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Cardinal Secretary of State

Head of the Secretariat of State of the Holy See


Head of the Secretariat of State of the Holy See

FieldValue
postSecretary of State of His Holiness
native_nameSecretarius Status Sanctitatis Suae
Segretario di Stato di Sua Santità
imageCardinal Pietro Parolin par Claude Truong-Ngoc juillet 2021.jpg
incumbentPietro Parolin
incumbentsince15 October 2013
departmentSecretariat of State
styleHis Eminence
member_ofRoman Curia
Council of Cardinals
reports_toThe Pope
appointerThe Pope
termlengthNo term length
formation20 November 1551
firstGirolamo Dandini
unofficial_namesCardinal Secretary of State

Segretario di Stato di Sua Santità Council of Cardinals The Secretary of State of His Holiness (; ), also known as the Cardinal Secretary of State or the Vatican Secretary of State, presides over the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, the oldest and most important dicastery of the Roman Curia. The Secretariat of State performs all the political and diplomatic functions of the Holy See and Vatican City. The secretary of state is sometimes described as the prime minister of the Holy See, but the head of government of Vatican City is the President of the Governorate of Vatican City State.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin has served as secretary of state since 2013, nominated by Francis and temporarily confirmed also by Leo XIV in May 2025.

Duties

The secretary of state is appointed by the pope, and serves as one of his principal advisors. As one of the senior offices in the Roman Catholic Church, the secretary is required to be a cardinal. If the office is vacant, a someone other than a cardinal may serve as provisional secretary of state, exercising the powers of the secretary of state until a suitable replacement is found or the pro-secretary is made a cardinal in a subsequent consistory.

The secretary's term ends when the pope who appointed him dies or leaves office. During the sede vacante period, the former secretary acts as a member of a commission with the camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church and the former president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, which exercises some of the functions of the head of state of the Vatican City State until a new pope is elected. Once the new pope is chosen, the former secretary's role in the commission likewise expires, though he can be re-appointed as secretary of state.

History

The office traces its origins to that of secretarius intimus, created by Pope Leo X in the early 16th century to handle correspondence with the diplomatic missions of the Holy See, which were just beginning to become permanent postings instead of missions sent on particular occasions. At this stage the secretary was a fairly minor functionary, the papal administration being led by the Cardinal Nephew, the pope's confidant usually taken from his family.

The imprudence of Pope Julius III in entrusting the office of cardinal nephew to his alleged lover Innocenzo Ciocchi Del Monte, a teenaged, virtually illiterate street urchin whom his brother had adopted a few years earlier, led to an upgrading of the secretary's job, as the incumbent had to take over the duties the cardinal nephew was unfit for. By the time of Pope Innocent X the secretary of state was always himself a cardinal, and Pope Innocent XII abolished the office of cardinal nephew in 1692. From then onward the secretary of state has been the most important of the officials of the Holy See.

The separate position of Cardinal Secretary for Internal State Affairs was created by Pope Gregory XVI in 1833 at the request of Tommaso Bernetti, then secretary of state, reducing the workload of the secretary of state.

In 1968, Pope Paul VI's apostolic constitution Regimini Ecclesiae Universae further enhanced the powers of the secretary of state, placing him over all the other departments of the Roman Curia. In 1973 Pope Paul further broadened the secretaryship by abolishing the ancient office of Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church and merging its functions into those of the secretary of state.

List

Secretaries of State between 1551 and 1644

  • Girolamo Dandini (1551–1555)
  • Carlo Borromeo (1560–1565)
  • Tolomeo Gallio (1565–1566)
  • Girolamo Rusticucci (1566–1572)
  • Tolomeo Gallio (again) (1572–1585)
  • Decio Azzolini (seniore) (1585–1587)
  • Alessandro Peretti di Montalto (Cardinal Nephew) (1587–1590)
  • Paolo Emilio Sfondrati (Cardinal Nephew) (1591)
  • Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti de Nuce (Cardinal Nephew) (1591)
  • Pierbenedetto Peretti (1592–1593)
  • Pietro Aldobrandini (Cardinal Nephew) and Cinzio Passeri Aldobrandini (Cardinal Nephew) (1593–1605)
  • Roberto Ubaldini (1605)
  • Erminio Valenti (1605)
  • Lanfranco Margotti (1605–1611)
  • Porfirio Feliciani (1611–1621)
  • Giovanni Battista Agucchi (1621–1623)
  • Lorenzo Magalotti (1623–1628)
  • Lorenzo Azzolini (1628–1632)
  • Pietro Benessa (1632–1634)
  • Francesco Adriano Ceva (1634–1643)
  • Giovanni Battista Spada (1643–1644)

