BULL

in animal husbandry, the mature, uncastrated male of domesticated cattle (q.v.). in Roman Catholicism, an official papal letter or document. The name is derived from the lead seal (bulla) traditionally affixed to such documents. Since the 12th century it has designated a letter from the pope carrying a bulla that shows the heads of the apostles Peter and Paul. With the introduction of papal briefs in the 15th century for less significant communications, bulls were reserved for more important matters. These included canonizations of saints, dogmatic pronouncements, Henry VIII's dispensation to marry Catherine of Aragon (his brother's widow), the restoration of the Society of Jesus in 1814, and the announcement (Dec. 25, 1961) of the forthcoming second Vatican Council.