Monseigneur
(French: My Lord)
Honorary form of address formerly given to the higher nobility of France , particularly the dauphin, to Church dignitaries and even to the Saints; in present French usage reserved to archbishops , bishops , vicars-general and other prelates.
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Monseigneur
(From mon, “my” and seigneur, (“elder” or “lord,” like Lat. senior)
A French honorific appellation, etymologically corresponding to the English “my lord,” and the Italian monsignore. It is, after all, nothing but the French monsieur; but, while the latter has become current as applied to every man who is in good society, Monseigneur has retained its honorific force. In ecclesiastical usage it is reserved for bishops and archbishops, and is chiefly employed when speaking or writing to them. It is used before the name (thus abridged: Msgr. Dupanloup). Formerly it was not prefixed to the title of dignity, but it is now, as “Mgr l’évêque N. . . .” The term Monseigneur is also used as the equivalent of the Italian Monsignore, and as the latter title is given to Roman prelates, some confusion results; in Italy, however, no inconvenience arises from this usage as in that country bishops have the title of Eccellenza, i.e., Excellency. In France, only the Archbishop of Reims, as legatus natus, has the title of Excellency (See MONSIGNOR).
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HERICOURT, Les lois ecclesiastiques de France, E.V., 22.
A. BOUDINHON Transcribed by John Fobian In memory of John Eagan, S.J.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XCopyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, October 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Monseigneur
(my lord), a French title, once applied to saints, and subsequently to princes, nobles, certain high dignitaries of the Church, and other titled personages, is now only given to prelates. The Italian monsignore has a similar signification.