The Roman Curia is the whole of the institutions — the Secretariat of State, the dicasteries, the tribunals and the economic offices — through which the pope exercises his pastoral and administrative government over the entire Catholic Church. In the opening formula of the constitution that governs it today, it is "the institution which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily uses in the exercise of his supreme pastoral office and his universal mission in the world"[1]. Distinct both from the Holy See — the subject of international law constituted by the pope and his organs —, from the State of Vatican City — the sovereign territory born of the Lateran Agreements in 1929 — and from the Secretariat of State — which is only one of its components, though the closest to the pope —, the Roman Curia has formed, since the Middle Ages, the central governing apparatus of Catholicism.
Its history runs through five major reforms: the bull Immensa Aeterni Dei of Sixtus V in 1588, which instituted the first permanent congregations; the constitution Sapienti Consilio of Pius X in 1908; Regimini Ecclesiae Universae of Paul VI in 1967, which applied the orientations of the Second Vatican Council; Pastor Bonus of John Paul II in 1988; and the constitution Praedicate Evangelium of Pope Francis, promulgated on 19 March 2022 and in force since 5 June 2022, which today organizes it into sixteen dicasteries, three judicial bodies, several economic bodies and three services attached directly to the person of the pope[2].
This latest reform introduced an unprecedented canonical principle: by virtue of its vicarious character — the Curia exercises no power of its own, but the very power of the pope who constitutes it —, any baptized faithful, including a non-ordained lay person, may henceforth preside over a dicastery[3]. This principle took concrete form as early as 2025-2026, with the appointment of several women to head dicasteries hitherto reserved to cardinals, under the pontificates of Francis and then Leo XIV.
Far from being a mere technocratic administration, the Roman Curia is understood, in the Catholic tradition, as an instrument at the service of ecclesial communion and not as a power in itself. This is what Pope Francis recalled in his famous address on the "fifteen sicknesses" of 22 December 2014, in which he invited the Curia to recognize itself as "a small model of the Church"[4], called like every ecclesial body to permanent conversion.
What is the Roman Curia? Nature and theological foundation
A "vicarious" institution at the service of the pope
The Roman Curia is not an autonomous government superimposed on pontifical authority: it is its instrument. The constitution Praedicate Evangelium states this unambiguously in its article 5, devoted precisely to the "vicarious character" of the Curia:
"Every curial institution carries out its mission by virtue of the power received from the Roman Pontiff, in whose name it acts with vicarious power in the exercise of his primatial munus. For this reason, any faithful may preside over a dicastery or body, taking into account competence, the power of governance and the function of the latter." — Pope Francis, Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium, art. 5, 19 March 2022[5]
This principle radically changes the juridical logic that had prevailed for centuries: the authority of a dicastery prefect proceeds not from his personal hierarchical rank — cardinal, bishop, priest or layman —, but solely from the office the pope entrusts to him. It is this logic that has made possible, since 2022, the appointment of lay people and non-ordained religious women to head bodies that govern entire sectors of the life of the universal Church.
The first article of the same constitution places this vicarious function within the broader framework of the pope's pastoral mission:
"The Roman Curia is the institution which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily uses in the exercise of his supreme pastoral office and his universal mission in the world. It is at the service of the Pope, Successor of Peter, and of the bishops, successors of the apostles — according to the modalities proper to the nature of each — exercising its own function in an evangelical spirit, working for the good and at the service of the communion, unity and edification of the universal Church, and responding to the needs of the world in which the Church is called to carry out her mission." — Pope Francis, Praedicate Evangelium, art. 1[6]
The conciliar foundation: Christus Dominus and episcopal collegiality
The theological legitimacy of the Roman Curia, as understood by post-conciliar Catholicism, rests on the decree Christus Dominus of the Second Vatican Council on the pastoral office of bishops, promulgated on 28 October 1965[7]. The decree affirms that the pope "makes use" of the dicasteries of the Curia in the exercise of his supreme, full and immediate power over the universal Church — a power that always remains personally pontifical, never delegated to an autonomous bureaucracy:
"In the exercise of his supreme, full and immediate power over the universal Church, the Roman Pontiff makes use of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia; it is therefore in his name and by his authority that they fulfil their task for the good of the Churches and the service of the sacred pastors." — Second Vatican Council, decree Christus Dominus, § 9, 28 October 1965[8]
It is this same paragraph which, by calling for a "new organization" of the dicasteries "better suited to the needs of the times, of countries and of rites", opens the way to the three reforms that would follow from 1967 to 2022. The following paragraph, less well known but decisive, anticipates by more than half a century the vicarious principle of 2022: it explicitly asks that the dicasteries "hear more from lay people, renowned for their qualities, their learning and their experience"[9] — the same conciliar intuition that the 2022 reform would carry to its logical conclusion by entrusting to lay people and non-ordained religious women the very presidency of certain dicasteries.
