This list is not necessarily complete in that, at least as regards the salutations of letters, there are other, more formal titles. This list represents traditional American practice, which tended to be more subdue, with a few additions as options. Hence I am not listing salutations such my My Most Reverend and Eminent Lord Cardinal.

In the near future I will post a list of tradition curial and latin forms of address

a) direct speech to him.
b) correspondence, such as on an envelope
c)the salutation of a letter

Pope

a.) Your Holiness
b)To His Holiness, Pope N.
c) Most Holy Father

Cardinal

a) Your Eminence
b) His Eminence (Christian Name) Cardinal (Surname)
c) My Lord Cardinal

Latin Patriarchs (such as Venice, Jerusalem, etc)

a) Your Excellency
b) His Excellency the Patriarch of
c) Your Excellency or Most Reverend Excellency

Eastern Patriarchs

a) Your Beatitude
b)His Beatitude the Patriarch of
c) Most Reverend Lord

Apostolic Legates/Nuncios/Delegates

a) Your Excellency
b) His Excellency Archbishop (or Monsignor)
c) Your Excellency

Archbishops

a) Your Excellency or Your Grace
b) The Most Rev. N., D.D., Archbishop of
c) Your Excellency or Your Grace

Bishops

a) Your Excellency
b) The Most Rev. N., D.D., Bishop of
c) Most Reverend

Abbots

a) Father Abbot or My Lord Abbot
b) The Rt. Rev. N., Abbot of ..
c) Right Reverend Abbot

Abbesses
a) Lady Abbess or Mother Abbess
b) Lady Abbess N., Abbess of...
c) Dear Mother Abbess

Prothonotaries Apostolic (Domestic Prelates [P.A.] and Vicar Generals [V.G])

a) Monsignor
b) The Rt. Rev. Monsignor N., (P.A or V.G)
c)Right Reverend or Dear Monsignor

Provosts and Canons

a.) Provost or Canon
b) The Very Rev. Provost (or Canon)
c) Very Reverend Provost or Dear Canon

Papal Chamberlains

a.) Monsignor
b) Very. Rev. Monsignor
c) Very Reverend Monsignor

Note the difference between two types of monsignori

Rectors of Seminaries
a) Father (or title)
b) The Very Rev. N.
c) Very Reverend and Dear Father (or title)

Provincials of Religious Orders
a) Father Provincial
b) The Very Rev. Father Provincial
c) Very Reverend and Dear Father Provincial

Priors
a) Father Prior
b) The Very Rev. Father Prior
c) Very Reverend and Dear Father Prior

Prioresses
a) Mother Prioress
b) The Very Rev. Mother Prioress
c) Very Reverend and Dear Mother Prioress

Rural Deans

a) Father
b) The Very. Rev N., V.F
c) Very Reverend and Dear Dean

Diocesan Priests

a) Father or Reverend Surname (for parish priests parson can be used)
b) The Reverend Surname
c) Reverend and Dear Father

Religious Priests
a) Father Religious name
b) The Reverend Father religious name
c)Reverend and Dear Father

Note that only those priests who have taken a religious name are referred to as Father Michael or Father George. All other priests are Father Williams or Father Burkehardt, Father Last Name.

Clerics below the rank of priest, including deacons (note: under current canon law this would only be deacons, but formerly it included more grades)

a) no title
b) The Rev. Mr.
c) Reverend Sir

Mister used to be more reserved btw

Brothers, whether monks or friars

a) Brother (or Friar)
b) Venerable Brother
c) Venerable and Dear Brother


Sisters and Nuns

a) Sister
b) Venerable Sister
c) Venerable and Dear Sister

Papal Knights

a) Sir
b) The Honorable N., K.S.G (or K.H.S)
c) Honorable and Dear Sir


In the future I will put closing salutations, such as the famous "kissing the purple"

Thanks for that, PED. I'm curious, what does D.D. stand for in the forms of address for Archbishops and Bishops?

Doctor of Divinity or Divinitatis Doctor.

If he has some other degree (such as J.C.D. or S.T.D.) then use that.

Gratias tibi.

I don't think "parson" is used at all anymore.

What if a church official has a Ph.D? Is it "The Reverand Doctor, Father (name)"?

I vote to make this a sticky.

I second that motion.

In Germany at least one can choose to say either Father.... or Father Rector.

I didn't know there were that many religious titles much less that there are 3 different ways to address each. I'm bound to call someone by the wrong title.

Rector is sometimes used for the chief pastor here, do you mean to say that any priest can be called a rector in Germany...that would be weird. Properly a rector is in charge of some house or institute, like the rector of a seminary. Rector des mean ruler after all.

I doubt anyone would take offense if you addressed them in the salutation of a letter the way you would in direct speech "Dear Father" for instance.

I will point this out too...when writing a sister/nun or brother/monk/religious priest include the intials of their order or institute. It shows respect for their particular religious life

So instead of just Venerable Sister Mary it would be Venerable Sister Mary, O.P for a Dominican.

Also, (and teacher can correct me if this has change or is not American custom) a military chaplain can be referred to a Father N. or Rank N.

I meant that they called the reactor of the Seminary "Father Rector" or at least that was one option.

'Cuz that's what he is.

Wow, they need to change the lettering for some of these, I could never go around in Ameria saying I have an S.T.D.

I'm betting that's why they changed the name of the Acta Sanctae Sedis (ASS) to the Acta Apostolicae Sedis (AAS).

:)!

Right, which is why venereal diseases should not be called S.T.D but STI's which is what they are called in England

S.T.D. universally stands for Sacrae Theologicae Doctor, Doctor of Sacred Theology. But it only stands for venereal things in America.

As a practical matter, unless a person is writing a very formal letter, there is a lot more leeway than there once was. Words and terms like "your grace," "excellency," and "venerable" are not so common in the US as they are in England. I'd hate to think that someone would refrain from sending a priest a Christmas card because they couldn't figure out exactly how to address the envelope.

I recently wrote a letter to the bishop. The envelope was addressed pretty simply "Most Rev. xxxx D.D., Bishop of xisissi, etc. The letter began "Dear Bishop ............" Now, a quick reading sister who proofed it found that I had misspelled the bishop's name! THAT would never do.

I was wondering how common it was to refer to bishops at "your excellency" in the United States. When I met Bishop Zubik, I just called him bishop.