Why do Cardinals use their title in the middle of their name?

[Arizona_Mike]

I’ve always wondered this - why do Cardinals of the Church often use their title between their first and last name - e.g., John Cardinal Newman, Timothy Cardinal Dolan?

 

[EricFilmer]

Arizona_Mike:

I’ve always wondered this - why do Cardinals of the Church often use their title between their first and last name - e.g., John Cardinal Newman, Timothy Cardinal Dolan?

I found an answer to this in the Ask an Apologist section. Please click here.

 

[Edmundus1581]

Thanks for question, Arizona Mike, and the answer, Eric.

I’d never thought about, and found it interesting!

 

[Arizona_Mike]

EricFilmer:

I found an answer to this in the Ask an Apologist section. Please click here.

Thanks very much for the link, Eric.

Also interesting from the linked answer: “Such customary marks of humility by those in the ecclesial hierarchy are not uncommon within the Church. Another example is the custom of some priests, particularly within religious orders, to lowercase the title in their signature. Written out it might look like “fr. John Smith” and is an acknowledgment that the priest’s spiritual fatherhood is based on God’s own Fatherhood from which all spiritual fatherhood is derived (cf. Matt. 23:9).”

I’d wondered about the lowercase abbreviation of “fr.”, too!