Religious Title Abbreviations
60 abbreviations · part of Religious Abbreviations
Abbreviations for clerical titles, honorific styles, stages of sainthood and the post-nominal initials used by members of Catholic and other religious orders, such as SJ for Jesuits or OP for Dominicans. Forms of address differ between Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox, Protestant and Jewish traditions and between American and British style guides, so entries note the correct usage, from "the Rev. Jane Smith" to "Fr. John Smith, OSB".
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Abp. | Archbishop | Abbreviation for archbishop, a bishop who leads an archdiocese or ecclesiastical province, used in reference works, church directories and historical writing. |
| Archim. | Archimandrite | Title in Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches for a senior celibate priest, originally the head of a large monastery and now often an honorific for… |
| Bl. | Blessed | Title given in the Catholic Church to a person who has been beatified, the stage before canonization, after a recognized miracle or martyrdom. |
| Bp. | Bishop | Abbreviation for bishop, an ordained leader with authority over a diocese in Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran and Methodist churches. |
| Br. | Brother | Title for members of religious institutes who are not ordained priests, such as the Christian Brothers, De La Salle Brothers and Marist Brothers, and for lay brothers… |
| Can. | Canon | Title for a member of a cathedral chapter, a body of clergy attached to a cathedral, in Anglican and Catholic churches; Anglican dioceses also appoint honorary canons… |
| Card. | Cardinal | Abbreviation for cardinal, a senior Catholic cleric appointed by the pope as a member of the College of Cardinals, whose members under age 80 elect a new pope in a… |
| CFC | Congregation of Christian Brothers | Irish Christian Brothers, founded in Waterford in 1802 by Blessed Edmund Rice to educate poor boys, use these initials. |
| CM | Congregation of the Mission | Abbreviation used by the Vincentians, also called Lazarists, a congregation of priests and brothers founded in Paris in 1625 by St. |
| CP | Congregation of the Passion | Passionist priests and brothers belong to a congregation founded in Italy in 1720 by St. |
| CSC | Congregation of Holy Cross | Holy Cross priests and brothers, a congregation founded in France in 1837 by Blessed Basil Moreau, use these initials. |
| CSJ | Congregation of Saint Joseph | Sisters of St. |
| CSsR | Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer | Redemptorist priests and brothers, members of a missionary congregation founded in 1732 near Naples by St. |
| DC | Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul | Catholic society of apostolic life founded in Paris in 1633 by St. |
| Dcn. | Deacon | Title for ordained deacons, the order of clergy below priests in Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican churches, who preach, baptize, witness marriages and serve the poor. |
| Fr. | Father | Title for Catholic and Orthodox priests and for priests in some Anglican and Lutheran traditions, used in speech and writing before the priest's name, as in "Fr. |
| FSC | Brothers of the Christian Schools | De La Salle Christian Brothers, a congregation of lay religious brothers founded in France in 1680 by St. |
| H.E. | His Eminence | Style of address for Catholic cardinals, and in Orthodox churches for metropolitans and some archbishops. |
| H.H. | His Holiness | Style of address for the pope and for leaders of some other religious communities, such as the Dalai Lama and the Coptic pope. |
| IHM | Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary | Shared initials of several related US congregations of Catholic women, the first founded in Monroe, Michigan, in 1845, with later communities based in Scranton and… |
| LC | Legionaries of Christ | Congregation of Catholic priests founded in Mexico in 1941 that runs schools, universities and the lay movement Regnum Christi. |
| MC | Missionaries of Charity | Congregation founded in Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1950 by St. |
| MM | Maryknoll (Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America) | Maryknoll priests and brothers are members of the first US-founded Catholic missionary society, established in 1911 and headquartered in Ossining, New York. |
| Most Rev. | Most Reverend | Style for archbishops in the Anglican Communion, such as the Archbishop of Canterbury, and for Catholic archbishops and, in the United States and some other countries… |
| Msgr. | Monsignor | Honorific title granted by the pope to certain Catholic priests, usually for distinguished service or office in a diocese or the Vatican. |
| O.Carm. | Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel | Carmelite friars of the Ancient Observance use these letters; their order originated with hermits on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land around 1200 and later spread through… |
| O.Praem. | Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré | Norbertines, or Premonstratensians, are canons regular whose order was founded in 1120 by St. |
| OCD | Order of Discalced Carmelites | Discalced Carmelites form the branch of the Carmelite order reformed in 16th-century Spain by St. |
