Assistant to the papal throne

Short description: Abolished ecclesiastical title in the Catholic Church

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)

No issues specified. Please specify issues, or remove this template.

(Learn how and when to remove this template message)

|

Tobia Aoun named Assistant at the Pontifical Throne in 1862

Template:Catholic Church hierarchy sidebar The Bishops-Assistant at the Pontifical Throne were ecclesiastical titles in the Catholic Church. It designated prelates belonging to the Papal Chapel, who stood near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions. They ranked immediately below the College of Cardinals and were also Counts of the Apostolic Palace. Assistants at the Pontifical Throne, unless specifically exempted, immediately enter the Papal nobility as Counts of Rome.

Pope Paul VI ended the use of this and similar titles of nobility in 1968.

## Contents

* 1 Background
* 2 History
* 3 Exemples
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 External links

## Background

Prelate Assistants to the Pontifical Throne are distinguished from Prince assistants, who were members of the lay nobility. Prelate Assistants held toward the Pope much the same relation as cathedral canons do to their bishop.[1] Bishops assistants (assistentes solio pontificio) are named by a Brief of the Secretariate of State, and in virtue of their office are members of the Pontifical Chapel (Cappella Pontificia). They assist at Solemn Mass holding the book and the bugia.[2]

## History

All patriarchs and some bishops selected by the Pope, were made Assistants at the Pontifical Throne.[3]

On 22 May 1862, during the canonization ceremony of the twenty-six Catholic martyrs of Japan, Pope Pius IX elevated all the bishops present to the rank of Assistant at the Pontifical Throne. On 8 January 1866, Ruggero Luigi Emidio Antici Mattei was named Dean of the Assistants at the Pontifical Throne after Pope Pius IX named him Latin Patriarch of Constantinople. On 17 June 1867, during the 1800th anniversary of the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Pius IX elevated all the bishops present to the rank of Assistant at the Pontifical Throne.

The title has not been in use since Pope Paul VI reformed the Pontifical Household. On 28 March 1968, he issued Pontificalis Domus, which renamed the Papal Court the Papal Household and eliminated all titles of nobility.

## Exemples

* Peter Joseph Hurth, CSC (1857-1935): titular archbishop of Bosra, missionary bishop in East Bengal (now Bangladesh) and Vigan (Philippines). Elevated to the rank of Assistant to the papal throne and papal count in 1926.

## See also

* Prince Assistants to the Papal Throne[4]

## References

1. ↑ Fanning, William (1907). "Assistant at the Pontifical Throne". Assistant at the Pontifical Throne. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01802a.htm. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
2. ↑ Ojetti, Benedetto (1912). "Roman Curia". Roman Curia. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13147a.htm. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
3. ↑ "Prelate Named Assistant to Papal Throne", The Catholic Standard and Times, Volume 53, Number 7, 21 November 1947
4. ↑ Sonnenon, John Paul (May 9, 2024). "The Papal Court: Prince Assistants to the Papal Throne (Principe Assistente al Soglio Pontificio)". Liturgical Arts Journal. https://www.liturgicalartsjournal.com/2024/05/the-papal-court-prince-assistants-to.html. Retrieved July 5, 2025.

* New Catholic Dictionary
* Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). "Assistant at the Pontifical Throne". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

## External links

* Cardinal Antici Mattei as Dean of the Assistants to the Pontifical Throne

Template:Papal orders, decorations, and medals Template:Papacy

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistant to the papal throne. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Religion:Assistant_to_the_papal_throne&oldid=4237976"