A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters.
The legate is appointed directly by the pope (the bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church). Hence a legate is usually sent to a government, a sovereign or to a large body of believers (such as a national church) or to take charge of a major religious effort, such as an ecumenical council, a crusade to the Holy Land, or even against a heresy such as the Cathars.
The term legation is applied both to a legate's mandate and to the territory concerned (such as a state, or an ecclesiastical province). The relevant adjective is legatine.
There are several ranks of papal legates, some of which no longer exist today:
Contents |
The most common form of Papal Legate today is the Apostolic Nuncio, whose task it is to strengthen relations between the Holy See and the Roman Catholic Church in a particular country and at the same time to act as the diplomatic representative of the Holy See to the government of that country.
For nations with which the Holy See has no diplomatic ties, an Apostolic Delegate is sent to serve as a liaison with the Roman Catholic Church in that nation, though not accredited to the government of the state (see Nuncio).
This highest rank (literally "from the (Pope's) side", i.e. "intimately" trusted)[1] is normally awarded to a priest of cardinal rank. It is an exceptional investiture and can either be focused or broad in scope. The legate a latere is the alter ego of the Pope, and as such, possesses full plenipotentiary powers.
Literally "born legate", i.e. not nominated individually but ex officio, namely a bishop holding this rank as a privilege of his see, e.g. archbishops of Canterbury (pre-Reformation),[1] Prague, Udine, Salzburg, Poznan and Cologne.
Literally "sent legate", possessing limited powers for the purpose of completing a specific mission. This commission is normally focused in scope and of short duration.[1]
Some administrative (temporal) provinces of the Papal States in central Italy were governed by a papal legate.
In four cases, including Bologna, this post was awarded to Cardinals; the Velletri post was created for Bartolomeo Cardinal Pacca.
In the Middle Ages, papal legates often summoned legatine councils, which dealt with church government and other ecclesiastical issues.[2]