CURIA

CURIA. — This term, originally used to denote one of the divisions of the Roman people, later came to signify the seat of the Roman Senate and then certain other Roman offices; similar meanings were applied in municipal contexts. In the Middle Ages, it had various meanings, but soon the sense of a tribunal or the entire body of offices related to the administration of justice prevailed.

In canon law, beyond the medieval meaning (now obsolete in official terminology and almost entirely in ordinary language) of a judicial body, the term *c.* has remained chiefly in the following uses:

I. ROMAN CURIA. — In modern canon law, this expression serves exclusively to designate the vast complex of ecclesiastical dicasteries that assist the Supreme Pontiff in the general governance of the Church. Until the early 20th century, it also included the Papal Court and the Papal Household, but the *Code of Canon Law* restricted its meaning as above, thereby establishing, in accordance with canon 242, that the Roman Curia “consists of sacred congregations, tribunals, and offices.”

The first recorded use of this expression, however, dates to around the mid-12th century in an even broader sense than those outlined above, as it was employed to denote the Church of Rome itself. This usage provoked numerous immediate protests, including an authoritative one from the Prior of Reichersberg, Gerhoh (1093–1169), who complained directly to Eugenius III: *“Neque enim vel hoc ipsum carere macula videtur, quod nunc dicitur C. Romana, quae antehac dicebatur Ecclesia Romana”* (PL 194, 9).

The formation of the ecclesiastical dicasteries that make up the Curia was a slow process over time, and although some may be traced back to the 4th century, the period in which the individual institutions developed is to be placed between the 12th and 16th centuries, precisely up to the reorganization under Sixtus V, through which the Curia was organized on the foundations that still constitute its basis today.

**Curci, Carlo Maria** — Portrait — Rome, Casa degli scrittori de *La Civiltà Cattolica*.

The early centuries of the Church were marked by the presence of a special council of priests and deacons who, gathered collegially, surrounded the Bishop of Rome and with whom he would discuss the common matters of his spiritual governance. This was the Presbyterium (Presbyterium Apostolicae Sedis), whose existence is attested by many documents from that early age. Of particular importance in this regard is a letter from St. Cornelius, Pope, addressed in 251 to St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, where we read: *“Omni igitur actu ad me perlato placuit contrah Presbyterium”* (PL 3, 742). The matters discussed in the Presbyterium, however, did not pertain to the sacred patrimony of faith and morals, whose resolution—already in those times—as the sole competent body for imposing canonical penalties and punishments was provided by the Roman Synod or Council, before which the most important questions, especially concerning ecclesiastical discipline, were debated.

From the 11th century onward, as the cardinals began to be the Pope’s most direct collaborators in the governance of the Church, the functions that had previously belonged to the Presbyterium and the Roman synods—though not entirely disappearing—were largely stripped of their authority and almost entirely transferred to a new and highly important body, the Consistory (Consistorium), composed entirely of cardinals. From then on, all matters of an exclusively or predominantly spiritual nature were handled in its sessions. The importance attributed to this high assembly of princes of the Church is evidenced by the frequency of its meetings, which, already established by Alexander III to occur once a month, were increased under the pontificate of Innocent III to as many as three times a week (PL 214, 80–81).

For contentious and criminal cases, as early as the time of Alexander III, alongside the Consistory there functioned the so-called *Auditorium Papae*, in which the first traces of the Rota (v.) are to be found. Yet the activity of the Church could not be exhausted by the—albeit intense—work of the organs thus far considered. Indeed, beginning as early as the 4th century, we encounter an office whose officials, the *notarii*, were tasked with drafting, dispatching, and preserving papal letters and acts. Originally established as a particular section of the papal archive (*scrinium*), this office gradually took on a more structured form, eventually becoming the Papal Chancery (v.), within which the Apostolic Datary (v.) gradually took shape between the 14th and 16th centuries. Another of the oldest dicasteries of the Roman Curia is the Apostolic Chamber (v.), charged with the administration of the Church’s temporal goods and which became, in the 15th century, the most important organ of the Curia.

Alongside the development and consolidation of these offices and the Consistory, the popes from time to time appointed special commissions of cardinals to handle particular matters. These, however, were always temporary institutions, ceasing automatically once their assigned tasks were completed. Nevertheless, the ever-expanding spiritual and political relations of the Holy See with Catholic nations, coupled with the inadequacy of a single body to manage the vast array of affairs arising from them, led the popes in the first half of the 16th century to recognize the urgent need to create, alongside the Consistory, permanent bodies to share in the governance of affairs. From these arose the Roman Congregations (v.), later established by Sixtus V in the midst of his general reorganization of the Curia through his famous constitution *Immensa aeterni Dei* of January 22, 1588, into fifteen congregations, including the five already in existence. Yet a reform, especially of a moral nature, of the Curia had already been contemplated by Paul IV with the establishment, in January 1556, of a special Congregation for the Reform of the Curia, composed of 62 members, later increased to 144, and divided into three classes, each presided over by a cardinal (Pastor, VI, pp. 429 ff.). With the new organization of Sixtus V, which crowned the noble efforts in this direction pursued in vain by Paul IV in 1556 and by Pius V in 1566, the Roman Curia began to take the form of that vast and delicate complex of governing institutions which, thanks also to the significant contributions of subsequent pontiffs, remains its structure to this day.

Nevertheless, the succession of all the institutions that flourished after the Sixtine reform up to nearly the entire 19th century, while on the one hand contributed to bringing order to the governance of the Church’s spiritual and temporal affairs, on the other hand led—due to overlapping jurisdictions—to no small confusion regarding the competencies of each. Although precise provisions were issued over time to eliminate this inconvenience, such as those promulgated by Innocent XII in 1592 and by Clement XIII in 1759, it was not until Pius X that a further reform of the Roman Curia was implemented, aimed, among other things, at clarifying the spheres of competence of each dicastery. This reform, enacted through the constitution *Sapienti consilio* of June 29, 1908, sought to clearly delineate the powers of the individual dicasteries, to separate administrative matters from strictly judicial ones, to restore the two tribunals of the Sacred Roman Rota and the Apostolic Signatura, which had fallen into disuse after 1870, to suppress certain congregations, and to establish new ones.

The Code of Canon Law, promulgated by BENEDICT XV in 1917, substantially accepted the reform of Pius X, systematizing it in cann. 242-64. The only significant innovations subsequently introduced were the establishment of the Congregation for the Eastern Church (v.) and the Congregation for Seminaries and Universities (v.), both by Benedict XV himself, and the suppression of the Congregation of the Index, whose functions were transferred to the Holy Office. Currently, the Roman Curia consists of eleven Congregations (though a twelfth is added in the form of the Congregation of the Revered Fabric of St. Peter, even though it is not mentioned in the Code), three tribunals, and six offices.

II. DIOCESAN CURIA

The diocesan curia may be considered as consisting of two sections: one for administrative matters, the other for judicial affairs.

The administrative section includes:

a) the vicar general (v. VACARIO), when one exists; in such a case, he is effectively its head, though strictly dependent on the bishop;
b) the chancellor, with the functions of archivist and notary; and possibly a vice-chancellor or vice-archivist, as well as other notaries who, exceptionally, may also be laypersons (cann. 372-384; V. ARCHIVIO);
c) the synodal examiners (v.) and the consultor parish priests (v. PARROCO).

The judicial section includes the synodal or prosynodal judges, headed by an official.