SEGRETERIA DI STATO - Enciclopedia Cattolica, Vol. XI, p. 168

Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.

SECRETARIAT OF STATE. – It is one of the offices of the Roman Curia through which the Holy See conducts all matters of ecclesiastical policy.

I. Historical Notes

The most distant origin of this office can be traced to the Camera secreta instituted by Martin V (1417–31) with the task of handling the diplomatic correspondence of the Apostolic See. In its early days, the most illustrious humanists were employed in this office, from Bracciolini to Vegio, from Traversari to Filelfo and Valla, who were widely utilized there, as Pastor aptly remarks (I, p. 237), “to do everything, to compose both bulls and briefs, as well as purely political documents, to welcome ambassadors and princes, to deliver funeral and festive orations.”

Initially of indeterminate number, these papal secretaries were later fixed at six (secretarii numerarii) by Callistus III with the constitution Decet Romanum Pontificem of 7 May 1456 (ed. in W. V. Hofmann, Forschungen zur Geschichte der kurialen Behörden, II, Rome 1914, pp. 20–21), and then increased to twenty-four by Innocent VIII with the constitution Non debet reprehensibile of 31 December 1487 (Bull. Rom., V, Turin 1860, pp. 330–39), “to facilitate, expedite, and ensure more diligent and careful dispatch of briefs and apostolic letters,” thus forming the College of Apostolic Secretaries. At the same time, however, the Pontiff reserved for himself and his successors the choice of a secretarius domesticus, permanently residing in the Palace, to whom was entrusted the handling of all secret matters committed to him by the Pope. Thus, this secretary soon became a trusted figure of the pontiffs and the sole intermediary of the political directives of the Holy See; yet this important position soon began to decline when the confidence of the popes, once the office of the “cardinal-nephew” had become established as a consequence of nepotism that had insinuated itself into the papal court since the time of Sixtus IV (1471–84), inevitably shifted to their relatives. With the concentration of the most important affairs, both ecclesiastical and state, now in the hands of the cardinal-nephew, the domestic secretary faded into the background of the cardinal-nephew or patron, becoming a mere assistant until his office was suppressed by Sixtus V with the brief Romani Pontificis providentia of 19 April 1586 (Bull. Rom., VIII, Turin 1863, pp. 685–90).

Meanwhile, due to the growing volume of business resulting from the ever-expanding political and diplomatic relations of the Holy See with the European states, a new secretary, called “intimate” or “major,” emerged during the pontificate of Leo X (1513–21), to whom was entrusted the drafting of the papal correspondence in the vernacular, always under the supervision of the cardinal-nephew, as was the case with the domestic secretary, who was left with only the drafting of documents in Latin. It is precisely in this intimate secretary, also tasked with the formation of the cardinal-nephew, that one can discern the embryo of the future “Secretary of State,” a title that, however, first appears in the time of Paul V (1605–21), attributed to figures such as Porfirio Feliciani, Francesco Magalotti, Lorenzo Azzolini, and others, all appointed by the popes as instructors to their nephews.

The initial need to have a cardinal at the head of the Secretariat, following the custom begun with Innocent X (1644–55), and the later suppression of the College of Apostolic Secretaries by Innocent XI with the constitution Romanus Pontifex of 19 April 1678 (Bull. Romanum, XIX, Turin 1870, pp. 88–95), were nonetheless the first steps toward organizing the Secretariat of State in its modern form. Thus, when Innocent XII definitively abolished nepotism with the constitution Romanum decet Pontificem of 22 June 1692 (in Bull. Rom., XX, Turin 1870, pp. 440–46), thereby ending the monopoly on governance by the Pope’s relatives, the transformation was complete, and the Secretariat of State, in the modern sense of the term, became a reality. The cardinal entrusted with its leadership, now distinguished by the official title of Secretary of State, centralized the direction of all matters of both internal and external policy of the Holy See.

A new aspect of the Secretariat of State emerged under Gregory XVI, who established, by a chirograph of 20 February 1833, a second Secretary of State, designated “for internal affairs.”

Article illustration — (1st. Exc. Cast.)

II. Competence

The current organization of the Secretariat of State, which has its seat in the Apostolic Palace, is based on can. 263 of the Code of Canon Law, which confirmed the triple division of the office established by Bl. Pius X, as well as the duties assigned to each of the three sections. The first section primarily handles extraordinary affairs, with the responsibility of preparing matters within the competence of the Sacred Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, in accordance with can. 255 (v. ROMAN CONGREGATIONS, X. S.C. for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs). The second section attends to ordinary affairs, managing correspondence with the various nuncios and other matters, including the dispatch of appointments both within the Curia and at the papal court, as well as the conferral of ecclesiastical dignities and pontifical orders. The third section, which until the Piana reform was an independent body headed by its own cardinal (the last of whom was Luigi Macchi), is responsible for the drafting and dispatch of apostolic briefs (v. SECRETARIAT OF BRIEFS TO PRINCES).

As the highest exponent of the political activity of the Holy See and the prime minister of the Roman Pontiff, the office is presided over by the Cardinal Secretary of State, who is also Prefect of the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs due to the intimate connection of the duties of the two dicasteries. He is a Palatine Cardinal. The three sections mentioned above are respectively directed by the Secretary for Extraordinary Affairs, assisted by one or more Undersecretaries; the Substitute for Ordinary Affairs, who is also Secretary of the Cipher; and the Chancellor of Apostolic Briefs, supported in the performance of their duties by a certain number of minor officials (minutanti, archivists, attendants, writers, etc.).

An unspecified number of diplomatic officials, forming a separate role detached from the rest of the staff and not assigned to diplomatic missions, work in the various sections of the Secretariat of State. These officials, who may at any time be assigned to representative posts, serve within the Secretariat of State while retaining their rank as nuncios, counsellors, auditors (1st and 2nd class), secretaries (1st and 2nd class), and attachés. The head of protocol acts as a kind of personnel director within the Secretariat of State.

Diplomats are now ordinarily prepared for their missions at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy (formerly the Pontifical Academy of Ecclesiastical Nobles, founded by Clement XI in 1701 with its own statutes, reformed by Pius VI in 1775, by Leo XII in 1829, and by Leo XIII in 1879), of which the Cardinal Secretary of State pro tempore is the protector (cf. Pius XI, Chirograph to Card. E. Pacelli, 8 Sept. 1937; AAS, 29 [1937], p. 382).

A collateral office to the Secretariat of State, but independent in itself, is the Secretariat of Latin Letters (v.).

BIBL.: R. Ancel, La Segretariere pontif. sous Paul IV, in Rev. des quest. hist., 79 (1906), pp. 408-70; P. Richard, Origines et développement de la Segretariere d'Etat apostolique, in Rev. d'hist. ecc., 11 (1910), pp. 56-72, 505-29; 728-54; Wernz-Vidal, II, 507; A. Serafini, Le origini della pontif. S. di S. e la «Sapienti consilio» del b. Pio X, in Apollinaris, 25 (1952), pp. 165-239.

Nicolò Del Re