The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People ( la, Pontificium Consilium de Spirituali Migrantium atque Itinerantium Cura) was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia. The council, established by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on 28 June 1988, was dedicated to the spiritual welfare of migrant and

itinerant An itinerant is a person who travels habitually. Itinerant may refer to: *"Travellers" or itinerant groups in Europe * Itinerant preacher, also known as itinerant minister *Travelling salespeople, see door-to-door, hawker, and peddler *Travelli ...

people. The last President of the council was Cardinal

Antonio Maria Vegliò Antonio Maria Vegliò (born 3 February 1938) is an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, who has served as Vatican diplomat and in the Roman Curia. He was President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itin ...

, who was appointed by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

on 28 February 2009. The last Secretary was Bishop Joseph Kalathiparambil, who was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on February 22, 2011, and who had until then been serving as the Bishop of the

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second l ...

, India. Effective 1 January 2017, the work of the council was assumed by the

Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (''Dicasterium ad integram humanam progressionem fovendam'' in Latin) is a dicastery of the Roman curia. The Vatican announced the creation of the dicastery on 31 August 2016 and it becam ...

Role

According to article 149 of the apostolic constitution on the Roman Curia, ''

Pastor bonus ''Pastor bonus'' (Latin: "The Good Shepherd") is an apostolic constitution promulgated by Pope John Paul II on 28 June 1988. It instituted a number of reforms in the process of running the central government of the Catholic Church. The docume ...

'', promulgated by

on 28 June 1988: "The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People brings the pastoral concern of the

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

to bear on the special needs of those who have been forced to leave their native land or who do not have one. It also sees to it that these matters are considered with the attention they deserve." Articles 150 and 151 also number refugees, exiles,

nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the po ...

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

workers,

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurat ...

workers, and

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

taking

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

s as being under the council's care.

History

During the nineteenth century, the subject of populations subject to relocation was under the jurisdiction of the

Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

, with the Office for the Spiritual Care of Emigrants later replacing it. In 1952, within the Sacred Consistorial Congregation, Pope Pius XII founded the Superior Council for Emigrants and the General Secretariat for the Direction of the Apostolatus Maris; in 1958, the General Direction of the Apostleship of the Skies or the Air was also erected.

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

founded the International Secretariat for the Direction of the Apostolatus Nomadum in the same

dicastery A dicastery (from gr, δικαστήριον, dikastērion, law-court, from δικαστής, 'judge, juror') is the name of some departments of the Roman Curia. ''Pastor bonus'' ''Pastor bonus'' (1988), includes this definition: ''Praed ...

in 1965. In 1967, Pope Paul instituted the Office for the Pastoral Care of people who are part of the complex phenomenon known commonly as "

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

" in the

Congregation for the Clergy The Dicastery for the Clergy, formerly named Congregation for the Clergy (; formerly the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy and Sacred Congregation of the Council), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regardi ...

. On March 19, 1970, Paul condensed all sectors dealing with human mobility into the Pontifical Commission for the Spiritual Care of Migrants and Itinerants, in the ''

motu proprio In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term ''sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a ...

'' ''Apostolicae caritatis''. The commission was made dependent on the Congregation for Bishops but this dependence was eventually terminated by ''Pastor bonus'', which granted it the status of a pontifical council. Effective 1 January 2017, the

took responsibility for the work of the council through its

Migrants and Refugees Section The Migrants and Refugees Section (M&R Section) is a section on migrants and refugees included in the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (IHD). History Appalled by the conditions and treatment of great numbers of migrant ...

List of presidents

Carlo Confalonieri Carlo Confalonieri (25 July 1893 – 1 August 1986) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops from 1967 to 1973, and dean of the College of Cardinals from 1977 until his death. Con ...

(1970 - 1973) * Emanuele Clarizio (1970 - 1986, pro-president) *

Bernardin Gantin Bernardin Gantin (8 May 1922 – 13 May 2008) was a Beninese prelate of the Catholic Church who held senior positions in the Roman Curia for twenty years and the highest position in the College of Cardinals for nine years. His prominence in the ...

(1984 - 1989) *

Giovanni Cheli Giovanni Cheli (4 October 1918 – 8 February 2013) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, who had a career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and then in the senior ranks of the Roman Curia. He was made a cardinal in 1998. Early ...

(1986 - 1998, pro-president and later president) * Stephen Fumio Hamao (1998 - 2006) *

Renato Martino Renato Raffaele Martino (born 23 November 1932) is an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been a cardinal since 2003. He has been the longest serving cardinal deacon, the cardinal protodeacon, since June 2014. He served for more ...

(2006 - 2009) *

(2009 - 2016)

References

External links

Official Vatican website
{{portal bar, Catholicism, Vatican City Human migration Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants Pontifical councils Christian organizations established in 1952 Catholic organizations established in the 20th century Former departments of the Roman Curia 1952 establishments in Italy