cardinal
cardinal1 a leading dignitary of the Roman Catholic Church. Cardinals are nominated by the Pope, and form the Sacred College which elects succeeding popes (now invariably from among their own number). The word is recorded from Old English and comes from Latin cardinalis, from cardo, cardin- ‘hinge’ (See also cardinal2); the derivation reflects the notion of the important function of such priests as ‘pivots’ of church life.
Cardinals wear a deep scarlet cassock with a wide-brimmed red hat; the cardinal's hat is often taken as a symbol of his office, and is the emblem of St Bonaventura, St Jerome, and St Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621).
Cardinals wear a deep scarlet cassock with a wide-brimmed red hat; the cardinal's hat is often taken as a symbol of his office, and is the emblem of St Bonaventura, St Jerome, and St Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621).
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