The Roman Curia comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Roman Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use of in the exercise of his supreme pastoral office and universal mission in the world. It is at the service of the Pope, successor of Peter, and of the Bishops, successors of the Apostles, according to the modalities that are proper to the nature of each one, fulfilling their function with an evangelical spirit, working for the good and at the service of communion, unity and edification of the Universal Church and attending to the demands of the world in which the Church is called to fulfill its mission.
Giuseppe Pizzardo was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as prefect of the Congregation for Seminaries and Universities from 1939 to 1968, and secretary of the Holy Office from 1951 to 1959. Pizzardo was elevated to the cardinalate in 1937.
Patrick Coveney was an Irish prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1966 to 2009. He became an archbishop in 1985 and fulfilled several assignments as Apostolic Nuncio, including stints in Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, New Zealand, and Greece.
Lorenzo Antonetti was a Cardinal in the Catholic Church, who held several positions in the Vatican diplomatic service.
Agostino Cacciavillan was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, and a cardinal since 2001. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1959 to 1998; he was given the titles of archbishop and nuncio in 1998 and served as Pro-Nuncio to Kenya, India, Nepal, and the United States between 1976 and 1998. He then worked in the Roman Curia from 1998 to 2002 as President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See.
Sergio Sebastiani is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was head of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See from 1997 to 2008. He was made a cardinal in 2001. From 1960 to 1994 he worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See, becoming an archbishop and apostolic nuncio in 1976 and leading the offices representing the Vatican in Madagascar, Mauritius, and Turkey.
Jean-Louis Pierre Tauran was a French cardinal of the Catholic Church. When he died, he had been the president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue since 2007 and Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church since the end of 2014. He was made a cardinal in 2003 and was the Cardinal Protodeacon from 2011 to 2014. His earlier career included almost thirty years in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and several years as the Vatican's chief archivist and librarian.
Attilio Nicora was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who held senior positions in the administration of the Roman Curia as president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See from 2002 to 2011 and president of the four-person Executive Board of the Financial Information Authority (FIA) from 2011 to 2014. He was bishop of Verona from 1992 to 1997. He was given the personal title of archbishop in 2002 and was made a cardinal in 2003.
Leonardo Sandri is an Argentine prelate of the Catholic Church who has been a cardinal since November 2007 and vice dean of the College of Cardinals since January 2020. He was prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches from 2007 to 2022. He served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1974 to 1991 in several overseas assignments, including as permanent observer of the Holy See before the Organization of American States from 1989 to 1991, and in Rome as Substitute for General Affairs in the Secretariat of State from 1999 to 2007.
James Michael Harvey is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. Trained as a diplomat, he served from 1982 to 1998 in the central administration of the Holy See's Secretariat of State. From 1998 to 2012 Harvey managed the pope's household, first for Pope John Paul II and then for Pope Benedict XVI. He was named a bishop in 1998, an archbishop in 2003, and a cardinal in 2012.
Dominique François Joseph Mamberti is a French prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in the Roman Curia. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal by Pope Francis in 2015.
The Apostolic Nunciature to Germany is an ecclesiastical office of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany. It is a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio to Germany with the rank of an ambassador. The office of the nunciature has been located in Berlin since 1925, in union with the new Apostolic Nuncio to Prussia until 1934. Between 1920 and 1925 the nunciature was held in personal union by the Apostolic Nuncio to Bavaria, seated in Munich. With the unconditional surrender of Germany in 1945 the diplomatic ties were interrupted and reestablished for West Germany only in 1951, then in Bonn. In 2001 the nunciature moved again to Berlin.
Giovanni Simeoni was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was appointed a cardinal in 1875 and served as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Propagation of the Faith from 1878 until his death in 1892.
Giuseppe Bertello is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, a cardinal since 2012, who was President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State from October 2011 to October 2021. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1971 to 2011; became an archbishop in 1987; held appointments as Nuncio to several countries, including Rwanda, Mexico, and Italy; and was the Holy See's representative to a number of international organizations.
Holy See–Pakistan relations are foreign relations between Pakistan and the Holy See. Both countries established diplomatic relations in 1961. The Holy See has a nunciature in Islamabad. Pakistan's embassy in Switzerland is accredited to the Holy See.
Beniamino Stella is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy from 2013 to 2021; he has been a cardinal since 2014. He began working in the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1970, was made an archbishop in 1987, and served as a nuncio in several countries between 1987 and 2007. He led the Vatican's training program for its diplomats, the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, from 2007 to 2013.
The Council of Cardinals, also known as the Council of Cardinal Advisers, is a group of cardinals of the Catholic Church appointed by Pope Francis to serve as his advisers. The Council was formally established on 28 September 2013.
Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, SDB is a Uruguayan Roman Catholic prelate and the archbishop of Montevideo.
Karl-Josef Rauber was a German prelate of the Catholic Church who served as an apostolic nuncio from 1982 until his retirement in 2009. He was created a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2015.
Fernando Vérgez AlzagaL.C. is a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who has been President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State since 1 October 2021. He was Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State from 2013 to 2021 and before that director of the Vatican City State Telecommunications Directorate.
