Word of the Day: Papal Secretary of State

PAPAL SECRETARY OF STATE. The closest associate of the Pope. His office came into canonical existence under Pope Innocent XII in 1692 and was totally revised by Pope Paul VI in 1967. The papal secretariat's role is to develop all the functions entrusted to it by the Sovereign Pontiff, to watch over the various congregations and commissions of the Roman Curia, with special attention to the Commission for Social Communications, and in general to help the Pope in his care for the universal Church.

The Secretariat is divided into three sections, the Section for General Affairs, the Section for Relations with States, and, since 2017, the Section for Diplomatic Staff.

The origins of the Secretariat of State go back to the fifteenth century. The apostolic constitution Non Debet Reprehensibile of 31 December 1487 established the Secretaria Apostolica comprising twenty-four apostolic secretaries, one of whom bore the title Secretarius Domesticus and held a position of pre-eminence. One can also trace to this Secretaria Apostolica the Chancery of Briefs, the Secretariat of Briefs to Princes and the Secretariat of Latin Letters.

Pope Leo X established another position, the Secretarius Intimus, to assist the Cardinal who had control of the affairs of State and to attend to correspondence in languages other than Latin, chiefly with the Apostolic Nuncios (who at that time were evolving into permanent diplomatic representatives). From these beginnings, the Secretariat of State developed, especially at the time of the Council of Trent.