Pontificalis Domus

The apostolic letter motu proprio Pontificalis Domus (English: The Papal Household) was issued by Pope Paul VI on 28 March 1968, in the fifth year of his pontificate. It reorganized the Papal Household, which had been known until then as the Papal Court.

Paul VI begins the letter with his rationale for reorganizing the Papal Household. He notes that "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" (Introduction). His goal in reorganizing its structure will be to stress the "essentially spiritual" mission of the Pope, as well to serve the civic and international aspects of the Pope's office.

He thus divides the Papal Household into two entities: the Chapel (Capella) and the Family (Familia): the Papal Chapel will assist the Pope with his role as spiritual leader of the Catholic religion, while the Family will serve the Pope insofar as he is a publicly recognized sovereign.

To conclude the introduction, Paul VI reinstates the "original and noble" name of the Papal Court: the Papal Household (primigeno et illustri vocabulo Pontificalis Domus tantummodo appellabitur).

The first section deals with the overarching structure of the Papal Household. It states that the Papal Household shall be composed of both clergy and laity (1, §1). All members of the Papal Household are subject to the direction of the Prefect of the Apostolic Palace (2), but they are all, both ecclesiastical and lay, appointed by the Supreme Pontiff (3, §1). The tenure of all members of the Papal Chapel is subject to the norms established in the 1967 apostolic constitution Regimini Universae ecclesiae, which reformed the Roman Curia; laity are appointed for a period of five years, but the Pope may extend their term of office (3, §2). All offices will be voided upon the vacancy of the Apostolic See, and no offices are hereditary (3, §3 and §4). Furthermore, all ceremonies of the Papal Household will be categorized as either sacred or civil (sacrae aut civiles); the sacred ceremonies are either solemn or ordinary. (Examples of solemn ceremonies include the coronation of a pope, canonizations, etc.) The civil ceremonies are distinguished as either audiences of official character or of a non-official character (4).

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