"The Fathers of the Council consider it very useful that these same dicasteries hear more from lay people, renowned for their qualities, their learning and their experience, so that these lay people too may play in the affairs of the Church the role that belongs to them." — Second Vatican Council, Christus Dominus, § 10[10]
Distinguishing the Roman Curia, the Holy See, the State of Vatican City and the Secretariat of State
Everyday language often confuses these four realities, which nevertheless remain juridically distinct. The Holy See is the subject of international law constituted by the pope and the organs that assist him in the government of the universal Church — several centuries older than the territorial StateThe Holy See. The State of Vatican City is the 44-hectare sovereign territory created by the Lateran Agreements of 11 February 1929, governed by the Governorate under the authority of the popeThe creation of the State of Vatican City (11 February 1929). The Roman Curia, the subject of this article, is the apparatus of pastoral government of the universal Church — distinct from the Governorate, which administers only the Vatican territory. The Secretariat of State, finally, is only one component of the Curia, but the closest to the pope: it coordinates the action of the dicasteries and conducts pontifical diplomacyThe Secretariat of State.
Article 12 of Praedicate Evangelium lays down the official composition of the Roman Curia in these terms:
"§ 1. The Roman Curia is composed of the Secretariat of State, the dicasteries and the bodies, all juridically equal. § 2. The expression curial institutions designates the units of the Roman Curia referred to in § 1. § 3. The services of the Roman Curia are the Prefecture of the Papal Household, the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff and the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church." — Praedicate Evangelium, art. 12[11]
This paragraph introduces an important novelty compared with earlier reforms: the dicasteries and the other bodies are henceforth declared "all juridically equal"[12] — abolishing the implicit hierarchy that once placed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith above the other dicasteries.
At the origins of the Curia: from the medieval consistory to the permanent congregations
The consistory, collegial government of the pope and the cardinals
Before the appearance of specialized congregations, the pope governed the Church by surrounding himself with the consistory — the assembly of cardinals gathered around him — assisted by already ancient offices: the Apostolic Chancery, charged with drafting and dispatching pontifical acts, the Apostolic Chamber, responsible for finances, and the Dataria, competent for graces and dispensations. The very term "Roman Curia" appears for the first time in a document of Pope Urban II in 1089[13], proof that the idea of a structured central government around the pope is already old by the end of the 11th century — well before the great reforms of the modern era. This long period, from the Avignon papacy to the Council of Trent, saw the question of reform of the Curia remain a constant concern of ecclesiastical and civil society[14].
The first milestone of the modern Curia in the strict sense — a permanent and specialized institution, distinct from the occasional consistory — is the bull Licet ab initio of Paul III, dated 21 July 1542, which instituted a permanent commission of six cardinals charged with watching over questions of faith[15]. This is the "Roman and Universal Inquisition", the direct ancestor of today's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the FaithDicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Paul III and the birth of the Holy Office (1542)
The bull Licet ab initio entrusts to this commission of cardinals the fight against the nascent heresies of the Protestant Reformation. Its competences rapidly widened: in 1555, Paul IV extended its authority to moral questions; in 1571, Pius V founded a distinct congregation for the Index of forbidden books; in 1588, Sixtus V further extended the institution's field of action to everything directly or indirectly concerning faith and morals[16]. This dynamic of progressive extension of competences, typical of pontifical government in the modern era, would lead to the great structural reform of 1588.
The great reform of Sixtus V: the bull Immensa Aeterni Dei (1588)
It is with Sixtus V that the Roman Curia acquired its first truly systematic architecture. By the bull Immensa Aeterni Dei, promulgated on 22 January 1588, the pope instituted fifteen permanent congregations of cardinals, each endowed with defined and specialized competences[17]. About half of these congregations concerned the government of the Papal States (the Annona, the Navy, Roads and Waters, the Consulta of State), while the others organized the government of the universal Church: the Inquisition, Sacred Rites and Ceremonies, the Index of forbidden books, the erection of churches and consistorial appointments, Regulars, Bishops[18].
This reform had a major political and ecclesiological effect: by entrusting to specialized collegial bodies competences formerly exercised diffusely by the Sacred College as a whole, it broke the corporate power of the cardinals as a group and redistributed it according to precise functions — thus laying the foundations of modern curial government, in which each cardinal prefect answers directly to the pope for a circumscribed domain[19]. Some historians of pontifical government see in it the first authentic "apostolic constitution" of the Roman Curia, in the sense understood today[20].
- 21 July 1542Licet ab initio — Paul III
Institution of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, a permanent commission of six cardinals charged with the faith. Direct ancestor of today's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
- 22 January 1588Immensa Aeterni Dei — Sixtus V
Creation of fifteen permanent congregations of cardinals, the first systematic architecture of the modern Curia.
- 29 June 1908Sapienti Consilio — Pius X
Reorganization and simplification of the dicasteries, suppression of bodies that had become useless after the loss of the Papal States.
- 15 August 1967Regimini Ecclesiae Universae — Paul VI
Post-conciliar reform: five-year mandates, admission of non-cardinal bishops as members of the congregations.
- 28 June 1988Pastor Bonus — John Paul II
Codification of the Curia in conformity with the new 1983 Code of Canon Law.
- 19 March 2022 — 5 June 2022Praedicate Evangelium — Francis
Promulgation on 19 March 2022, entry into force on 5 June, Pentecost day. Sixteen dicasteries, vicarious principle, any baptized person may preside over a curial body.
