Ecclesiastical Letter - Collections of The Letters of The Popes and Of The Roman Officials

Collections of The Letters of The Popes and Of The Roman Officials

Coustant, "Epistolæ Romanorum Pontificum et quæ ad eos scriptæ sunt a S. Clemente I usque ad Innocentium III" (Paris, 1721), goes to only 440; Schönemann, "Pontificum Romanorum a Clemente I usque ad Leonem M. genuinæ ... epistolæ" (Göttingen, 1796); Thiel, "Epistolæ Romanorum Pontificum genuinæ ... a S. Hilaro usque ad Pelagium II" (Brunsberg, 1868).

From 1881 the Ecole Française of Rome has published, with particular reference to France, the "Registra" of Gregory IX, Innocent IV, Alexander IV, Urban IV, Clement IV, Gregory X, John XXI, Nicholas III, Martin IV, Honorius IV, Nicholas IV, Boniface VIII, and Benedict XI. The "Registra" of the Avignon popes are also in course of publication. Cf. "Mélanges d'archéologie et d'histoire", XXV, 443 sqq.; Joseph Hergenröther, "Leonis X Pontificis Maximi Regesta" (Freiburg, 1884-); "Regesta Clementis Papæ V cura et studio monachorum ordinis S. Benedicti" (Rome, 1885-); Pressuti, "Registrum Honorii III" (Rome, 1888-).

There are innumerable collections of papal letters issued from a partisan point of view. All known papal letters up to 1198 are enumerated by Jaffé in the "Regesta Rom. Pont." The papal letters of 1198-1304 are found in August Potthast, Regesta Pontificum Romanorum ab anno 1198 ad annum 1304 (Berlin, 1874).

Paul Kehr prepared a critical edition of all papal letters up to Innocent III. See the "Nachrichten", of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences, 1896, 72 sqq.; "Pii IX acta" (Rome, 1854-); "Leonis XIII acta" (Rome, 1881); "Pii X acta" (Rome, 1907). For the Bullaria, see Tomasetti, "Bullarum, diplomatum et privilegiorum s. Romanorum Pontificum Taurinensis editio locupletissima" (Turin, 1857-); for collections of the Acts of the Councils, Mansi, "Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio" (Florence and Venice, 1759), goes to 1439. It is continued by "Collectio conciliorum recentioris ecclesiæ universæ", ed. Martin and Petit (Paris, 1905); "Decreta authentica S. Congregationis Indulgentiarum edita jussu et auctoritate Leonis XIII" (Ratisbon, 1883); "Jus Pontificium de Propaganda Fide Leonis XIII jussu recognitum" (Rome, 1888); "Decreta authentica Congregationis S. Rituum ... promulgata sub auspiciis Leonis XIII" (Rome, 1898).

The above mentioned Sapienti Consilio of Pope Pius X decreed, that all papal laws were to be promulgated through publication in an official bulletin called the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, the first issues of which, at intervals of about twice a month, appeared in 1909. From 1865 to 1908, papal documents had been published in a similar series under the title Acta Sanctae Sedis, which was declared official in 1904. Before 1865, papal documents were not systematically published in documentary fashion and were promulgated by being means such as being affixed to the doors of basilicas in Rome.