beati

Beati is a Latin adjective meaning blessed or happy. In Latin grammar it appears in the masculine plural nominative as beati, and it can function as a substantive to refer to the blessed persons. The term is found in classical and Christian texts and is closely associated with sanctity and blessing.

In Christian tradition, beati is well known as the opening word of the Beatitudes, Beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum, a passage in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. In the Latin Vulgate, the Beatitudes begin with Beati, and the expression has come to symbolize a set of blessings promised to the faithful. The word also appears in lists and hymns naming the blessed or saints, reinforcing its religious connotations.

In Italian, beati is the plural masculine form of beato (blessed) and is used in ordinary religious language as well as in historical or cultural titles. A notable reference is the Beati Paoli, a name given to a historically obscure Sicilian group from the early modern period; their activities and organization are the subject of debate, but the epithet Beati Paoli translates roughly as “Blessed Ones.”

Beyond Latin and Italian usage, beati appears in scholarly discussions of liturgy, patristics, and religious art, where it helps convey the sense of blessed status or spiritual happiness. The term is related to the broader concept of beatitude, though its direct form beati emphasizes plural blessedness in specific contexts.