The Sacred Congregation of Ceremonies was a dicastery of the Roman Curia that was charged with the direction of all papal ceremonies as well as of the ceremonial of cardinals.

History and functions

The congregation was established 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 ...

. It also communicated instructions to the

legate Legate may refer to: * Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

s of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

for the maintenance of due decorum in transacting the affairs of their missions. This congregation also instructed the members of the

Noble Guard The Noble Guard ( it, Guardia Nobile) was one of the household guard units serving the Pope, and formed part of the military in Vatican City. It was formed by Pope Pius VII in 1801 as a regiment of heavy cavalry. Conceived as the Pope's person ...

and the ablegate who were sent to convey to new cardinals, living in Catholic states outside of

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 ...

, the news of their promotion, together with the cardinal's hat and the red

biretta The biretta ( la, biretum, birretum) is a square cap with three or four peaks or horns, sometimes surmounted by a tuft. Traditionally the three-peaked biretta is worn by Catholic clergy and some Anglican and Lutheran clergy. A four-peaked bir ...

. It instructed newly promoted cardinals, too, on the

etiquette Etiquette () is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the conventions and norms observed and practised by a ...

to be followed conformably with their new dignity. Finally, it solved the questions of

precedence Precedence may refer to: * Message precedence of military communications traffic * Order of precedence, the ceremonial hierarchy within a nation or state * Order of operations, in mathematics and computer programming * Precedence Entertainment, ...

which arose among cardinals or among ambassadors to the Holy See. It was dissolved in 1967 in the Curial reforms 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 ...

Prefects since 1884

* Carlo Sacconi (28 Mar 1884 – 25 Feb 1889) * Raffaele Monaco La Valletta (1 Mar 1889 – 14 Jul 1896) *

Serafino Vannutelli Serafino Vannutelli (26 November 1834 – 19 August 1915) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, a cardinal and official of the Roman Curia where he held several of the highest administrative posts. Made a cardinal in 1887, he was name ...

(14 Mar 1889 – 19 Aug 1915) *

Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano (9 July 1828, Bene Vagienna, Italy – 7 December 1913, Rome, Italy) was a cardinal of the Catholic Church in the late nineteenth century. He was Bishop of Ostia e Velletri and Dean of the Sacred College of Card ...

(1897 – 7 Dec 1913) * Vincenzo Vannutelli (15 Dec 1914 – 9 Jul 1930) *

Gennaro Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte Gennaro Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte (10 April 1851 – 16 February 1948) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and a prominent member of the Roman Curia. Biography Gennaro Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte was born in ...

(14 Jul 1930 – 16 Feb 1948) *

Francesco Marchetti-Selvaggiani Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani (1 October 1871 – 13 January 1951) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, Vicar General of Rome, Secretary of the Holy Of ...

(5 Feb 1948 – 13 Jan 1951) * Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant (10 Mar 1951 – 1967)

Bibliography

* Günther Wassilowsky, Hubert Wolf: ''Päpstliches Zeremoniell in der Frühen Neuzeit – Das Diarium des Zeremonienmeisters Paolo Alaleone de Branca während des Pontifikats Gregors XV. (1621–1623)''. Rhema-Verlag, Münster 2007, (with the complete original Latin text of the diarium)

References

1588 establishments in the Papal States 1967 disestablishments in Vatican City Catholic organizations established in the 16th century Religious organizations established in the 1580s Former departments of the Roman Curia Congregations of the Roman Curia {{VaticanCity-stub