''Benedictus Deus'' is a papal bull written by Pius IV in 1564 which ratified all decrees and definitions of the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

. It maintains that the decrees of the Council of Trent can be interpreted solely by the Papal office itself; and enjoins strict obedience upon all Catholics, forbidding, under pain of excommunication, all unauthorized interpretation. This was seen by Church contemporaries of Pius IV as an attempt to strengthen the influence of the Papacy against the rise of Conciliarism exemplified by the Council of Trent itself. There is a more minor bull of the same title written by Benedict XII in 1336.

Bibliography

* ''Bulla S.D.N.D. Pii Divina Providentia papae quarti super confirmatione oecumenii & generalis concilii Tridentini''. Mexicopoli: Ocharte, 156
Text at archive.org
* Council of Trent 16th-century papal bulls 1564 works Pope Pius IV 1564 in Christianity {{RC-document-stub