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ftesBion on 1 November, 1866. The Diocese of Mait- land, which served as an episcopal title to Bishop Davis, 0. S. B., consisted of the borough of East Mait- land only. The diocese, as constituted by Papal Brief of 1866. was very extended, and in 1887, at Bishop Murray s request in the first Plenary Council of Syci- ne^, a considerable reduction in its territory was made, bnneing it to its present limits. The present Diocese of Maitland comprises that portion of New South Wales, which lies between Camden Haven and Red Head, stretching west as far as Wollar and Cassilis and north as far as Murrurundi. It thus lies between 31^ 31' and 33° 7' S. kt., and between 149** 5(/ and 152^ 51' £. long. The area is about 12,000 sq. miles. The rainfall ranees from 30 to 40 inches annuallv in the parts near the coast, and from 20 to 30 in the other parts. The mean annual temperature is 63°. The diocese contains a large area of coal-measures in the vicinity of Maitland and Newcastle; large stretches of rich arable land lie on the banks of Hunter and Man- ning Rivers, and fine pastoral tracts throughout.

Among its population of some 150,000, Maitland has a Catholic population of 30,000. The Catholics are for the most part of Irish descent, but in a few places those of German descent are fairly numerous. There are twenty parochial districts, each possessing a church and presbytery with one or more resident secu- lar priests (m all 40), and in nearly every district are one or more convents of teaching sisters (in all 30 convents and 250 sisters). Catholic parochial schools unaided by the state have been established in every district, and are attended by about 4000 children. There is a Redemptorist monastery at Waratah, which is the centre of popular missions. The Marist Broth- ers have boys' scnools at Maitland and Newcastle. The Dominican Nuns from Kingstown, Ireland, have boarding and day schools, and are engaged in both secondary and primary education. The Sisters of Mercy, from Ennis ana Callan, Ireland, have a large number of primary schools, besides boarding and se- lect schools. The Sisters of St. Joseph from Bathurst have several day schools and a boarding-school — all for primary education. The only Catholic Institute for Deaf Mutes in Australasia is conducted at Wara- t^ by the Dominican Nuns. The Sisters of Mercy conduct an orphanage for girls at West Maitland. The building and maintenance of the churches is carried on entirely by charitable offerings; schools are also de- pendent on the small fees paid and on the charitable support of Catholics. Maitland's first bishop. Right Rev. James Murray, d. in 1909. He was succeeded oy Right Rev. Patrick Vincent Dwyer, the first Austra- lian-bom bishop, ordained a priest in 1882, and conse- crated coadjutor-bishop Ip. 1897.

P. V. Dwyer.

Majano, Benedetto da, a well-known Florentine sculptor and architect of the Renaissance, b. at Ma- jano, Tuscany, 1442; d. at Florence, 24 May, 1498. During his early life he cultivated the art of wood- mosaic, at which he was sin^larly expert. King Corvinus of Hungary invited him to his court, and it is said that the destruction on the journey of some pre- ciously executed inlay work he was taking to his royal patron induced the artist to seek more durable material. In 1471-72 he carved the monumental altar for the Duomo of Faenza dedicated to San Savino; in 1474, the bust of Pietro Mellini, shrewd and life-like, in the Bargello; in 1480, the framework of the doorway at the Palazzo Vecchio, a delicate piece of chiselling still in place. Also in 1480, with nis brother Giuliano, he Duilt and made the sculptures for the little oratory of the Madonna dell'Olivo, outside Prato. The charm- ing adolescent St. John of the Bargello is ascribed to the year 1481. In 1489 Benedetto designed the Strozzi Palace at Florence which still stands (contin- ued by Cronaca), one of the most picturesque memo-

rials of its day. It is believed he went to Naples in 1490> and there executed various sculptures, amoiu; others an Annunciation at^the church of Monte Oli- veto. The tomb of Filippb Strozzi, with its lovely roundel of Mother and Child supported by cherubs (S. Maria Novella, Florence), dates trom about 1491. In 1493-94 he made carvings at San Gimignaao in the chapel of the child-patron, Santa Fina; a bust of Onofrio Vanni in the sacristy; and the beautiful tomb of San Bartolo in the church of Sant' Agostino; the circular high-reHef in the arch of the Madonna Bjad Infant Blessing is one of his most exquisite creations. Benedetto's best-known and most esteemed produc- tion is the pulpit at the JPranciscan church of Santa Croce, Florence (about 1495). Minor works are the group of the seated Madonna and Child at the oratory of the Misericordia, Florence; the bust of Giotto at the Duomo, and of Squarcialupi in the BargcJlo; in Siena, the reliefs of the Evangelists at the Duomo, and a marble ciborium in the church of S. Domenico; a fine bust of Filippo Strozzi in the Louvre, Paris, and another in Berlin; and a door found at Boi^o San Sepolcro, now in a private collection at Palermo. The portico of S. Maria delle Grazie, at Arezzo, is his. He waj3 buried in the crypt of S. Lorenzo. Bode is of the opinion that he was the Florentine who most nearly approached the German School, but, in his best works, he retains the subtilty and distinction, the fineness and ner\'ous beauty of Donatello and of Rossellino.

Vabari, Lives, tr. Foster (London, 1887); LObke, Outlines of the Hislorjl of Art (New York. 1879); Perkins, Historical Hand- book of Italian Sculpture (New York, 18^); Bode, Florentins Sculptors of the Renaissance (London, 1008).

M. L. Handley.

Majorca and Iviza, Diocese of (Majoricensis et Ibusensis), suffragan of Valencia, with the episcopal residence at Palma on the Island of Majorca. The see is said to have existed in the fifth century, there being mention of a Bishop Elias of Majorca in 480. The first historical reference is in 898, at which time Pope Romanus placed Majorca and Minorca under the juris- diction of the Bishop of Gerona. The episcopal suc- cession was interrupt^ by the Moorish invasion, but in the eleventh century the Moorish king, Mi^geyd, authorized the Bishop of Barcelona to exercise juris- diction over Majorca. Don Jaime I of Aragon over- came the Moors in 1229 and caused Mass to be said in the ancient mosque at Palma. Gregory IX re-estab- lished the see in 1230, and the first bishop was Rai- mundo de Toirelles (1237-66). The cathedral, begun in 1230, is dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. The cathedral chapter dates from 1244, and was confirmed by Innocent IV, 5 April, 1245. By the BuU " Ineflfabilis Dei benignitas " (30 April, 1782) Pius VI made Iviza and Majorca a joint diocese. It was suppressed by the Concordat of 1857 and is now gov- erned by a capitular vicar. The present Bishop of Majorca and Iviza is Pedro Campins y Barcelo, b. at ralma, 14 Jan., 1859, ordained m 1882, appointed Bishop of Majorca 21 April, 1898, and consecrated 7 July following. There are in Majorca and Iviza 326,000 Cathohcs, 61 parishes, 656 priests, 2U churches and chapels.

Blanche M. Kelly.

Majordomo (Latin, Major domus; Italian, Maggior-^ domo). — ^The majordomo or chief steward of the house- hold of the pope is one of the three (formerly four) palatine prelates (prelati palatini), concerning whom particulars have been given in the article Maestro di Camera. He belongs also to the four " prdaii di fioc- cheUo"j so called because they have the right to or- nament the harness of their horses with violet and peacock-coloured feathers. The four prdatea di fioC" chetto are, first the Governor of Rome in his quality of Vice-Chamberlain, and after him the Auditor and the Treasurer of the Apostolic Chambrr, and then comes