The Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences is a division of the Roman Curia established on 7 April 1954 by Pope Pius XII.

Background

Pope Pius XII created this committee on 7 April 1954 as the successor to the Commission of Cardinals for Historical Studies, which Pope Leo XIII had created on 18 August 1883 with the

apostolic letter Ecclesiastical letters are publications or announcements of the organs of Roman Catholic ecclesiastical authority, e.g. the synods, but more particularly of pope and bishops, addressed to the faithful in the form of letters. Letters of the pop ...

''Saepenumero considerantes''. That commission was created to contribute to the development and proper use of historical sciences, especially late in the nineteenth century when parts of the Vatican's historical records, known as the Vatican Secret Archive, was opened to scholars. The new committee was created to foster cooperation with the

International Committee of Historical Sciences The International Committee of Historical Sciences / Comité international des Sciences historiques (ICHS / CISH) is the international association of historical scholarship. It was established as a non-governmental organization in Geneva on May 1 ...

, which was scheduled to hold its convention in Rome in 1955. On 14 January 2019 Pope Francis created the new role of the assessor as third leadership position, after the president and the secretary.

Recent events

In 2011, the committee held a conference devoted to St.

Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church ...

. In 2012 it marked the 1700th anniversary of the Battle of Ponte Milvio with a conference called "Constantine the Great. To the roots of Europe". A 2014 conference considered the legacy of Pope Pius X. In 2017, the committee sponsored a three-day conference called "Luther: 500 Years Later" to examine the non-theological context of the origins of the Protestant Reformation.

Leadership

Presidents

* (1954 – 20 August 1962) * Michele Maccarrone (1963–1989) * Victor Saxer (1989–1998) *

Walter Brandmüller Walter Brandmüller (born 5 January 1929) is a German prelate of the Catholic Church, a cardinal since 2010. He was president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences from 1998 to 2009. Early life Brandmüller was born in 1929 in An ...

(13 June 1998 – 3 December 2009) * Bernard Ardura, O. Praem. (3 December 2009 – present)

Secretaries

* Michele Maccarrone (1954–1963) * José Ruysschaert (1963–1973) * (1973–1980) * Raffaele Farina, S.D.B. (1981–1989) * Vittorino Grossi, O.E.S.A. (1989–2002) * , S.D.B. (16 November 2002 – 16 May 2013) * (16 May 2013 – present)

Assessors

* Enrico dal Covolo (2019 – present)

References

External links

* (in Italian) {{Authority control Pontifical committees History organizations Organizations established in 1954 1954 establishments in Vatican City