Latin: Pontificium Institutum Biblicum | |
Founder(s) | Pope Pius X |
---|---|
Established | 1909 |
Mission | Biblical and ancient Near Eastern Studies |
Focus | Catholic, Jesuit |
Rector | Peter Dubovský, S.J. |
Location | |
Coordinates | 41°53′56″N12°29′01″E / 41.8988°N 12.4836°E |
Website | biblico.it |
The Pontifical Biblical Institute (also known as Biblicum) is a research and postgraduate teaching institution specialised in biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies located in Rome. Founded in 1909 by Pope Pius X, it is an institution of the Holy See entrusted to the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Since 1927, the Institute has had a branch in the city of Jerusalem.
Along with the Pontifical Oriental Institute, the Pontifical Biblical Institute was incorporated into the Pontifical Gregorian University under a single rector when the new statutes of the Gregorian took effect on 19 May 2024. [1] [2] [3]
The Pontifical Biblical Institute, along with the Pontifical Biblical Institute Library, was founded by Pope Pius X in the apostolic letter Vinea Electa in 1909 as a centre of advanced studies in Holy Scripture. [4] At first, the Institute prepared students for exams at the Pontifical Biblical Commission. In 1916, it was licensed by Pope Benedict XV to grant academic degrees in the name of the commission. In 1928, it was licensed by Pope Pius XI to grant doctorates in affiliation with the Pontifical Gregorian University, independently of the commission. [5]
A branch was opened in Jerusalem by Alexis Mallon SJ in 1927 [6] and received the mummy of Iret-hor-iru as a gift from Jesuits in Alexandria in 1928. [7]
In 1932, the Oriental Faculty was founded.[ citation needed ]
All of its rectors have been Jesuit priests. Cardinal Bea is particularly noteworthy for having defended the university against charges of Modernism before the Second Vatican Council.
Among the prominent alumni of the Biblicum, the following were elevated to the episcopate and/or the cardinalate:
The Pontifical Gregorian University, is a higher education ecclesiastical school located in Rome, Italy.
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.
Luigi Maglione was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1935 and served as the Vatican Secretary of State under Pope Pius XII from 1939 until his death. Pius XII never replaced Maglione, opting to assume the responsibilities of the office himself, with the assistance of two undersecretaries.
Carlo Maria Martini was an Italian Jesuit, cardinal of the Catholic Church and a Biblical scholar. He was Archbishop of Milan from 1980 to 2004 and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1983. A towering intellectual figure of the Roman Catholic Church, Martini was the liberal contender for the Papacy in the 2005 conclave, following the death of Pope John Paul II. According to highly placed Vatican sources, Martini received more votes in the first round than Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the conservative candidate: 40 to 38. Ratzinger ended up with more votes in subsequent rounds and was elected Pope Benedict XVI.
The Catholic Church in Israel is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, in full communion with the Holy See in Rome. The Catholic Church in Israel is divided into three main jurisdictions: the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, and the Salesian Mission. Each of these jurisdictions has its own responsibilities and areas of operation.
The Pontifical Oriental Institute, also known as the Orientale, is a Catholic institution of higher education located in Rome and focusing on Eastern Christianity.
Albert Vanhoye was a French priest, a member of the Society of Jesus, and a biblical scholar. He taught at the Pontifical Biblical Institute from 1963 to 1998 and served as its rector from 1984 to 1990. He was Secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission from 1990 to 2001. He was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 and led the Lenten retreat for the Roman Curia in 2008.
Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant was a French prelate and cardinal of the Catholic Church. Elevated to the cardinalate in 1936, Tisserant was a prominent and long-time member of the Roman Curia.
Ernesto Ruffini was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Palermo from 1945 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1946 by Pope Pius XII.
Augustin Bea was a German Jesuit priest, cardinal, and scholar at the Pontifical Gregorian University, specialising in biblical studies and biblical archaeology. He also served as the personal confessor of Pope Pius XII.
Clemente Micara was an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1909 to 1950 and was Vicar General of Rome from 1951 until his death.
Robert Leiber, S.J. was a close advisor to Pope Pius XII, a Jesuit priest from Germany, and Professor for Church History at the Gregorian University in Rome from 1930 to 1960. Leiber was, according to Pius's biographer Susan Zuccotti, "throughout his entire papacy his private secretary and closest advisor".
Franco Manzi is an Italian Catholic priest and academic.
The Roman Colleges, also referred to as the Pontifical Colleges in Rome, are institutions established and maintained in Rome for the education of future ecclesiastics of the Catholic Church. Traditionally many were for students of a particular nationality. The colleges are halls of residence in which the students follow the usual seminary exercises of piety, study in private, and review the subjects treated in class. In some colleges there are special courses of instruction but the regular courses in philosophy and theology are given in a few large central institutions, such as Pontifical Urbaniana University, the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Pontifical Lateran University, and the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum.
The Pontifical Latin American College is one of the Roman Colleges of the Roman Catholic Church, for students from Central and South America. A pontifical college in Rome is a hostel for student priests who pursue higher ecclesiastical studies in various Church universities and institutes.
Paolo Dezza, S.J. was an Italian Jesuit cardinal who led the Pontifical Gregorian University during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII, whom he aided in the preparation of the dogma of the Assumption of Mary. He was confessor to Pope Paul VI and Paul's successor, Pope John Paul I, and was a teacher of Pope John Paul I's successor, Pope John Paul II.
Pierbattista Pizzaballa is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem since 6 November 2020. A Franciscan friar, he served as Custos of the Holy Land from 2004 to 2016, Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate from 2016 to 2020, and was made a cardinal by Pope Francis on 30 September 2023.
The Pontifical Biblical Institute Library serves the scholars, faculty, and students of the Pontifical Biblical Institute (PBI). It is located in Piazza della Pilotta 35, Rome. The building was the former Palazzo Muti Papazzurri. The Library and the PBI have been part of the Gregorian Consortium since 1928 and have been included in the URBE network since 1991.
Fortunato Frezza is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who devoted his career to Biblical scholarship and teaching. He has been a canon of St. Peter's Basilica since 2013.