HEADS OF THE SACRED CONGREGATIONS
The Sacred Congregations were established in the 16th century out of pre-exsiting
pontifical offices.
Some of them were concerned with the temporal affairs of the Papal States, but most
were in charge of the administration of the Roman Catholic Church [although until
the creation of modern ministries in 1847, there was not always a clear distinction
between the administration of the Church and that of the Papal States (see here)]
Initially there were 15 permanent Congregations, but later the number was gradually
increased and by 1842 there were 28.
Later the number again decreased and at the accession of Pope Pius X in 1903 there
remained the following 18 permanent Congregations :
(in traditional order - formally with the adjective "Sacred")
- the Supreme Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition
- the Congregation of the Consistory
- the Congregation of the Apostolic Visitation
- the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars
- the Congregation of the Council
- the Congregation of the Residence of the Bishops
- the Congregation on the State of the Regular Orders
- the Congregation of the Ecclessiatical Immunitty
- the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith
- the Congregation of the Index
- the Congregation of the Sacred Rites
- the Congregation of the Ceremonies
- the Congregation on Discipline of the Regulars
- the Congregation of Indulgences and Relics
- the Congregation of the Fabric of the Saint Peter's Basilica
- the Congregation for the Holy House of Loreto
- the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs
- the Congegation of the Studies
Later changes included :
1904 : the Congregation of Indulgences and Relics was suppressed.
1906 : the Congregations on Discipline of the Regulars and the one for the State
of the Regular Orders were suppressed.
1908 : the Congregations of the Apostolic Visitation and of Bishops and Regulars
were suppressed,
the Congregation for the Holy House of Loreto was united with the one for
the Council.
the Congregations for the Affairs of the Religious and for the Discipline of
the Sacraments were created.
1917 : the Congregation for the Oriental Churches was created.
the Congregation of the Index was suppressed.
(Thereafter the situation remained largely unchanged until the 1960's)
HOLY OFFICE
The Supreme Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition was founded in
1542. It was entrusted with the defence of the integrity of the Catholic faith and
its morals.
In 1908 its name was changed into Supreme Congregation of the Holy Office.
In 1917 the Congregation also took charge of the tasks of the Congregation of the
Index (s.b.).
Prefects
1542 - 1968 The Popes
Secretaries
1844 - 1860 Vincenzo Macchi, Cardinal
Bishop of Ostia and of
Velletri since 1847 1770 - 1860
1860 - 1876 Costantino Patrizi Naro,
Cardinal Bishop of Porto
e Santa Rufina until
1870, then of Ostia and
of Velletri 1798 - 1876
1876 - 1881 Prospero Caterini,
Cardinal Deacon of Santa
Maria in Via Lata and of
Santa Maria della Scala 1795 - 1881
1882 - 1883 Antonio Maria Panebianco,
Cardinal Priest with the
title of Santi XII Apostoli 1808 - 1885
1883 - 1884 Luigi Maria Bilio, Cardinal
Bishop of Sabina 1826 - 1884
1884 - 1896 Raffaele Monaco La Valletta,
Cardinal Bishop of Albano
until 1889, then of Ostia
and of Velletri 1827 - 1896
1896 - 1903 Lucido Maria Parocchi,
Cardinal Bishop of Porto e
Santa Rufina 1833 - 1903
1903 - 1908 Serafino Vannutelli,
Cardinal Bishop of Porto e
Santa Rufina 1834 - 1915
1908 - 1913 Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro,
Cardinal Priest with the
title of Santa Cecilia 1843 - 1913
1914 Domenico Ferrata, Cardinal
Priest with the title of
Santa Prisca 1847 - 1914
1914 - 1930 Raffael Merry del Val y
Zulueta (Spain), Cardinal
Priest with the title of
Santa Prassede 1865 - 1930
1930 - 1939 Donato Raffaele Sbarretti
Tazza, Cardinal Bishop of
Sabina 1856 - 1939
1939 - 1951 Francesco
Marchetti-Selvaggiani,
Cardinal Bishop of Frascati 1871 - 1951
CONSISTORY
The Congregation for the Erection of Churches and for Consistorial Provisions -
soon renamed Congregation of the Consistory - was established in 1588.
Initially only concerned with the preparation and organization of the consistories
- the formal meetings of the Sacred College of Cardinals - it was later also put in
charge of the organization and supervision of the administration of the regional
jurisdictions (or dioceses) not subject to the Congregations for the Propagation
of the Faith or for the Oriental Churches [erection of new dioceses, election of
new bishops and other local officials, organization of so-called Apostolic Visits
(inspections of the administrative and spiritual state of the Church in a country
whenever, in the judgment of the Pope, this was useful or necessary), etc]
Prefects
1... - 1967 The Popes
Secretaries
18.. - 1850 ...
1850 - 1875 Ruggero Luigi Emidio Antici
Mattei, Titular Latin
Patriarch of Constantinople
(1866) 1811 - 1883
1875 - 1882 Pietro Lasagni 1814 - 1885
1882 - 1886 Carmine Gori-Merosin
Cardinal Deacon of Santa
Maria ad Martyres (1884) 1810 - 1886
1886 - 1892 Francesco Mercurelli 1808 - 1892
1892 - 1903 Carlo Nocella, Titular
Latin Patriarch of
Antiochia 1899 - 1901, then
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem 1826 - 1908
1903 Raffael Merry del Val y
Zulueta, Titular Archbishop
of Nicaea in Bithynia II s.a.
1903 - 190. Luigi Veccia
190. - 1908 ...
1908 - 1928 Gaetano De Lai, Cardianl
Deacon of San Nicola in
Carcere until 1911, then
Cardinal Bishop of Sabina 1853 - 1928
1928 - 1930 Carlo Perosi, Cardinal
Deacon of San Eustachio 1868 - 1930
1930 - 1948 Raffaele Carlo Rossi,
Cardinal Priest with the
title of Santa Prassede 1876 - 1948
APOSTOLIC VISITATION
At the end of the 13th century the Pontifical Cardinal Vicar - or Vicar General for
Rome - was given the right to visit (inspect) all religious institutions (parishes,
monasteries, ...) and persons (clergy and believers) of the city and to report on
their spiritual and administrative conditions.
In 1592 this visitation right was transferred to the newly created Congregation for
the Apostolic Visitation.
The Congregation was abolished in 1908, being replaced by a section for Apostolic
Visitation within the Vicariate of Rome.
Prefects
1592 - 1908 The Popes
Presidents
The Vicars General were ex officio Presidents of the Congregation and as such they
continued to be its real heads until the suppression in 1908
(Also Prefects of the Congregation for the Residence of the Bishops - s.b.)
1841 - 1876 Costantino Patrizzi-Naro, Cardinal Priest
with the title of San Silvestro in Capite
until 1849, then Cardinal Bishop of Albano
until 1860, then of Porto e Santa Rufina
until 1870, then of Ostia and of Velletri s.a.
1876 - 1884 Raffaele Monaco La Valletta, Cardinal
Priest with the title of Santa Croce in
Gerusalemme s.a.
