Camerlengo (plural: ,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
for "
chamberlain") is an Italian title of medieval origin.
It derives from the late
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, in turn coming through the
Frankish , from the Latin which meant "chamber officer" (generally meaning "treasure chamber").
Description
Camerlengo has been used in the
papal court for the following official positions:
*
Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church
The camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church is an office of the papal household that administers the property and revenues of the Holy See. Formerly, his responsibilities included the fiscal administration of the Patrimony of Saint Peter. As regu ...
, in the Vatican, senior administrator for the Holy See
*
Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals, lapsed 1997
*Camerlengo of the Roman Clergy
Some other positions in the papal court were formerly termed ''
papal chamberlains''. Although usually given as an honorary award, the position involved some duties. Laity receiving this honor are now called
Papal Gentlemen, while
clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
are typically appointed as a "Chaplain of His Holiness", a form of
monsignor
Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...
.
See also
*
Kamerlengo Castle (Croatia)
References
Court titles
io:Kamerlingo
it:Camerlengo
tl:Camerlengo
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