Camerlengo
The title
Camerlengo (
Italian for "
Chamberlain") refers to an official of the
Papal court, referring either to the Chamberlain of the
Roman Catholic Church, to the Chamberlain of the
Sacred College of Cardinals, or to various lesser dignitaries.
The Chamberlain of the Roman Catholic Church is the administrator of the property and revenues of the
Holy See; his responsibilities formerly included the fiscal administration of the
Patrimony of St. Peter. The Camerlengo is usually a
Cardinal, although, it is possible that any ordained Catholic priest may serve in the role of Camerlengo. His
heraldic arms are ornamented with two gold and silver keys in saltire surmounted by an
ombrellino, a canopy or umbrella of alternating red and yellow stripes, which are also the arms of a
Sede Vacante (i.e., a
Papal interregnum).
Until the
11th century, the
Archdeacon of the Roman Catholic Church was responsible for the administration of the property of the Church (i.e., the
Diocese of
Rome), but its numerous ancient privileges and rights had come to make it a frequent hindrance to independent action on the part of the
Pope; as a result, when the last Archdeacon,
Cardinal Hildebrand (St. Gregorius PP. VII), was elected to the Pontificate in
1073, he suppressed the Archdiaconate and the cardinal entrusted with the supervision of the
Apostolic Camera (
Camera Apostolica), i.e., the temporalities of the Holy See, became known as the
Camerarius, or Chamberlain.
Chief among the present responsibilities of the Camerlengo is the formal determination of the death of the reigning Pope; the traditional procedure for this was to strike gently the Pope's head three times with a silver hammer and to call his name. After the Pope is declared dead, the Camerlengo removes the
Ring of the Fisherman from his finger and cuts it with shears in the presence of the Cardinals, and also destroys the face of the Pope's seal with the silver hammer. These acts symbolize the end of the late Pope's authority. The Camerlengo then notifies the appropriate officers of the
Roman Curia and the
Dean of the College of Cardinals. He is then involved with the preparations concerning the
conclave and the Pope's funeral.
Until a successor Pope can be elected, the Camerlengo serves as
acting head of State of the
Vatican City. He is not, however, currently responsible for the government of the
Roman Catholic Church during a
sede vacante.
Universi Dominici Gregis placed that task in the hands of the
College of Cardinals — although this power of government is extremely limited, being merely enough to allow Church institutions to continue to operate and perform some basic functions without making any definitive decisions or appointments that are normally reserved to or are powers delegated by the pope. The Camerlengo, though, does keep his office during the
sede vacante, as opposed to the rest of the
Roman Curia.
Two Camerlengos have been elected
Pope:
Gioacchino Cardinal Pecci who was elected as
Pope Leo XIII in
1878 and
Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli who was elected as
Pope Pius XII in
1939.
The current Camerlengo is His Eminence
Eduardo Cardinal MartÃnez Somalo, J.C.D.,
Titular Archbishop of
Thagora, appointed by
Pope John Paul II on
April 5,
1993, and reappointed by
Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.
*
Ludovico Mezzarota Scarampi (1440-1465)
*
Latino Orsini (1471-1477)
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Guillaume d'Estouteville (1477-1483)
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Raffaele Sansoni Galeotti Riario (1483-1521)
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Innocenzo Cibo (1521)
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Francesco Armellini Pantalassi de' Medici (1521-1528)
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Agostino Spinola (1528-1537)
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Guido Ascanio Sforza (October 22, 1537 - October 6, 1564)
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Vitellozzo Vitelli (November 17, 1564 - November 19, 1568)
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Michele Bonelli (December 3, 1568 - May 10, 1570)
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Luigi Cornaro (May 10, 1570 - May 10, 1584)
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Filippo Vastavillani (1584-1587)
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Enrico Caetani (1587-1599)
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Pietro Aldobrandini (1599-1621)
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Ludovico Ludovisi (April 19, 1621 - June 7, 1623)
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Ippolito Aldobrandini (June 7, 1623 -July 19, 1638)
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Antonio Barberini (July 28, 1638 - August 4, 1671)
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Paluzzo Paluzzi Altieri degli Albertoni (August 4, 1671 - June 29, 1698)
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Giovanni Battista Spinola (November 24, 1698 - March 19, 1719)
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Annibale Albani (1719-1747)
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Silvio Valenti Gonzaga (1747-1756)
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Girolamo Colonna di Sciarra (1756-1763)
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Carlo Rezzonico (1763-1799)
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Romoaldo Braschi-Onesti (1800-1801)
*
Giuseppe Maria Doria Pamphili, pro-camerlengo (1801-1814)
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Bartolomeo Pacca (1814-1824)
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Pietro Francesco Galeffi (1824-1837)
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Giacomo Giustiniani (1837-1843)
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Tommaso Riario Sforza (1843-1857)
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Lodovico Altieri (1857-1867)
*
Filippo De Angelis (1867-1877)
*
Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci (1877-1878) elected
Pope *
Camillo di Pietro (1878-1884)
*
Domenico Consolini (1884)
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Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano (1885-1913)
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Francesco Salesio della Volpe (1914-1916)
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Pietro Gasparri (1916-1934)
*
Eugenio Pacelli (1935-1939) elected
Pope*
Lorenzo Lauri (1939-1941)
*
Benedetto Aloisi Masella (1958-1970)
*
Jean-Marie Villot (1970-1979)
*
Paolo Bertoli (1979-1985)
*
Sebastiano Baggio (1985-1993)
*
Eduardo MartÃnez Somalo (April 5, 1993 - present: in 2005 reappointed by
Pope Benedict XVI)
Also known as the
Cardinal Camerlengo since he is the Camerlengo of the Cardinals, the
Chamberlain of the Sacred College of Cardinals is the
secretary-treasurer of that body, and has responsibility for its financial matters. He administers all fees and revenues belonging to the College, celebrates the
requiem Mass for a deceased cardinal, and is charged with the registry of the
Acta Consistoralia.
Other chamberlains of the Papal court have duties about the Papal quarters, although this title is usually given as an honorary award. These camerlengos may be
clergymen or laymen.