1884 - 1899 Lucido Maria Parocchi, Cardinal Priest
with the title of Santa Croce in
Gerusalemme until 1889, then Cardinal
Bishop of Albano until 1896, then
Cardinal Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina s.a.
1899 - 1900 Domenico Maria Jacobini, Cardinal Priest
with the title of Santi Marcellino e Pietro 1837 - 1900
1903 - 1913 Pietro Respighi, Cardinal Priest with the
title of Santi Quattro Coronati 1843 - 1913
Secretaries
18.. - 1875 ...
1875 Angelo Jacobini 1825 - 1886
1875 - 1879 Filippo Manetti, Titular
Archbishop of Sardes in
Lydia 1817 - 1879
1880 - 1899 Antonio Maria Grasselli,
Titular Archbishop of
Colossae in Phrygia
Pacaziana I 1827 - 1919
1899 - 1903 Raffaele Sirolli, Titular
Archbishop of Iconium in
Licaonia 1841 - 1903
1903 - 190. Filippo Gentili
BISHOPS AND REGULARS
The Congregations for the Consultations of Bishops and for the Consultations of
Regulars - both established in 1586 - were merged in 1601 to form the Congregation
of Bishops and Regulars, which was entrusted with matters such as :
- the disciplinary affairs concerning the bishops and their secular clergy,
- the establishment, organization or suppression of regular religious orders,
- the relations between the secular and regular clergy, the relations between the
different orders, etc.
In 1906 the Congregation was put in charge of the tasks of two suppressed related
Congregations :
- the Congregation on the State of the Regular Orders (s.b.)
- the Congregation on Discipline of the Regulars (s.b.)
In 1908 the Congregation was abolished and its tasks were divided between :
- the Congregation of the Council (s.b.) : the disciplinary affairs concerning the
bishops and the secular clergy
- the (new) Congregation for the Affairs of the Religious (s.b.) : the affairs of
the regulars.
Prefects
(Since 1856 also Prefects of the Congregation for the Discipline of Regulars - s.b.)
1847 - 1852 Antonio Francesco Orioli, Cardinal Priest
the title of Santa Maria sopra Minerva
until 1850, then with the title of Santi
XII Apostoli 1778 - 1852
1852 - 1860 Gabriele Della Genga Sermattei, Cardinal
Priest with the title of San Giorlamo
degli Schiavoni 1801 - 1861
1860 - 1863 Niccola Clarelli-Paracciani, Cardinal
Priest with the title of San Pietro in
Vincoli 1799 - 1872
1863 - 1872 Angelo Quaglia, Cardinal Priest with the
title of Santi Andrea e Gregorio al Monte
Calio 1802 - 1872
1872 - 1876 Giuseppe Andrea Bizzarri, Cardinal Priest
with the title of San Girolamo degli
Schiavoni until 1875, then of Santa
Balbina 1802 - 1877
1876 - 1886 Innocenzo Ferrieri, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Cecilia (Pro Prefect
1876 - 1878) 1810 - 1887
1886 - 1888 Ignazio Masotti, Cardinal Deacon of San
Cesareo in Palatio (Pro Prefect 1886 -
188.) 1817 - 1888
1888 - 1896 Isidoro Verga, Cardinal Deacon of San
Angelo in Pescheria until 1891, then of
Santa Maria in Via Lata 1832 - 1899
1896 - 1899 Serafino Vannutelli, Cardinal Bishop of
Frascati s.a.
1899 - 1902 Girolamo Maria Gotti, Cardinal Priest
with the title of Santa Maria della
Scala 1834 - 1916
1902 Angelo Di Pietro, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santi Bonifacio e Alessio 1828 - 1914
1902 - 1908 Domenico Ferrata, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Prisca s.a.
Secretaries
(1877 to 1906 also Secretaries of the Congregation on Discipline of
the Regulars and 1886 to 1906 also of the Congregation on the State
of the Regular Orders - s.b.)
1845 - 1851 Domenico Lucciardi, Titular
Latin Patriarch of
Constantinople 1796 - 1864
1851 - 1863 Giuseppe Andrea Bizzarri,
Titular Archbishop of
Philippi in Macedonia II
(1854) (Pro Secretary until
1853) s.a.
1863 - 18.. Stanislas Svegliati
18.. - 1871 Alessandro Franchi, Titular
Archbishop of Thessalonica
in Macedonia I 1819 - 1878
1871 - 1875 Salvatore Nobili Vitelleschi,
Titular Archbishop of
Seleucia in Isauria 1818 - 1875
1875 - 1877 Enea Sbarretti 1808 - 1884
1877 - 1879 Angelo Bianchi, Titular
Archbishop of Myra in Lycia 1817 - 1897
1879 - 1882 ...
1882 - 1884 Ignazio Masotti s.a.
1884 - 1885 Placido Maria Schiaffino,
Titular Bishop of Nyssa in
Cappadocia I 1829 - 1889
1885 - 1886 Antonio Maria Pettinari,
Titular Archbishop of
Palmyra in Phoenicia II 1818 - 1886
1886 - 1891 Luigi Sepiacci, Titular
Archbishop of Callinicum
dei Maroniti 1835 - 1893
1891 - 1893 Giuseppe Maria Graniello,
Titular Archbishop of
Cesarea in Palaestina I 1834 - 1896
1893 - 1899 Luigi Trombetta (Pro
Secretary 1893 - 1896) 1820 - 1900
1899 - 1902 Agapito Panici
1902 - 1908 Filippo Giustini 1852 - 1920
COUNCIL
The Congregation for the Execution and Interpretation of the Council of Trent - in
short Congregation of the Council - was established in 1564.
As its name indicates it was initially only concerned with the execution and the
interpretation of the decisions of the Council of Trent (1545 - 1563).
But later it was also entrusted with the supervision of the administration of the
dioceses.
In 1908 the Congregation for the Council :
- took over most competencies of the Congregation for the Fabric of the St Peter's
Basilica (s.b.)
- united with the Congregation for the Holy House of Loreto (s.b.),
- took charge of the disciplinary affairs concerning the bishops and the secular
clergy, before under the defunct Congregation for Bishops and Regulars,
- transferred the supervision over purely administrative affairs of the dioceses to
the Congregation of the Consistory, retaining however the supervision over their
religious activities and precepts such as the observance of feast days or fasting,
the organization and works of local pious organizations, etc)
Prefects
(also Prefects of the Congregation of the Ecclesiastical Immunity 1881-1908 - s.b.)
1847 - 1849 Pietro Ostini, Cardinal Bishop of Albano 1775 - 1849
1849 - 1851 ...
1851 - 1853 Angelo Mai, Cardinal Priest with the
title of Santa Anastasia 1782 - 1854
1853 - 1860 Antonio Maria Cagiano de Azevedo,
Cardinal Priest with the title of Santa
Croce in Gerusalemme until 1854, then
Cardinal Bishop of Frascati 1797 - 1867
1860 - 1881 Prospero Caterini, Cardinal Deacon of
Santa Maria della Scala and of Santa
Maria in Via Lata (1876) s.a.
