The Secretary of State of His Holiness (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

: Secretarius Status Sanctitatis Suae, it, Segretario di Stato di Sua Santità), commonly known as the Cardinal Secretary of State, presides over the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

's Secretariat of State, which is 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 the

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

. The Secretary of State is sometimes described as the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

of the Holy See, even though the nominal

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

of Vatican City is the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State. The Secretary of State is currently Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Duties

The Cardinal Secretary is appointed by the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, and serves as one of his principal advisors. As one of the senior offices in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, the secretary is required to be a cardinal. If the office is vacant, a non-cardinal may serve as pro-tem secretary of state, exercising the powers of the Secretary of State until a suitable replacement is found or the Pro-Secretary is made a cardinal in a subsequent consistory. The Cardinal Secretary's term ends when the Pope who appointed him dies or leaves office. During the ''

sede vacante ''Sede vacante'' ( in Latin.) is a term for the state of a diocese while without a bishop. In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the term is used to refer to the vacancy of the bishop's or Pope's authority upon his death or resignation. H ...

'' period, the former secretary acts as a member of a commission with the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church and the former President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, which exercises some of the functions of the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state (polity), state#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international p ...

of the Vatican City until a new Pope is elected. Once the new Pope is chosen, the former secretary's role in the commission likewise expires, though he can be re-appointed as Secretary of State.

History

The office traces its origins to that of ''secretarius intimus'', created by

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

in the early 16th century to handle correspondence with the diplomatic missions of the Holy See, which were just beginning to become permanent postings instead of missions sent on particular occasions. At this stage the secretary was a fairly minor functionary, the Vatican administration being led by the Cardinal Nephew, the Pope's confidant usually taken from his family. The imprudence of Pope Julius III in entrusting the office of Cardinal Nephew to his alleged lover Innocenzo Ciocchi Del Monte, a teenaged, virtually illiterate street urchin whom his brother had adopted a few years earlier, led to an upgrading of the Secretary's job, as the incumbent had to take over the duties the Cardinal Nephew was unfit for. By the time of Pope Innocent X the Secretary of State was always himself a Cardinal, and Pope Innocent XII abolished the office of Cardinal Nephew in 1692. From then onwards the Secretary of State has been the most important of the officials of the Holy See. In 1968,

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 ...

's apostolic constitution ''Regimini Ecclesiae Universae'' further enhanced the powers of the Secretary, placing him over all the other departments of the Roman Curia. In 1973 Paul further broadened the Secretaryship by abolishing the ancient office of Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church and merging its functions into those of the Secretary.

List

Secretaries of State between 1551 and 1644

* Girolamo Dandini (1551–1555) * Carlo Borromeo (1560–1565) *

Tolomeo Gallio Tolomeo Gallio (also spelled Gallo and Galli; 25 September 1527 – 3 or 4 February 1607) was an Italian Cardinal. Biography In the time of Pope Gregory XIII, he acted as papal secretary of state (in office 1572 to 1585), having a key role i ...

(1565–1566) * Girolamo Rusticucci (1566–1572) *

(again) (1572–1585) * Decio Azzolini (seniore) (1585–1587) * Alessandro Peretti di Montalto (Cardinal-Nephew) (1587–1590) * Paolo Emilio Sfondrati (Cardinal-Nephew) (1591) *

Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti de Nuce Pope Innocent IX ( la, Innocentius IX; it, Innocenzo IX; 20 July 1519 – 30 December 1591), born Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 October to 30 December 1591. Prior to hi ...

(Cardinal-Nephew) (1591) * Pierbenedetto Peretti (1592–1593) * Pietro Aldobrandini (Cardinal-Nephew) and Cinzio Passeri Aldobrandini (Cardinal-Nephew) (1593–1605) * Roberto Ubaldini (1605) * Erminio Valenti (1605) *Lanfranco Margotti (1605–1611) * Porifrio Feliciani (1611–1621) * Giovanni Battista Agucchi (1621–1623) *

Lorenzo Magalotti Lorenzo Magalotti (24 October 1637 – 2 March 1712) was an Italian philosopher, author, diplomat and poet. Magalotti was born in Rome into an aristocratic family, the son of Ottavio Magalotti, Prefect of the Pontifical Mail: his uncle Lorenz ...

(1623–1628) * Lorenzo Azzolini (1628–1632) * Pietro Benessa (1632–1634) * Francesco Adriano Ceva (1634–1643) * Giovanni Battista Spada (1643–1644)

Cardinal Secretaries of State since 1644

# Giovanni Giacomo Panciroli (1644–1651) # Fabio Chigi (1651–1655); then elected Pope Alexander VII (1655–1667) # Giulio Rospigliosi (1655–1667); then elected Pope Clement IX (1667–1669) # Decio Azzolini (iuniore) (1667–1669) #

Federico Borromeo (iuniore) Federico Borromeo, iuniore (29 May 1617 – 18 February 1673) was a Roman Catholic cardinal. Biography On 30 Nov 1654, he was consecrated bishop by Francesco Peretti di Montalto, Archbishop of Monreale, with Giovan Battista Foppa, Archbishop ...