Adapting the government of the Church to its time: the modern reforms
Pius X and the 1908 simplification: Sapienti Consilio
After the loss of the Papal States in 1870, several of the fifteen congregations created by Sixtus V — those managing territorial administration (Annona, Roads, Navy) — no longer had any purpose. Pius X therefore undertook, with the constitution Sapienti Consilio of 29 June 1908, the third great reform in the history of the Curia[21]: it suppressed the dicasteries that had become useless, concentrated the prerogatives of the surviving bodies and established a new architecture of the tribunals[22]. This reform is intimately linked to a second major undertaking of the same pontificate: the codification of canon law, officially launched in March 1904 and which would lead to the first Code of Canon Law of 1917[23]. It was also in 1908, within the framework of this same reform, that Pius X instituted the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura as a court of appeal and cassation for all ecclesiastical tribunals, doubled with a competence as an administrative tribunal[24].
Paul VI, Vatican II and Regimini Ecclesiae Universae (1967)
On 28 October 1965, at the end of the conciliar debates that produced Christus Dominus, the bishops gathered at Vatican II explicitly asked Pope Paul VI to reorganize the dicasteries "with regard to their number, their name, their competence"[25]. Paul VI answered this request with the constitution Regimini Ecclesiae Universae, promulgated on 15 August 1967[26]. This post-conciliar reform introduced three lasting innovations: the members of the congregations could henceforth be chosen from among non-cardinal bishops, and no longer only from among cardinals as since Sixtus V[27]; appointments to head dicasteries and as members were limited to five-year mandates[28] — a principle the 2022 reform would take up and generalize; finally, the Secretariat of State was restructured, with the suppression of the Chancery of Apostolic Briefs and the transformation of the former Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs into a Council for the Public Affairs of the Church, distinct but closely linked to the Secretariat of State[29].
John Paul II and the codification of Pastor Bonus (1988)
The new Code of Canon Law promulgated by John Paul II in 1983 made necessary an updating of the curial organization inherited from 1967. The constitution Pastor Bonus, promulgated on 28 June 1988, answered this need by redefining the Curia as "the whole of the dicasteries and bodies which assist the Supreme Pontiff in the exercise of his supreme office of pastor for the good and service of the universal Church and of the particular Churches"[30]. Pastor Bonus precisely distinguished the Secretariat of State, nine congregations (Doctrine of the Faith, Eastern Churches, Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Causes of Saints, Bishops, Evangelization of Peoples, Clergy, Institutes of Consecrated Life, Catholic Education), several pontifical councils, the tribunals, the administrative offices and the pontifical commissions[31]. This architecture would remain in force for more than thirty years, until its replacement by Praedicate Evangelium in 2022.
The Roman Curia today: the constitution Praedicate Evangelium (2022)
A reform matured over nine years
Elected in March 2013 on an implicit mandate to reform the Curia, Pope Francis entrusted from the beginning of his pontificate to a Council of Cardinals (the "C9") the task of drafting a new constitution. The text, matured over nine years of consultations, was promulgated on 19 March 2022, on the solemnity of St Joseph, and entered into force on 5 June 2022, Pentecost day[32]. Praedicate Evangelium — literally "Preach the Gospel", the opening words of the text taken from the Gospel according to St Mark[33] — fully replaces Pastor Bonus and abandons the old vocabulary of "congregations" and "pontifical councils" in favour of a single term: the dicastery, from the Greek dikastèrion, which in Antiquity designated a tribunal or court of justiceDicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The guiding principle of the reform, stated from the preamble, places evangelization at the heart of the central government of the Church — hence the now first place of the Dicastery for Evangelization, presided over by the pope himself. The text also affirms that reform is never an end in itself:
"Reform is not an end in itself, but a means to bear strong Christian witness." — Pope Francis, Praedicate Evangelium, preamble, § 12[34]
The vicarious principle: any baptized person may govern a dicastery
The most commented innovation of the 2022 reform remains the already quoted article 5: because the authority of a dicastery proceeds from the pope and not from the hierarchical rank of its holder, "any faithful may preside over a dicastery or body"[35]. A canonical commentary published in the journal L'Année canonique stresses that this principle breaks with a hitherto never formally challenged implicit presupposition: governmental authority within the Curia does not depend on the hierarchical degree proper to the person assuming the office, but on the fact that it is always, whatever the identity of the holder, the very authority of the Roman Pontiff assumed by the curial institution in question[36].
This principle draws its theological justification from baptism itself: Praedicate Evangelium recalls that "every Christian, by virtue of his baptism, is a missionary disciple"[37], taking up an intuition already present in the 2013 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. The first concrete application of this principle came as early as January 2025, when Pope Francis appointed Sister Simona Brambilla prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life[38] — a post previously always entrusted to a cardinal.
