Chaplain of His Holiness is a title of distinction given by the Pope in recognition of a priest's service to the Church. They are addressed with the honorific of "Monsignor" and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and vestments. In 2013, Pope Francis amended common practice to require that all such priests be at least 65 years of age. [1]
The role of "Chaplain of His Holiness" dates to the 17th century when Pope Urban VIII instituted the role as an official function of the papal household. [2] Such Chaplains have provided unpaid service since the pontificate of Pope Pius VI.
The nomination of candidates extra urbem may be granted at the request of their bishop through the Apostolic Nunciature, subject to the examination of the merits of the person considered for this rank and to the criteria of the Holy See. Once the candidate has passed all the requirements, a rescript is drawn up by the Secretariat of State attesting to their promotion to this ecclesiastical rank. [3]
Pope Paul VI's motu proprio Pontificalis Domus of 28 March 1968, divided the Papal Household into two entities: the Chapel (Cappella Pontificia) and the Family (Familia Pontificia). The Cappella assists the pope in his functions as the spiritual head of the church, especially in religious ceremonies; the Familia assists him as a head of state. [4] "Chaplains of His Holiness" are members of the Familia.
Those priests who had been called "Supernumerary Privy Chamberlains" continued to be part of the Papal Household, under the name of Chaplains of His Holiness. Lower ranks of Privy Chamberlains (Honorary Chamberlains of Purple Robes, Chamberlains extra Urbem, Honorary Privy Chaplains, and Honorary Chaplains extra Urbem) were abolished, [3] making Chaplain of His Holiness the first (lowest) of the three ranks of Monsignor. A Chaplain to His Holiness wears a black cassock with fuchsia piping and buttons along with a fuchsia sash. [5]
The following are chaplains of His Holiness as long as they are in office:
In 1969, the custom of Chaplains of His Holiness surrendering the title upon the death and burial of the conferring pontiff was suppressed. Today, all monsignors retain their titles upon the death and burial of a Pope. [5]
Under new rules set by Pope Francis, fewer diocesan priests are named monsignor than in the past, and only those 65 years or older may be named. [6]
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin praelatus, the past participle of praeferre, which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'prefer'; hence, a prelate is one set over others.
Monsignor is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons. or Msgr. In some countries, the title "monsignor" is used as a form of address for bishops. However, in English-speaking countries, the title is unrelated to the episcopacy, though many priests with the title later become bishops.
A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour.
A papal gentleman, also called a Gentleman of His Holiness, is a lay attendant of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. Papal gentlemen serve in the Apostolic Palace near St. Peter's Basilica in ceremonial positions, such as escorting dignitaries during state visits and other important occasions. It is a local name for the old court position of valet de chambre. To be appointed is an honor. The appointee is an unpaid volunteer.
The papal household or pontifical household, called until 1968 the Papal Court, consists of dignitaries who assist the pope in carrying out particular ceremonies of either a religious or a civil character.
In the Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pope has conferred this title and its special privileges. An example is Prince Georg of Bavaria (1880–1943), who became in 1926 Protonotary by papal decree.
The Prefecture of the Papal Household is the office in charge of the Papal Household, a section of the Roman Curia that comprises the Papal Chapel and the Papal Family.
The Prince Assistant to the Papal Throne was a hereditary title of nobility available in the Papal Court from the early 16th century until the reforms of Pontificalis Domus by Pope Paul VI in 1968, when the Papal Court was reformed into the current Papal Household. The title is not currently in use, though it has not been formally suppressed.
A mantelletta, Italian diminutive of Latin mantellum 'mantle', is a sleeveless, knee-length, vest-like garment, open in front, with slits instead of sleeves on the sides, fastened at the neck. It was for a period of time even more common than the mozzetta.
The black nobility or black aristocracy are Roman aristocratic families who sided with the Papacy under Pope Pius IX after the Savoy family-led army of the Kingdom of Italy entered Rome on 20 September 1870, overthrew the pope and the Papal States, and took over the Quirinal Palace, and any nobles subsequently ennobled by the pope prior to the 1929 Lateran Treaty.
The Roman Court or Papal Curia was reformed by the papal bull Pontificalis Domus issues by Pope Paul VI in 1969. It abolished the role of the old Roman nobility at the papal court with the exception of the position of Prince Assistant to the Papal Throne. The titles abolished, such as the Grand Master of the Sacred Apostolic Hospice and Marshal of the Holy Roman Church and the Sacred Conclave, remain heredity but are now purely honorary.
Valerio Valeri was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Religious in the Roman Curia from 1953 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1953 by Pope Pius XII.
Giuseppe Beltrami was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as internuncio to the Netherlands from 1959 to 1967, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1967.
The Bishops-Assistant at the Pontifical Throne were ecclesiastical titles in the Roman Catholic Church. It designated prelates belonging to the Papal Chapel, who stood near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions. They ranked immediately below the College of Cardinals and were also Counts of the Apostolic Palace. Assistants at the Pontifical Throne, unless specifically exempted, immediately enter the Papal nobility as Counts of Rome.
Pontificalis Domus was a motu proprio document issued by Pope Paul VI on 28 March 1968, in the fifth year of his pontificate. It reorganized the Papal Household, which had been known until then as the Papal Court.
Luigi Barbarito was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. He held the rank of archbishop while serving as a nuncio in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1969 to 1997.
Pedro López Quintana is a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who has worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1984. Since becoming an archbishop in 2003, he has been the head of the papal offices in India, Nepal, Canada, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. He has been Apostolic Nuncio to Austria since March 2019.
Yoannis Lahzi Gaid is a Coptic Catholic priest who has served since April 2014 as second personal secretary to Pope Francis. He is the first Eastern Catholic to hold the position.
Michael Francis Crotty is an Irish Roman Catholic prelate who is Titular Archbishop of Lindisfarne and serves as Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria since 16 July 2024.
Séamus Patrick Horgan is an Irish Roman Catholic prelate who has served as Apostolic Nuncio to South Sudan since July 2024.
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