Monsignor, << mon SEEN yuhr, >> is an honorary title given to certain clergymen of the Roman Catholic Church. The word comes from the Italian monsignore, meaning My Lord, and it is abbreviated as Msgr. Cardinals are not addressed as Monsignor. But patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, and people attached to the papal household are given this title. It is common to address bishops and archbishops as “Your Excellency,” though an archbishop may also be called “Your Grace.”
