Papal Court

The Papal Household or Pontifical Household (Latin: Domus Pontificalis), called until 1968 the Papal Court (Pontificalis Aula), consists of dignitaries who assist the Pope in carrying out particular ceremonies of either a religious or a civil character.

It is organised into two bodies: the Papal Chapel (Cappella Pontificia), which assists the pope in his functions as spiritual head of the church, especially in religious ceremonies; and the Papal Family or Household (Familia Pontificia), which assists him as head of a juridical body with civil functions.

The Papal Chapel consists of ecclesiastics who participate in religious ceremonies wearing their liturgical vestments or the dress proper to their rank and office.

Historically, chanted divine service was held daily in the papal palace, with the Pope in person celebrating or assisting at Pontifical Mass on certain days. After the return of the Popes from Avignon, these solemn public functions were held in the Sistine Chapel or, on days of special solemnity, in Saint Peter's Basilica. The liturgical celebration ceased to be daily in the course of the nineteenth century. The motu proprio Pontificalis Domus of 1968 abolished some of the titles borne by various groups that had membership of the Papal Chapel. The Annuario Pontificio of 1863 listed the membership of the Papal Chapel of that time on pages 343-366. At present its membership consists of the members of the Papal Family or Household in the narrow sense (Familia Pontificalis, not Domus Pontificalis) and in addition:

The members of this body are subivided into two groups: ecclesiastic and lay. (For the membership in 1863, see pages 367-392 of the Annuario Pontificio of that year.)

The ecclesiastics who have membership are:

The lay members are:

In the Papal States, from medieval times, the Papal nobility formed a part of the Papal Court.

On March 28, 1968, Pope Paul VI reorganized the Papal Court with an apostolic letter motu proprio, renaming it the "Papal Household" (Latin: Pontificalis Domus). In changing the name from what it had been for some centuries, Paul VI said he was returning an "original and noble" name. Moreover, many positions were consolidated into new ones or altogether abolished. According to the motu proprio: "Many of the offices entrusted to members of the Papal Household were deprived of their function, continuing to exist as purely honorary positions, without much correspondence to concrete needs of the times."

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