A titular church, or titulus, is one of a set number of Early Christian churches (collectively known as "the tituli") built round the edges of the city of Rome, which were ascribed to patrons, whose names often identified them: "they received the name tituli, from the name of the founder or proprietor who held the property in custody for the Church".[1] The meaning of "titulus" in Latin is "title".
The most ancient text which alludes to a titulus of this kind is the fourth-century defense of Athanasius against the Arians. By the end of the fifth century, the Liber Pontificalis recognized 25 tituli. Three more were added in the twelfth century, and many more churches have received the status in modern times.
Each church has an honorary chief authority who in recent centuries has always been a cardinal, known as the church's "titular". Such holders were initially by tradition native-born Romans (of high social standing), and originally apparently came from the family which had founded the church. The first church in Rome to have a non-Italian titular was Santi Quattro Coronati: Dietrich of Trier was appointed titular in 975 by Pope Benedict VII. That basilica was originally Titulus Aemilianae, drawing its name from its foundress, who doubtless owned the extensive suburban Roman villa whose foundations remain under the church and whose audience hall became the ecclesiastical basilica.
Today, each member of the College of Cardinals in the order of cardinal-priest is appointed to a titular church; in 2011 there are 175 cardinals, the great majority cardinal-priests, and several new titular churches have been created in recent decades. The Cardinalate developed from the senior clergy in and around the Diocese of Rome (the seven bishops of suburban towns, the fourteen deacons of the diocese, and the priests of what are now the parishes of the city of Rome). As the college was internationalized, each cardinal was given a titulus, making him an honorary member of the Roman clergy. Today, the cardinal-priests have a loose patronal relationship with their titular churches (their names and coats of arms are inscribed on plaques in the churches, and many raise funds for their church's maintenance and restoration), but they no longer participate in the actual management of the parish. Likewise, the cardinal-bishops are given honorary title to one of the suburbicarian dioceses, and the cardinal-deacons, today many more than fourteen, are given a similar relationship to churches as their deaconries.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.