The Pontifical Commission
Ecclesia Dei is a commission of the Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
established by Pope John Paul II'sPope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła served as Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death almost 27 years later. His was the second-longest pontificate; only Pope Pius IX served longer...
motu proprioA motu proprio is a document issued by the Pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him.It may be addressed to the whole Church, to part of it, or to some individuals....
Ecclesia DeiEcclesia Dei is the motu proprio of 2 July 1988 that Pope John Paul II issued in reaction to the consecration, in spite of an express prohibition by the Holy See, of four bishops by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and Bishop Antônio de Castro Mayer in Ecône, Switzerland, at the seminary of the Society...
of 2 July 1988 for the care of those former followers of Archbishop
Marcel LefebvreMarcel-François Lefebvre was a French Roman Catholic archbishop. Following a career as an Apostolic Delegate for West Africa and Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers, he took the lead in opposing the changes within the Church associated with the Second Vatican Council.In 1970, Lefebvre...
who broke with him as a result of his
consecrationThe Écône consecrations were a set of episcopal consecrations that took place in Écône, Switzerland, on 30 June 1988. They were performed by Roman Catholic Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and Bishop Antonio de Castro Meyer, and the priests raised to the episcopacy were four members of Lefebvre's Society...
of four priests of his
Society of St. Pius XThe Society of St. Pius X is an international Traditionalist Catholic organisation, founded in 1970 by the French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre....
as bishops on 30 June 1988, an act the
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
deemed illicit and schismatic.
It has the additional tasks of trying to return to
full communionFull communion is a term used in Christian ecclesiology to describe the relationship of communion, with mutually recognized sharing of the same essential doctrines, between a Christian community and other communities or between that community and individuals....
with the
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
those
traditionalist CatholicTraditionalist Catholics are Roman Catholics who believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council...
s who are in a state of separation, of whom the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) is foremost, and of helping to satisfy just aspirations of people unconnected with these groups who want to keep alive the pre-1970
Roman RiteThe liturgical rite of the Catholic Church of Rome is called the Roman Rite. The quite distinct term Latin Rite usually refers not to a liturgical rite but to the particular Church within the Roman Catholic Church that was sometimes referred to also as the Patriarchate of the West...
liturgy.
The Pontifical Commission was given additional functions by the
motu proprioA motu proprio is a document issued by the Pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him.It may be addressed to the whole Church, to part of it, or to some individuals....
Summorum PontificumSummorum Pontificum is an Apostolic Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, issued "motu proprio" . The document specified the rules, for the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, for celebrating Mass according to the "Missal promulgated by John XXIII in 1962" , and for administering most of the sacraments in...
, issued by Pope Benedict XVI on 7 July 2007, to exercise the authority of the Holy See, supervising the observance and application of the dispositions of that motu proprio, as described below.
In his
letter of 10 March 2009 concerning his remission of the excommunication of the four bishops of the Society of St Pius X, Pope Benedict XVI announced his intention to join the Commission to the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the FaithThe Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, and sometimes simply called the Holy Office is the oldest of the nine congregations of the Roman Curia. Among the most active of these major Curial...
.
In 2000, Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, who became President of the Commission in that year, approached the bishops of the SSPX about regularizing relations, and told them that the Pope was prepared to grant them a
personal prelaturePersonal prelature is an institutional structure of the Roman Catholic Church which comprises a prelate, clergy and possibly laity who undertake specific pastoral activities. Personal prelatures, similar to dioceses and military ordinariates, are under the governance of the Vatican's Congregation...
without territorial limits — the same canonical structure as that enjoyed by
Opus DeiOpus Dei, formally known as The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, is an organization of the Roman Catholic Church that teaches the Catholic belief that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. The majority of its membership are lay people, with secular...
.
The Pontifical Commission
Ecclesia Dei is a commission of the Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
established by Pope John Paul II'sPope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła served as Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death almost 27 years later. His was the second-longest pontificate; only Pope Pius IX served longer...
motu proprioA motu proprio is a document issued by the Pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him.It may be addressed to the whole Church, to part of it, or to some individuals....
