The Dicastery for Evangelization is a department (

dicastery A dicastery (from gr, δικαστήριον, dikastērion, law-court, from δικαστής, 'judge, juror') is the name of some departments of the Roman Curia. ''Pastor bonus'' ''Pastor bonus'' (1988), includes this definition: ''Praed ...

) of the Roman Curia. It was created on 5 June 2022 through the merger of the

Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization (Latin: ''Pontificium Consilium de Nova Evangelizatione''), also translated as Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia whose cre ...

and the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

, by the apostolic constitution '' Praedicate evangelium''. The dicastery is described in '' Praedicate evangelium'' as "at the service of the work of

evangelization In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are ...

so that

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, the light of the peoples, may be known and witnessed to in word and deed and that His Mystical Body, which is the Church, may be built up. The Dicastery is responsible for the fundamental questions of evangelization in the world and for the establishment, accompaniment and support of the new particular Churches, without prejudice to the competence of the

Dicastery for the Eastern Churches The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called Dicastery for the Oriental Churches), previously named Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches ( la, Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus), is a dicaste ...

Importance

In ''Praedicate evangelium'', the Dicastery for Evangelization is the first department in the list of departments of the Roman Curia. This is interpreted as meaning the Dicastery for Evangelization is made most important of all departments. For around the past 500 years, the

Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible f ...

and its equivalents were always the most important department. During the press conference presenting the apostolic constitution, Bishop Marco Mellino stated that the order in which the dicasteries appear in ''Praedicate evangelium'' had no juridical effect, but that "perhaps" the order of the first three dicasteries did: evangelization (Dicastery for Evangelization) comes before doctrine (

), and doctrine is closely followed by the

Dicastery for the Service of Charity The Dicastery for the Service of Charity, also known as the Apostolic Alms Office,''Praedicate evangelium'', article 79. "The Dicastery for the Service of Charity, also known as the Office of the Papal Almoner" is an administrative unit of the Rom ...

Organization

According to '' Praedicate evangelium'', one section of this dicastery deals with "fundamental questions of evangelization in the world", the other with "first evangelization and the new particular Churches in the territories within its competence". The dicastery is presided over directly by the Roman Pontiff who is its

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

Hierarchy

The following are the list of the prefects and the pro-prefects for the Dicastery for Evangelization. This hierarchy of organization is peculiar to this Dicastery, compared to other dicasteries in the Roman Curia, in that ''Praedicate evangelium'' provides for the incumbent pope to serve as its prefect, assisted by two pro-prefects. There is currently no pro-prefect. The ''de facto'' pro-prefects are

Luis Antonio Tagle Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle ( ; ; born June 21, 1957) is a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church currently serving as the Pro-Prefect for the Section of Evangelization of Dicastery for Evangelization (formerly the Congregation for the Evangel ...

and Archbishop

Rino Fisichella Salvatore Fisichella (born 25 August 1951), commonly known as Rino Fisichella, is an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church with the rank of archbishop. He is the current Pro-prefect for the Section of New Evangelization of the Dicastery ...

, but they have not been officially given those titles.

Prefect

Pro-prefect for the Section of New Evangelization

Pro-prefect for the Section of First Evangelization

References

External links

* {{Roman Curia footer Dicasteries Catholic organizations established in the 21st century 2022 establishments in Vatican City