View source for Papal legate

{{short description|Personal representative of the Pope}}
[[image:K. Henry 2. Kissing the knee of the Popes Legate comming into England.gif|thumb|300px|A woodcut showing [[Henry II of England]] greeting the Pope's legate.]]
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A '''papal legate''' or '''apostolic legate''' (from the [[Ancient Rome|ancient Roman]] title ''[[legatus]]'') is a personal representative of the [[Pope]] to foreign nations, to some other part of the [[Catholic Church]], or to representatives of a state or monarchy. A legate is empowered in matters of [[Catholicism|Catholic faith]] and for the settlement of [[Ecclesiology|ecclesiastical]] matters.

The legate is appointed directly by the Pope—the Bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church. Hence a legate is usually sent to a government, to a sovereign, to a large body of believers (such as a national church), or to take charge of a major religious effort, such as an [[ecumenical council]], a [[crusade]] to the Holy Land, or even against a [[Heresy in Christianity|heresy]] such as the [[Cathars]].

The term ''legation'' is applied both to a legate's mandate and to the territory concerned (such as a state, or an ecclesiastical province). The relevant adjective is ''legatine''.

== History ==
{{expand section|history in early Church to 1300, and material other than English and Wolsey|date=April 2016}}
[[image:Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Cardinal Thomas Wolsey]], papal legate to England during the reign of [[Henry VIII]]]]

In the [[High Middle Ages]], papal legates were often used to strengthen the links between Rome and the many parts of [[Christendom]]. More often than not, legates were learned men and skilled diplomats who were not from the country they were accredited to. For example, the Italian-born [[Guala Bicchieri]] served as papal legate to England in the early 13th century and played a major role in both the English government and church at the time. By the [[Late Middle Ages]] it had become more common to appoint native clerics to the position of legate within their own country, such as [[Cardinal Wolsey]] acting as legate to the court of [[Henry VIII of England]]. The reason for this switch in policy could be attributed to a change in attitude on the eve of the [[Reformation]]; by this point, foreign men representing the papacy would be more likely to reinforce dissent than bring Christendom closer together.<ref name="Pagden">{{cite book|title=The Idea of Europe: From Antiquity to the European Union|last=Pagden|first=Anthony|location=Cambridge, UK|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2010|orig-year=2002|volume=13|isbn=978-0521795524}}</ref>{{non sequitur|date=April 2016}}

Papal legates often summoned [[legatine council]]s, which dealt with church government and other ecclesiastical issues.<ref>{{cite book |author=Robinson, I. S. |title=The Papacy 1073–1198: Continuity and Innovation |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=1990 |isbn=0-521-31922-6 |page=150}}</ref> According to Pope [[Pope Gregory VII|Gregory VII]], writing in the ''[[Dictatus papae]]'', a papal legate "presides over all bishops in a council, even if he is inferior in rank, and he can pronounce sentence of deposition against them".<ref name="Robinson"/> During the [[Middle Ages]], a legatine council was the usual means that a papal legate imposed his directives.<ref name="Robinson">{{cite book |author=Robinson, I. S. |title=The Papacy 1073–1198: Continuity and Innovation |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=1990 |page=150|isbn=0521319226}}</ref>

== Diplomatic ranks ==
There are several ranks of papal legates in diplomacy, some of which are no longer used.

===Apostolic nuncio===
[[image:Giovanni Francesco Commendone.PNG|thumb|right|Cardinal [[Giovanni Francesco Commendone]], sometime papal nuncio to [[Urbino]], [[Ferrara]], [[Venice]], [[Parma]], and [[England]].]]
The most common form of papal legate today is the [[Nuncio|apostolic nuncio]], whose task it is to strengthen relations between the [[Holy See]] and the Catholic Church in a particular country and at the same time to act as the diplomatic representative of the Holy See to the government of that country.<ref name="Collinge">{{cite book|last=Collinge|first=William|title=Historical Dictionary of Catholicism|pages=251|edition=2nd|publisher=Scarecrow Press Inc.|location=Maryland, US|year=2012|isbn=978-0810857551}}</ref> An apostolic nuncio is generally equivalent in rank to that of [[ambassador]] extraordinary and [[plenipotentiary]], although in [[Catholic countries]] the nuncio often ranks above ambassadors in diplomatic protocol. A nuncio performs the same functions as an ambassador and has the same diplomatic privileges. Under the 1961 [[Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations]], to which the Holy See is a party, a nuncio is an ambassador like those from any other country. The Vienna Convention allows the host state to grant seniority of precedence to the nuncio over others of ambassadorial rank accredited to the same country, and may grant the [[Dean of the Diplomatic Corps|deanship of that country's diplomatic corps]] to the nuncio regardless of seniority.<ref>{{Cite journal | author=United Nations Conference on Diplomatic Intercourse and Immunities | title=[[Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations|Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Article 16]] |publisher=United Nations |year=1961 }}</ref>

====Pro-nuncio====
Pro-nuncio was a term used from 1965 to 1991 for a papal diplomatic representative of full ambassadorial rank accredited to a country that did not accord him precedence over other ambassadors and ''[[ex officio]]'' deanship of the diplomatic corps. In those countries, the papal representative's precedence within the corps is exactly on a par with that of the other members of ambassadorial rank, so that he becomes dean only on becoming the senior member of the corps.<ref name="Beal">{{cite book|pages=462|title=New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law|editor-last=Beal|editor-first=John P.|editor2-last=Coriden|editor2-first=James A.|editor3-last=Green|editor3-first=Thomas J.|edition=Study|publisher=Paulist Press|location=New Jersey|year=2000|isbn=978-0809140664}}</ref>

