Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church

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Not to be confused with Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals.
Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church
Camerlengo di Santa Romana Chiesa
Template-Cardinal Camerlengo.svg
Generic coat of arms of Cardinal Camerlengo.
Bishop Farrell in 2007.jpg
Incumbent
Kevin Farrell
since 14 February 2019
Papal household
Apostolic Camera
Style His Eminence
Member of Roman Curia
Council of Cardinals
Reports to The Pope
Appointer The Pope
Term length Appointment of a new Pope
Formation 1147
First holder Jordan of S. Susanna
Deputy Vice camerlengo
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The Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church is an office of the papal household that
administers the property and revenues of the Holy See. Formerly, his
responsibilities included the fiscal administration of the Patrimony of Saint
Peter. As regulated in the apostolic constitution Pastor bonus of 1988, the
camerlengo is always a cardinal,[1] though this was not the case prior to the 15th
century.[2] His heraldic arms are ornamented with two keys – one gold, one silver –
in saltire, surmounted by an ombrellino, a canopy or umbrella of alternating red
and yellow stripes. These also form part of the coat of arms of the Holy See during
a papal interregnum (sede vacante). The camerlengo has been Kevin Farrell since his
appointment by Pope Francis on 14 February 2019. The vice camerlengo has been
Archbishop Ilson de Jesus Montanari since 1 May 2020.[3]

Contents
1 History
2 Responsibilities
3 List of Camerlengos
4 In popular culture
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links
History
Until the 11th century, the Archdeacon of the Roman Church was responsible for the
administration of the property of the Church (i.e., the Diocese of Rome), but its
numerous ancient privileges and rights had come to make it a frequent hindrance to
independent action on the part of the Pope; as a result, when the last Archdeacon
Hildebrand was elected to the papacy as Gregory VII in 1073, he suppressed the
Archdeaconate and the prelate entrusted with the supervision of the Apostolic
Camera (Camera Apostolica), i.e., the possessions of the Holy See, became known as
the Camerarius ("Chamberlain").

Prior to the 18th century,[4] the Camerlengo enjoyed an income of 10,000 to 12,000
scudi a year out of the Apostolic Camera. He had jurisdiction over all suits
involving the Apostolic Camera, and could judge separately or in association with
the Clerics of the Apostolic Camera; he was not impeded by Consistory. He has
appellate jurisdiction over suits decided by the Masters of the Roads. In a
narration of the 18th century, the Camerlengo is the chief officer in the Apostolic
Camera, the Financial Council of the Pope. In his office are the Governor of Rome
(who is Vice-Chancellor), The Treasurer, the Auditor, the President, the Advocate
General, the Fiscal Procurator, the Commissary, and twelve Clerks of the Chamber
(one with the special title of Prefect of the Grain Supply, another Prefect of
Provisions, another Prefect of Prisons, and another Prefect of Roads). Each Clerk
of the Chamber received around 8,000 scudi a year, representing 10% of the business
that passes through his office.[5]

The powers and functions of the Camerlengo were diminished considerably in the 19th
century, first by the reorganisation of the papal government after the election of
Pope Pius VII in 1800, then by the reorganization of the papal government after the
return of Pope Pius IX from exile in 1850, and then by the loss of the Papal States
in 1860 and the City of Rome in 1870. The chief beneficiary of these changes was
the Cardinal Secretary of State.[6] Since early in the 20th century, the offices of
Secretary of State and Camerlengo were held concurrently by Pietro Gasparri (1916–
1930), Eugenio Pacelli (1935–1939), Jean-Marie Villot (1970–1979), and by Tarcisio
Bertone (2007–2013). Since then Pope Francis has appointed as Camerlengo prelates
who have not been Secretary of State: Jean-Louis Tauran (2014–2018) and Kevin
Joseph Farrell (2019–present).

Responsibilities
The camerlengo is responsible for the formal determination of the death of the
reigning pope; the traditional procedure – abandoned centuries ago – was to call
his baptismal name (e.g. "Albine, dormisne?", meaning "[name], are you sleeping?").
[a] After the pope is declared dead, the camerlengo takes possession of the Ring of
the Fisherman and cuts it with shears in the presence of the cardinals. This act
symbolizes the end of the late Pope's authority and prevents its use in forging
documents. The camerlengo then notifies the appropriate officers of the Roman Curia
and the dean of the College of Cardinals. He participates in the preparations for
the conclave and the pope's funeral.

