Decreta Authentica Sacrae Congregationis Indulgentiarum

DECRETA AUTHENTICA SACRAE CONGREGATIONIS INDULGENTIARUM. - Under this title is indicated the collection of decrees issued by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and Sacred Relics from 1668 to 1882. It is authentic, because it was compiled by that same Sacred Congregation and approved by Leo XIII (19 Aug. 1882); it bears the title: D. a. S. C. Indulgentiis sacrisque Reliquiis praepositae ab anno 1668 ad annum 1882 edita iussu et auctoritate Sanctissimi D. N. Leonis PP. XIII (Ratisbon 1883).

Besides this authentic collection, there are not a few private collections relating to the matter of indulgences; among them, for their importance, those of L. Prinzivalli (Rome 1862), of G. B. Falise (Louvain 1862-63) and of G. Schneider (Ratisbon 1885) should be noted.

Parallel to such collections is the Raccolta di orazioni e pie opere per le quali sono state concesse dai sommi pontefici le sacre indulgenze, whose first edition, edited by T. Galli (Rome 1807), was followed by many others of a private character, reaching the 14th ed. prepared by L. Prinzivalli (ibid. 1863). Nor were the authentic collections few, of which the first saw the light under the pontificate of Pius IX (ibid. 1877), the second, published with the types of the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide, under the pontificate of Leo XIII (ibid. 1886), which was followed by a third, embracing the indulgences granted from 1886 to 1898 (ibid. 1898). But of greater importance, chiefly because of the new criteria used in their compilation, are the last three, drawn up in Latin. Of these, the first gathers the indulgences granted from 1899 to 1927 (Vatican City 1928); the second, completely recast, compendia all the concessions in this matter up to 1937 (ibid. 1938), and the last, which rearranges the whole matter up to our own day, has as its title: Enchiridion indulgentiarum. Preces et pia opera indulgentiis ditata (ibid. 1950).

Serafino de Angelis