Cardinal Secretaries of State since 1644

No.NameFromUntilFirst appointer123456789101112
(10)131415161718192021222324252627
(24)28293031
(29)3233343536373839
(36)4041424344454647484950515253545556
[[File:Giovanni Giacomo Panziroli.jpg70px]]Giovanni Giacomo Panciroli
(1587–1651)15 September 16443 September 1651 †Innocent X
[[File:Fabio Chigi.PNG70px]]Fabio Chigi
(1599–1667)3 December 16527 January 1655
[[File:Morandi Giovanni Maria - Ritratto del cardinale Giulio Rospigliosi, 1667, Inventario n. 5059.jpg70px]]Giulio Rospigliosi
(1600–1669)7 April 165522 May 1667Alexander VII
[[File:Ritratto del cardinale Decio Azzolino - Voet.jpg70px]]Decio Azzolino
(1623–1689)25 June 16679 December 1669Clement IX
[[File:Federico Borromeo il Giovane.jpg70px]]Federico Borromeo
(1617–1673)11 May 167018 February 1673 †Clement X
[[File:Cardinal Francesco Nerli by Ferdinand Voet.jpg70px]]Francesco Nerli
(1636–1708)1 August 167322 July 1676
[[File:Carlo Maratta - Portrait of cardinal Alderano Cybo.jpg70px]]Alderano Cybo-Malaspina
(1613–1700)23 September 167612 August 1689Innocent XI
[[File:Portret van kardinaal Giambattista Rubini Ioannes Baptista S.R.E. die XIII febrvarii MDCXC (titel op object), RP-P-1909-5583.jpg70px]]Giambattista Rubini
(1642–1707)6 October 16891 February 1691Alexander VIII
[[File:Fabrizio Spada.jpg70px]]Fabrizio Spada
(1643–1717)14 July 169127 September 1700Innocent XII
[[File:Fabrizio Paolucci.jpg70px]]Fabrizio Paolucci
(1651–1726)3 December 170019 March 1721Clement XI
[[File:Giorgio Spinola.jpg70px]]Giorgio Spinola
(1667–1739)10 May 17217 March 1724Innocent XIII
[[File:Fabrizio Paolucci.jpg70px]]Fabrizio Paolucci
(1651–1726)6 June 172412 June 1726 †Benedict XIII
[[File:Niccolò Maria Lercari.jpg70px]]Niccolò Maria Lercari
(1675–1757)21 June 172621 February 1730
[[File:Antonio Banchieri.jpg70px]]Antonio Banchieri
(1667–1733)15 July 173016 September 1733 †Clement XII
[[File:Giuseppe Firrao il Vecchio.JPG70px]]Giuseppe Firrao the Elder
(1670–1744)4 October 17336 February 1740
[[File:Subleyras cardinal Silvio Valenti Gonzaga.jpg70px]]Silvio Valenti Gonzaga
(1690–1756)20 August 174028 August 1756 †Benedict XIV
[[File:Alberico Archinto-Anton Raphael Mengs-MBA Lyon H687-IMG 0448.jpg70px]]Alberico Archinto
(1698–1758)20 September 175630 September 1758 †
[[File:Ludovico Maria Torrigiani.JPG70px]]Ludovico Maria Torriggiani
(1697–1777)8 October 17582 February 1769Clement XIII
[[File:Lazzaro Opizio Pallavicini2.jpg70px]]Lazzaro Opizio Pallavicini
(1719–1785)19 May 176923 February 1785 †Clement XIV
[[File:Ignazio Boncompagni Ludovisi.jpg70px]]Ignazio Gaetano Boncompagni Ludovisi
(1743–1790)29 June 178530 September 1789Pius VI
[[File:Anton Raphael Mengs - Bildnis des Kardinals Zelada (Art Institute of Chicago).jpg70px]]Francesco Saverio de Zelada
(1717–1801)14 October 178910 February 1796
[[File:Ignazio Busca.jpg70px]]Ignazio Busca
(1731–1803)9 August 179618 March 1797
[[File:Giuseppe Maria Doria Pamphilj.jpg70px]]Giuseppe Maria Doria Pamphilj
(1751–1816)18 March 179729 August 1799
[[File:Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) - Ercole, Cardinal Consalvi (1757-1824) - RCIN 404940 - Royal Collection.jpg70px]]Ercole Consalvi
(1757–1824)11 August 180017 June 1806Pius VII
[[File:Kardinal Filippo Casoni.jpg70px]]Filippo Casoni
(1733–1811)17 June 18062 February 1808
[[File:Giulio Gabrielli.jpg70px]]Giulio Gabrielli the Younger
(1748–1822)26 March 180826 July 1814
[[File:Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) - Ercole, Cardinal Consalvi (1757-1824) - RCIN 404940 - Royal Collection.jpg70px]]Ercole Consalvi
(1757–1824)26 July 181420 August 1823
[[File:Giulio Maria della Somaglia.JPG70px]]Giulio Maria della Somaglia
(1744–1830)28 September 182317 January 1828Leo XII
[[File:Cardinale Bernetti.jpg70px]]Tommaso Bernetti
(1779–1852)17 January 182810 February 1829
[[File:Cardinale Giuseppe Albani.jpg70px]]Giuseppe Albani
(1750–1834)31 March 182930 November 1830Pius VIII
[[File:Cardinale Bernetti.jpg70px]]Tommaso Bernetti
(1779–1852)21 February 183112 January 1836Gregory XVI
[[File:Luigi Cradinal Lambruschini.jpg70px]]Luigi Lambruschini
(1776–1854)12 January 18361 June 1846
[[File:Pasquale Gizzi.jpg70px]]Tommaso Pasquale Gizzi
(1787–1849)8 August 18465 July 1847Pius IX
[[File:Podesti Ritratto del cardinal Ferretti.JPG70px]]Gabriele Ferretti
(1795–1860)17 July 18471 February 1848
[[File:Cardinale Giuseppe Bofondi.jpg70px]]Giuseppe Bofondi
(1795–1867)1 February 184810 March 1848
[[File:Italy in the nineteenth century and the making of Austria-Hungary and Germany (1898) (14782675065).jpg70px]]Giacomo Antonelli
(1806–1876)10 March 18484 May 1848
[[File:Antonio Francesco Orioli.jpg70px]]Antonio Francesco Orioli
(1778–1852)4 May 18482 June 1848
[[File:Giovanni Soglia Ceroni.jpg70px]]Giovanni Soglia Ceroni
(1779–1856)4 June 184829 November 1848
[[File:Italy in the nineteenth century and the making of Austria-Hungary and Germany (1898) (14782675065).jpg70px]]Giacomo Antonelli
(1806–1876)29 November 18486 November 1876 †
[[File:Kardinal Giovanni Simeoni, 1878.jpg70px]]Giovanni Simeoni
(1816–1892)18 December 18765 March 1878
[[File:Alessandro Franchi (cropped).jpg70px]]Alessandro Franchi
(1819–1878)5 March 187831 July 1878 †Leo XIII
[[File:Lorenzo Nina.jpg70px]]Lorenzo Nina
(1812–1885)9 August 187816 December 1880
[[File:Lodovico Jacobini.jpg70px]]Luigi Jacobini
(1832–1887)16 December 188028 February 1887 †
[[File:Laszlo - Cardinal Mariano Rampolla.jpg70px]]Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro
(1843–1913)2 July 188720 July 1903
[[File:Rafael Merry del Val3.jpg70px]]Rafael Merry del Val
(1865–1930)12 November 190320 August 1914Pius X
[[File:Domenico Ferrata2.jpg70px]]Domenico Ferrata
(1847–1914)4 September 191410 October 1914 †Benedict XV
[[File:Pietro Gasparri.jpg70px]]Pietro Gasparri
(1852–1934)13 October 19147 February 1930
[[File:Mgr. Pacelli, Papal Nuncio LCCN2014716384.jpg70px]]Eugenio Pacelli
(1876–1958)9 February 193010 February 1939Pius XI
[[File:Cardinal Maglione.JPG70px]]Luigi Maglione
(1877–1944)10 March 193922 August 1944 †Pius XII
Office vacant
[[File:Monsignor Domenico Tardini.jpg70px]]Domenico Tardini
(1888–1961)15 December 195830 July 1961 †John XXIII
[[File:CICOGNANI AMLETO GIOVANNI (+1973).jpg70px]]Amleto Giovanni Cicognani
(1883–1973)12 August 196130 April 1969
[[File:Jean-Marie Villot 1978.jpg70px]]Jean-Marie Villot
(1905–1979)2 May 19699 March 1979 †Paul VI
[[File:Agostino Casaroli - S M de Medellin (cropped).jpg70px]]Agostino Casaroli
(1914–1998)1 July 19791 December 1990John Paul II
[[File:Angelo Cardinal Sodano.jpg70px]]Angelo Sodano
(1927–2022)29 June 199115 September 2006
[[File:Tarcisio Bertone.jpg70px]]Tarcisio Bertone
(b. 1934)15 September 200615 October 2013Benedict XVI
[[File:Ināra Mūrniece tiekas ar Svētā Krēsla Valsts sekretāru (26363562894)-1(cropped).jpg70px]]Pietro Parolin
(b. 1955)15 October 2013IncumbentFrancis

