legate

legate
—legateship, n.
/leg"it/, n.
1. an ecclesiastic delegated by the pope as his representative.
2. Rom. Hist.
a. an assistant to a general or to a consul or magistrate, in the government of any army or a province; a commander of a legion.
b. a provincial governor of senatorial rank appointed by the emperor.
3. an envoy or emissary.
[1125-75; ME legat < L legatus deputy (n. use of masc. ptp. of legare to depute), equiv. to lega(re) + -tus ptp. suffix]

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also called  Papal Legate,  

      in the Roman Catholic Church, a cleric sent on a mission, ecclesiastical or diplomatic, by the pope as his personal representative. Three types of legates are recognized by canon law. A legatus a latere (a legate sent from the pope's side, as it were) is a cardinal who represents the pope on some special assignment with such powers as are delegated to him. Nuncios (nuncio), pronuncios, and internuncios are sent to countries that have diplomatic relations with the Holy See; they promote friendly relations and observe and report to the pope on the state of the church in that region. Apostolic delegates (apostolic delegate) are prelates who are appointed by the pope as his representatives to the church of a region. They channel information between the local ecclesiastical hierarchy and the Holy See.

Additional Reading
David M. O'Connell, “Legates, Papal” in Frank J. Coppa (ed.), Encyclopedia of the Vatican and Papacy (1999), pp. 260–262.

▪ Roman official
Latin  Legatus (“deputy”) , plural  Legati 

      official who acted as a deputy general to governors of provinces conquered by ancient Rome in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, during the period of the republic. In the latter part of the 1st century BC, Julius Caesar initiated the practice of appointing legates to command legions in the army. This practice became customary under the emperor Augustus (27 BC–AD 14). Under the early empire, in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, a province containing one or more legions was governed by a military commander with the title legatus Augusti pro praetore (propraetorian legate of the emperor).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • legate — ► NOUN 1) a member of the clergy who represents the Pope. 2) a general or governor of an ancient Roman province, or their deputy. ORIGIN Latin legatus, from legare depute, delegate, bequeath …   English terms dictionary

  • legate — [leg′it] n. [ME < OFr legat < L legatus, pp. of legare, to send as ambassador < lex, law: see LEGAL] 1. an envoy or ambassador 2. Rom. History the governor of a province, or his deputy legateship n. legatine adj …   English World dictionary

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  • Legate — This unusual and interesting name is of early medieval origin, and is an occupational surname for an ambassador or deputy. The derivation is from the Old French and Middle English word legat , itself derived from the Latin legis , meaning to… …   Surnames reference

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