Friedrich Bernard Christian Maassen
United Sees of Macerata and Tolentino
Vicariate Apostolic of Mackenzie
Marie-Edmé-Patrice-Maurice de MacMahon
Joseph-Anna-Marie de Moyria de Mailla
François-Pierre-Gonthier Maine de Biran
Françoise, Marquise de Maintenon
Joseph-Marie, Comte de Maistre
Marcellinus of Civezza, O.F.M.
Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament
Prefecture Apostolic of Mariana Islands
Congregation of the Missionaries of Mariannhill
Sts. Maris, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum
Lucius Perpetuus Aurelianus Marius Maximus
Vicariate Apostolic of Marquesas Islands
Moral and Canonical Aspect of Marriage
Diocese of Marseilles (Massilia)
Vicariate Apostolic of the Marshall Islands
Diocese of Marsico Nuovo and Potenza
Luigi Ferdinando, Count de Marsigli
Missionaries of the Company of Mary
Servants of Mary (Order of Servites)
Society of Mary (Marist Fathers)
St. Mary Frances of the Five Wounds of Jesus
Richard Angelus a S. Francisco Mason
Devises and Bequests for Masses (United States)
Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus
Caius Julius Verus Maximinus Thrax
Prefecture Apostolic of Mayotte, Nossi-Bé, and Comoro
Charles Joseph Eugene de Mazenod
Abbey and Congregation of Melk
Vicariate Apostolic of Méndez and Gualaquiza
Francisco Sarmiento de Mendoza
Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy
Sisters of Mercy of St. Borromeo
Frédéric-François-Xavier Ghislain de Mérode
Delegation Apostolic of Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, and Armenia
Metal-Work in the Service of the Church
Prince Klemens Lothar Wenzel von Metternich
Francis, Joseph, and Paul Mezger
Military Orders of St. Michael
Giovanni Francesco Pico della Mirandola
Congregation of the Sisters of Misericorde
Prefecture Apostolic of Misocco and Calanca
Congregation of Priests of the Mission
Congregation of Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo
Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales of Annecy
Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle
Mission Indians (of California)
Catholic Indian Missions of Canada
Catholic Indian Missions of the United States
François-Napoléon-Marie Moigno
Diocese of Molfetta, Terlizzi, and Giovinazzo
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Molière
Principality and Diocese of Monaco
Canonical Erection of a Monastery
Monophysites and Monophysitism
Monothelitism and Monothelites
Montagnais Indians (Chippewayans)
Charles-Forbes-René, Comte de Montalembert
Marquis de Louis-Joseph Montcalm-Gozon
Diocese of Monterey and Los Angeles
Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu
Anne, First Duke of Montmorency
Alexis-François Artaud de Montor
Antoine-Jean-Baptiste-Robert Auget, Baron de Montyon
Dioceses of Mostar and Markana-Trebinje
Feast of the Most Pure Heart of Mary
Toribio de Benavente Motolinia
Congregations of Mount Calvary
Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Karl Ernst, Freiherr von Moy de Sons
Johann Chrysostomus Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
St. Clair Augustine Mulholland
Baron Eligius Franz Joseph von Münch-Bellinghausen
Archdiocese of Munich-Freising
A residential Armenian archbishopric, a Chaldean bishopric, and a residential Syrian bishopric; moreover it is the headquarters of the Capuchin mission of Mardin and Amida.
The ancient Syriac name was Marda, which meant fortress. It is mentioned as early as the time of Emperor Constantius (Amm. Marcell. xix, 9, 4) and again in the year 506 (Theophanis, "Chronogr." A. M., 5998). The town became Christian under Tiridates II, King of Armenia, at the close of the third century, and it is probable that the churches, mausoleums, and houses, the ruins of which have been discovered, belong to this period. It played an important part in the religious controversies between the Catholics and Monophysites, who made it one of their principal monasteries. It had a Jacobite bishop in 684 (see the list of Syrian titulars, in Lequien, "Oriens Christ.," II, 1457-1462; also "Revue de l'Orient Chrétien", VI, 200; also the list of Chaldean titulars given in Lequien, op. cit., II, 1321). After 1166 the Jacobite patriarch, who had hitherto resided at Diarbekir, took up his residence in Mardin. During the Middle Ages, thanks to its strong position, the town escaped the attacks of Houlagon, grandson of Genghis Khan, and of Tamerlane. Since 1574 it has belonged to the Ottoman Empire, and is a sanjak in the vilayet of Diarbekir. It is situated at about 3600 feet above sea-level, on a rugged browed and impregnable green hill; the grassy plain in the valley below is known as the Sea of Mardin. The population is computed at 25,000, of whom 15,500 are Mussulmans, the remainder being Christians. The number of Catholics of various rites is about 3000. In the Armenian archdiocese there are 8000 faithful, 16 native priests, 8 churches or chapels, 5 central stations, and 10 chapels of ease. The Syrian Catholic diocese has existed since 1852, and its title has been joined with that of Amida since 1888. The patriarch ought to reside at Mardin, but for some years past he has preferred Beirut on account of facility of communication with Europe. In the Syrian diocese there are 3500 Catholics, 25 priests, 8 churches and chapels, 11 stations, and the monastery of St. Ephraim. The Chaldean diocese, which is limited to the town of Mardin, has 750 faithful, 4 native priests, 1 parish, and 3 stations. The Capuchin mission dates from the seventeenth century, but its headquarters have been changed many times. It consists of 15 religious, of whom 11 are priests, and it has 6 houses (Diarbekir or Amida, Orfa or Edessa, Malatea or Melitene, Kharpout, Mamouret-ul-Aziz or Mozera, and Mardin). The mission owns 6 churches and 5 chapels; it carries on 18 primary schools, a college at Mamouret-ul-Aziz, 2 orphanages. The Franciscan Sisters of Lons-le-Saunier have three establishments for girls, one at Diarbekir, one at Orfa, and one at Mardin. The superior of the mission is Rev. J. Antonius a Mediolano O.M.C. There is moreover a schismatic Armenian archbishop in the town, and an American Protestant mission is in activity.
ASSEMANI, Bibliotheca orientalis, II, 470; CHAPOT, La frontière de l'Euphrate (Paris, 1907), 312; CUINET, La Turquie d'Asie, II, 494-502; PIOLET, Les missions catholiques françaises au XIXe siècle, I (Paris), 274-294; Missiones Catholicœ (Rome, 1907) 161, 756, 805, 810.
S. VAILHÉ.