Q. Kind of a random question, but I sometimes see letters after some priests’ names. What do the different letters mean?
A. I don’t think this is a real term anyone uses, but I like to think of some facts as “huh” facts. These are the kind of things that, when you read them, make you go “huh.” These are not to be confused with “huh?” facts, or those things that don’t make sense.
“Huh” facts, while not the most fascinating or earth-shattering, are just interesting enough to make you inhale, nod your head, and say “huh.” Usually, they explain something that you’ve never really thought about. I feel like this “Ask the Register” answer is going to be a “huh” kind of series of facts.
If a priest has letters following his name, it means he is either a religious priest or he has some kind of higher academic degree. Priests in religious communities have letters after their names that denote what community they belong to. Here in the Diocese of Lincoln, you will see the names of priests ordained for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter with F.S.S.P. (Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Petri) after their names. Jesuits will have S.J. (Societas Iesu/Society of Jesus) and Dominicans will have O.P. (Ordo Praedicatorum/Order of Preachers). The official titles are in Latin, which leads to the abbreviations being the Latin abbreviations.
This is the same for academic degrees that priests receive through ecclesiastical universities. There are priests who hold secular degrees, which are denoted with the standard abbreviation common across academia. A diocesan priest who entered seminary without first receiving a college degree would have a bachelor’s degree in philosophy when he graduates. During their time in theology (the last four years of seminary), seminarians receive a master’s in divinity (M. Div) and some receive master’s of arts (M.A.) or bachelor’s degrees in sacred theology (S.T.B). The S.T.B. is an ecclesiastical degree, so the title is in Latin (Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus), hence the letter order of the S.T.B.
Because the Church has Her own parallel structures to the secular world, this means that the Church needs Her own experts in certain fields. Therefore, bishops will send priests for further studies (or hire lay people) to receive degrees that allow them to function in the Church as experts. While essentially degrees, the Church uses the term “licentiate” or license (licentia) to denote ecclesiastical degrees that qualify a person to function in certain official capacities within the Church. These capacities are usually teaching in ecclesiastical universities or seminaries or functioning as canon lawyers.
Canon lawyers have J.C.L. (Juris Canonici Licentiatus) after their names, which signifies that they have a license in canon law and are authorized by the Church to function as canon lawyers. J.C.D. denotes that they have a doctorate in Canon Law instead of a license. Similarly, S.T.L (Sacrae Theologiae Licentiatus) denotes a license in some form of theology, and an S.T.D. (Sacrae Theologiae Doctor) denotes a doctorate in theology.
This question was answered by Father Caleb La Rue, chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
