A quinquennial visit ''ad limina'', or simply an ''ad limina'' visit, is the required visit of
Catholic residential diocesan
bishops and certain
prelates with territorial jurisdiction (such as
territorial abbots) to the ''thresholds of the''
ombs of the''Apostles''
Peter and
Paul, and to meet the
pope to report on the state of their
dioceses or
prelatures.
It is a formal trip usually made together by all bishops from a single region (viz., an
episcopal conference) to discuss with the pope issues specific to their regions. It is separate from other trips a bishop might make to the Vatican, such as to attend a synod. The ''ad limina'' visit happens every five years, or quinquennially.
''Limina'' is the accusative plural of the
Latin noun ''limen'', meaning literally "a threshold; the head-piece or foot-piece of a doorway," and in a
transferred sense, "a house", "dwelling", or "abode." The Latin preposition ''ad'' means "to", "toward", or "at."
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History
In 1585
Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order ...
issued the constitution ''
Romanus Pontifex'', which set forth the norm for visits ''ad limina''. On December 31, 1909,
Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...
stated in a ''Decree for the Consistorial Congregation'' that a bishop needs to deliver an account of the state of his diocese to the pope once every five years, starting in 1911.
The current requirements for the ''ad limina'' visit are the subject of canon 399–400 of the
1983 Code of Canon Law
The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the second and current comp ...
and canon 208 of the 1990 ''
Code of Canons for the Eastern Churches
The ''Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'' (CCEC; la, Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, abbreviated CCEO) is the title of the 1990 codification of the common portions of the Canon law (Catholic Church), canon law for the 23 Eastern Cath ...
''.
See also
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Glossary of the Catholic Church
*
Index of Catholic Church articles
References
Sources
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External links
{{CE poster, Visit ad Limina
ad limina visit at catholicity.com
Episcopacy in the Catholic Church
Holy See
Quinquennial events
Christian pilgrimages