cathedra

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Popes wield such power that they can speak ex cathedra — literally, from the papal throne — to make infallible pronouncements on morality that the faithful must obey.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2025

The last time a pope issued an ex cathedra decree was in 1950, when Pius XII made the assumption of Mary into heaven an article of faith.

From Washington Post • Feb. 4, 2021

It is a conviction descended, ex cathedra, from Robert Penn Warren, in his spare masterpiece, “Tell Me a Story.”

From The New Yorker • May 20, 2019

Which Catholics believe in the primacy of the Pope's teachings, when he is not speaking ex cathedra?

From New York Times • Apr. 9, 2018

The teacherless classroom, the school which is without direction and without dogma ex cathedra, is a peculiarly fitting metaphor to invoke.

From Child Versus Parent Some Chapters on the Irrepressible Conflict in the Home by Wise, Stephen