vicar apostolic

Inflections of 'vicar apostolic' (n): npl: vicars apostolic

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

vic′ar apostol′ic, pl. vicars apostolic. 

1. [Rom. Cath. Ch.] a titular bishop serving either in a district where no episcopal see has been established, or in one where the succession of bishops has been interrupted.
2. [Eccles. Hist.] an archbishop, bishop, or other ecclesiastic to whom the pope delegated a portion of his jurisdiction.

• 1760–70

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

vicar apostolic noun

1. a titular bishop having jurisdiction in non-Catholic or missionary countries where the normal hierarchy has not yet been established