The Sacred Congregation of the Consulta or ''Sacra Consulta'' was a

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 set up as a 'special commission' by

pope Paul IV Pope Paul IV (; ; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559), born Gian Pietro Carafa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death, in August 1559. While serving as papal nuncio in Spain, he developed ...

in 1559 and officialised on 22 January 1588 by

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 ...

in the

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

'' Immensa Aeterni Dei''. Sixtus named it the 'Congregation over the consultations of the ecclesiastical state' (''Congregatio decimoquarta pro consultationibus negociorum Status Ecclesiastici'') and established its composition of four cardinals, the Secretary of State as prefect and a suitable number of prelates (around eight), one of whom would act as secretary.

Jurisdiction

It interpreted laws and resolved administrative, jurisdictional and feudal questions such as vassals' appeals against their barons regarding their feudal obligations. It acted as a supreme court for disputes between cities and their governors, making it a forerunner of the modern Italian Council of State. Pope Clement XII (1730–40) built the palazzo della Consulta on the piazza del Quirinale as its headquarters, housing eight prelates, though the court actually held its sessions in the palazzo di Montecitorio or in rooms in the Palazzo apostolico. It was suppressed in 1809 but revived in 1814 after the French released

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

. In 1833

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...

did not abolish the court when he abolished all the other competencies of the Secretariat of State. It finally ceased to operate on 20 September 1870 when 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 ...

were abolished.

List of prefects

Generally a cardinal nephew held the office of prefect, though there were two exceptions to this rule: * Domenico Pinelli, made prefect by Gregory XIV in 1590 * Bonifazio Bevilacqua, appointed by Clement VIII in 1599.Gaetano Moroni, ''op. cit.'', pag. 183.

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII (; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death, in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, and he held various d ...

(1655–67) ended the cardinal nephews' influence on the Consulta. The other prefects were: * Nicola Grimaldi † (1707 - 1716, died in office) * Niccolò Maria Lercari (1724-1730), as Secretary of State * Antonio Banchieri † (1730 - 1733, died in office) * Silvio Valenti Gonzaga † (1740 - 1756, died in office) * Alberico Archinto † (1756 - 1758, died in office) * Ignazio Gaetano Boncompagni Ludovisi † (1775 - 1789, resigned) * Giuseppe Maria Doria Pamphilj † (1797 - 1799, resigned) *

Ercole Consalvi Ercole Consalvi (8 June 1757 – 24 January 1824) was a deacon and cardinal of the Catholic Church, who served twice as Cardinal Secretary of State for the Papal States and who played a crucial role in the post-Napoleonic reassertion of the legit ...

† (1800 - 1806, resigned) *

Tommaso Bernetti Tommaso Bernetti (29 December 1779 – 21 March 1852) was an Italian people, Italian Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic prelate and Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal who served in the Secretariat of State (Holy See), Secretariat of State an ...

(1831-1836), as Secretary of State * Mario Mattei † (1841 - 1848, resigned)

References

Bibliography

* Gaetano Moroni, ''Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica''
vol. XVI
Venezia 1842, p. 181-185. * Philippe Bountry
''Souverain et Pontife. Recherches prosopographiques sur la Curie Romaine à l'âge de la Restauration (1814-1846)''
Publications de l'École française de Rome, 2002, pp. 140–149. {{Roman Curia footer 1588 establishments in the Papal States 1870 disestablishments in the Papal States Congregations of the Roman Curia Former departments of the Roman Curia