|
Papal Brief
A papal brief or breve (from the Latin "''breve'', meaning "short") is a formal document emanating from the pope. History The introduction of briefs, which occurred at the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Eugene IV (3 March 1431 – 23 February 1447), was prompted by a desire for greater simplicity and expedition, such as had already been seen with the disappearance of the greater bulls and the general adoption of the less cumbersome ''mandamenta''. A brief was a compendious papal letter which dispensed with some previous formalities. Briefs were written on vellum, generally closed, i.e., folded, and sealed in red wax with the papal Ring of the Fisherman. The Pope's name appears first and at the top, normally written in capital letters, e.g.: "PIUS PP III", and instead of the formal salutation in the third person used in papal bulls, the brief at once adopts a direct form of address, e.g., "''Dilecte fili—Carissime in Christo fili'', the phrase being adapted to the dignity ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pope
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of state of the Papal States, and since 1929 of the much smaller Vatican City state. From a Catholic viewpoint, the primacy of the bishop of Rome is largely derived from his role as the apostolic successor to Saint Peter, to whom Petrine primacy, primacy was conferred by Jesus, who gave Peter the Keys of Heaven and the powers of "binding and loosing", naming him as the "rock" upon which the Church would be built. The current pope is Leo XIV, who was elected on 8 May 2025 on the second day of the 2025 papal conclave. Although his office is called the papacy, the ecclesiastical jurisdiction, jurisdiction of the episcopal see is called the Holy See. The word "see" comes from the Latin for 'seat' or 'chair' (, refe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sollicitudo Omnium Ecclesiarum
''Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum'' (''The care of all Churches'') was a papal bull issued in 1814 by Pope Pius VII, reestablishing the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) after its suppression by the 1773 breve issued by Clement XIV, '' Dominus ac Redemptor''. Nevertheless, the order continued to exist in some places. Pius VII had earlier, with the brief '' Catholicae Fidei'' (March 7, 1801), approved the existence of the Society of Jesus in Russia. The Vicar General, Franciszek Kareu, was declared "Superior General of the Jesuits in Russia". Pope Paul VI issued an encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally fr ... letter, also named ''Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum'', on June 24, 1969. References External linksText in Italian of ''Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum'' of August ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catholic Canonical Documents
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. O'Collins, p. v (preface). The church consists of 24 ''sui iuris'' (autonomous) churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies around the world, each overseen by one or more bishops. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed. The Catholic Church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission, that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles, and that the pope is the successor of Saint Peter, upon whom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Papal Bull
A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal bulls have been in use at least since the 6th century, but the phrase was not used until around the end of the 13th century, and then only internally for unofficial administrative purposes. However, it had become official by the 15th century, when one of the offices of the Apostolic Chancery was named the "register of bulls" ("''registrum bullarum''"). By the accession of Pope Leo IX in 1048, a clear distinction developed between two classes of bulls of greater and less solemnity. The majority of the "great bulls" now in existence are in the nature of confirmations of property or charters of protection accorded to monasteries and religious institutions. In an era when there was much fabrication of such documents, those who procured bulls ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vatican City
Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became independent from the Kingdom of Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty. It is governed by the Holy See, itself a Legal status of the Holy See, sovereign entity under international law, which maintains Temporal power of the Holy See, its temporal power, governance, diplomacy, and spiritual independence. ''Vatican'' is also used as a metonym for the pope, the central authority of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Holy See and the Roman Curia. With an area of and a population of about 882 in 2024, it is the List of countries and dependencies by area, smallest sovereign state in the world both by area and List of countries and dependencies by population, by population. It is among the List of national capitals by population, least populated capit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apostolic Palace
The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and the Vatican Palace. The Vatican itself refers to the building as the Palace of Sixtus V, in honor of Pope Sixtus V, who built most of the present form of the palace. The building contains the papal apartments, various offices of the Catholic Church and the Holy See, private and public chapels, the Vatican Museums, and the Vatican Library, including the Sistine Chapel, Raphael Rooms, and the Borgia Apartments. The modern tourist can see these last and other parts of the palace, but other parts, such as the Sala Regia (Vatican), Sala Regia (Regal Room) and Cappella Paolina, had long been closed to tourists, though the Sala Regia allowed occasional tourism by 2019. The Scala Regia (Vatican), Scala Regia (Regal Staircase) can be viewed from one end and used to enter the Sala Regia. The Cappella Paoli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cardinal Secretary Of State
