The Prefecture of the Papal Household (Preffetura della Casa Pontificia) is the office in charge of the Papal Household, a section of the Roman Curia that comprises the Papal Chapel (Cappella Pontificia) and the Papal Family (Familia Pontificia).
The position of prefect has been vacant since Archbishop Georg Gänswein concluded his service on 28 February 2023.[1]
Functions
According to the Vatican:
It is the task of the Prefecture of the Papal Household to coordinate the services of the Antechamber and to organize the official audiences granted by His Holiness to Heads of State, Heads of Government, Governmental Ministers and other dignitaries, as well as to Ambassadors who come to the Vatican to present their Letters of Credence.
The Prefecture takes care of the preparations for all audiences - private, special and general - and visits from those who are formally received by the Holy Father. It is also responsible for arranging Pontifical ceremonies - except liturgical celebrations - as well as the Spiritual Retreat of the Holy Father, the College of Cardinals and the Roman Curia.
In addition, the Prefecture oversees the appropriate arrangements required each time the Holy Father leaves the Apostolic Palace to visit the city of Rome or travel within Italy.[2]
Created by the 1967 reforms of Pope Paul VI, the Prefecture has competence for matters that once belonged to several offices that have been suppressed: the Ceremonial Congregation, the offices of the Majordomo, the Master of the Chamber, and the Master of the Sacred Apostolic Palaces, and the Heraldic Commission for the Papal Court.[3]
It is headed by a Prefect, assisted by a Regent, each of whom serves for a term of five years.[4]
The Papal Family also includes those who look after the Pope's daily household affairs, such as those who actually keep house and cook for him, including those who may act as his butler.[10][11]
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: thus curialism refers traditionally to an emphasis on the supreme authority of the Holy See within the Catholic Church. It is at the service of the Pope, successor of Apostle 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 duty and mission.
Georg Gänswein is a German prelate of the Catholic Church who was named Apostolic Nuncio to Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia on 24 June 2024. He served as Prefect of the Papal Household from 2012 to 2023 and was the Personal Secretary of Pope Benedict XVI. He was a Professor of Canon Law at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross for about a decade and has been an archbishop since 2012. He is also an Honorary Canon of Freiburg Cathedral.
The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, previously named Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches, is a dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for contact with the Eastern Catholic churches for the sake of assisting their development and protecting their rights. It also maintains whole and entire in the one Catholic Church the heritage and canon law of the various Eastern Catholic traditions. It has exclusive authority over the following regions: Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula, Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, southern Albania and Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Jordan and Turkey, and also oversees jurisdictions based in Romania, Southern Italy, Hungary, India and Ukraine.
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.
The Annuario Pontificio is the annual directory of the Holy See of the Catholic Church. It lists the popes in chronological order and all officials of the Holy See's departments. It also provides names and contact information for all cardinals and bishops, the dioceses, the departments of the Roman Curia, the Holy See's diplomatic missions abroad, the embassies accredited to the Holy See, the headquarters of religious institutes, certain academic institutions, and other similar information. The index includes, along with all the names in the body of the book, those of all priests who have been granted the title of "Monsignor".
The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church. In addition, it oversees the administration of justice in the church.
The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic corps and the Secretariat of State of the Holy See.
The Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See is the office of the Roman Curia that deals with the "provisions owned by the Holy See in order to provide the funds necessary for the Roman Curia to function". It was established by Pope Paul VI on 15 August 1967 and reorganized on 8 July 2014. APSA acts as the treasury and central bank of Vatican City and the Holy See.
James Patrick Green is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who from 2006 to 2022 served as apostolic nuncio to a variety of countries including to several Scandinavian countries from 2017 to 2022.
Raniero Cantalamessa is an Italian Catholic cardinal and priest in the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and a theologian. He has served as the Preacher to the Papal Household since 1980, under Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.
The Pontifical Biblical Commission is a pontifical commission established within the Roman Curia to ensure the proper interpretation and defense of the Bible.
The Pontifical Commission for Latin America is a department of the Roman Curia that since 1958 has been charged with providing assistance to and examining matters pertaining to the Catholic Church in Latin America. The Commission operates under the auspices of the Dicastery for Bishops and for most of its history the prefect of that body has been president of the Commission.
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.
The Diocese of Rome, also called the Vicariate of Rome, is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church under the direct jurisdiction of the Pope, who is Bishop of Rome and hence the supreme pontiff and head of the worldwide Catholic Church. As the Holy See, the papacy is a sovereign entity with diplomatic relations, and civil jurisdiction over the Vatican City State located geographically within Rome. The Diocese of Rome is the metropolitan diocese of the province of Rome, an ecclesiastical province in Italy. According to Catholic tradition, the first bishop of Rome was Saint Peter in the first century. The incumbent since 13 March 2013 is Pope Francis.
Leopoldo Girelli is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who serves as the apostolic nuncio to India and Nepal. He was nuncio to Israel and Cyprus as well as apostolic delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine from 2017 to 2021. He has worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1987 and previously served as nuncio to Indonesia, East Timor, and Singapore.
Santos Abril y Castelló is a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church. After a career in the diplomatic corps of the Holy See, he held a number of positions in the Roman Curia and from 2011 to 2016 was Archpriest of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Alfred Xuereb is a Maltese prelate of the Catholic Church who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He previously worked in the Roman Curia and was a private secretary to Pope Benedict XVI from 2007 to 2013 and to Pope Francis from 2013 to 2014.
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.
Antonio Arcari is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and retired in 2023. He has been an archbishop and has held the rank of Apostolic Nuncio since 2003.
The Dicastery for the Service of Charity, also known as the Apostolic Alms Office, is an administrative unit of the Roman Curia. It began operations on 5 June 2022 as established by the apostolic constitution Praedicate evangelium promulgated on 19 March 2022. Before the reform of Praedicate evangelium it was named the Office of Papal Charities.
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