Mandates, collegiality and age limit
Praedicate Evangelium takes up and hardens the principle of limited mandates introduced by Paul VI in 1967:
"The prefect, or his equivalent, the members, the secretary, the under-secretary and the other officials assigned as heads of office, their equivalents and experts, as well as the consultors, are appointed by the Roman Pontiff for a five-year mandate." — Praedicate Evangelium, art. 17 § 1[39]
A second provision sets a strict age limit, consistent with the one already applying to diocesan bishops since Vatican II:
"Members who have reached the age of eighty lose their office." — Praedicate Evangelium, art. 17 § 3[40]
This double constraint — five-year mandate and age limit — explains the sustained pace of appointments observed since 2022: several prefects appointed under John Paul II or Benedict XVI reached the age limit or the expiry of their second mandate during 2025-2026, opening the way to a significant generational renewal of the Curia under Leo XIV.
The sixteen dicasteries, instruments of pastoral government
The backbone of the reformed Curia is constituted by sixteen dicasteries, all juridically equal to one another since 2022[41], each structured around a prefect, members, a secretary, under-secretaries and officials[42].
| Dicastery | Articles of the constitution | Principal competence |
|---|---|---|
| Evangelization | Art. 53-68 | Missions, new evangelization; presided over by the pope himself |
| Doctrine of the Faith | Art. 69-78 | Doctrine, morals, delicta graviora; direct heir of the Holy Office of 1542 |
| Service of Charity | Art. 79-81 | Charity in the name of the pope; heir of the Apostolic Almonry |
| Eastern Churches | Art. 82-87 | Relations with the Eastern Catholic Churches |
| Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments | Art. 88-97 | Liturgy, sacraments |
| Causes of Saints | Art. 98-102 | Beatification and canonization processes |
| Bishops | Art. 103-112 | Appointment and government of diocesan bishops |
| Clergy | Art. 113-120 | Formation and discipline of priests and deacons |
| Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life | Art. 121-127 | Religious orders, congregations, secular institutes |
| Laity, Family and Life | Art. 128-141 | Lay movements, family ministry, defence of life |
| Promotion of Christian Unity | Art. 142-146 | Ecumenism |
| Interreligious Dialogue | Art. 147-152 | Relations with other religions |
| Culture and Education | Art. 153-162 | Catholic universities, cultural heritage of the Church |
| Service of Integral Human Development | Art. 163-174 | Social justice, migrants, integral ecology, health |
| Legislative Texts | Art. 175-182 | Authentic interpretation of canon law |
| Communication | Art. 183-188 | Media of the Holy See (Vatican News, L'Osservatore Romano, etc.) |
Reading the table: each dicastery is cited with the range of articles devoted to it in the constitution Praedicate Evangelium*, promulgated on 19 March 2022[43].*
The Dicastery for Evangelization, presided over by the pope himself
As a sign of the priority affirmed by Praedicate Evangelium, the Dicastery for Evangelization now opens the list of the sixteen dicasteries — a place hitherto occupied by the Doctrine of the Faith. It brings together two formerly distinct institutions, the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (heir of the Propaganda Fide founded in 1622) and the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, and has the particularity of being presided over directly by the pope, each section being headed by a pro-prefect.
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the oldest living congregation
The direct heir of the Roman and Universal Inquisition instituted by Paul III in 1542, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is the oldest curial institution still in operation. Its complete institutional history — from the Inquisition to the Holy Office (1908), then to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1965) and finally to today's Dicastery (2022) — is the subject of a dedicated Ignispedia article.
📖 See the detailed article: Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith — complete history since 1542, successive prefects, current competences.
The Dicastery for the Service of Charity, heir of the Apostolic Almonry
New in 2022, this dicastery raises to the rank of dicastery the former Apostolic Almonry (Elemosineria Apostolica), the office charged for centuries with distributing pontifical alms to the poor of Rome and the world in the name of the pope. Its transformation into a full dicastery expresses the will of Praedicate Evangelium to place concrete charity towards the poorest on the same institutional level as the doctrinal or disciplinary government of the Church[44].
The judicial bodies: the three tribunals of the Holy See
Distinct from the dicasteries, three tribunals exercise in the name of the pope the judicial function of the universal Church, governed by articles 189 to 204 of Praedicate Evangelium[45].
The Apostolic Penitentiary, tribunal of mercy
The Apostolic Penitentiary is the oldest tribunal still active in the whole Holy See: its origins go back to the end of the 12th century, when a cardinal paenitentiarius received from the pope the delegation to grant absolutions and dispensations in matters of conscience, both in the internal and in the external forum[46]. Erected as a permanent curial office in the 13th century, its competences were widened several times in the 14th and 15th centuries, before being radically refocused by Pius V in 1569, who restricted its domain almost exclusively to the internal forum — that is, to questions of conscience and absolution falling under no other ecclesiastical jurisdiction, including the gravest cases reserved to the Apostolic See[47]. Unlike the other two tribunals, the Apostolic Penitentiary never publishes its decisions: the absolute secrecy protecting the internal forum is the very foundation of its functioning.
The Tribunal of the Roman Rota
The Roman Rota is the ordinary court of appeal of the Holy See, competent in particular for marriage nullity cases judged at second instance after a first diocesan judgment[48]. Born of the medieval Apostolic Chancery, it was erected as a true tribunal by Innocent III, who gave it the power to pronounce sentence; John XXII gave it its first proper regulation through the constitution Ratio Juris in 1331, and Benedict XIV redefined its competence through the constitution Iustitiae et Pacis in 1747[49]. Today composed of some twenty judges called "auditors", who rule in panels of three ("turns"), the Roman Rota remains the reference jurisdiction for canonical matrimonial law throughout the world[50].
