Camerlengo of the Catholic Church

In the Catholic Church, the camerlengo is an official of the papal court. He is the administrator of the assets and income of the Holy See; His responsibilities included the administration of the estate of San Pedro. As regulated in the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus (June 28, 1988), the camerlengo must be a cardinal, since that is how said text refers to him, being, like all members principals of the pontifical Curia, appointed by the pope.

The camerlegno performs the function of head of the Catholic Church during the period of vacancy.

Meaning and etymology

It is derived from the Late Latin camarlingus, and in turn, from the French Kamerling, which comes from the Latin camerarius, meaning "official of the camera" (in general, referring to the "treasure chamber"), however the DRAE provides another etymology: the word camerlengo comes from the Franconian Germanic language kamarling (waiter) and has the same ethymus than the German word Kammer (chamber); Strictly speaking, the two etymologies are not opposed: present-day Camerlengo Italian took the word from medieval Latin, late Latin took the word from medieval French and from the Frankish language (from the ancient Franks).

Coat of arms

His coat of arms is made up of a cardinal's hat, (that is, red and fifteen tassels of the same color on each side, arranged in five orders).

In the event of a Vacant See (that is, a papal interregnum), the camerlegno places two crossed keys on his hood, one of gold and the other of silver (known as the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, they appear on the personal arms of the pontiffs -along with the tiara or miter in the case of Popes Benedict XVI and Francisco- and also in the coat of arms of the Holy See) in saltire; the whole is surmounted by an ombrellino, an awning or parasol in alternating stripes of red and yellow.

History

Until the 11th century, the Archdeacon of the Roman Church was responsible for the administration of the Church's goods (that is, of the Diocese of Rome), but its numerous and ancient privileges and rights became a frequent obstacle to the independent action of the Pope; as a result of this, when the last Archdeacon Hildebrand of Cluny was elected pope under the name of Gregory VII in 1073, he abolished the Archdeaconate and it was when the cardinal in charge of the supervision of the Apostolic Chamber, - that is, the temporary government of the Holy See-, came to be known as camerarius or camerlengo.

Functions

The most important responsibility of the camerlegno is related to the formal determination of the death of the Pope. The traditional procedure for this moment begins when the camerlegno, located next to the death bed of the Roman Pontiff, calls him with his first and last name – three times, with a difference of three minutes between each call-; immediately afterwards, he gently hits the pope's head. After the pope is declared dead, the camerlengo removes the Fisherman's ring from his finger in the presence of the cardinals and then proceeds to destroy it with a hammer, along with the pontiff's official silver seal. These acts symbolize the end of the authority of the pope. Finally, the camerlegno proceeds to close the doors that give access to the pope's private apartments, in the presence of the cardinal prefects and the secretary of state; he subsequently communicates the news to the main dignitaries of the Roman curia, to the dean of the College of Cardinals and to the vicar general of Rome who, in turn, makes it known to public opinion. It is at this moment that the vacant seat begins, made up of the preparations for the pontiff's funeral and the call for a conclave by the dean of the College of Cardinals.

The camerlengo, during the vacant see, also acts as the acting head of state of Vatican City. However, during this time, he is not responsible for the spiritual governance of the Catholic Church. The Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis (February 22, 1996) entrusts this task to the College of Cardinals; Despite this, the government power granted to them is very limited, being only enough to allow the institutions of the Church to continue functioning and carry out some basic functions, without making final decisions or appointments, faculties or powers. whose functions are reserved only for the pope. The camerlengo, however, must remain in office during the vacant see, unlike the rest of the Roman curia. The other person who remains in his position is the major penitentiary.

Three camerlengos have been elected pope: Cosimo Gentile Migliorati (Innocent VII, 1404), Gioacchino Pecci (Leo XIII, 1878) and Eugenio Pacelli (Pius XII, 1939). Two others, Cencio, who was elected pope under the name Honorius III in 1216, and Rinaldo Conti di Segni, elected pope under the name Alexander IV in 1254, did not hold the position of camerlegno at the time they were elected (Cencio he was a camerlegno from 1188 to 1198, while Rinaldo was from 1227 to 1231).

List of Camerlengos and current Camerlengo

The current Camerlengo of the Catholic Church is Cardinal Kevin Farrell, since February 14, 2019, when Pope Francis announced the appointment. The previous Camerlengo was Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran who passed away on July 5, 2018.

Since May 1, 2020, Brazilian Archbishop Ilson de Jesus Montanari, Secretary of the Congregation for Bishops and of the College of Cardinals, has been vice-camerlegno of the Holy Roman Church, succeeding Italian Archbishop Giampiero Gloder, appointed apostolic nuncio in Cuba.