Catholic Encyclopedia

The Catholic Encyclopedia is an English-language encyclopedia published in 1913 by the Roman Catholic Church, designed to give "authoritative information on the entire cycle of Catholic interests, action and doctrine".

History

The writing of the encyclopedia began on January 11, 1905 under the supervision of five editors:

Related Topics:
January 11 - 1905

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• Charles G. Herbermann, Professor of Latin and Librarian of the College of the City of New York
• Edward A. Pace, then Professor of Philosophy at the Catholic University
• Condé B. Pallen, Editor
• Rt. Rev. Thomas J. Shahan, then Professor of Church History at the Catholic University
• John J. Wynne, S.J., Editor of The Messenger

The editors had their first editorial meeting at the office of The Messenger, in West Sixteenth Street, New York City. The authors received a Nihil Obstat ("nothing hinders") from an official censor Remy Lafort on November 1, 1908 and an Imprimatur ("let it be printed") from John Cardinal Farley, who was Archbishop of New York at the time. This review process was likely sped up by reusing older authorized publications. In addition to having frequent informal conferences and constant intercommunication by letters, the editors subsequently held 134 formal meetings to consider the plan, scope and progress of the work, until publication on April 19, 1913. A supplement was published in 1922.

Related Topics:
New York City - Nihil Obstat - November 1 - 1908 - Imprimatur - John Cardinal Farley - Archbishop of New York - April 19 - 1913 - 1922

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The encyclopedia was later updated under the auspices of the Catholic University of America and republished as the New Catholic Encyclopedia, first in 1967, and then in 2002.

Related Topics:
Catholic University of America - 1967 - 2002

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In 1993, Kevin Knight, a 26-year-old resident of Denver, Colorado, inspired during the visit of Pope John Paul II to that city for World Youth Day, initiated the project to put the 1913 edition of the encyclopedia into cyberspace. Knight founded the website New Advent to house the undertaking. Volunteers from the United States, Canada, France, and Brazil helped in the transcription of the original material. The site went on-line in 1995 and was completed in 1997. The supplement is also in the public domain, but as of 2005 has not been placed on-line.

Related Topics:
1993 - Denver - Colorado - Pope John Paul II - World Youth Day - Cyberspace - United States - Canada - France - Brazil - 1995 - 1997 - As of 2005

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