1881 - 1885 Lorenzo Nina, Cardinal Priest with the
title of Santa Maria in Tratevere 1812 - 1885
1885 - 1893 Luigi Serafini, Cardinal Priest with the
title of San Girolamo degli Schiavoni
until 1888 then Cardinal Bishop of
Sabina 1808 - 1894
1893 - 1902 Angelo Di Pietro, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santi Bonifacio e Alessio s.a.
1902 - 1908 Vincenzo Vannutelli, Cardinal Bishop of
Palestrina 1836 - 1930
1908 - 1914 Casimiro Gennari, Cardinal Priest with
the title of San Marcello 1839 - 1914
1914 - 1919 Francesco de Paola Cassetta, Cardinal
Bishop of Frascati 1841 - 1919
1919 - 1930 Donato Raffaele Sbarretti Tazza,
Cardinal Priest with the title of San
Silvestro in Capite until 1928, then
Cardinal Bishop of Sabina s.a.
1930 - 1938 Giulio Serafini, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Maria sopra Minerva 1867 - 1938
1938 - 1939 Luigi Maglione, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Pudenziana 1877 - 1944
1939 - 1949 Francesco Marmaggi, Cardinal Priest
with the title of Santa Cecilia 1870 - 1949
Secretaries
(until 1908 also Secretaries of the Congregation for the Residence
of the Bishops and from 1878 to 1908 also of the Congregation for the
Ecclesiastical Immunity - s.b.)
1845 - 1852 Girolamo D'Andrea, Titular
Archbishop of Melitene in
Armenia II 1812 - 1868
1852 - 1861 Angelo Quaglia s.a.
1861 - 1875 Pietro Gianelli, Titular
Archbishop of Sardes in
Lydia (Peo Secretary 1861
- 1868) 1807 - 1881
1875 - 1877 Giacomo Cattani, Titular
Archbishop of Ancyra in
Galatia I 1823 - 1887
1877 - 1884 Isidoro Verga s.a.
1884 - 1888 Camillo Santori, Titular
Archbishop of Seleucia in
Isauria 1823 - 1888
18.. - 1895 Z. Salvati
1895 - 1903 Beniamino Cavicchioni,
Titular Archbishop of
Nazianzus in Cappadocia
III (Pro Secretary 1895 -
1900) 1836 - 1911
1903 - 1907 Gaetano De Lai s.a.
1908 - 1911 Basilio Pompilj (last
secretary of the
Congregations for the
Residence of the Bishops
and for the Ecclessiastical
Immunity in 1908) 1858 - 1931
1911 - 1916 Oreste Giorgi 1856 - 1924
1916 - 1922 Giuseppe Mori 1850 - 1934
1922 - 1923 Bernardo Colombo
1923 - 1930 Giulio Serafini, Titular
Bishop of Lampsacenus in
Hellespontus s.a.
1930 - 1946 Giuseppe Bruno 1875 - 1954
RESIDENCE OF THE BISHOPS
The Congregation for the Residence of the Bishops was established in ....
It was entrusted with the implementation of the "Law of Ecclessiastical Residence"
that imposed on the bishops the binding obligation :
- to reside in their own diocese and not to leave it for a longer period without a
formal authorization granted by the Congregation,
- to be present in the cathedral of the episcopal city during the major feast days
(Easter, Christmas, etc ...).
The Congregation was abolished in 1908.
Prefects
1... - 1908 The Cardinal Vicars General s.a.
Secretaries
1... - 1908 The Secretaries of the
Congregation for the
Council s.a.
STATE OF THE REGULAR ORDERS
The Congregation on the State of the Regular Orders was created in 1847 to advise
on the reforms to be taken to restore and/or update the discipline of the regular
orders.
The Congregation was suppressed in 1906 and what remained of its tasks was taken
over by the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars.
Prefects
18.. - 1876 Costantino Patrizi Naro, Cardinal
Priest with the title of San Silvestro
in Capite until 1849, then Cardinal
Bishop of Albano until 1860, then of
Porto e Santa Rufina until 1870, then
of Ostia and of Velletri s.a.
1876 - 1879 Filippo Maria Guidi, Cardinal Bishop of
Frascati 1815 - 1879
1879 - 1885 -Prospero Caterini, Cardinal Deacon of
Santa Maria in Via Lata and of Santa
Maria della Scala (until 1881) s.a.
-Jean Baptiste François Pitra, Cardinal
Bishop of Frascati until 1884, then
Cardinal Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina 1812 - 1889
-Lorenzo Nina, Cardinal Priest with the
title of Santa Maria in Tratevere s.a.
1886 - 1906 The Popes
Secretaries
18.. - 1885 ...
1886 - 1906 The Secretaries of the
Congregation for Bishops
and Regulars s.a.
ECCLESIASTICAL IMMUNITY
In the course of time the Catholic states granted extended so-called "immunities"
- exemptions from legal secular obligations - to the Church and its clergy.
They included :
- the total exemption from civil jurisdiction of all sacred places (churches, ...)
and their extensions, resulting also in a right of asylum for persons haven taken
refuge in the building,
- the exemption of church properties and revenus from taxation (replaced by "free
gifts" authorized by the Pope and fixed by the clergy assemblies themselves)
- the personal exemption of clerics from :
- secular tribunals and taxation,
- servile service (the forced participation in public works, etc) and military
service
To defend and enforce these immunities a new Congregation for the Ecclesiastical
Immunity was established in 1626.
After the French revolution of 1789 most of the rights were gradually abolished,
first in France itself, later also in the rest of the world and the Congregation
then lost its raison d'être.
It survived as an annexe of the Congregation for the Council until 1908 when it was
formally suppressed.
Prefects
1834 - 1863 Benedetto Colonna Barberini Di Sciarra,
Cardinal Priest with the titles of Santa
Maria in Trastevere and of San Lorenzo
in Lucina (1856) 1788 - 1863
1863 - 1872 Fabio Maria Asquini, Cardinal Priest
with the title of San Stefano al Monte
Celio 1802 - 1878
1873 - 1879 Filippo Maria Guidi, Cardinal Bishop of
Frascati s.a.
1879 - 1881 Prospero Caterini, Cardinal Deacon of
Santa Maria in Via Lata and of Santa
Maria della Scala s.a.
1881 - 1908 The Prefects of the Congregation of the
Council s.a.
Secretaries
18.. - 1858 ...
1858 - 1875 Salvatore Nobili Vitelleschi,
Titular Archbishop of
Seleucia in Isauria until
1863, then Archbishop of
Osimo e Cingoli (in name)
until 1871, then again
Titular Archbishop of
Seleucia in Isauria s.a.
1875 - 1878 Aloisi Amadori, Titular
Archbishop of Thebae in ... 1812 - 1883
1878 - 1908 The Secretaries of the
Congregation of the Council s.a.
PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH
The Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith - better known by its Latin name
"Propaganda Fide" - was established in 1622 and became one of the most important
congregations.
Although its main tasks were the organization of the mission work and of a basic
hierarchy (Apostolic Prefectures, ...) in those areas where Catholic presence only
started or was only very recent and still largely unorganized, it also toke charge
of cultural, educational and social aspects of mission work, setting up hospitals,
museums, schools, etc.
