Camerlengo of The Holy Roman Church - Description and History

Description and History

The Camerlengo 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. As regulated in the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus, the Camerlengo is always a Cardinal, though this was not the case prior to the 15th Century. His heraldic arms are ornamented with two keys (one gold, one silver) in saltire surmounted by an ombrellino, a canopy or umbrella of alternating red and yellow stripes, which are also the arms of the Holy See during a period Sede Vacante (i.e. a Papal interregnum).

Until the 11th century, the Archdeacon of the Roman 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 Hildebrand was elected to the papacy as Gregory VII 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.

Gregorio Leti (writing as Girolamo Lunadoro, in 1656) notes that the Camerlengo enjoys an income of 10,000 to 12,000 scudi a year out of the Apostolic Camera. He had jurisdiction over all suits involving the Apostolic Camera, and could judge separately or in association with the Clerics of the Apostolic Camera; he was not impeded by Consistory. He has appellate jurisdiction over suits decided by the Masters of the Roads. In a narration of the 18th century, the Camerlengo is the chief officer in the Apostolic Camera, the Financial Council of the Pope. In his office are the Governor of Rome (who is Vice-Chancellor), The Treasurer, the Auditor, the President, the Advocate General, the Fiscal Procurator, the Commissary, and twelve Clerks of the Chamber (one with the special title of Prefect of the Grain Supply, another Prefect of Provisions, another Prefect of Prisons, and another Prefect of Roads). Each Clerk of the Chamber receives around 8,000 scudi a year, representing 10% of the business that passes through his office.

The powers and functions of the Camerlengo were diminished considerably in the 19th century, first by the reorganisation of the Papal government after the election of Pope Pius VII (October 30, 1800); then by the reorganization of the Papal government after the return of Pope Pius IX from exile in 1850; and then by the loss of the Papal States in 1860 and the City of Rome in 1870. The chief beneficiary of these changes was the Cardinal Secretary of State. In the 20th century, the office of Secretary of State was combined with that of Camerlengo by Pietro Gasparri (from 1916–1930), Eugenio Pacelli (from 1935–1939), and Jean-Marie Villot (from 1970–1979). In the 21st century, they are being held concurrently by Tarcisio Bertone (since 2007).

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 baptismal name (e.g. "Albine, dormisne?", i.e. "Albino, are you sleeping?") After the Pope is declared dead, the Camerlengo takes possession of the Ring of the Fisherman and cuts it with shears in the presence of the Cardinals. This act symbolize the end of the late Pope's authority, and prevents forging of documents which would appear to have the Pope's signature. 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 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 other 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, and functions as the executive director of Vatican operations answerable to the College of Cardinals during an interregnum, primarily to carry out the College's decisions with regard to arranging the funeral of the late pope and the events leading up to the conclave. The only other person who keeps his office is the Major Penitentiary.

Two Camerlenghi have been elected Pope: Gioacchino Pecci (Pope Leo XIII) in 1878 and Eugenio Pacelli (Pope Pius XII) in 1939. Two others, Cencio Savelli, who was elected as Pope Honorius III in 1216, and Rinaldo Conti di Segni, elected as Pope Alexander IV in 1254, did not occupy that post at the time of their elections to the papacy (Cencio was Camerlengo from 1188 until 1198, while Rinaldo from 1227 until 1231).

The current Camerlengo is Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007.

On Monday, January 24, 2010, the Vatican Information Service stated that Pope Benedict XVI named Archbishop Santos Abril y Castelló, formerly an Apostolic Nuncio, as Vice Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church (in other words, as the deputy to the Camerlengo, Cardinal Bertone), for a period of three years. However, in 2011, the Archbishop was named Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, following the resignation from that role of Bernard Francis Cardinal Law, the former Cardinal Archbishop of Boston. In early 2012, Archbishop Santos Abril y Castelló became a Cardinal. On Monday, July 23, 2012, Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, who until then had been the Secretary, or second-highest official, of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and Titular Archbishop of Duklja, was named by Pope Benedict XVI to succeed Cardinal Santos Abril y Castelló as the new Vice-Camerlengo (Chamberlain) of the Holy Roman Church, to serve under Cardinal Bertone.