In the past the camerlengo took possession of the pope's last will and took
responsibility for revealing its contents. Now the last will of the pope is given
to the College of Cardinals and its content is revealed during the first meeting of
the College of Cardinals. The only responsibility still in the camerlengo's hands
is to safekeep the last will of the pope until the College of Cardinals takes
possession of it.

Until a successor Pope can be elected, the camerlengo serves as Vatican City's
acting sovereign. He is no longer, however, responsible for the government of the
Catholic Church when the papacy is vacant; that task was placed in the hands of the
College of Cardinals by Universi Dominici gregis (1996). His power is extremely
limited, being merely enough to allow Church institutions to continue to operate
and perform some basic functions without making any definitive decisions or
appointments that are normally reserved to other powers delegated by the pope.
Unlike the rest of the Roman Curia, the camerlengo retains his office during the
sede vacante period and functions as the executive director of the Vatican's
operations, answerable to the College of Cardinals. This is primarily to carry out
the College's decisions with regard to the funeral of the late pope and the events
leading up to the conclave. The only other people who keep their offices during
this time are the Major Penitentiary, the Archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica, the
Papal Almoner, and the Vicars General for Rome and for the Vatican City State.[8]

List of Camerlengos
Those who have held the office of Camerlengo are:[9][10]

Jordan of S. Susanna (documented 1147–1151)

Franchus (1151)
Rainierus (documented 1151)
Yngo (documented 1154)
Boso Breakspeare (1154/55 – 1159)
Bernard the Templar (documented 1163)
Teodino de Arrone (documented 1163)
Franco Gaufridus Fulchier (documented 1175–1181)
Gerardo Allucingoli (ca.1182/84)
Melior le Maitre (documented 1184–1187)
Cencio Savelli (1188–1198), later Pope Honorius III
Riccardo (documented 1198)[11]
Ottaviano Conti di Segni (1200–1206)
Stefano di Ceccano (1206–1216)
Pandolfo Verraclo (1216–1222)
Sinibaldo (ca.1222 – ca.1227)
Rinaldo Conti di Segni (1227–1231), later Pope Alexander IV
(1231–1236 – no information found)
Giovanni da Ferentino (1236–1238)
(1238–1243 – no information found)
Martino (ca. 1243 – ca. 1251)
Boetius (1251–1254)
Niccolo da Anagni (1254–1261)
Pierre de Roncevault (1261–1262)
Pierre de Charny (1262–1268)
Odo of Châteauroux (occupied the post in 1270)
Pietro de Montebruno (occupied the post in 1272)[12]
Guglielmo di San Lorenzo (occupied the post in 1274)[12]
Raynaldus Marci (occupied the post in 1277)[12]
Angelo de Vezzosi (occupied the post in 1278)[12]
Berardo di Camerino (1279–1288)[12]
Niccolo (occupied the post in 1289)[12]
Tommaso d'Ocra (1294)
Teodorico Ranieri (ca. 1295 – 1299)
Giovanni (1301–1305)
Arnaud Frangier de Chanteloup (1305–1307)
Bertrand des Bordes (1307–1311)
Arnaud d'Aux (1311–1319)
Gasbert de Valle (1319–1347)
Stefano Aldebrandi Cambaruti (1347–1360)
Arnaud Aubert (1361–1371)
Pierre du Cros (1371–1383)
Marino Giudice (documented 1380–1382)
Marino Bulcani (documented 1386–1394)
Corrado Caraccioli (documented 1396–1405)
Leonardo de Sulmona (named in 1405)
Antonio Correr (1406–1415)
François de Conzie (1415[b]–1431)
Francesco Condulmer (1432–1440)
Ludovico Trevisan (1440–1465)
Latino Orsini (1471–1477)
Guillaume d'Estouteville (1477–1483)
Raffaele Riario (1483–1521)
Innocenzo Cibo (1521)
Francesco Armellini Pantalassi de' Medici (1521–1527)
Agostino Spinola (1528–1537)
Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora (1537–1564)
Vitellozzo Vitelli (1564–1568)
Michele Bonelli (1568–1570)
Luigi Cornaro (1570–1584)
Filippo Guastavillani (1584–1587)
Enrico Caetani (1587–1599)
Pietro Aldobrandini (1599–1621)
Ludovico Ludovisi (1621–1623)
Ippolito Aldobrandini (1623–1638)
Antonio Barberini (1638–1671)
Paluzzo Paluzzi Altieri degli Albertoni (1671–1698)
Galeazzo Marescotti, pro-camerlengo (1698)
Giovanni Battista Spinola (1698–1719)
Annibale Albani (1719–1747)
Silvio Valenti Gonzaga (1747–1756)
Girolamo Colonna di Sciarra (1756–1763)
Carlo Rezzonico (1763–1799)
Romoaldo Braschi-Onesti (1800–1801)
Giuseppe Maria Doria Pamphili, pro-camerlengo (1801–1814)
Bartolomeo Pacca (1814–1824)
Pietro Francesco Galeffi (1824–1837)
Giacomo Giustiniani (1837–1843)
Tommaso Riario Sforza (1843–1857)
Lodovico Altieri (1857–1867)
Filippo de Angelis (1867–1877)
Gioacchino Pecci (1877–1878), later Pope Leo XIII
Camillo di Pietro (1878–1884)
Domenico Consolini (1884)
Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano (1885–1913)
Francesco Salesio Della Volpe (1914–1916)
Pietro Gasparri (1916–1934)
Eugenio Pacelli (1935–1939), later Pope Pius XII
Lorenzo Lauri (1939–1941)
Benedetto Aloisi Masella (1958–1970)
Jean-Marie Villot (1970–1979)
Paolo Bertoli (1979–1985)
Sebastiano Baggio (1985–1993)
Eduardo Martínez Somalo (1993–2007)
Tarcisio Bertone (2007–2014)
Jean-Louis Tauran (2014–2018)
Kevin Joseph Farrell (2019–present)[13]
Two Camerlengos have been elected Pope: Gioacchino Pecci (Pope Leo XIII) in 1878
and Eugenio Pacelli (Pope Pius XII) in 1939. Two others, Cencio Savelli (elected
Pope Honorius III in 1216) and Rinaldo Conti di Segni (elected Pope Alexander IV in
1254) were not Camerlengo at the time of their election to the papacy, Cencio
having served from 1188 until 1198 and Rinaldo from 1227 until 1231.[c]

