Abbé
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Abbé (from Latin Template:Lang, in turn from Greek Template:Lang, Template:Lang, from Aramaic abba, a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of abh, "father")<ref>Template:OEtymD</ref> is the French word for an abbot. It is also the title used for lower-ranking Catholic clergy in France who are not members of religious orders.Template:Sfn
History
Template:Catholic Church Hierarchy A concordat between Pope Leo X and King François I of France (1516)<ref>Template:Harvnb cites Template:Cite Catholic Encyclopedia III under Kinds of Abbot</ref> gave the monarchs of France the right to nominate 255 commendatory abbots (Template:Lang) for almost all French abbeys, who received income from a monastery without needing to render service, creating, in essence, a sinecure.<ref name=EA-Abbé>Template:Cite Americana</ref>
From the mid-16th century, the title of abbé has been used in France for all young clergy, with or without consecration.Template:Sfn Their clothes consisted of black or dark violet robes with a small collar, and they were tonsured.<ref name=EA-Abbé/>
Since such abbés only rarely commanded an abbey, they often worked in upper-class families as tutors, spiritual directors, etc.;Template:Sfn some (such as Gabriel Bonnot de Mably) became writers.<ref name=EA-Abbé/>
Clerical oblates and seminarians of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest also have the honorific title of abbé.
See also
- Abbot#Modern abbots not as superior
- Abbé Pierre
- Abbé Faria
- Abbé Sieyès
- Abbé Franz Liszt
- Abbé Edgeworth de Firmont