The Pontifical Academy for Latin () is an organization established in 2012 to promote appreciation for the Latin language and culture. The Academy replaced the Latinitas Foundation, which

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul 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 State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

erected in 1976, and is linked to the Dicastery for Culture and Education on which it depends. Its headquarters is located in

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

Creation

The Pontifical Academy for Latin was established on 10 November 2012, by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

through the

motu proprio In law, (Latin for 'on his own impulse') describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a document issued by the pope on h ...

''Latina Lingua''. Its mission is to preserve and promote various forms of modern and ancient Latin, with a focus on, but by no means limited to,

ecclesiastical Latin Ecclesiastical Latin, also called Church Latin or Liturgical Latin, is a form of Latin developed to discuss Christian theology, Christian thought in Late antiquity and used in Christianity, Christian liturgy, theology, and church administration ...

(Church Latin) as used in liturgies and Masses from the 2002

Roman Missal The Roman Missal () is the book which contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Roman Rite, the most common liturgy and Mass of the Catholic Church. There have been several editions. History Before the Council of Trent (1570) ...

(including the Mass of Popes Paul VI and John Paul II, typically said in the

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

or local language) and the

1962 Roman Missal The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite or ''usus antiquior'' (), Vetus Ordo or the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) or the Traditional Rite, is the liturgy in the Roman Missal of the Catholic Church codified in 1 ...

, the last pre-

Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilic ...

edition, which includes the Mass of Pope John XXIII. Benedict noted that knowledge of Latin was becoming ever more superficial even among those studying for the priesthood, and he hoped to support a deeper appreciation of Latin and the culture attached to it both within the Church and in the broader intellectual context. He envisioned the Academy at the center of a network of academic institutions to enhance appreciation for the heritage provided by Latin civilization. He called for educational methodologies appropriate to the present time. With Pope Francis' reorganization of the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

of 5 June 2022 as provided for in the apostolic constitution , the new Dicastery for Culture and Education became responsible for coordinating the work of the academy with its own work and that of a number of other bodies. The publication of its semi-annual journal ''Latinitas'' ended with the 2013 volume.

Leadership

On 10 November 2012, Professor Ivano Dionigi and Father Giuseppe Caruso were named the Academy's first president and secretary, respectively. On 20 December 2017, Pope Francis confirmed Dionigi to another five-year term.

Organisation

The Pontifical Academy for Latin consists of a president, a secretary, the Academic Council and no more than fifty members who are also known as academicians. The president of the Academy is appointed by the pope to a renewable five-year term. The president represents the Academy legally before any judicial or administrative authority, chairs the Academic Council and the assembly of members, represents the Academy in meetings of the Coordinating Council of the Pontifical Academies, maintains the Academy's relationship with the Dicastery for Culture and Education, supervises the Academy's work, and takes care of its ordinary administration. In matters of extraordinary administration, he does so with the advice of the Academic Council and the Dicastery for Culture and Education. The Academic Council consists of the president, the secretary, and five councilors elected by the Assembly of Academics for a five-year term that may be extended. The Council, chaired by the president, deliberates on the more important matters that concern the Academy. It approves the agenda for the Assembly of members to be held at least once a year. The Council is convoked by the president at least once a year and, in addition, whenever it is requested by at least three Councilors. The president, with the consent of the Council, may appoint an archivist and a treasurer. Members are scholars and connoisseurs of the Latin language and Latin literature appointed by the Secretary of State of the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

who retire with the dignity of members emeriti at the age of 80. Members take part in the Assembly of the Academy and members emeriti may take part in the Assembly but are not entitled to vote. The president, after consulting the Council, may appoint correspondents.

Members

* Felix Maria Arocena Solano *

Rémi Brague Rémi Brague (born 8 September 1947) is a French historian of philosophy specializing in Islamic, Jewish, and Christian thought of the Middle Ages. He is professor emeritus of Arabic and religious philosophy at the Sorbonne and Romano Guardini ...

* Giuseppe Caruso, OSA * Paolo D'Alessandro * Mario De Nonno * Ivano Dionigi * Mirella Ferrari * Robert Gooding * Philip Hardie * William Klingshirn * Peter Kruschwitz * Michel Willy Libambu * Carla Lo Cicero * Ambrogio M. Piazzoni * Ermanno Malaspina * Antonio Manfredi * Paolo Marpicati * Marcos Martinho Dos Santos * Paul Mattei * Luigi Miraglia * Marco Navoni * Stefen Oakley * Sergio Pagano * Anna Pasquazi * Bruna Pieri * Mauro Pisini * Emanuela Prinzivalli * Antonio Salvi, O.F.M. CAP. * Manlio Sodi, SDB * Roberto Spataro, SDB

References

External links

* * {{Authority control

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...