Catholic prelatures

thumb| Benedictine and [[Archabbot Ildefons Schober in prelate dress and cappa magna]] thumb|right|A Cardinal (Catholic Church)|cardinal, a [[nuncio and two bishops in Belgium.]] A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'prefer'; hence, a prelate is one set over others.