By the middle of the 19th century its jurisdiction extended over :
- the Uniate Catholics of the Oriental rites, wherever they lived
(Under the care of a special Section for the Affairs of the Oriental Rites since
1862)
- the countries and their dependencies ruled by non-Catholic governments in :
- Europe : the Netherlands and Luxembourg, the Scandinavian States, the UK and
parts of the Balkans, of Germany and of Switzerland.
(Russia was the major exception, being subject to the Congregation
of Extraordinary Ecclesiatical Affairs - s.b.)
- America : Canada, the USA, the colonial possessions in the Antilles and some
mission areas in Latin America.
- Africa, Asia (except the Philippines and the areas part of Russia) and Oceania.
Later the jurisdiction was somewhat reduced :
- as the number of adherents increased and the organization of the reguler catholic
hierarchy progressed in the "non-Catholic" countries, most of them were gradually
transferred to the Congregation of the Consistory (s.a.)
By 2005 the jurisdiction of the Congregation extended over :
- Africa, except Egypt and Tunesia
- Asia, except the Philippines
- Oceania , except Australia
- some isolated northern mission areas in Canada and in the USA, the Antilles
- some areas in the Balkans : Albania, Bosnia-Herzegowina, Kosovo, Macedonia and
Montenegro.
- in 1917 the Congregation lost its jurisdiction over the Oriental Rites to a new
Congregation for the Oiental Churches (s.b.).
The Congregation had very fargoing competencies and was in fact in charge of nearly
all institutional and spiritual affairs of the Church in the countries subject to
its jurisdiction, a major exception being the matters reserved to the Congregation
of the Holy Office (s.a.)
Prefects
Until 1908 the Congregation had two Prefects :
- the Prefect General, head of the Congregation and in charge of all non-financial
affairs,
- the Prefect of the Economy, in charge of the autonomous financial administration
to which the Congregation was entitled as a consequence of its extended powers
and territory.
After 1908 there was only one prefect.
Prefects General - Prefects (since 1908)
(Having almost absolute power over the areas under their jurisdiction, they became
known as the "Red Popes")
1834 - 1856 Giacomo Filippo Fransoni, Cardinal Priest
with the title of San Lorenzo in Lucina
(since 1835) 1775 - 1856
1856 - 1874 Alessandro Barnabò, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Susanna 1801 - 1874
1874 - 1878 Alessandro Franchi, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Maria in Trastevere s.a.
1878 - 1892 Giovanni Simeoni, Cardinal Priest with
the title of San Pietro in Vincoli 1816 - 1892
1892 - 1902 Mieczyslaw Graf Ledóchowski von Halka
(Poland), Cardinal Priest with the title
of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli until 1896,
then with the title of San Lorenzo in
Lucina 1822 - 1902
1902 - 1916 Girolamo Maria Gotti, Cardinal Priest
with the title of Santa Maria della
Scala s.a.
1916 - 1918 Domenico Serafini (Pro Prefect 1916),
Cardinal Priest with the title of Santa
Cecilia 1852 - 1918
1918 - 1932 Willem Marinus van Rossum (Netherlands),
Cardinal Priest with the title of Santa
Croce in Gerusalemme and Titular
Archbishop of Caesarea in Mauretania
Caesariensis 1854 - 1932
1933 - 1960 Pietro Fumasoni Biondi, Cardinal Priest
with the title of Santa Croce in
Gerusalemme 1872 - 1960
Prefects of the Economy
1846 - 1852 Lorenzo Simonetti, Cardinal Priest with
the title of San Lorenzo in Pansiperna 1789 - 1855
1853 - 1858 Pietro Marini, Cardinal Deacon of San
Nicola in Carcere 1794 - 1863
1858 - 1860 Prospero Caterini, Cardinal Deacon of
Santa Maria Della Scala s.a.
1860 - 1863 Teodolfo Mertel, Cardinal Deacon of San
Eustachio 1806 - 1899
1863 - 1867 Carlo Conte di Sacconi, Cardinal Priest
with the title of Santa Maria del Popolo 1808 - 1889
1867 - 1877 Domenico Consolini, Cardinal Deacon of
Santa Maria in Domnica 1806 - 1884
1877 Lorenzo Nina, Cardinal Deacon of San
Angelo in Pescheria s.a.
1878 - 1884 Enea Sbarretti, Cardinal Deacon of Santa
Maria ad Martyres s.a.
1884 - 1887 Lorenzo Mariano Randi, Cardinal Deacon of
Santa Maria in Via Lata and of Santa
Maria in Cosmedin 1818 - 1887
1888 - 1889 Gaetano Aloisi Masella, Cardinal Priest
with the title of San Tommaso in Parione 1826 - 1902
1889 - 1892 Gaetano de Ruggiero, Cardinal Deacon of
Santa Maria in Cosemdin 1816 - 1896
1892 - 1902 Vincenzo Vannutelli, Cardinal Priest with
the title of San Silvestro in Capite until
1900, then Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina s.a.
1902 - 1903 Antonio Agliardi, Cardinal Bishop of
Albano 1832 - 1915
1903 - 1908 Francesco Salesio Della Volpe, Cardinal
Deacon of Santa Maria in Aquiro 1844 - 1916
1908 : The office of Prefect of the Economy was abolished. The financial affairs of
the Congregation were now handled by a section of the Secretariat.
Secretaries
Until 1917 the Congregation had two Secretaries :
- the General Secretary, since 1908 Secretary
- the Secretary for the Affairs of the Oriental Rites
General Secretaries - Secretaries (since 1908)
1847 - 1856 Alessandro Barnabò (Pro-
secretary 1847 - 1848) s.a.
1856 - 1861 Gaetano Bedini, Titular
Bishop of Thebae in Hellade
II 1806 - 1864
1861 - 1868 Annibale Capalti 1811 - 1877
1868 - 1875 Giovanni Simeoni s.a.
1875 - 1879 G. Agnazzi
1879 - 1882 Ignazio Masotti s.a.
1882 - 1891 Domenico Maria Jacobini,
Titular Archbishop of Tyrus
in Phoenicia I s.a.
1891 - 1892 Ignazio Camillo Maria Pietro
Persico, Titular Archbishop
of Tamiathis (Damietta) in
Augustamnica I 1823 - 1895
1892 - 1899 Agostino Ciasca, Titular
Archbishop of Larissa in
Syria III (Pro Secretary 1892
- 1893) 1835 - 1902
1899 - 1901 Luigi Veccia s.a.
1901 - 1902 Cesare Sambucetti, Titular
Archbishop of Corinthus in
Peleponessus I 1838 - 1911
1902 - 1903 Luigi Veccia (2x)
1904 Antoine Savelli-Spinola
(France) 1858 - 1904
190. - 1911 Luigi Veccia (3x)
1911 - 1921 Camillo Laurenti 1861 - 1938
1921 - 1922 Pietro Fumasoni Biondi,
Titular Archbishop of
Dioclea in Dalmatia Superior s.a.