Ecclesia DeiEcclesia Dei is the motu proprio of 2 July 1988 that Pope John Paul II issued in reaction to the consecration, in spite of an express prohibition by the Holy See, of four bishops by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and Bishop Antônio de Castro Mayer in Ecône, Switzerland, at the seminary of the Society...
of 2 July 1988 for the care of those former followers of Archbishop
Marcel LefebvreMarcel-François Lefebvre was a French Roman Catholic archbishop. Following a career as an Apostolic Delegate for West Africa and Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers, he took the lead in opposing the changes within the Church associated with the Second Vatican Council.In 1970, Lefebvre...
who broke with him as a result of his
consecrationThe Écône consecrations were a set of episcopal consecrations that took place in Écône, Switzerland, on 30 June 1988. They were performed by Roman Catholic Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and Bishop Antonio de Castro Meyer, and the priests raised to the episcopacy were four members of Lefebvre's Society...
of four priests of his
Society of St. Pius XThe Society of St. Pius X is an international Traditionalist Catholic organisation, founded in 1970 by the French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre....
as bishops on 30 June 1988, an act the
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
deemed illicit and schismatic.
It has the additional tasks of trying to return to
full communionFull communion is a term used in Christian ecclesiology to describe the relationship of communion, with mutually recognized sharing of the same essential doctrines, between a Christian community and other communities or between that community and individuals....
with the
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
those
traditionalist CatholicTraditionalist Catholics are Roman Catholics who believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council...
s who are in a state of separation, of whom the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) is foremost, and of helping to satisfy just aspirations of people unconnected with these groups who want to keep alive the pre-1970
Roman RiteThe liturgical rite of the Catholic Church of Rome is called the Roman Rite. The quite distinct term Latin Rite usually refers not to a liturgical rite but to the particular Church within the Roman Catholic Church that was sometimes referred to also as the Patriarchate of the West...
liturgy.
The Pontifical Commission was given additional functions by the
motu proprioA motu proprio is a document issued by the Pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him.It may be addressed to the whole Church, to part of it, or to some individuals....
Summorum PontificumSummorum Pontificum is an Apostolic Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, issued "motu proprio" . The document specified the rules, for the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, for celebrating Mass according to the "Missal promulgated by John XXIII in 1962" , and for administering most of the sacraments in...
, issued by Pope Benedict XVI on 7 July 2007, to exercise the authority of the Holy See, supervising the observance and application of the dispositions of that motu proprio, as described below.
In his
letter of 10 March 2009 concerning his remission of the excommunication of the four bishops of the Society of St Pius X, Pope Benedict XVI announced his intention to join the Commission to the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the FaithThe Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, and sometimes simply called the Holy Office is the oldest of the nine congregations of the Roman Curia. Among the most active of these major Curial...
.
Activities in 2000-2002
In 2000, Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, who became President of the Commission in that year, approached the bishops of the SSPX about regularizing relations, and told them that the Pope was prepared to grant them a
personal prelaturePersonal prelature is an institutional structure of the Roman Catholic Church which comprises a prelate, clergy and possibly laity who undertake specific pastoral activities. Personal prelatures, similar to dioceses and military ordinariates, are under the governance of the Vatican's Congregation...
without territorial limits — the same canonical structure as that enjoyed by
Opus DeiOpus Dei, formally known as The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, is an organization of the Roman Catholic Church that teaches the Catholic belief that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. The majority of its membership are lay people, with secular...
. The SSPX leadership responded with distrust, saying that Castrillón was vague on how this structure would be implemented and supported, and considering what they regarded as objectionable conduct on the Vatican's part at the time of the 1988 consecrations and in relation to the
Priestly Fraternity of St. PeterThe Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is a group of traditionalist Catholic priests and seminarians in good standing with the Holy See.-Canonical status:...
. They required two preliminary "signs" before continuing negotiations: that the Holy See grant permission for all priests to celebrate the
Tridentine MassThe Tridentine Mass is a common name for the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. In this time period, it was the most widely celebrated form of the Catholic liturgy in the world.The term "Tridentine" is derived...
, and declare null its earlier declarations that the 1988 consecrations had resulted in excommunication.