The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura
The Apostolic Signatura is the supreme tribunal of the Church, instituted in its modern form by Pius X in 1908, within the framework of the same Sapienti Consilio reform that simplified all the congregations[51]. It exercises a dual function: as a court of cassation, it hears appeals for nullity against sentences of the Roman Rota; as an administrative tribunal, it judges recourses against the administrative acts of the dicasteries of the Curia[52]. It also watches over the proper administration of justice in the whole Catholic Church[53].
The economic bodies: administering the patrimony of the Holy See
The financial scandals that affected the Holy See at the turn of the 2010s — from the Vatileaks affair to the investigations into the real-estate management of the Secretariat of State — led Pope Francis to reorganize in depth the economic bodies of the Curia, whose current architecture Praedicate Evangelium enshrines.
The Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA)
APSA is the body charged with administering and managing the real-estate and movable property of the Holy See, as well as providing the treasury, accounting and purchasing services necessary for the daily functioning of the Roman Curia[54]. It carries out its financial operations through the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), the Vatican bank, distinct from the Curia proper but closely linked to it[55]. Its governance brings together a president, a secretary and a council composed of cardinals, bishops, priests and lay people charged with guiding strategy and evaluating the institution's performance[56].
The Secretariat and the Council for the Economy
Created simultaneously on 24 February 2014 by the motu proprio Fidelis Dispensator et Prudens, the Secretariat for the Economy and the Council for the Economy respectively exercise executive power and the power of control over all the economic and financial affairs of the Holy See and of the State of Vatican City[57]. This dual structure, born in the context of the financial reforms undertaken after the scandals of the early 2010s, illustrates the will to separate operational management (Secretariat) from its collegial oversight (Council, composed of cardinals, bishops and lay experts) — a principle of transparency and cross-checking that Praedicate Evangelium consolidated in 2022 by inscribing these two bodies in the constitutional text itself[58].
The Office of the Auditor General and the Committee for Investments
Praedicate Evangelium also inscribes in its architecture the Office of the Auditor General, charged with the independent audit of the accounts of all the administrations of the Holy See, as well as the Committee for Investments, responsible for defining the investment strategy of the funds of the Holy See in conformity with the social doctrine of the Church — notably excluding investments incompatible with Catholic moral teaching[59]. The transfer of the management of Holy See personnel, formerly entrusted to the Secretariat of State, to the Secretariat for the Economy constitutes one of the most significant structural changes of the 2022 reform[60].
The services attached directly to the person of the pope
Article 12 § 3 of Praedicate Evangelium finally distinguishes three services, distinct from the dicasteries and the tribunals, because they are attached to the very person of the pope rather than to the general government of the Church[61]:
- the Prefecture of the Papal Household, which organizes the pope's schedule, audiences and ceremonies;
- the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, responsible for the liturgies personally presided over by the pope;
- the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, whose best-known function — temporarily administering the Holy See during the vacancy of the Apostolic See, between the death or resignation of a pope and the election of his successor — goes back to the medieval tradition of the Church, well before the constitution of the modern congregations.
The Roman Curia in figures
| Data | Figure | Reference year |
|---|---|---|
| Total staff of the Holy See | 3,114 people | 2023 |
| Women employed by the Holy See | 812 people (26.1%) | 2023 |
| Growth in the share of women | from 19.3% to 26.1% | 2013-2023 |
| Number of dicasteries | 16 | since 2022 |
| Number of tribunals | 3 | since 1908/2022 |
| Judges of the Roman Rota | about 21 "auditors" | current |
| Mandate of curial officials | 5 renewable years | since 1967/2022 |
| Age limit for office | 80 years | since 2022 |
Reading the table: the Holy See as a whole — Roman Curia, nunciatures and attached institutions — employs more than three thousand people; the share of women rose by seven percentage points in ten years[62].
An institution called to convert: the address on the fifteen sicknesses
"A small model of the Church": the Curia as a body to be healed
Any presentation of the Roman Curia would remain incomplete if it made of it a mere administrative organigram. In the Catholic tradition, the Curia is first of all an ecclesial body, called like every ecclesial body to conversion. This is the meaning of the address delivered by Pope Francis on 22 December 2014, on the occasion of the Christmas greetings to the Curia, which has remained famous as the "address on the fifteen sicknesses":
"It is beautiful to think of the Roman Curia as a small model of the Church, that is, as a 'body' that seriously and daily seeks to be more alive, healthier, more harmonious and more united in itself and with Christ." — Pope Francis, address to the Roman Curia, 22 December 2014[63]
This address is not an exercise in institutional denigration: it belongs to the long Catholic tradition of the examination of conscience, applied this time to an institution and not to an individual. The pope affirms moreover, in the same allocution, that "a Curia that does not criticize itself, that does not keep up to date, that does not seek to improve is an ailing body"[64] — thus refusing both institutional self-satisfaction and cynical contempt for the curial function itself.