1922 - 1930 Francesco Marchetti-
Selvaggiani, Titular
Archbishop of Seleucia in
Isauria s.a.
1930 - 1935 Carlo Salotti, Titular
Archbishop of Philippopolis
in Thracia 1870 - 1947
1935 - 1953 Celso Benigno Luigi
Costantini, Titular
Archbishop of Theodosiopolis
in Arcadia 1876 - 1958
(Pro Secretaries of the Economy)
1908 - 1916 Evaristo Lucidi 1866 - 1929
191. - 1921 Cesare Cerretti
1921 - 193. Decio Botti
193. - 1950 Giuseppe Caprio
Secretaries for the Affairs of the Oriental Rites
1862 - 1868 Giovanni Simeoni s.a.
1868 - 1874 Ludovico Jacobini 1832 - 1887
1874 - 1877 Gaetano Aloisi Masella s.a.
1877 - 1880 Mariano Rampolla Del Tindaro s.a.
1880 - 188. Serafino Cretoni 1833 - 1909
1889 - 1891 Ignazio Camillo Maria Pietro
Persico, Titular Archbishop
of Tamiathis (Damietta) in
Augustamnica I s.a.
1891 - 1892 Agostino Ciasca, Titular
Archbishop of Larissa in
Syria III s.a.
1892 - 1893 Andrea Aiuti, Titular
Archbishop of Achrida in
Epirus Novus 1849 - 1905
189. - 1899 Luigi Veccia s.a.
1899 - 1904 Antoine Savelli Spinola
(France) s.a.
1904 - 1917 Girolamo Rolleri
INDEX
In 1571 the Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition (s.a.) transferred
its competence of examining, censoring and cataloging books and other publications
considered dangerous to Catholic faith and morals to the newly erected Congregation
of the Index.
Prefects
1843 - 1848 Angelo Mai, Cardinal Priest with the
title of Santa Anastasia s.a.
1849 - 1853 Giacomo Luigi Brignole, Cardinal Bishop
of Sabina 1797 - 1853
1853 - 1861 Girolamo D'Andrea, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Agnese fuori le Mura
until 1860, then Cardinal Bishop of
Sabina s.a.
1861 - 1864 Lodovico Altieri, Cardinal Bishop of
Albano 1805 - 1867
1864 - 1878 Antonino Saverio De Luca, Cardinal
Priest with the title of Santi Quattri
Coronati 1805 - 1883
1878 - 1888 Tommaso Maria Martinelli, Cardinal
Priest with the title of Santa Prisca
until 1884, then Cardinal Bishop of
Sabina 1827 - 1888
1888 - 1889 Placido Maria Schiaffino, Cardinal
Priest with the title of Santi Giovanni
e Paolo s.a.
1889 - 1893 Camillo Mazzella, Cardinal Deacon of San
Adriano 1833 - 1900
1893 - 1896 Serafino Vannutelli, Cardinal Bishop of
Frascati s.a.
1896 - 1907 Andreas Steinhuber (Bavaria), Cardinal
Deacon of Santa Agata alla Suburra 1825 - 1907
1908 - 1911 Francesco Segna, Cardinal Deacon of
Santa Maria in Portico 1836 - 1911
1911 - 1916 Francesco Salesio Della Volpe, Cardinal
Deacon of Santa Maria in Aquiro s.a.
1916 - 1917 ...
Secretaries
18.. - 1873 ...
1873 - 1890 Girolamo Pio Saccheri
1890 - 189. S. Frati
189. - 1900 ... Cicognani
1900 - 1917 Hermann Josef Thomas
Esser (Prussia) 1850 - 1926
1917 : the Congregation was abolished and its tasks were transferred to a section
for the Censorship of the Books in the Congregation of the Holy Office.
SACRED RITES
The Congregation for the Sacred Rites was created in 1588.
It was concerned with :
- the supervision of all things related to the rites and ceremonies of the Church
(mass celebration, liturgical feasts, liturgical books, sacred music, etc)
- all investigations in the causes of beatification and canonization.
In 1904 the Congregation absorbed the Congregation of Indulgences and Relics (s.b.)
and in 1908 it lost part of its competencies concerning the rites and ceremonies
to the new Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments (s.b.)
Prefects
1847 - 1854 Luigi Emmanuele Nicolo Lambruschini,
Cardinal Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina 1776 - 1854
1854 - 1876 Costantino Patrizi Naro, Cardinal
Bishop of Albano until 1860, then of
Porto e Santa Rufina until 1870, then of
Ostia and of Velletri s.a.
1876 - 1877 Luigi Maria Bilio, Cardinal Bishop of
Sabina s.a.
1877 - 1878 Tommaso Maria Martinelli, Cardinal Priest
with the title of Santa Prisca s.a.
1878 - 1887 Domenico Bartolini, Cardinal Priest with
the title of San Marco 1813 - 1887
1887 - 1889 Angelo Bianchi, Cardinal Priest with the
title of Santa Prassede s.a.
1889 Carlo Laurenzi, Cardinal Priest with the
title of Santa Anastasia 1821 - 1895
1889 - 1897 Gaetano Aloisi Masella, Cardinal Priest
with the title of San Tommaso in Parione
until 1893, then with the title of Santa
Prassede s.a.
1897 - 1900 Camillo Mazzella, Cardinal Bishop of
Palestrina s.a.
1900 - 1902 Domenico Ferrata, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Prisca s.a.
1903 - 1909 Serafino Cretoni, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Maria sopra Minerva s.a.
1909 - 1918 Sebastiano Martinelli, Cardinal Priest
with the title of San Agostino 1848 - 1918
1918 - 1929 Antonio Vico, Cardinal Bishop of Porto
e Santa Rufina 1847 - 1929
1929 - 1938 Camillo Laurenti, Cardinal Deacon of
Santa Maria della Scala until 1935,
then Cardinal Priest with the title of
Santa Maria della Scala s.a.
1938 - 1947 Carlo Salotti, Cardinal Priest with the
title of San Bartolomeo all'Isola until
1939, then Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina s.a.
Secretaries
18.. - 1854 ...
1854 - 1861 Annibale Capalti s.a.
1861 - 1875 Domenico Bartolini s.a.
1875 - 1884 Placidio Ratti, Titular
(Latin) Patriarch of
Antiochia in Syria (1882) 1804 - 1884
1885 - 18.. Z. Salvati s.a.
18.. - 189. Vincenzo Nussi
1894 - 1896 Luigi Tripepi 1836 - 1906
1896 - 1909 Diomedo Panici, Titular
Bishop of Laodicea in ...
(1900) 1841 - 1909
1910 - 1915 Pietro La Fontaine, Titular
Bishop of Carystus in
Hellade I 1869 - 1935
1915 - 1925 Alessandro Verde 1865 - 1958
1925 - 19 . Angelo Mariani
CEREMONIES
The Congregation of the Ceremonies was established in 1588.
