The Sacred Congregation of the Consulta or ''Sacra Consulta'' was a

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

of the Roman Curia. It was set up as a 'special commission' by

pope Paul IV Pope Paul IV, born Gian Pietro Carafa, C.R. ( la, Paulus IV; it, Paolo IV; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death in August 1559. While serving as pap ...

in 1559 and officialised on 22 January 1588 by

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 ...

in the papal bull '' Immensa Aeterni Dei''. Sixtus named it the 'Congregation over the consultations of the ecclesiastical state' (''Congregatio decimoquarta pro consultationibus negociorum Status Ecclesiastici'') and established its composition of four cardinals, the Secretary of State as prefect and a suitable number of prelates (around eight), one of whom would act as secretary.

Jurisdiction

It interpreted laws and resolved administrative, jurisdictional and feudal questions such as vassals' appeals against their barons regarding their feudal obligations. It acted as a supreme court for disputes between cities and their governors, making it a forerunner of the modern

Italian Council of State The Consiglio di Stato ( en, Council of State) is a legal-administrative consultative body that ensures the legality of public administration in Italy. The council has jurisdiction on acts of all administrative authorities, except when these author ...

Pope Clement XII Pope Clement XII ( la, Clemens XII; it, Clemente XII; 7 April 16526 February 1740), born Lorenzo Corsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1730 to his death in February 1740. Clement presided over the ...

(1730–40) built the

palazzo della Consulta The Palazzo della Consulta (built 1732–1737) is a late Baroque palace in central Rome, Italy, that since 1955 houses the Constitutional Court of the Italian Republic. It sits across the Piazza del Quirinale from the official residence of the Pr ...

on the piazza del Quirinale as its headquarters, housing eight prelates, though the court actually held its sessions in the palazzo di Montecitorio or in rooms in the Palazzo apostolico. It was suppressed in 1809 but revived in 1814 after the French released

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...

. In 1833

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...

did not abolish the court when he abolished all the other competencies of the Secretariat of State. It finally ceased to operate on 20 September 1870 when the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

were abolished.

List of prefects

Generally a

cardinal nephew A cardinal-nephew ( la, cardinalis nepos; it, cardinale nipote; es, valido de su tío; pt, cardeal-sobrinho; french: prince de fortune)Signorotto and Visceglia, 2002, p. 114. Modern French scholarly literature uses the term "cardinal-neveu'". ...

held the office of prefect, though there were two exceptions to this rule: *

Domenico Pinelli Domenico Pinelli, seniore (1541–1611) was a Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient ...

, made prefect by Gregory XIV in 1590 * Bonifazio Bevilacqua, appointed by Clement VIII in 1599.Gaetano Moroni, ''op. cit.'', pag. 183.

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII ( it, Alessandro VII; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, an ...

(1655–67) ended the cardinal nephews' influence on the Consulta. The other prefects were: *

Nicola Grimaldi Nicola may refer to: People * Nicola (name), including a list of people with the given name or, less commonly, the surname **Nicola (artist) or Nicoleta Alexandru, singer who represented Romania at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest * Nicola people, ...

† (1707 - 1716, died in office) *

Niccolò Maria Lercari Niccolò is an Italian male given name, derived from the Greek Nikolaos meaning "Victor of people" or "People's champion". There are several male variations of the name: Nicolò, Niccolò, Nicolas, and Nicola. The female equivalent is Nicole. The fe ...

(1724-1730), as Secretary of State *

Antonio Banchieri Antonio Banchieri (19 May 1667 - 16 September 1733) was an Italian cardinal. Life Born in Pistoia, he belonged to the Banchieri noble family and was the son of Niccolò, gonfaloniere of Pistoia and knight of Santo Stefano, and his wife lady Cate ...

† (1730 - 1733, died in office) *

Silvio Valenti Gonzaga Silvio Valenti Gonzaga (1 March 1690 – 28 August 1756) was an Italian nobleman and Catholic cardinal. Gonzaga was born in Mantua. He served as papal nuncio to Flanders, 1731–1736, and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1738 by Pop ...

† (1740 - 1756, died in office) *

Alberico Archinto Alberico Archinto (8 November 1698 – 30 September 1758) — was an Italian cardinal and papal diplomat. Biography Archinto entered the Roman Curia in 1724. Twelve years later he was ordained to the priesthood, and on 1 November 1739 received ...

† (1756 - 1758, died in office) *

Ignazio Gaetano Boncompagni Ludovisi Ignazio () is a masculine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: Arts *Ignazio Collino (1736–1793), Italian sculptor *Ignazio Fresu (born 1957), Italian sculptor *Ignazio Gardella (1905–1999), Italian architect and designer ...

† (1775 - 1789, resigned) *

Giuseppe Maria Doria Pamphilj Giuseppe Maria Doria Pamphili (born 11 November 1751 in Genoa, the capital of the Republic of Genoa – died on 8 February 1816 in Rome) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Cardinal Secretary of State. Biography Giuseppe ...

† (1797 - 1799, resigned) *

Ercole Consalvi Ercole Consalvi (8 June 1757 – 24 January 1824) was a deacon and cardinal of the Catholic Church, who served twice as Cardinal Secretary of State for the Papal States and who played a crucial role in the post-Napoleonic reassertion of the le ...

† (1800 - 1806, resigned) *

Tommaso Bernetti Tommaso Bernetti (29 December 1779 – 21 March 1852) was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate and cardinal who served in the Secretariat of State and the Roman Curia during his time in the cardinalate. He came from Fermo and was named a cardinal ...

(1831-1836), as Secretary of State *

Mario Mattei Mario Mattei (6 September 1792, Pergola, Marche – 7 October 1870) was an Italian Cardinal, of the Roman noble House of Mattei. He became Dean of the College of Cardinals in 1860. Personal life Mario Mattei was born on 6 September 1792 in Pe ...

† (1841 - 1848, resigned)

References

Bibliography

Gaetano Moroni Gaetano Moroni (17 October 1802, Rome – 3 November 1883, Rome) was an Italian writer on the history and contemporary structure of the Catholic Church and an official of the papal court in Rome. He was the author of the well-known ''Dizionario ...

, ''Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica''
vol. XVI
Venezia 1842, p. 181-185. * Philippe Bountry
''Souverain et Pontife. Recherches prosopographiques sur la Curie Romaine à l'âge de la Restauration (1814-1846)''
Publications de l'École française de Rome, 2002, pp. 140–149. {{Roman Curia footer 1588 establishments in the Papal States 1870 disestablishments in the Papal States Congregations of the Roman Curia Former departments of the Roman Curia