Congregation For Catholic Education
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The Congregation for Catholic Education (Institutes of Study) () was the pontifical congregation of the
Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...
responsible for: universities, faculties, institutes and higher schools of study, either ecclesial or non-ecclesiastical dependent on ecclesial persons; and schools and educational institutes depending on ecclesiastical authorities. It was also in charge of regulating seminaries, which prepare those students intending to become priests (seminarians) for ordination to the presbyterate, until 16 January 2013 when
Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
transferred the oversight of seminaries and all other related formation programs for priests and deacons from this dicastery to the Congregation for the Clergy, which regulates deacons and priests generally, not only their education. The Congregation for Catholic Education retains responsibility for matters pertaining to the structure of seminary curricula in philosophy and theology, in consultation with the Congregation for the Clergy. When the Apostolic constitution '' Praedicate evangelium'' promulgated by
Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
took effect on 5 May 2022, the Congregation for Catholic Education was merged with the Pontifical Council for Culture to create the new Dicastery for Culture and Education.


History

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...
created the forerunner of the Congregation in 1588 with the Constitution ''Immensa,'' to oversee the University of Rome La Sapienza and other notable universities of the time, including
Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, and
Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...
. In 1824 Pope Leo XII created the ''Congregatio studiorum'' for educational institutions in the
Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
, which in 1870 began to oversee Catholic universities.
Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...
confirmed this responsibility in 1908 and
Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...
erected in 1915 the section for seminaries (which existed within the Consistorial Congregation), joined to it the ''Congregatio studiorum,'' and called it ''Congregatio de Seminariis et Studiorum Universitatibus.'' In 1967,
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul 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 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...
renamed it ''Sacra Congregatio pro institutione Catholica.'' The present name "Congregation for Catholic Education (Institutes of Study)" derives from
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
's 1988
Apostolic Constitution An apostolic constitution () is the most solemn form of legislation issued by the Pope.New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, pg. 57, footnote 36. By their nature, apostolic constitutions are addressed to the public. Generic constitutions use ...
'' Pastor Bonus''.


Offices

To fulfill its mission, this congregation has two offices: 1. The Office for Universities (Higher Education) with the sub-section Department for International Organizations (''Dipartimento per gli Organismi Internazionali'' or DOI). This Office has competence over: * Ecclesiastical, which are governed by Pope Francis' Apostolic Constitution ''Veritatis Gaudium'' (29 January 2018) (replacing the previous constitution, ''Sapientia christiana'' of 1979) and which are tasked "to carry out the ministry of evangelization given to the Church by Christ" by "fostering and teaching sacred doctrine and the sciences connected therewith", for example Theology, Philosophy, and Canon Law, (''Veritatis Gaudium'', articles I-II); and * Non-ecclesiastical offerings in secular sciences that are dependent on ecclesiastical persons, which are governed by John Paul II's Apostolic Constitution ''Ex corde Ecclesiae'' (15 August 1990) as well as by the pertinent civil laws of countries in which they are located. 2. The Office for Schools.


Competences on Ecclesiastical Higher Education Institutions

The Congregation conducts apostolic visits to Catholic institutions and receives bishops during their quinquennial visits ''ad limina apostolorum'', in order to discuss with local Ordinaries concerns pertaining to Catholic Education in their areas of responsibility. The Congregation for Catholic Education ''"''erects or approves ecclesiastical universities and institutions, ratifies their statutes, exercises the highest supervision over them, and ensures that the integrity of the Catholic faith is preserved in teaching doctrine." Corollary to this, the dicastery nominates or confirms highest personal academic authorities of Ecclesiastical higher Education institutions, i.e., rectors, presidents and deans. Names of confirmed and appointed rectors, presidents and deans of Institutions belonging to the Higher Education System of the Holy See appear in the
Annuario Pontificio The ''Annuario Pontificio'' ( Italian for ''Pontifical Yearbook'') is the annual directory of the Holy See of the Catholic Church. It lists the popes in chronological order and all officials of the Holy See's departments. It also provides nam ...
at the section on ''Istituti di Studi Superiori''. These are updated yearly. To this dicastery belongs also the final authority for the nomination of teachers of ecclesiastical learning institutions to the permanent status and to the highest rank of Ordinaries of the various ''cathedrae'' of ecclesiastical disciplines, through the issuance of the rescript granting the ''nihil obstat'' for such promotion, on behalf of the Holy See. Academic collaboration (for the purpose of obtaining the authority to grant canonical degrees in the name of the Holy See) between Ecclesiastical Higher Education institutions that do not have the juridical status as autonomous Ecclesiastical Faculties ( i.e., Affiliated, Aggregated, and Incorporated Institutes) and autonomous Ecclesiastical Faculties have to be approved by this dicastery. The programmes and other conditions required of Higher Learning Institutions belonging the Higher Education System of the Holy See are regulated by the Apostolic Constitutions ''Sapientia christiana'', and other pertinent normative documents of the dicastery, such as: 1. ''Decree of the Congregation for Catholic Education revising the order of studies in the Faculties and Departments of Canon Law'' (2 September 2002); 2. ''The Reform of the Higher Institutes of Religious Sciences'' (28 June 2008), which gives the appropriate norms regarding the pathway of the study of Philosophy and Theology for those who are not preparing to receive the Holy Orders, i.e., for the lay and religious; 3. ''The Decree on the Reform of Ecclesiastical Studies of Philosophy'' (28 January 2011), which outlines the current requirements of Ecclesiastical Studies of Philosophy and of the philosophical formation that forms integral part of the Cycle I of Catholic Theology; 4. The normative documents for affiliations, aggregations and incorporations.