The Secretary of State of His Holiness (; ), also known as the Cardinal Secretary of State or the Vatican Secretary of State, presides over the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, the oldest and most important dicastery of the Roman Curia. The Secretariat of State performs all the political and diplomatic functions of the Holy See and Vatican City. The secretary of state is sometimes described as the prime minister of the Holy See, but the head of government of Vatican City is the President of the Governorate of Vatican City State. Cardinal Pietro Parolin has served as secretary of state since 2013, nominated by Francis and temporarily confirmed also by Leo XIV in May 2025. Duties The secretary of state is appointed by the Pope, and serves as one of his principal advisors. As one of the senior offices in the Roman Catholic Church, the secretary is required to be a cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal. If the office is vacant, a someone other than a cardinal may serve as pro t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'prefer'; hence, a prelate is one set over others. The archetypal prelate is a bishop, whose prelature is his particular church. All other prelates, including the religious institute, regular prelates such as abbots and major superiors, are based upon this original model of prelacy. Related terminology In a general sense, a "prelate" in the Catholic Church and other Christian churches is a bishop or other ecclesiastical person who possesses ordinary authority of a jurisdiction, i.e., of a diocese or similar jurisdiction, e.g., ordinariates, apostolic vicar, vicariates/exarch, exarchates, or territorial abbacies. It equally applies to Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinals, who enjoy a kind of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secretariate Of Briefs To Princes And Of Latin Letters
The Secretariate of Briefs to Princes and of Latin Letters, or simply the Secretariate of Briefs, was one of the offices of the Roman Curia suppressed in 1967 during Pope Paul VI's reform of the Pontifical court. It was divided into two sections. The Secretariate of Briefs to Princes consisted of the Secretary and two office assistants. The Secretary was a prelate responsible for writing the papal briefs addressed to emperors, kings, princes, and other dignitaries. He also prepared the allocutions that the Pope pronounced at consistories, as well as encyclicals and apostolic letters addressed to bishops and the faithful. He acted according to the instructions of the Pope. He was required to be a proficient Latinist because these documents were written in Latin. The Secretary for Latin Letters was also a prelate or private papal chamberlain ("''cameriere segreto''" in Italian) and was responsible for writing letters in Latin of lesser importance on behalf of the Pope. He had a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palatine
A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times."Palatine" . From the ''Oxford English Dictionary''. Retrieved November 19, 2008. The term ''palatinus'' was first used in Ancient Rome for Chamberlain (office), chamberlains of the Emperor due to their association with the Palatine Hill. The imperial palace guard, after the rise of Constantine I, were also called the ''Scholae Palatinae'' for the same reason. In the Early Middle Ages the title became attached to courts beyond the imperial one; one of the highest level of officials in the papal administration were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motu Proprio
In law, (Latin for 'on his own impulse') describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a document issued by the pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him.Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ), s.v. motu proprio Such a document may be addressed to the whole church, to part of it, or to some individuals. The first papal was promulgated by Pope Innocent VIII in 1484. It continues to be a common form of papal rescript, especially when establishing institutions, making minor changes to law or procedure, and when granting favours to persons or institutions. Catholic Church Effect An important effect of issuing a document in this way is that a rescript containing the clause is valid and produces its effect even in cases where fraud would ordinarily have vitiated the document, since the pope does not rely o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christendom
The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> Following the spread of Christianity from the Levant to Europe and North Africa during the early Roman Empire, Christendom has been divided in the pre-existing Greek East and Latin West. After the Great schism of 1054, two main branches within Christianity emerged, centred around the cities of Rome (Western Christianity, whose community was called Western or Latin Christendom) and Constantinople (Eastern Christianity, whose community was called Eastern Christendom or Byzantine commonwealth). After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Latin Christendom rose to a central role in the Western world. Following the reformation, protestantism emerged as the third main branch of Christianity in the 16th century. The history of the Chri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
