less than 10 years later
Wyclif, John - Lengthy biographical article. Includes bibliography
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