| OCSO | Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance | Trappist monks and nuns, a contemplative monastic order that grew out of a 17th-century reform at the abbey of La Trappe in France and became a separate order in 1892… |
| OFM | Order of Friars Minor | Designation of the Franciscan friars, the order founded by Francis of Assisi in 1209 to live in poverty and preach. |
| OFM Cap. | Order of Friars Minor Capuchin | Letters used by the Capuchin Franciscans, a reform branch founded in Italy in 1528 that sought a stricter return to Francis's ideal of poverty. |
| OFM Conv. | Order of Friars Minor Conventual | Conventual Franciscans are the branch of the Franciscan order that traditionally lived in larger urban friaries ("convents"). |
| OFS | Secular Franciscan Order | Lay Catholic men and women, married or single, who follow the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order while living in the world use these letters. |
| OMI | Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate | Missionary congregation founded in 1816 in southern France by St. |
| OP | Order of Preachers | Dominican friars, nuns and sisters belong to the order founded by St. |
| OSA | Order of Saint Augustine | Augustinian friars belong to an order formed in 1256 by uniting groups of hermits who followed the Rule of St. |
| OSB | Order of Saint Benedict | Benedictine monks and nuns, who follow the Rule of St. |
| OSF | Order of Saint Francis | Used after the names of members of many independent congregations of Franciscan sisters, and by some brothers, following the Third Order Regular rule of St. |
| OSU | Order of Saint Ursula | Ursuline sisters belong to the oldest Catholic teaching order of women, founded in Brescia, Italy, in 1535 by St. |
| PP | Parish priest | Post-nominal used in Ireland, Britain and other Commonwealth countries for the priest who has canonical charge of a Catholic parish, the equivalent of a pastor in the US. |
| Pr. | Pastor | Abbreviation for pastor used in some Lutheran, Seventh-day Adventist and evangelical churches, particularly in Scandinavia, Australia and Germany-influenced… |
| Preb. | Prebendary | Honorary title in the Church of England for senior clergy, and occasionally lay people, holding a prebend, a stall in certain cathedrals such as St Paul's, Hereford… |
| R. | Rabbi | Abbreviation for rabbi in Jewish scholarly writing, especially before the names of sages quoted in the Mishnah and Talmud, such as R. |
| Rev. | Reverend | Honorific style placed before the names of Christian clergy, such as ministers, priests and deacons, in many denominations. |
| Revd | Reverend | British form of the abbreviation for Reverend, written without a period and used by the Church of England, the Church of Scotland and many UK publishers, as in "the… |
| RSCJ | Society of the Sacred Heart | Congregation of Catholic women founded in Paris in 1800 by St. |
| RSM | Religious Sisters of Mercy | Sisters of Mercy, whose congregation was founded in Dublin in 1831 by Venerable Catherine McAuley to serve poor women and children through education and health care… |
| Rt. Rev. | Right Reverend | Style for bishops in the Anglican Communion, Catholic bishops in some English-speaking countries and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland… |
| SC | Sisters of Charity | Several Catholic women's congregations use SC, tracing their roots to St. |
| SDB | Salesians of Don Bosco | Salesian priests and brothers belong to a congregation founded in Turin in 1859 by St. |
| SJ | Society of Jesus | Initials written after the names of Jesuits, members of the Catholic order of priests and brothers founded by Ignatius of Loyola and approved by Pope Paul III in 1540… |
| SM | Society of Mary | Initials shared by two Catholic congregations: the Marianists, founded in France by Blessed William Joseph Chaminade in 1817, who sponsor the University of Dayton, and… |
| Sr. | Sister | Title for women religious, members of Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Orthodox communities who take vows, especially those in active ministry such as teaching, nursing… |
| SSND | School Sisters of Notre Dame | Teaching congregation of Catholic women founded in Bavaria in 1833 by Blessed Theresa of Jesus Gerhardinger to educate girls. |
| St. | Saint | Title for a person formally recognized by the Catholic or Orthodox Church, or honored by Anglican and Lutheran traditions, as holy and in heaven, as in St. |
| Sts. | Saints | Plural abbreviation of Saint, used before the names of two or more saints, as in the Basilica of Sts. |
| SVD | Society of the Divine Word | One of the largest Catholic missionary congregations, founded in 1875 by St. |
| Ven. | Venerable (stage of canonization) | Title given in the Catholic Church to a deceased person whom the pope has declared to have lived a life of "heroic virtue", the stage after Servant of God and before… |
| Very Rev. | Very Reverend | Style for Anglican deans of cathedrals and provosts, former moderators of the Church of Scotland, and in Catholic usage for vicars general, cathedral rectors, deans and… |
| VG | Vicar general | Priest appointed by a Catholic diocesan bishop to act as his deputy with broad executive authority over the administration of the diocese. |