The Pontifical Council ''Cor Unum'' for Human and Christian Development was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

from 1971 to 2016.

History

The Pontifical Council was established by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

on 15 July 1971 and was based in the

Palazzo San Callisto The Palazzo San Callisto (also known as the Palace of Saint Callixtus) is a Baroque palace in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome and one of the extraterritorial Properties of the Holy See. The original Palazzo is located in the ''Piazza di Sant ...

, on Piazza San Callisto,

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Effective 1 January 2017, the work of the Council was assumed by the

Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (''Dicasterium ad integram humanam progressionem fovendam'' in Latin) is a dicastery of the Roman curia. The Vatican announced the creation of the dicastery on 31 August 2016 and it becam ...

, into which it was merged by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

Description

The name of the pontifical council means "one heart", which Paul VI explained in 1972: "So we were able to give your ecclesial action for aid the name of one heart, a heart that beats in rhythm with the heart of Christ, whose pity for the hungry multitudes reaches them even in their spiritual hunger".Pontifical Council Cor Unum
/ref> Its mission was "the care of the Catholic Church for the needy, thereby encouraging human fellowship and making manifest the charity of Christ", and it undertook this mission by carrying out humanitarian relief operations following disasters, fostering charity and encouraging cooperation and coordination of other Catholic organizations.

Officials

Presidents

* Cardinal

Jean Villot Jean-Marie Villot (11 October 1905 – 9 March 1979) was a French prelate and Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archdiocese of Lyon, Archbishop of Lyon from 1965 to 1967, Prefect of the Congregation for ...

(15 July 1971 – 4 September 1978) (France) * Cardinal

Bernadin Gantin Bernardin Gantin (8 May 1922 – 13 May 2008) was a Beninese prelate of the Catholic Church who held senior positions in the Roman Curia for twenty years and the highest position in the College of Cardinals for nine years. His prominence in the ...

(4 September 1978 – 8 April 1984) (Benin) * Cardinal

Roger Etchegaray Roger Marie Élie Etchegaray (; 25 September 1922 – 4 September 2019) was a French cardinal of the Catholic Church. Etchegaray served as the Archbishop of Marseille from 1970 to 1985 before entering the Roman Curia, where he served as Preside ...

(8 April 1984 – 2 December 1995) (France) * Cardinal

Paul Josef Cordes Paul Josef Cordes (born 5 September 1934) is a German cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as president of the Pontifical Council ''Cor Unum'' (1995–2010), and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2007. Biography Youth Cordes ...

(2 December 1995 – 7 October 2010) (Germany) * Cardinal

Robert Sarah Robert Sarah (; born 15 June 1945) is a Guinean prelate of the Catholic Church. A cardinal since 20 November 2010, he was prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 23 November 2014 to 20 February ...

(7 October 2010 – 24 November 2014) (Guinea)

Vice-Presidents

* Bishop Ramón Torrella Cascante (1971.07.22 – 1975.12.20) (Spain) * Cardinal

Bernardin Gantin Bernardin Gantin (8 May 1922 – 13 May 2008) was a Beninese prelate of the Catholic Church who held senior positions in the Roman Curia for twenty years and the highest position in the College of Cardinals for nine years. His prominence in the ...

(1976 – 1978.09.04) (Benin) * Archbishop

Alfredo Bruniera Alfredo Bruniera (30 September 1906 – 26 March 2000) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. Biography Alfredo Bruniera was born in San Pelagio, Italy, on 30 September 1906 an ...

(1978.11.06 – 1981) (Italy) * Archbishop Alois Wagner (1981.10.12 – 1999.07.08) (Austria)

Secretaries

* Father Henri de Riedmatten, O.P. (1971 – 1979) (Switzerland) * Father Roger du Noyer,

M.E.P. The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (french: Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris, short M.E.P.) is a Roman Catholic missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular priests and lay persons ...

(1979 – 1988) (France) * Iván Antonio Marín López (1992 – 1997.04.19) (Colombia) * Monsignor Karel Kasteel (1998.03.28 – 2009.06.02) (Netherlands) * Msgr.

Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso PhD Licentiate of Canon Law, JCL (born 6 October 1964 in Vicenza, Italy) is an Italy, Italian Roman Catholic prelate who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. Biography After studying classics, he attended t ...

(2010.06.22 – 2017.01.01) (Italy)

Under-Secretaries

* Father Lajos Kada (1972 – 1975.06.20) (Hungary) * Fr. Roger du Noyer,

(1975 – 1979) (France) * Fr. Henri Forest, S.J. (1979 – 1987) * Iván Antonio Marín López (1987 – 1992) (Colombia) * Monsignor Karel Kasteel (1992 – 1998.03.28) (Netherlands) * Msgr. Francisco Azcona San Martín (1998 – 2003) (Spain) * Msgr. Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso (2004.06.21 – 2010.06.22) (Italy) * Msgr. Segundo Tejado Muñoz (2011.01.05 – 2017.01.01)

References

External links and sources

Pontifical Council ''Cor Unum''
{{portal bar, Catholicism, Vatican City Catholic social teaching Cor Unum Organisations based in Rome Religious organisations based in Italy Christian organizations established in 1971 Organizations disestablished in 2016 1971 in Vatican City 1971 establishments in Italy 2016 disestablishments in Italy Former departments of the Roman Curia