It was concerned with ceremonial and protocol affairs such as :
- the direction of the religious ceremonies performed by the Pope,
- the reception of foreign heads of state or their ambassadors at the Papal court,
- the order of precedence among cardinals and envoys to the Holy See, etc
1588 - 1967 The Cardinal Bishops of Ostia
Secretaries
18.. - 18.. ...
18.. - 1879 Pio Martinucci
1879 - 188. Antonio Cataldi
188. - 189. ... Sinistri
189. - 1900 Cesare Sambucetti s.a.
1900 - 190. ... Grabinski
19.. - 1914 Ricardo Sanz de Samper
y Campuzano (Colombia)
1914 - 1926 Nicola Canali 1874 - 1961
1926 - 1963 Beniamino Nardone,
Titular Archbishop of
Aureliopolis in Asia (1962) 1877 - 1963
DISCIPLINE OF THE REGULARS
Tje Congregation for the Discipline and Reformation of the Regulars was founded in
1695.
It was concerned with the observation of the rules of community life, the internal
discipline of the religious orders, the rules and conditons of novitiate, etc.
The Congregation was suppressed in 1906 and what remained of its tasks was taken
over by the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars.
Prefects
1840 - 1856 Ambrogio Bianchi, Cardinal Priest with the
title of Santi Andrea e Gregorio al Monte
Celio 1771 - 1856
1856 - 1906 The Prefects of the Congregation for the
Bishops and Regulars s.a.
Secretaries
18.. - 1851 ...
1851 - 1877 Frédéric de Falloux de
Coudray (France) 1815 - 1884
1877 - 1906 The Secretaries of the
Congregation for the
Bishops and Regulars s.a.
INDULGENCES AND RELICS
The Congregation for the Indulgences and Relics was founded in 1669.
As its name indicates it was concerned with Indulgences (or remission of temporal
punishment due to sin) and Relics (or remaining parts of the body or clothes of a
departed saint considered sacred)
It was especcially entrusted with the prevention of all abuses like the granting of
false indulgences or the sale of relics.
The Congregation was united with that for the Sacred Rites (s.a.) in 1904.
Prefects
1847 - 1863 Fabio Maria Asquini, Cardinal Priest
with the title of San Stefano al Monte
Celio s.a.
1863 - 1867 Antonio Maria Panebianco, Cardinal Priest
with the title of Santi XII Apostoli s.a.
1867 - 1872 Giuseppe Andrea Bizzarri, Cardinal Priest
with the title of San Girolamo degli
Schiavoni s.a.
1872 - 1875 Lorenzo Barili, Cardinal Priest with the
title of Santa Agnese fuori le Mura 1801 - 1875
1875 - 1876 Innocenzo Ferrieri, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Cecilia s.a.
1876 Luigi Maria Bilio, Cardinal Bishop of
Sabina s.a.
1876 - 1885 Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano, Cardinal
Priest with the title of Santa Anastasia
until 1884, then Cardinal Bishop of
Palestrina 1828 - 1913
1885 - 1886 Johan Baptist Franzelin (Austria),
Cardinal Priest with the title of Santi
Bonifacio e Alessio 1816 - 1886
1886 - 1887 Tommaso Maria Zigliara, Cardinal Deacon
of Santi Cosma e Damiano 1833 - 1893
1887 - 1888 Gaetano Aloisi Masella, Cardinal Priest
with the title of San Tommaso in Parione s.a.
1888 - 1889 Serafino Vannutelli, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Sabina s.a.
1889 - 1890 Carlo Cristofori, Cardinal Deacon of
Santi Vito, Modesto e Crescenzia 1813 - 1891
1890 - 1892 Giuseppe D'Annibale, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santi Bonifacio e Alessio 1815 - 1892
1892 - 1893 Luigi Sepiacci, Cardinal Priest with the
title of Santa Prisca s.a.
1893 - 1895 Ignazio Camillos Pietro Maria Persico,
Cardinal Priest with the title of San
Pietro in Vincoli s.a.
1895 - 1896 Andreas Steinhuber, Cardinal Deacon of
Santa Agata alla Suburra s.a.
1896 - 1899 Girolamo Maria Gotti, Cardinal Priest
with the title of Santa Maria della
Scala s.a.
1899 - 1900 Domenico Ferrata, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Prisca s.a.
1900 - 1903 Serafino Cretoni, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Maria sopra Minerva s.a.
1903 - 1904 Luigi Tripepi, Cardinal Deacon of Santa
Maria in Domnica s.a.
Secretaries
18.. - 18.. ...
18.. - 187. Aloisi Colombo
187. - 1879 Agapito Panici
18.. - 1882 P. Delicati
1882 - 1886 Francesco Salesio
Della Volpe s.a.
1886 - 189. A. Grassi
189. - 1900 ... Sabatucci
1900 - 1903 Francesco Sogaro,
Titular Archbishop of
Amida in Mesopotamia I 1839 - 1911
1903 - 1904 ..
FABRIC OF THE ST. PETER'S BASILICA
The Congregation for the Fabric of the St Peter's Basilica - the principal Roman
church, where most Papal ceremonies take place - was founded in 1...
At first it managed all affairs concerning the building (spiritual and judicial as
well as financial and material).
But after 1863 many of its competencies were transferred to the Congrgation for the
Council (s.a.) and after 1908 it remained only in charge of the administration and
maintenance of the building itself.
Prefects
1843 - 1870 Mario Mattei, Cardinal Bishop of Frascati
until 1854, then of Porto e Santa Rufina
until 1860, then of Ostia and of Velletri 1792 - 1870
1870 - 1872 ...
1872 - 1881 Edoardo Borromeo Arese, Cardinal Deacon of
Santi Vito e Modesto until 1878, then
Cardinal Priest with the title of Santa
Prassede 1822 - 1881
1881 - 1892 Edward Henry Howard (England), Cardinal
Priest with the title of Santi Giovanni e
Paolo until 1884, then Cardinal Bishop of
Frascati 1829 - 1892
1892 - 1894 Francesco Ricci Paracciani, Cardinal Priest
with the title of San Pancrazio 1830 - 1894
1894 - 1913 Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro, Cardinal
Priest with the title of Santa Cecilia s.a.
1914 - 1930 Raffael Merry del Val y Zulueta, Cardinal
Priest with the title of Santa Prassede s.a.
1930 - 1939 Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli
(= future Pope Pius XII), Cardinal Priest
with the title of Santi Giovanni e Paolo 1876 - 1958
1939 - 1959 Federico Tedeschini, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Maria della Vittoria
(until 1951) 1873 - 1959
Secretaries
18.. - 1866 ...
1866 - 188. Augusto Teodoli 1819 - 1892
1885 - 1889 Gaetano de Ruggiero s.a.
18.. - 1903 Félix Marie de Neckere
(Belgium) 1824 - 1903
1903 - 19.. ... Di Canzano
19.. - 1923 Giuseppe De Bisogno
1923 - 1936 Luigi Pellizzo,
Titular Archbishop of
Tamiathis in Augustamnica I 1860 - 1936
1936 - 1952 Ludwig Kaas (Germany) (1) 1881 - 1952
(1) A former chairman of the Deutsche Zentrumspartei who took refuge in the
Vatican after the NSDAP electoral victory of 1933.