National Qualifications Framework of the Ecclesiastical Higher Education System of the Holy See

The
Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
is signatory to various international and regional agreements in recognition of diplomas and degrees in the field of Higher Education, such as the Lisbon Convention and the ''Asia-Pacific Regional Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications in Higher Education'' (2011). As part of the process of implementing these international accords, the Congregation for Catholic Education has followed international guidelines, such as those recommended by the
Bologna Process file:Bologna-Prozess-Logo.svg, 96px, alt=Logo with stylized stars, Logo file:Bologna zone.svg, alt=Map of Europe, encompassing the entire Bologna zone, 256px, Bologna zone The Bologna Process is a series of ministerial meetings and agreements b ...
, in order to make transparent its Higher Education System. Among the instruments of this process is the National Qualifications Framework, to which all institutions belonging to the System must conform in order to legitimately and validly grant canonical degrees.


Leadership

Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi had been the Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education since 31 March 2015. Archbishop Angelo Vincenzo Zani has been the Secretary since 9 November 2012. Father Friedrich Bechina, FSO, has been the Undersecretary.


Prefects since 1915

* Gaetano Bisleti (1915-1937) * Giuseppe Pizzardo (1939-1968) * Gabriel-Marie Garrone (1968-1980) * William Wakefield Baum (1980-1990) * Pio Laghi (pro-prefect 1990-1991, prefect 1991-1999) * Zenon Grocholewski (1999-2015) * Giuseppe Versaldi (2015-2022)


Secretaries since 1913

* Giacomo Sinibaldi (15 May 1913 – 1928) * Ernesto Ruffini (28 October 1928 – 11 October 1945) * Giuseppe Rossino (1945 – 31 December 1949) * Carlo Confalonieri (25 January 1950 – 15 December 1958) * Dino Staffa (18 December 1958 – 7 April 1967) * Joseph Schröffer (17 May 1967 – 20 May 1976) * Antonio María Javierre Ortas, S.D.B. (20 May 1976 – 26 May 1988) * José Saraiva Martins, C.M.F. (26 May 1988 – 30 May 1998) * Giuseppe Pittau, S.J. (11 July 1998 – 25 November 2003) * John Michael Miller, C.S.B. (25 November 2003 – 1 June 2007) * Jean-Louis Bruguès, O.P. (10 November 2007 – 26 June 2012) * Angelo Vincenzo Zani (9 November 2012 – 5 June 2022)


References


Documents published by the Congregation for Catholic Education

*
Decree on the Reform of Ecclesiastical Studies of Philosophy
' (2011) *

' (2008) *'' ttps://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccatheduc/documents/rc_con_ccatheduc_doc_20080628_istruzione_en.html Reform of the Higher Institutes of Religious Sciences' (2008) *
Educating Together in Catholic Schools. A Shared Mission between Consecrated Persons and the Lay Faithful
' (2007) *'' Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in view of their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders'' (2005) The complete list of documents pertaining to Catholic Education can be accessed at this link.Documents on Catholic Education
/ref>


External links



* ttp://www.educatio.va/content/cec/it.html Website of the Higher Education System of the Catholic Churchbr>GCatholic.org
{{authority control 1588 establishments in the Papal States Religious organizations established in the 1580s Catholic organizations established in the 16th century