Three emblematic sicknesses
Among the fifteen spiritual sicknesses listed by Pope Francis, three particularly marked the reception of the address, both inside the Curia and in world Catholic opinion. The first is that of gossip and backbiting, whose insidious progression the pope stresses:
"It is a grave sickness, which begins simply, perhaps only with a little gossip, and takes hold of the person, transforming him into a 'sower of weeds'." — Pope Francis, address of 22 December 2014[65]
The second sickness denounced is that of the "funereal face", the opposite of the evangelical joy expected of every servant of the Church: "the apostle must strive to be a courteous, serene, enthusiastic and cheerful person who transmits joy wherever he is"[66]. The third, often cited as the most incisive, is that of "immortality", that is, the temptation to believe oneself indispensable or irreplaceable in a curial function — a temptation directly contradicted, a few years later, by the introduction of limited mandates and the eighty-year age limit in Praedicate Evangelium[67].
Leo XIV and the continuity of the reform (2025-2026)
Elected on 8 May 2025[68], Pope Leo XIV chose, from his audience with the Roman Curia on 24 May 2025, to explicitly reaffirm "the importance of the reform of the Curia promoted by Pope Francis"[69] — an assumed continuity rather than a rupture. This continuity was expressed, from the first year of the pontificate, in a series of appointments that concretely apply the vicarious principle of article 5: several women, religious or lay, acceded to governing functions hitherto reserved to cardinals.
| Appointee | Office | Date | Particularity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sister Simona Brambilla | Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life | 6 January 2025 (under Francis) | First woman prefect of a Roman dicastery[70] |
| Sister Raffaella Petrini | President of the Governorate of the State of Vatican City | 1 March 2025 (under Francis) | First woman at the head of the Governorate[71] |
| Msgr Petar Rajič | Prefect of the Papal Household | 30 March 2026 (under Leo XIV) | Former apostolic nuncio to Italy and San Marino[72] |
| María Montserrat Alvarado | Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication | 2 June 2026, effective 1 November 2026 | First lay woman (non-religious) prefect of a dicastery[73] |
| Sister Alessandra Smerilli | Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development | 30 June 2026 (under Leo XIV) | Third woman to head a Roman dicastery[74] |
Reading the table: between January 2025 and July 2026, five appointments concretely illustrate, under two successive pontificates, the vicarious principle introduced by Praedicate Evangelium*.*
Sister Alessandra Smerilli, a Salesian economist, succeeds Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the same dicastery since 2022, who reached the eighty-year age limit set by article 17 of the constitution[75] — a concrete illustration, two years after the address on the "fifteen sicknesses", of the principle that no one is irreplaceable in the government of the Church. María Montserrat Alvarado, former president of the American channel EWTN News, becomes for her part the first fully lay woman, with no consecrated state of life, to head a dicastery of the Holy See[76] — the most literal accomplishment, to date, of the principle stated in article 5 of Praedicate Evangelium: "any faithful may preside over a dicastery"[77].
To go further
- The Holy See — the subject of international law distinct from the territorial State and the Curia
- The Secretariat of State — the curial organ closest to the pope, coordination and diplomacy
- The College of Cardinals — the pope's closest collaborators, electors of the conclave
- The Vatican — hill, sovereign State and seat of the central government of the Church
- The Lateran Agreements (11 February 1929) — the juridical birth of the State of Vatican City
- The creation of the State of Vatican City (11 February 1929) — organs of territorial government
- Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith — complete history of the oldest dicastery, since 1542
Notes and References
Pope Francis, Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium on the Roman Curia and its service to the Church in the world, art. 1, 19 March 2022, official French text on vatican.va.
1 6Pope Francis, Praedicate Evangelium, preamble, § 12, 19 March 2022, vatican.va. Promulgation on 19 March 2022, entry into force on 5 June 2022; see also Wikipedia, Praedicate evangelium, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praedicate_evangelium.
2 34Pope Francis, Praedicate Evangelium, art. 5, 19 March 2022, vatican.va.
3 5 35 77Pope Francis, address on the occasion of the presentation of Christmas greetings to the Roman Curia, 22 December 2014, official French text on vatican.va.
4 63 64 65 66Second Vatican Council, decree Christus Dominus on the pastoral office of bishops in the Church, promulgated by Paul VI on 28 October 1965, official French text on vatican.va. Decree adopted by 2,319 votes to 2.
7Second Vatican Council, Christus Dominus, § 9, 28 October 1965, vatican.va.
8 25Second Vatican Council, Christus Dominus, § 10, 28 October 1965, vatican.va.
9 10Pope Francis, Praedicate Evangelium, art. 12 § 1-3, 19 March 2022, vatican.va.
11 12 41 61On the first documentary attestation of the expression "Roman Curia" in an act of Urban II in 1089, and on the medieval origins (consistory, Apostolic Chancery, Apostolic Chamber, Dataria), see Wikipedia, Roman Curia, fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curie_romaine, which refers in particular to Paul Poupard, Connaissance du Vatican, Beauchesne, 1974, and to Yves Bruley, Histoire de la papauté, Éditions du CLD, 2008.
