purgatory
Roman Catholic doctrine of a state of suffering by sinners as part of the process of expiation of before atonement and redemption; a weigh station between earth and the afterlife.
ubiquitous
The reality or the perception of something being everywhere.
mystified
To be stupefied, bamboozled or utterly confounded.
phalanx
A group of people temporarily coming together to serve a single purpose.
solemn
Earnest, stern and serious of purpose.
murky
Unclear and nebulous; ambiguous.
aficionado
Not only very knowledgeable about a subject, but an enthusiastic and fervent proponent of it as well.
unattainable
Something that cannot be possessed, including abstractions like knowledge.
supplication
The act of humbly begging for assistance.
rite
A ceremonial sacrament performed according to a habitual process.
macabre
Endowed with properties capable of instilling fear or dread or anxiety.
unfathomable
Something too mysterious or obscure or alien to be understood.
provost
The head of a cathedral.
eidetic
More commonly--if less appopriately--known as a "photographic memory."
intaglio
A process by which a printed letter or symbol is engraved or etched by filling the stamped lines with ink.
cacophony
A harsh, shrill, unpleasant discordant commingling of sounds.
piazza
A public square in an Italian town.
bemused
Humorously perplexed.
redemption
Atonement for sins and the salvation that follows.
cumbersome
An awkward, unwieldy burden, either physical, emotional or intellectual.
