ancient Roman
In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the
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 po ...
to foreign nations, to some other part 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 Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, or to representatives of a state or monarchy. A legate is empowered in matters of Catholic faith and for the settlement of
This highest rank (literally "from the (pope's) side", i.e. "intimately" trusted) is normally awarded to a priest of cardinal rank. It is an exceptional investiture and can either be focused or broad in scope. The legate ''a latere'' is the alter ego of the Pope, and as such, possesses full plenipotentiary powers.
''Legatus natus''
Literally "born legate", i.e. not nominated individually but ''ex officio'', namely a bishop holding this rank as a privilege of his see, e.g.
archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
s of
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
(pre-
Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
),
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
Salzburg
Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
. The ''legatus natus'' would act as the Pope's representative in his province, with a ''legatus a latere'' only being sent in extraordinary circumstances. Although limited in their jurisdiction compared to ''legati a latere'', a ''legatus natus'' was not subordinate to them.
''Legatus missus''
Literally "sent legate", possessing limited powers for the purpose of completing a specific mission. This commission is normally focused in scope and of short duration.
Gubernatorial legates
Some administrative (temporal) provinces of 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 ...
in (mostly central) Italy were governed by a papal legate. This has been the case in Benevento, in
Pontecorvo
Pontecorvo is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, Italy. Its population is .
History
The village lies under Rocca Guglielma, a medieval fortification perched on an inaccessible spur. Its name derives from the ''pons curvu ...
(of Campagna e Marittima/of Frosinone) and in Viterbo. In four cases, 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 ...
, this post was awarded exclusively to cardinals; the
Velletri
Velletri (; ; ) is an Italian ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, approximately 40 km to the southeast of the city centre, located in the Alban Hills, in the region of Lazio, central Italy. Neighbouring communes are Rocca di Papa, Lar ...
post was created for Bartolomeo Pacca.
The title could be changed to Apostolic Delegate, as happened in Frosinone (for Pontecorvo) in 1827.
See also
* Internuncio – a lower rank than Nuncio for a papal diplomatic representative, a title historically used at a time when states sent to some less important countries diplomatic representatives, called Envoys or Ministers, lower in rank than Ambassadors.
* List of papal legates to England
* Papal apocrisiarius
* Pontifical legate