Cardinal Castrillón refused to grant interviews on the matter, in order, as he said, "to maintain the privacy of the details of our dialogue". This silence was broken when his letter of 5 April 2002 to Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the SSPX, was later published. The letter contained the text of a protocol summarising the meeting between the two men held on 29 December 2000, a document that Bishop Fellay accepted at a further meeting the next day. The protocol envisaged a reconciliation on the basis of the protocol of 5 May 1988; the excommunications of 1988 would be lifted
, rather than declared null. In his letter, the Cardinal proposed continuing negotiations with Bishop Fellay by means of personal meetings.
In keeping with Cardinal Castrillón's desire to avoid counterproductive publicity, the reports of the Ecclesia Dei Commission appearing in the annual publication L'Attività della Santa Sede (Libreria Editrice Vaticana) for the years 2000 and those immediately following make no mention of these negotiations.
In another field, the Commission made successful contact in the same year 2000 with the
Priestly Union of St Jean-Marie VianneyThe Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney was established on 18 January 2002 by Pope John Paul II for traditionalist Catholic clergy and laity within the Diocese of Campos in Brazil. It is the only Personal Apostolic Administration in existence...
in Campos, Brazil, which was admitted to
fullFull communion is a term used in Christian ecclesiology to describe the relationship of communion, with mutually recognized sharing of the same essential doctrines, between a Christian community and other communities or between that community and individuals....
communion with the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
and was granted the status of a Personal Apostolic Administration within that diocese.
Activities in 2003-2005
The 2003 report of the Ecclesia Dei Commission is the first of its 21st-century reports to speak of serious dialogue between SSPX and the Holy See:
During the year, dialogue about the canonical situation of the St Pius X Fraternity continued at various levels. In this connection, the Cardinal President had some high-level meetings and kept up an exchange of correspondence. On the Holy See's side, there has been no change in the effective proposals for regularizing the question. After examining the problems faced by priests and faithful, considering the good will of several members of the Fraternity and the recurrent problems of the faithful attached to the former liturgical tradition who take part in the Fraternity's liturgy, the full membership of the Commission studied and presented to the Holy Father a draft for restructuring the Commission with a view to… a possible return of the St Pius X Fraternity or of some of its members
The 2004 report had less to say about SSPX: "Again this year, dialogue at various levels continued, though slowly, with the Saint Pius X Fraternity. The Cardinal President had meetings, some at a high level, in this regard. On the Holy See's side, the effective proposals for regularizing the situation remain unaltered."
The 2005 report states: "During the year, the Cardinal President intensified dialogue with the Fraternity of St Pius X, finding that it had somewhat improved, with more concrete prospects of reaching more perfect communion. The Cardinal President had some meetings in this regard with His Excellency Bishop B. Fellay and other members in leadership positions, and kept up an exchange of correspondence."
Without having the meeting listed as one of his official audiences of the day,
Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVI is the 265th and reigning Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the head of the Catholic Church and, as such, Sovereign of the Vatican City State...
, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who in 1988 had in vain negotiated on behalf of Pope John Paul II with Archbishop Lefebvre, received for 35 minutes on 29 August 2005 Bishop Bernard Fellay, who had requested the meeting. There was no breakthrough, but statements from both sides spoke of the atmosphere as positive.
Activities in 2006-2008
The Commission marked another success in establishing on 8 September 2006 the
Institute of the Good ShepherdThe Institute of the Good Shepherd is a Catholic society of apostolic life of traditionalist Catholic priests in full communion with the Holy See.-Background:...
with a membership of priests who had belonged to the Society of St Pius X.
Speaking on 16 May 2007 to the
Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, Cardinal Castrillón presented the Ecclesia Dei Commission over which he presides as founded for the care of those "
traditionalist CatholicTraditionalist Catholics are Roman Catholics who believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council...
s" who, while discontented with the liturgical reform of the
Second Vatican CouncilThe Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October, 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI on 8 December, 1965...
, had broken with Archbishop
Marcel LefebvreMarcel-François Lefebvre was a French Roman Catholic archbishop. Following a career as an Apostolic Delegate for West Africa and Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers, he took the lead in opposing the changes within the Church associated with the Second Vatican Council.In 1970, Lefebvre...