13Yves Bruley, Histoire de la papauté, Éditions du CLD, 2008; see also François Jankowiak, La Curie romaine de Pie IX à Pie X : le gouvernement central de l'Église et la fin des États pontificaux (1846-1914), École française de Rome, coll. "Bibliothèque des Écoles françaises d'Athènes et de Rome", 2007, on the long history of curial reform debates between the Avignon era and the Council of Trent.
14Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, History, official page, doctrinafidei.va/fr/profilo/storia.html. Foundation by the bull Licet ab initio of Paul III, 21 July 1542; extension of moral competences by Paul IV in 1555; foundation of the Congregation of the Index by Pius V in 1571; extension by Sixtus V in 1588; renamed Holy Office by Pius X in 1908; suppression of the Congregation of the Index and reintegration of its competences by Benedict XV in 1917; renamed Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith by Paul VI in 1965; renamed Dicastery by Francis in 2022.
15 16Philippe Levillain (ed.), The Papacy: An Encyclopedia, New York/London, Routledge, 2002, article Immensa aeterni Dei; see also Wikipedia, Immensa aeterni Dei, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immensa_aeterni_Dei and Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Historical note, vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/csaints/documents/rc_con_csaints_pro_20051996_en.html. Bull Immensa Aeterni Dei promulgated on 22 January 1588, instituting fifteen permanent congregations of cardinals.
17 18 19 20On the Sapienti Consilio reform of Pius X (29 June 1908), its link with the codification of canon law launched in March 1904, and its qualification as the "third great reform" in the history of the Curia, see Ressources liturgiques — Association Sacrosanctum Concilium, La Constitution apostolique Sapienti consilio du 29 juin 1908, ressources-liturgiques.fr.
21 22 23Encyclopédie Universalis, Signature apostolique, tribunal suprême de la, universalis.fr/index/tribunal-supreme-de-la-signature-apostolique; Larousse, Tribunal suprême de la Signature apostolique, larousse.fr/encyclopedie/divers/tribunal_supr%C3%AAme_de_la_Signature_apostolique/144295. Institution as a court of appeal and cassation by Pius X in 1908.
24 51Wikipedia, Pope Paul VI's reform of the Roman Curia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Paul_VI's_reform_of_the_Roman_Curia. Constitution Regimini Ecclesiae Universae promulgated on 15 August 1967, in response to the request of the conciliar Fathers of 28 October 1965; five-year mandates; admission of non-cardinal bishops as members; restructuring of the Secretariat of State.
26 27 28 29Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus on the Roman Curia, art. 1, 28 June 1988, French text relayed on laportelatine.org/documents/magistere/constitution-apostolique-1988-curie-romaine-pastor-bonus.
30Pope John Paul II, Pastor Bonus, 28 June 1988, list of the nine congregations and curial bodies as enumerated in the text, relayed on laportelatine.org/documents/magistere/constitution-apostolique-1988-curie-romaine-pastor-bonus.
31Wikipedia, Praedicate evangelium, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praedicate_evangelium. Constitution developed over nine years by the Council of Cardinals (C9), promulgated on 19 March 2022, in force since 5 June 2022 (Pentecost).
32Gospel according to St Mark 16, 15: "Go into all the world and proclaim the good news (praedicate Evangelium) to the whole creation", the verse giving its title to the 2022 apostolic constitution.
33On the principle of the vicarious character of curial institutions and its application to lay people, see journal L'Année canonique, 2022/1, articles Réflexions sur la mission canonique confiée aux laïcs dans la constitution Prædicate Evangelium and Des fidèles du Christ laïcs à des postes de gouvernement et de responsabilité au sein de la Curie romaine, droit.cairn.info/revue-l-annee-canonique-2022-1-page-143 and droit.cairn.info/revue-l-annee-canonique-2022-1-page-179.
36 37Vatican News, Sœur Simona Brambilla devient la première femme préfète au Vatican, 6-7 January 2025, vaticannews.va/fr/pape/news/2025-01/s-ur-simona-brambilla-premiere-femme-prefete-au-vatican.html; see also CathoBel, Qui est Simona Brambilla, la première préfète d'un dicastère de la Curie romaine ?, January 2025. Appointment on 6 January 2025 as prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, with Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime as pro-prefect; former superior general of the Consolata Missionaries (2011-2023), secretary of the same dicastery since 7 October 2023.
38 70Pope Francis, Praedicate Evangelium, art. 17 § 1 and § 3, 19 March 2022, vatican.va.
39 40 67Pope Francis, Praedicate Evangelium, art. 13 (standard structure of the dicasteries: prefect, members, secretary, under-secretaries, officials), art. 26 (ordinary and plenary sessions), 19 March 2022, vatican.va.
42Pope Francis, Praedicate Evangelium, articles 53 to 188 (titles III to VII, section devoted to the sixteen dicasteries), 19 March 2022, vatican.va.
43 44Pope Francis, Praedicate Evangelium, art. 189 to 204 (Apostolic Penitentiary, art. 190-193; Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, art. 194-199; Tribunal of the Roman Rota, art. 200-204), 19 March 2022, vatican.va.
45On the origins of the Apostolic Penitentiary going back to the end of the 12th century, its erection as a permanent curial office in the 13th century and its restructuring by Pius V in 1569 refocusing its competence on the internal forum, see Omnes, La Pénitencerie apostolique, le « Tribunal de la miséricorde », omnesmag.com/en/news/penitentiary-apostolic; see also École française de Rome, Souverain et pontife — IV. Tribunaux et offices de Curie, books.openedition.org/efr/1873.
