The Dicastery for Evangelization is a department (

dicastery A dicastery (; ; from ) is the name of some departments in the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest C ...

) 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 ...

. It was created on 5 June 2022 through the merger of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization and the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation (Roman Curia), congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for Catholic missions, missionary work and related activities. It is also kn ...

, by the

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 ...

Praedicate evangelium ( English: ''Preach the gospel'') is an apostolic constitution reforming the Roman Curia; it was published and promulgated on 19 March 2022 by Pope Francis, and the document took effect on 5 June 2022. The apostolic constitution was develope ...

''. The dicastery is described in ''Praedicate evangelium'' as "at the service of the work of

evangelization Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...

so that

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

, the light of the peoples, may be known and witnessed to in word and deed and that His Mystical Body, which is the Church, may be built up. The Dicastery is responsible for the fundamental questions of evangelization in the world and for the establishment, accompaniment and support of the new particular Churches, without prejudice to the competence of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches."

Importance

In ''Praedicate evangelium'', the Dicastery for Evangelization is the first department in the list of departments of the Roman Curia. This is interpreted as meaning the Dicastery for Evangelization is made most important of all departments. For around the past 500 years, the

Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

and its equivalents were always the most important department. During the press conference presenting the apostolic constitution, Bishop

Marco Mellino Marco Mellino (born 3 August 1966) is an Italians, Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who serves as Secretary of the Council of Cardinal Advisers, Council of Cardinals. He has been a titular bishop since 2018, and worked as Adjunct Secretary ...

stated that the order in which the dicasteries appear in ''Praedicate evangelium'' had no juridical effect, but that "perhaps" the order of the first three dicasteries did: evangelization (Dicastery for Evangelization) comes before doctrine (

), and doctrine is closely followed by the

Dicastery for the Service of Charity The Dicastery for the Service of Charity, also known as the Apostolic Alms Office,''Praedicate evangelium'', article 79. "The Dicastery for the Service of Charity, also known as the Office of the Papal Almoner" is an administrative unit of the Rom ...

Organization

According to ''

'', one section of this dicastery deals with "fundamental questions of evangelization in the world", the other with "first evangelization and the new particular Churches in the territories within its competence". The dicastery is presided over directly by the Roman Pontiff who is its

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

Hierarchy

The following are the list of the prefects and the pro-prefects for the Dicastery for Evangelization. This hierarchy of organization is peculiar to this Dicastery, compared to other dicasteries in the

, in that ''Praedicate evangelium'' provides for the incumbent pope to serve as its prefect, assisted by two pro-prefects.

Prefect

Pro-Prefect for the Section for Fundamental Questions regarding Evangelization in the World

Pro-Prefect for the Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches

Rev. Msgr. Erwin José Aserios Balagapo - Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Section for First Evangelization and the New Particular Churches, currently its head of office.

References

External links

* {{Roman Curia footer Dicasteries Catholic organizations established in the 21st century 2022 establishments in Vatican City