Holy Cross Style

Ornate door

Brief History

Blessed Basil Anthony Moreau* (1799–1873), CSC, founded the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1837 in the small French town of Sainte- Croix (Holy Cross), near Le Mans, France. In 1841, Father Moreau sent six brothers and one priest — Father Edward Sorin, CSC — to the United States. In 1842, they established the first Holy Cross school in the country in South Bend, Indiana, which became the University of Notre Dame.

In 1872, Father Sorin traveled to Austin, Texas, with plans to establish a Catholic school. St. Edward’s Academy was founded in 1877 and opened for classes in 1878. In 1885, the academy secured its charter as a college, and in 1925, it received its university charter.

Preferred styles for Moreau:

  • Blessed Basil Moreau, CSC
  • Father Moreau or Basil Moreau (second reference)

NOTE: The French spelling of Moreau’s first name is “Basile.” We use the English version of “Basil.”

Ƶ is part of the Moreau Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross. The Province Center (headquarters) for Moreau Province is located adjacent to the St. Edward’s campus.

Guidelines for Holy Cross References

St. Edward’s is home to the Holy Cross Institute, which forms a Catholic community of learning and practice for Congregation of Holy Cross educators in the U.S. and beyond. Use “Congregation of Holy Cross,” never these:

  • Wrong: “Holy Cross Congregation”
  • Wrong: “Congregation of the Holy Cross”
  • Wrong: “The Congregation of Holy Cross” (when used as the congregation’s name)

Do not capitalize “congregation” when used in the institutional sense.

  • During the congregation’s first years ...

Do not capitalize “heritage” when used with these proper names:

  • Holy Cross heritage
  • Catholic heritage

As of 2010, “Founders Day” is no longer possessive. The holiday honors Father Edward Sorin, CSC, and the Holy Cross founders of St. Edward’s.

The following bibles are acceptable references:

  • The Jerusalem Bible
  • New Catholic Bible
  • Revised Standard Bible
  • New International Version
  • New American Bible Revised Edition

Please avoid referring to:

  • The King James Bible
  • The Young People’s Bible or those with similar names
  • Any bibles that use “thee” and “thou” as they tend to be archaic

The word “catholic” is lower case when it means “general” or “universal” and uppercase when used in the denominational sense. Guidelines for other Christian denominations and other religions are included in the AP Stylebook and the CNS Stylebook.

Abbreviate the word “saint” in proper names of saints and the places and institutions named for them: St. Edward.

The word “rosary” is all lower case.

Capitalize “church” when used in the formal name of a building, a congregation or a denomination.

  • St. Ignatius Martyr Church
  • Roman Catholic Church
  • Founded by the Catholic Church

Do not capitalize “church” when used in the institutional sense or in plural uses where two formal names are combined.

  • The church teaches that ...
  • The event, sponsored by Trinity and St. Mary’s churches, offers ...
  • The Lutheran and Episcopal churches ...

Do not capitalize “council” when used alone. Upper case “C” when used with a specific name, i.e., Second Vatican Council.

Mass: Capitalize when referring to the Catholic ceremony. Do not capitalize preceding adjectives (e.g., high Mass, requiem Mass).

Do not capitalize “sacramental preparation” unless referring to a program.

  • Campus Ministry offers sacramental preparation for baptism.
  • The Sacramental Preparation program offered by Campus Ministry includes baptism.

Priests may be referred to as Reverend or Father. Reverend is usually reserved for formal uses in letters and introductions. Father, the more common and informal term, is used in most instances at St. Edward’s.

Bishops also may be referred to formally as Most Reverend.

Abbreviations for religious orders have no periods between letters and are always bracketed by commas. (comma space CSC comma)

  • Brother John Paige, CSC, will lead the discussion.

When referring to a member of a religious order, use the person’s full name in the first reference.

  • Brother John Paige, CSC, ...
  • Father Peter Walsh, CSC, ...
  • Sister Donna Jurick, SND, ...

Holy Cross Brothers with degrees from St. Edward’s must have “, CSC,” between the name and their graduation year:

  • Brother Stephen Walsh, CSC, ’62, PhD

Always capitalize and spell out the title “Brother,” “Sister,” “Father,” etc.; do not abbreviate (no Br., Bro., Sr., Fr.).

In formal communications, use the person’s last name on second reference.

  • Brother Paige
  • Father Walsh
  • Sister Jurick

If communication recipients are familiar with St. Edward’s, use the person’s first name on second reference if he/she is known by that name.

  • Brother John
  • Father Peter
  • Sister Donna

Do not capitalize “priest” or “brothers” except in the phrases “Holy Cross Brothers” and “Holy Cross Priests” (i.e. “student brothers,” “the priests and brothers of the Congregation of Holy Cross”)