HOLY HOUSE OF LORETO
In the 14th century, the so-called Holy House of Loreto - said to be the house in
Nazareth in the Holy Land where the Virgin Mary was born and raised - became one
of the most important sanctuaries and pilgrimage places of the Catholic world .
It came under the care of the Holy See at the end of the following century and in
1698 its administration was entrusted to a new Congregation for the Holy House of
Loreto.
For a long time the congregation had very far-going competencies, being in charge
of all religoius, civil and judicial affairs related to the site.
In the later part of the 19th century its powers were however gradually restricted
to the maintenance of the buildings and the supervision of the pilgrimages and in
1908 it was united with the Congregation of the Council (s.a.).
Prefects
1698 - 1908 The Cardinal Secretaries of State
Secretaries
(the sub-Dataries of the Apostolic Datary were ex-officio Secretaries
of the Congregation)
18.. - 18.. ...
18.. - 1880 Carmine Gori-Merosi s.a.
1880 - 18.. G. Capri
18.. - 1899 Agapito Panici s.a.
1899 - 1908 ... Spolverini
EXTRAORDINARY ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS
To deal with the situation created in France as a result of the instauration of a
revolutionary regime hostile to the Church, a Congregation for the Ecclesiastical
Affairs of France was created in 1793 to negociate with the new authorities.
Later, the Congregation was also entrusted with the negociations with other states
and it was renamed Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs (1805 -
1809), Extraordinary Congregation for the Ecclesiastical Affairs of the Catholic
World (1814 - 1827) and again Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs
in 1827.
The Congregation - which can be described as a ministry of foreign affairs of the
Church - gradually lost much of its competencies to the Secretariat of State and
after the creation of the section for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs within
this secretariat in 1908, it survived mainly as a kind of advisory agency to the
Secretary of State.
Presiding Officials
1814 - 1925 The Cardinal Secretaries of State
Prefects
1925 - 1967 The Cardinals Secretaries of State s.a.
Secretaries
1847 - 1850 Giovanni Corboli Rossi
1850 - 1853 Vincenzo Santucci 1796 - 1861
1853 - 1859 ... Cannella
1859 - 1860 Giuseppe Berardi, also
Substitute of the Secretary
of State 1810 - 1878
1860 - 1868 Alessandro Franchi, Titular
Archbishop of Thessalonica
in Macedonia I s.a.
1868 - 1875 ... Marini
1875 - 1877 Angelo Jacobini sa
1877 - 1879 Włodzimierz Czacki (Poland) 1834 - 1888
1879 - 1880 Domenico Maria Jacobini s.a.
1880 - 1882 Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro s.a.
1882 - 1885 ...
1885 - 1887 Luigi Galimberti 1836 - 1896
1887 - 1889 Antonio Agliardi, Titular
Archbishop of Caesarea in
Palaestina I s.a.
1889 - 1891 Domenico Ferrata, Titular
Archbishop of Thessalonica
in Macedonia I s.a.
1891 - 1893 Francesco Segna s.a.
1893 - 1901 Felice Cavagnis (Pro Secretary
1893 - 1896) 1841 - 1906
1901 - 1907 Pietro Gasparri, Titular
Archbishop of Caesarea in
Palaestina I (1898) 1852 - 1934
1907 - 1912 Raffaele Scapinelli Di Léguigno 1858 - 1933
1912 - 1917 Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni
Pacelli (= future Pope Pius XII)
(Pro-secretary 1912 - 1914) s.a.
1917 - 1921 Bonaventura Cerretti, Titular
Archbishop of Corinthus in
Peloponnesus I 1872 - 1933
1922 - 1929 Francesco Borgongini-Duca 1884 - 1954
1930 - 1937 Giuseppe Pizzardo, Titular
Archbishop of Nicaea in
Bithynia II, President of the
Pontifical Commission for
Russia since 1934 (s.b.) 1877 - 1970
1937 - 1952 Domenico Tardini 1888 - 1961
Pontifical Commission for Russia
The Pontifical Commission for Russia was established in 1925 to deal with all the
church affairs (religious as well as diplomatic) in Russia after the proclamation
of the USSR.
It was dependent of the Sacred Congregation of the Orientalt Churches until 1934,
when it was transferred to the Sacred Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical
Affairs and its responsability restricted to all affairs of the Latin Rite only.
Presidents of the Commission
1925 - 1930 Luigi Sincero, Cardinal Deacon of San Giorgio
in Velabro until 1928, then Cardinal Priet
with the title of San Giorgio in Velabro,
Secretary of the Sacred Congregation for the
Oriental Churches 1870 - 1936
1930 - 1934 Michel Joseph Bourguignon d'Herbigny,
Titular Bishop of Ilium in Hellespontus,
reorganosator of the Church in Russia in
1925 1880 - 1958
1934 - 199. The Secretaries of the Congregation for
Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs s.a.
SEMINARIES AND UNIVERSITIES
The Congregation for the Roman University was founded in 1588.
It supervised the university of Rome and other important western universities like
those of Bologna, Paris and Salamanca.
The congregation later ceased to function and in 1824 it was formally replaced by
the Congregation for the Studies, which was mainly concerned with the supervision
of the educational affairs of the Papal States (except for the period 1847 - 1849,
when there existed a separate Papal Ministry of Public Instruction)
After the annexation of the Papal States to Italy in 1870, the competencies of the
congregation were radically modified as it now was entrusted with the supervision
of the administration and the organization of the studies of :
- all Catholic universities depending of ecclesiastical authorities,
- the seminaries and other institutions of (religious) education not within the
jurisdiction of another congregation (for the Propaganda Fide or for the Oriental
Churches)
As a consequence of all these changes the Congregation for the Studies was replaced
by a Congregation for Seminaries and Universities in 1915.
Prefects
Prefects of the Congregation for the Studies
1845 - 1848 Giuseppe Gasparo Mezzofanti, Cardinal
Priest with the title of San Onofrio,
in 1847 - 1848 also Minister of Public
Instruction of the Papal States 1774 - 1849
1848 - 1851 Carlo Vizzardelli, Cardinal Priest with
the title of San Pancrazio, in 1848 also
Minister of Public Instruction of the
Papal States 1791 - 1851
1851 - 1854 Raffaele Fornari, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Maria sopra Minerva 1788 - 1854
1854 - 1856 Giovanni Brunelli, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Cecilia 1795 - 1861
1856 - 1861 Vincenzo Santucci, Cardinal Deacon of
Santa Maria ad Martyres s.a.
1861 - 1869 Karl August Graf von Reisach (Bavaria),
Cardinal Priest with the title of Santa
Cecilia until 1868, thereafter Cardinal
Bishop of Sabina 1800 - 1869
1870 - 1877 Annibale Capalti, Cardinal Deacon of
Santa Maria in Aquino s.a.
1877 - 1878 Lorenzo Nina, Cardinal Deacon of San
Angelo in Pescheria s.a.
1878 - 1883 Antonino Saverio De Luca, Cardinal
Bishop of Palestrina and Custodian of
the title of San Lorenzo in Damaso s.a.