46 47Aleteia, La Rote romaine, qu'est-ce que c'est ?, 21 May 2024, fr.aleteia.org/2024/05/21/quest-ce-que-la-rote-romaine; see also Tribunal of the Roman Rota, Profile, vatican.va/content/romancuria/fr/organismi-di-giustizia/tribunale-della-rota-romana/profilo.html. Erection as a tribunal by Innocent III; first regulation by the constitution Ratio Juris of John XXII, 1331; competence redefined by the constitution Iustitiae et Pacis of Benedict XIV, 1747; about twenty-one auditor judges ruling in panels of three.
48 49 50Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, Profile, vatican.va/content/romancuria/fr/organismi-di-giustizia/supremo-tribunale-della-segnatura-apostolica/profilo.html. Function as a court of cassation against the sentences of the Roman Rota and as an administrative tribunal against the acts of the curial dicasteries; composition of cardinals, bishops and priests appointed for five years, presided over by a cardinal prefect.
52 53Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), Profile, vatican.va/content/romancuria/fr/organismi-economici/amministrazione-del-patrimonio-della-sede-apostolica/profilo.html. Management of the movable and real-estate patrimony of the Holy See; execution of financial operations through the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR); governance by a president, a secretary and a council of cardinals, bishops, priests and lay people.
54 55 56Wikipedia, Secrétariat pour l'économie, fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secr%C3%A9tariat_pour_l'%C3%A9conomie. Simultaneous creation of the Secretariat and the Council for the Economy by the motu proprio Fidelis Dispensator et Prudens of Pope Francis, on 24 February 2014.
57Pope Francis, Praedicate Evangelium, title devoted to the economic bodies, 19 March 2022, vatican.va; see also Secretariat for the Economy, Profile, vatican.va/content/romancuria/fr/organismi-economici/segreteria-per-leconomia/profilo.html and Council for the Economy, Profile, vatican.va/content/romancuria/fr/organismi-economici/consiglio-per-l_economia/profilo.html.
58 59 60Vatican News, Les femmes davantage présentes au Vatican, March 2023, vaticannews.va/fr/vatican/news/2023-03/journee-femmes-vatican-statistiques-plus-de-femmes.html. Staff of the Holy See of 3,114 people, including 812 women (26.1%), against 19.3% in 2013.
62Wikipedia, Pope Leo XIV, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_XIV. Election of Robert Francis Prevost as pope under the name of Leo XIV on 8 May 2025.
68On the reaffirmation by Pope Leo XIV, during his audience with the Roman Curia on 24 May 2025, of "the importance of the reform of the Curia promoted by Pope Francis", see Papa Leone XIV — Papa Prevost, La réforme de la Curie romaine selon le pape Léon XIV, 4 July 2025, papeleonxiv.fr/2025/07/04/la-reforme-de-la-curie-romaine-selon-le-pape-leon-xiv.
69ZENIT, Sœur Raffaella Petrini nommée présidente du Gouvernorat de la Cité du Vatican, 17 February 2025, fr.zenit.org/2025/02/17/soeur-raffaella-petrini-nommee-presidente-du-gouvernorat-de-la-cite-du-vatican; see also Vatican News, Vatican : Sœur Raffaella Petrini nommée présidente du Gouvernorat, 2025. Appointment on 15 February 2025, taking office on 1 March 2025; Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist, secretary general of the Governorate since November 2021, succeeding Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga.
71ZENIT, Deux nominations à des postes clefs au Vatican, 31 March 2026, fr.zenit.org/2026/03/31/deux-nominations-a-des-postes-clefs-au-vatican; see also Vatican News, Nominations de Léon XIV : substitut, préfet de la Maison pontificale et nonce en Italie, March 2026. Appointment of Msgr Petar Rajič, born in Toronto to Croatian parents, former apostolic nuncio to Italy and San Marino, as prefect of the Papal Household on 30 March 2026.
72Vatican News, Léon XIV nomme une femme, laïque, préfète du dicastère pour la Communication, 2 June 2026, vaticannews.va/fr/pape/news/2026-06/maria-montserrat-alvarado-nommee-prefete-dicastere-communication.html; see also Aleteia, Maria Montserrat Alvarado, la première femme laïque à la tête d'un dicastère au Vatican, 3 June 2026. Appointment effective 1 November 2026; born in Mexico, graduate of Florida International University and George Washington University, formerly of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty (2009-2023), president and chief operating officer of EWTN News since 2023.
73 76Vatican News, Sœur Smerilli, nouveau préfet du dicastère pour le Développement humain intégral, 30 June 2026, vaticannews.va/fr/vatican/news/2026-06/vatican-s-ur-smerilli-prefete-dicastere-developpement-integral.html; see also ZENIT, Une nouvelle préfète au Dicastère du développement humain intégral, 3 July 2026. Salesian sister and economist, succeeding Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect since 2022, having reached the eighty-year age limit; third woman to head a dicastery of the Roman Curia.
74 75