In popular culture
Dan Brown's novel Angels & Demons and its film adaptation features a Camerlengo as
a principal character. In the novel it is Carlo Ventresca, an Italian priest who is
later revealed to be the son of the Pope conceived through artificial insemination.
In the film adaptation, the character is changed to the Northern Irish Patrick
McKenna (played by Ewan McGregor), who is not a cardinal but the former papal
chaplain to Pope Pius XVI. At the end of the film, the newly elected Pope Luke I
selects the German Cardinal Strauss (played by Armin Mueller-Stahl), the former
Great Elector of the College of Cardinals, to succeed McKenna as Camerlengo.
The HBO series The Young Pope and its sequel series The New Pope features
Camerlengo Angelo Voiello (played by Silvio Orlando) as a supporting character.
Voiello also serves as Cardinal Secretary of State, and remains at his post through
the papacies of Pius XIII (Jude Law), Francis II (Marcello Romolo) and John Paul
III (John Malkovich) until Voiello becomes pope himself.
Notes
According to Hartwell de la Garde Grissell, Chamberlain of Honor di numero to Pope
Pius IX, Pope Leo XIII, and Pope Pius X, who was present at the ceremony of
recognition in 1903: "It may also be here mentioned that no such ceremony as
striking the dead Pope's forehead with a silver hammer takes place, and that the
exact method of calling aloud his name is not tied down to any determinate form,
but is left to the discretion of the Cardinal Camerlengo.... In an original
[manuscript] diary in my possession written by Domenico Cappelli of Ascoli, who was
Master of Ceremonies to five Popes—Alexander VII., Clement IX., Clement X.,
Innocent XI., and Alexander VIII.—he states that the custom of calling aloud three
times the words 'Pater Sancte' was discontinued on the death of Clement X. in 1676.
[7]
1383–1415 camerlengo of the obediences of Avignon and Pisa in the Great Western
Schism.
It is sometimes claimed that Cosimo Gentile Migliorati (Pope Innocent VII from
1404 until 1406) was also Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church[14] but no document
mentioning him in this capacity has been found.[15]