1884 - 1887 Giuseppe Pecci, Cardinal Deacon of
Santa Agata alla Suburra 1807 - 1890
1887 - 1893 Tommaso Maria Zigliara, Cardinal Deacon
of Santi Cosma e Damiano until 1891,
then Cardinal Priest with the title of
Santa Prassede s.a.
1893 - 1897 Camillo Mazzella, Cardinal Deacon of
San Adriano until 1896, then Cardinal
Priest with the title of Santa Maria
in Traspontina until 1897, then
Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina s.a.
1897 - 1909 Francesco di Paolo Satolli, Cardinal
Priest with the title of Santa Maria in
Ara Coeli 1839 - 1910
1910 - 1911 Beniamino Cavicchioni, Cardinal Priest
with the title of Santa Maria in Ara
Coeli s.a.
1911 - 1914 Francesco di Paola Cassetta, Cardinal
Bishop of Sabina until 1911, then of
Frascati s.a.
1914 - 1915 Benedetto Lorenzelli, Cardinal Priest
with the title of Santa Croce in
Gerusalemme 1853 - 1915
Prefects of the Congregation for Seminaries and Universities
1915 - 1937 Gaetano Bisleti, Cardinal Deacon of Santa
Agata in Suburra until 1928, then Cardinal
Priest with the title of Santa Agata in
Suburra 1856 - 1937
1937 - 1939 Pope Pius XI
1939 - 1968 Giuseppe Pizzardo, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Maria in Via (until 1948) s.a.
Secretaries
1845 - 1852 Annibale Capalti s.a.
1852 - 1867 ...
1867 - 1877 Włodzimierz Czacki (Poland) s.a.
1877 - 1880 Luigi Pallotti 1829 - 1890
1880 - 188. Agapito Panici
188. - 188. V. Persichelli
188. - 18.. Vincenzo Nussi s.a.
18.. - 1894 Augusto Guidi 1838 - 1900
1894 - 1899 ... Magno
1899 - 191. Ascenso Dandini
191. - 1927 Giacomo Sinibaldi,
Titular Bishop of
Tiberias in Palaestina I 1856 - 1927
1928 - 1945 Ernesto Ruffini 1888 - 1967
AFFAIRS OF THE RELIGIOUS
After the suppression of the Congregation for Bishops and Regulars (s.a.) in 1908,
all matters concerning the regular orders were transferred to the new Congregation
for the Religious, which also toke charge of the affairs concerning other religious
communities and associations.
Prefects
1908 - 1913 José de Calasanz Félix Santiago Vives y
Tutó (Spain), Cardinal Deacon of San
Adriano 1854 - 1913
1913 - 1915 Ottavio Cagiano de Azevedo, Cardinal
Deacon of Santi Cosma e Damiano 1845 - 1927
1916 Domenico Serafini, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Cecilia s.a.
1916 - 1917 Diomede Angelo Raffaele Gennaro Falconio,
Cardinal Bishop of Velletri 1842 - 1917
1917 - 1918 Giulio Tonti, Cardinal Priest with the
title of Santi Silvestro e Martino ai
Monti 1844 - 1918
1918 - 1920 Raffaele Scapinelli Di Léguigno, Cardinal
Priest with the title of San Girolamo
dei Croati s.a.
1920 - 1922 Teodor Valfre di Bonzo, Cardinal Priest
with the title of Santa Maria sopra
Minerva 1866 - 1922
1922 - 1928 Camillo Laurenti, Cardinal Deacon of
Santa Maria della Scala s.a.
1928 - 1935 Alexis Henri Marie Lépicier (France),
Cardinal Priest of Santa Susanna 1863 - 1936
1935 - 1943 Vincenzo LaPuma, Cardinal Deacon of
Santi Cosma e Damiano 1874 - 1943
1943 - 1945 ...
Secretaries
1908 - 1910 P. L. Janssens (...)
1910 - 1916 Donato Raffaele Sbarretti
Tazza, Titular Archbishop
of Ephesus in Asia I s.a.
1916 - 1918 Adolfo Turchi, Titular
Archbishop of Canopus in
Aegyptus 1863 - 1929
1918 - 1925 Mauro Serafini 1859 - 1925
1925 - 1935 Vincenzo LaPuma s.a.
1936 - 1950 Luca Ermenegildo Pasetto,
Titular Bishop of Geras in
Augustamnica I until 1937,
then Titular Archbishop of
Iconium in Lycaonia 1871 - 1954
DISCIPLINE OF THE SACRAMENTS
The Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments was founded in 1908 when many
tasks concerning the sacraments - the 7 traditional rites confering a divine grace
- were transferred from various existing Congregations (Sacred Rites, Council, etc)
to one single Congregation.
The congregation was in charge of thinks like :
- the verification of the validity of priest ordinations and of weddings,
- the granting of dispensation to celebrate mass on not authorized locations,
- the legitimation of illegitimate children, etc.
Prefects
1908 - 1914 Domenico Ferrata, Cardinal Priest with
the title of Santa Prisca s.a.
1914 - 1920 Filippo Giustini, Cardinal Deacon of
San Angelo s.a.
1920 - 1935 Michele Lega, Cardinal Deacon of San
Eustachio until 1924, then Cardinal
Priest with the title of San Eustachio
until 1926, then Cardinal Bishop of
Frascati s.a.
1935 - 1954 Domenico Jorio, Cardinal Deacon of San
Apollinare (until 1946) 1862 - 1954
Secretaries
1908 - 1914 Filippo Giustini s.a.
1914 - 1926 Luigi Capotosti, Titular
Archbishop of Thermae
Basilicae in Cappadocia I
(1915) 1863 - 1938
1926 - 1928 ...
1928 - 1935 Domenico Jorio s.a.
1935 - 1958 Francesco Bracci 1879 - 1967
ORIENTAL CHURCHES
In 1917 the section for the Affairs of the Oriental Rites (s.a.) was detached from
the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith and became the new Congregation
for the Oriental Churches.
Like the Congregation for the Proganda Fide, it enjoyed some autonomy.
Prefects
1917 - 1967 The Popes
Secretaries
1917 - 1922 Nicolò Marini, Cardinal
Deacon of Santa Maria in
Domnica 1843 - 1923
1922 - 1926 Giovanni Tacci Pocelli,
Cardinal Priest with the
title of Sanat Maria in
Trastevere 1863 - 1928
1926 - 1936 Luigi Sincero, Cardinal
Deacon of San Giorgio in
Velabro until 1928, then
Cardinal Priet with the
title of San Giorgio in
Velabro until 1933, then
Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina,
1926 - 1930 also President of
the Pontifical Commission for
Russia s.a.
1936 - 1959 Eugène Gabriel Gervais Laurent
Tisserant (France), Cardinal
Deacon of Santi Vito, Modesto
e Crescenzia until 1937, then
Cardinal Priest with the title
of Santi Vito, Modesto e
Crescenzia until 1939, then
Cardinal Priest with the title
of Santa Maria sopra Minerva
(until 1946) 1884 - 1972
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