(1670–1673) #

Francesco Nerli (iuniore) Francesco Nerli, iuniore (12 June 1636 – 8 April 1708) was a Roman Catholic cardinal. Biography On 6 Jul 1670, he was consecrated bishop by Carlo Carafa della Spina, Cardinal-Priest of Santa Susanna, with Giambattista Spínola (seniore), A ...

(1673–1676) # Alderano Cybo (1676–1689) # Giambattista Rubini (1689–1691) # Fabrizio Spada (1691–1700) # Fabrizio Paolucci (1700–1721) (first time) #

Giorgio Spinola Giorgio may refer to: * Castel Giorgio, ''comune'' in Umbria, Italy * Giorgio (name), an Italian given name and surname * Giorgio Moroder, or Giorgio, Italian record producer ** ''Giorgio'' (album), an album by Giorgio Moroder * "Giorgio" (song), ...

(1721–1724) # Fabrizio Paolucci (1724–1726) (second time) # Niccolò Maria Lercari (1726–1730) # Antonio Banchieri (1730–1733) # Giuseppe Firrao, Sr. (1733–1740) # Silvio Valenti Gonzaga (1740–1756) # Alberico Archinto (1756–1758) #

Ludovico Maria Torriggiani Ludovico Maria Torrigiani. Luigi Maria Torreggiani (October 18, 1697 – January 6, 1777) was an Italian Cardinal. Some refer to him also as ''Ludovico Maria Torrigiani''. Born to an aristocratic family in Florence. His skills in ecclesiastical o ...

(1758–1769) #

Lazzaro Opizio Pallavicini Lazzaro Opizio Pallavicini or Pallavicino (30 October 1719 – 23 February 1785) was a cardinal of the Catholic Church starting in 26 September 1766. He was born in Genoa, Italy. He was the nephew of Cardinal Lazzaro Pallavicino (1602-1680). ...

(1769–1785) #

Ignazio Boncompagni Ludovisi Ignazio () is a masculine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: Arts * Ignazio Collino (1736–1793), Italian sculptor *Ignazio Fresu (born 1957), Italian sculptor * Ignazio Gardella (1905–1999), Italian architect and design ...

(1785–1789) # Francesco Saverio de Zelada (1789–1796) # Ignazio Busca (1796–1797) #

Giuseppe Doria Pamphili Giuseppe Maria Doria Pamphili (born 11 November 1751 in Genoa, the capital of the Republic of Genoa – died on 8 February 1816 in Rome) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Cardinal Secretary of State. Biography Giusepp ...

(1797–1799) # Ercole Consalvi, pro-secretary (1800); secretary (1800–1806) # Filippo Casoni (1806–1808) # Giulio Gabrielli the Younger (1808–1814) -

Giuseppe Doria Pamphilj Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Giuse ...

, pro-secretary (1808) - Bartolomeo Pacca, pro-secretary (1808–1814) # Ercole Consalvi (1814–1823) # Giulio Maria della Somaglia (28 September 1823 – 17 January 1828) # Tommaso Bernetti, pro-secretary (17 June 1828 – 10 February 1829) (first time) # Giuseppe Albani (31 March 1829 – 30 November 1830) # Tommaso Bernetti, pro-secretary (21 February – 10 August 1831); cardinal secretary (10 August 1831 – 12 January 1836) (second time) # Luigi Lambruschini (12 January 1836 – 1 June 1846) # Tommaso Pasquale Gizzi (8 August 1846 – 5 July 1847) # Gabriele Ferretti (17 July 1847 – 31 December 1848) #

Giuseppe Bofondi Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Giusep ...

(1 February – 10 March 1848) # Giacomo Antonelli (10 March – 3 May 1848) (first time) #

Anton Orioli Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname) Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, a town and capital of th ...

(5 May – 4 June 1848), cardinal secretary ad interim # Giovanni Soglia Ceroni (4 June – 29 November 1848) # Giacomo Antonelli (29 November 1848 – 6 November 1876) (second time) #

Giovanni Simeoni Giovanni Simeoni (July 12, 1816 – January 14, 1892) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Propagation of the Faith from 1878 until his death, and was elevated to the card ...

(18 December 1876 – 7 February 1878)

In popular culture

Silvio Orlando portrayed fictional Cardinal Secretary of State Voiello in the 2016 Sky Italia Sky Atlantic HBO Canal+ co-produced television series '' The Young Pope'' and the 2019 follow-up series '' The New Pope''.

References

External links

Secretary of State: a Top Collaborator
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cardinal Secretary Of State 1551 establishments in the Papal States