"because they disagreed with his schismatic action in ordaining Bishops without the required papal mandate". He added that at present the Commission's activity is not limited to the service of those Catholics, nor to "the efforts undertaken to end the regrettable schismatic situation and secure the return of those brethren belonging to the
Fraternity of Saint Pius XThe Society of St. Pius X is an international Traditionalist Catholic organisation, founded in 1970 by the French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre....
to
full communionFull communion is a term used in Christian ecclesiology to describe the relationship of communion, with mutually recognized sharing of the same essential doctrines, between a Christian community and other communities or between that community and individuals....
." It extends also, he said, to "satisfying the just aspirations of people, unrelated to the two aforementioned groups, who, because of their specific sensitiveness, wish to keep alive the earlier
LatinThe Latin Church or Rite is the majority Rite or particular church within the Catholic Church, comprising roughly 80% of its membership. The Latin Rite is one of the 23 sui iuris particular Churches within the Catholic Church...
liturgy in the celebration of the
EucharistThe Eucharist, also called Holy Communion, Sacrament of the Table, the Blessed Sacrament, or The Lord's Supper and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance, generally considered to be a commemoration of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his...
and the other
sacramentA sacrament, as defined in Hexam's Concise Dictionary of Religion is what Roman Catholics believe to be "a rite in which God is uniquely active." Augustine of Hippo defined a Christian sacrament as "a visible sign of an invisible reality." The Anglican Book of Common Prayer speaks of them as "an...
s."
Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVI is the 265th and reigning Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the head of the Catholic Church and, as such, Sovereign of the Vatican City State...
, he said, who was for years a member of the Commission, wishes it to become an organ of the
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
for the specific purpose of preserving and maintaining the value of the traditional Latin liturgy. He added the comment: "But it must be stated quite clearly that it is not a matter of going backward, of returning to the times before the 1970 reform. What is in question is instead a generous offer of the Vicar of Christ wishing, as an expression of his pastoral will, to place at the Church's disposal all the treasures of the Latin liturgy that for centuries nourished the spiritual life of so many generations of Catholic faithful. The Holy Father wishes to preserve the immense spiritual, cultural and esthetic treasure linked with the old liturgy. Recovery of these riches goes together with the no less precious riches of the Church's present liturgy."
Clearly, the Cardinal already knew the text of the
motu proprioA motu proprio is a document issued by the Pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him.It may be addressed to the whole Church, to part of it, or to some individuals....
Summorum PontificumSummorum Pontificum is an Apostolic Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, issued "motu proprio" . The document specified the rules, for the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, for celebrating Mass according to the "Missal promulgated by John XXIII in 1962" , and for administering most of the sacraments in...
, which Pope Benedict published on 7 July 2007, which gave the Pontifical Commission additional functions: it was to exercise the authority of the Holy See, supervising the observance and application of the dispositions of the motu proprio, and, if a bishop was unable to satisfy the request of a stable group of the kind mentioned, the matter was to be referred to the Commission, either by the bishop himself or by others.
The dispositions of the motu proprio whose observance and application were thus entrusted to the Pontifical Commission included the following:
- Priests of the Latin Rite
The Latin Church or Rite is the majority Rite or particular church within the Catholic Church, comprising roughly 80% of its membership. The Latin Rite is one of the 23 sui iuris particular Churches within the Catholic Church...
can freely choose between the 1962 Roman Missal and the later editionThe Mass of Pope Paul VI is the liturgy of the Catholic Mass of the Roman Rite promulgated by Paul VI in 1969, after the Second Vatican Council . It is the present ordinary or normal form of the Roman Rite of the Mass...
"in Masses celebrated without the people". Such celebrations may be attended by those who spontaneously ask to be allowed.
- Where there is a "stable" group of faithful attached to the earlier form, the priest in charge of the church "should willingly accept their request to celebrate Mass according to the 1962 Missal", provided that the celebrating priest is "qualified to [celebrate] and not juridically impeded." (This would exclude traditionalist priests not in good standing with Rome.)
- "For faithful and priests who request it, the pastor should also allow celebrations in this extraordinary form for special circumstances such as marriages, funerals or occasional celebrations."
- "The pastor ... may also grant permission to use the earlier ritual for the administration of the Sacraments of Baptism, Marriage, Penance, and the Anointing of the Sick, if the good of souls would seem to require it."