References

References

  1. "Profile: The Secretariat of State". The [[Holy See]].
  2. (25 August 2017). "The Vatican's secretary of state visits Moscow for the first time in 19 years". [[The Economist]].
  3. "Archived copy".
  4. "Roman Curia | Roman Catholicism".
  5. Pope Gregory XVI, [https://www.vatican.va/content/gregorius-xvi/it/documents/chirografo-avendoci-ella-20-febbraio-1833.html Chirografo Avendoci Ella], in Italian, issued on 20 February 1833, accessed on 2 November 2024
  6. [https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dxsta.html Catholic Hierarchy]
  7. [[Pope Pius XII]], having been the Secretary of State under [[Pope Pius XI]], did not name a Secretary after the death of Cardinal Maglione in 1944. Beneath his direct supervision, the duties were divided between two [[protonotary apostolic. protonotaries apostolic]], Domenico Tardini and Giovanni Battista Montini, who in 1952 were both named Pro-Secretary of State, for Extraordinary and Ordinary affairs respectively. In 1954 Montini (the future [[Pope Paul VI]]) was appointed Archbishop of Milan, thus leaving the Roman Curia.
  8. (4 August 2015). "Paolo Sorrentino's 'Young Pope' Rounds Out Cast With James Cromwell And Slew Of Top International Talent".
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