The Protopriest of the College of Cardinals (, and, rare, ) in the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...

, is the first

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

in the order of precedence, hence directly after the Cardinal-bishops. This title is always attached to the most senior Cardinal Priest according to date of his creation. From the 17th century until the end of the 19th century, the Protopriest was usually assigned to the

Titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church () is a Churches in Rome, church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the Holy orders in the Catholic Church, clergy who is created a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal. These are Catholic churches in ...

of San Lorenzo in Lucina. The last ''protoprete'' who opted for that title was

Mieczysław Halka Ledóchowski Mieczysław () or Mečislovas (Lithuanian) is a Slavic names, Slavic name of Polish people, Polish origin. Feminine form: Mieczysława. This name may refer to: People Mečislovas *Mečislovas Birmanas (1900–1950), Lithuanian chess player *Meč ...

in 1896. The protopriest has the honor of pronouncing the formal prayer for the new pope at the

papal inauguration Papal inauguration is a liturgy, liturgical service of the Catholic Church within Mass (liturgy), Mass celebrated in the Roman Rite but with elements of Byzantine Rite for the ecclesiastical investiture of a pope. Since the Papal inauguration of Po ...

after the

protodeacon Protodeacon derives from the Greek ''proto-'' meaning 'first' and ''diakonos'', which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "assistant", "servant", or "waiting-man". The word in English may refer to any of various clergy, depending upon the usa ...

(most senior

Cardinal deacon A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. C ...

) bestows the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : pallia) is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolitan bish ...

and before the Dean of the College of Cardinals (most senior Cardinal-bishop) presents the

Ring of the Fisherman The Ring of the Fisherman (Latin language, Latin: ''Anulus piscatoris''; Italian language, Italian: ''Anello Piscatorio''), also known as the Piscatory Ring, is an official part of the Papal regalia and insignia, regalia worn by the pope, who acco ...

. This last happened at the inauguration of

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 ...

in 2005, Retrieved 12 April 2013. but did not happen at the inauguration of

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 ...

in 2013 because the protopriest, Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns, then 91 years old, remained in São Paulo, Brazil, and did not attend. Cardinal Michael Michai Kitbunchu of Bangkok has been the protopriest since 14 December 2016.

Protopriests since 1920

* James Gibbons, 1920–1921 * Michael Logue, 1921–1924 * Giuseppe Francica-Nava de Bontifè, 1924–1928 * Lev Skrbenský z Hřiště, 1928–1938 *

William Henry O'Connell William Henry O'Connell (December 8, 1859 – April 22, 1944) was an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Boston from 1907 until his death in 1944, and was made a cardinal in 1911. Early life William O'Connell ...

, 1938–1944 *

Alessio Ascalesi Alessio Ascalesi (22 October 1872 – 11 May 1952) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Naples. Biography Ascalesi was born in Casalnuovo di Napoli, Casalnuovo, near Naples. He joined ...

, 1944–May 1952 *

Michael von Faulhaber Michael von Faulhaber (5 March 1869 – 12 June 1952) was a German Catholic prelate who served as list of bishops of Freising and archbishops of Munich and Freising, Archbishop of Munich and Freising for 35 years, from 1917 to his death in 195 ...

, May–June 1952 * Alessandro Verde, June 1952–1958 * Jozef-Ernest van Roey, 1958–1961 * Manuel Gonçalves Cerejeira, 1961–1977 * Carlos Vasconcellos Motta, 1977–1982 * Giuseppe Siri, 1982–1989 * Paul-Émile Léger, 1989–1991 * Franz König, 1991–2004 * Stephen Kim, 2004–2009 * Eugênio Sales, 2009–2012 * Paulo Evaristo Arns, 2012–2016 * Michael Michai Kitbunchu, 2016–

Notes

References

{{reflist *20 ro:Protopop

Protopriests since 1920

See also

Notes

References