Editing Almoner (section)

{{short description|Chaplain in charge of assisting the poor}}
[[Image:La retraite de l'aumônier ou Le bréviaire.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|''The portrait of the almoner'' or ''The [[breviary]]'' (1886) by [[Jules-Alexis Muenier]].]]
{{Catholic Church hierarchy sidebar}}
An '''almoner''' ({{IPAc-en|"|A:|m|@|n|@r|,_|"|{|l|-}})<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Chambers Dictionary|publisher=Chambers|year=2003|isbn=0-550-10105-5|edition=9th|chapter=almoner}}</ref> is a [[chaplain]] or church officer who originally was in charge of distributing money to the deserving poor. The title ''almoner'' has to some extent fallen out of use in English, but its equivalents in other languages are often used for many pastoral functions exercised by chaplains or [[pastor]]s. The word derives from the {{langx|grc|ἐλεημοσύνη}} ''{{lang|grc|eleēmosynē}}'' (alms), via the [[popular Latin]] ''{{lang|la|almosinarius}}''.<ref>{{OEtymD|almoner}}</ref>