The Secretariate of Briefs to Princes and of Latin Letters, or simply the Secretariate of Briefs, was one of the offices 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 ...
suppressed in 1967 during
Pope Paul VI's reform of the Pontifical court. It was divided into two sections.
The Secretariate of Briefs to Princes consisted of the Secretary and two office assistants. The Secretary was a
prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...
responsible for writing the
papal brief
A papal brief or breve (from the Latin "''breve'', meaning "short") is a formal document emanating from the pope.
History
The introduction of briefs, which occurred at the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Eugene IV (3 March 1431 – 23 Februa ...
s addressed to emperors, kings, princes, and other dignitaries. He also prepared the allocutions that 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 ...
pronounced at consistories, as well as
encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally fr ...
s and
apostolic letters addressed to bishops and the faithful. He acted according to the instructions of the Pope. He was required to be a proficient Latinist because these documents were written in
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
.
The Secretary for Latin Letters was also a
prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...
or private
papal chamberlain ("''cameriere segreto''" in Italian) and was responsible for writing letters in
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
of lesser importance on behalf of the Pope. He had an office assistant.
The Latin Secretaries also played a significant part in the proceedings surrounding the death and election of the Pope; one of the two Secretaries usually pronounced the funeral oration, in Latin, for the deceased Pope, while another held an oration after the mass ''Pro eligendo Pontifice'' ('For the election of the Pope') at the beginning of the
conclave
A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church.
Concerns around ...
. The last Secretaries to perform this task were Del Ton and Tondini in 1963.
In 1967, the office was suppressed as an independent department 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 ...
''
Regimini Ecclesiae universae''; its tasks were transferred to a new
Latin Letters Office, subordinate to the
Secretariat of State.
Partial list of incumbents
Secretaries of Briefs to Princes:
* Domenico Testa (Pius VII, Leo XII, Pius VIII, Gregory XVI)
* Gaspare Gasperini (Gregory XVI, Pius IX)
[Notice of appointment: ''Diario di Roma'' (1832) Nr. 6, p. 1.]
* Luca Pacifici (Pius IX)
[Notice of appointment: ''Gazzetta di Roma'' (1848) Nr. 74, p. 294.]
* Francesco Mercurelli (Pius IX, Leo XIII)
*
Carlo Nocella (Leo XIII)
* Alessandro Volpini (Leo XIII)
* Vincenzo Sardi (Pius X)
* Pietro Angelini (Pius X)
*
Aurelio Galli (Pius X, Benedict XV)
* Nicola Sebastiani (Benedict XV)
*
Antonio Bacci (Pius XI, Pius XII, John XXIII)
[Notice of appointment: AAS 23 (1931) 357.]
* Amleto Tondini (John XXIII, Paul VI)
Secretaries for Latin letters:
*
Raffaele Mazio (Pius VII, Leo XII)
* Gaspare Gasperini (Leo XII, Pius VIII, Gregory XVI)
*
Carlo Vizzardelli (Gregory XVI)
* Luca Pacifici (Gregory XVI, Pius IX)
* Giovanni Battista Palma (Pius IX)
* Domenico Fioramonti (Pius IX)
* Giovanni Sottovia (Pius IX)
* Francesco Mercurelli (Pius IX)
*
Carlo Nocella (Pius IX, Leo XIII)
* Vincenzo Tarozzi (Leo XIII)
*
Aurelio Galli (Pius X)
* Pacifico Massella (Benedict XV)
* Nicola Sebastiani (Benedict XV)
* Giuseppe Zaccarella (Pius XI)
* Angelo Perugini (Pius XI, Pius XII, John XXIII)
* Giuseppe Del Ton (John XXIII, Paul VI)
[Notice of appointment: AAS 53 (1961) 60.]
See also
*
Latin Letters Office
References
* II. OFFICES OF CURIA - E. The Secretariate of Briefs to Princes and of Latin Letters
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20th-century disestablishments in Vatican City
Former departments of the Roman Curia