- "Ordinaries are given the right to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation using the earlier Roman Pontifical, if the good of souls would seem to require it."
- "Clerics ... may use the Roman Breviary promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962."
Some groups of traditionalist Catholics, such as the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer (previously known as the Transalpine Redemptorists), that had been in dispute with the Holy See decided that this motu proprio gave grounds for seeking an agreement, contacted the Commission and were received into full communion with the Holy See.
The Commission also continued its conversations with the Society of St Pius X, which, though welcoming the motu proprio, referred to "difficulties that still remain", including "disputed doctrinal issues" and the notice of excommunication that still affects its bishops. After a meeting on 4 June 2008 with the Society's superior general, Bishop
Bernard FellayBernard Fellay, SSPX is a Catholic Bishop and superior general of the Traditionalist Catholic Society of St. Pius X. Fellay was excommunicated in 1988 by the Roman Catholic Church because of his unauthorized consecration by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, deemed by the Holy See to be "unlawful" and "a...
, Cardinal Castrillón asked in writing to respond positively before the end of that month committing himself:
- to give a response proportionate to the generosity of the pope.
- to avoid any public intervention disrespectful of the person of the pope and that would be negative for ecclesial charity.
- to avoid the claim to a magisterium higher than the Holy Father and to not present the society in opposition to the Church.
- to show the will to act honestly in full ecclesial charity and with respect for the authority of the Vicar of Christ.
Reuters reported on 26 June 2008 that Bishop Fellay had given a negative response.
Activities in 2009
In his
letter of 10 March 2009 concerning his remission, on 21 January 2009, of the excommunication of the four bishops of the Society of St Pius X, Pope Benedict XVI announced his intention to join the Commission to the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the FaithThe Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, and sometimes simply called the Holy Office is the oldest of the nine congregations of the Roman Curia. Among the most active of these major Curial...
:
- This will make it clear that the problems now to be addressed are essentially doctrinal in nature and concern primarily the acceptance of the Second Vatican Council and the post-conciliar magisterium of the Popes. The collegial bodies with which the Congregation studies questions which arise (especially the ordinary Wednesday meeting of Cardinals and the annual or biennial Plenary Session) ensure the involvement of the Prefects of the different Roman Congregations and representatives from the world's Bishops in the process of decision-making.
In the
motu proprioA motu proprio is a document issued by the Pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him.It may be addressed to the whole Church, to part of it, or to some individuals....
Ecclesiae UnitatemEcclesiae Unitatem is a motu proprio issued by the Holy See on 8 July 2009. It was signed by Pope Benedict XVI on 2 July.-Restructuring of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei:...
issued by Pope Benedict XVI on 8 July 2009, PCED's ex officio president is now the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, currently William Cardinal Levada. This is to facilate the discussions of bringing the SSPX into full communion with Rome. The motu proprio, does not deal with the liturgical aspects of the extra-ordinary form, thus the powers given to it in Summorum Pontificum are unaltered. The liturgical governance of the extraordinary form (e.g. liturgical calendar questions) are not discussed within Ecclesiae Unitatem and are to remain with the PCED. The original mandate and scope of action of the PCED was much larger than the SSPX question and was principally to maintain good relations with the communities who now celebrate the Latin Mass under Summorum Pontificum. This remains the principal function of the PCED until it is transferred to the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the SacramentsThe Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is the congregation of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Catholic Church as distinct from the Eastern Catholic Churches and also some technical matters relating to the...
in another motu proprio expected after the successful re-integration of the SSPX.
Cardinal Presidents of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei
- Paul Mayer
Paul Augustin Mayer O.S.B. is a Roman Catholic Cardinal and is currently President Emeritus of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei....
, O.S.B. (2 July 1988 - 1 July 1991)
- Antonio Innocenti
Antonio Innocenti was a cardinal who was a mainstay of the Roman Curia and the Vatican diplomatic service for many years. He was born in Poppi, Italy....
(1 July 1991 - 16 December 1995)
- Angelo Felici (16 December 1995 - 13 April 2000)
- Darío Castrillón Hoyos (14 April 2000 - 8 July 2009 )
- William Joseph Levada (8 July 2009 - )
External links