Legate, the title of the Pope's representative or ambassador; in medieval times this office was attached to certain bishoprics, and the bishops were styled legati nati; besides these there were legati a latere, generally cardinals, and legati missi, or nuncios specially appointed; legates used to claim full papal jurisdiction within their provinces, which caused many disputes; now they are ambassadors for spiritual purposes at Roman Catholic Courts—Vienna, Münich, Madrid, Lisbon, and Paris—and do not interfere with the authority of the bishops.
Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)
Le Gallienne, Richard * Legendre, Adrien Marie