====Apostolic delegate====
For countries with which the Holy See has no diplomatic relations, an apostolic delegate is sent to serve as a liaison with the Catholic Church in that country, though not accredited to its government.<ref name="Collinge"/>

===''Legati''===

{{anchor|Legatus a latere|Legatus a Latere}}<!--linked-->

====''Legatus a latere''====
This highest rank (literally "from the (pope's) side", i.e. "intimately" trusted) is normally awarded to a priest of [[cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal rank]]. It is an exceptional investiture and can either be focused or broad in scope. The legate ''a latere'' is the alter ego of the Pope, and as such, possesses full plenipotentiary powers.<ref name=Princes2/><ref name="Livingstone">{{cite book|title=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church|pages=331|last=Livingstone|first=E. A.|location=Oxford, UK|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0199659623|edition=3rd|year=2013|orig-year=1977}}</ref>

====''Legatus natus''====
Literally "born legate", i.e. not nominated individually but ''ex officio'', namely a bishop holding this rank as a privilege of his see, e.g. [[archbishop]]s of [[Archbishop of Canterbury|Canterbury]] (pre-[[English Reformation|Reformation]]), [[Archbishop of Prague|Prague]], [[Archbishop of Esztergom|Esztergom]], [[Archbishop of Udine|Udine]], [[Archbishop of Salzburg|Salzburg]], [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gniezno|Gniezno]] and [[Archbishop of Cologne|Cologne]].<ref name=Princes2/><ref name="Livingstone"/> The ''legatus natus'' would act as the Pope's representative in his province, with a ''legatus a latere'' only being sent in extraordinary circumstances. Although limited in their jurisdiction compared to ''legati a latere'', a ''legatus natus'' was not subordinate to them.<ref name="Tayler">{{cite book|title=The Law Glossary|last=Tayler|first=Thomas|page=300|publisher=Baker, Voorhis & Co.|location=New York|year=1866}}</ref>

====''Legatus missus''====
Literally "sent legate", possessing limited powers for the purpose of completing a specific mission. This commission is normally focused in scope and of short duration.<ref name=Princes2>{{cite book |author=Bellenger, Dominic Aidan |author2=Fletcher, Stella |title=Princes of the Church: A History of the English Cardinals |publisher=Sutton |location=Stroud, UK |year=2001 |isbn=0-7509-2630-9|page=2}}</ref><ref name="Livingstone"/>

== Gubernatorial legates ==
Some administrative (temporal) provinces of the [[Papal States]] in (mostly central) Italy were governed by a papal legate. This has been the case in [[Benevento]], in [[Pontecorvo]] (of Campagna e Marittima/of Frosinone) and in [[Viterbo]]. In four cases, including [[Bologna]], this post was awarded exclusively to [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinals]]; the [[Velletri]] post was created for [[Bartolomeo Pacca]].

The title could be changed to [[Apostolic Delegate]], as happened in Frosinone (for Pontecorvo) in 1827.

== See also ==
*[[Internuncio]] – a lower rank than Nuncio for a papal diplomatic representative, a title historically used at a time when states sent to some less important countries diplomatic representatives, called Envoys or Ministers, lower in rank than Ambassadors.
*[[List of papal legates to England]]
*[[Papal apocrisiarius]]
*[[Pontifical legate]]

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
; General references
{{refbegin}}
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09118a.htm ''Catholic Encyclopedia'': "Legate"]
* [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Italy_states2.htm#Papal-State WorldStatesmen – Italy to 1860 – Papal State]
* {{cite book |last=Maseri |first=Pellegrino |title = De Legatis et Nunciis Apostolicis Iudiciis Ecclesiasticis Civilibus et Criminalibus Oneribusque Civitatum Cameralibus et Communitativis |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mstFAAAAcAAJ |year=1709 |publisher=Plachus |location=Rome |language=la }}
* {{cite book |last=Langhaider |first=Konstantin |title = Commentatio Canonica de Legatis et Nuntiis Pontificum |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YzFHAAAAcAAJ |year=1785|publisher=<!-- None given -->|location=<!-- None given -->|language=la}}
* {{cite book |last= Schott |first=Johann |title = De Legatis Natis |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=e6pKAAAAcAAJ |year=1778 |publisher=Klietsch |location=Bamberg |language=la }}
* {{cite book |last=Heidemann |first=Josef |title = Die englische Legation des Cardinals Guido Fulcodi, des spaeteren P. Clemens IV |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YPAUAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA83 |year=1904 |publisher=Westfalische Vereinsdruckerei |location=Munster |language=de }}
* {{cite book |last=Wynen |first=Arthur |title = Die päpstliche Diplomatie: geschichtlich und rechtlich dargestellt /von Arthur Wynen |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pPOMnQEACAAJ |series = Das Völkerrecht, Heft 10 |year=1922 |publisher=Herder |location=Freiburg im Breisgau |language=de }}
* {{cite book |last=Paro |first=Gino |title = The Right of Papal Legation |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bF0zngEACAAJ |year=1947 |publisher=[[Catholic University of America Press]] |location = Washington, DC }}
* {{cite journal|last=Wasner |first=Franz |title = Fifteenth-century texts on the Ceremonial of the papal 'Legatus a latere' |journal=Traditio |year=1958 |volume=14 |pages=295–358 |doi=10.1017/S0362152900010126 |jstor=27830370 |s2cid=151940501 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Wasner|first=Franz |title = 'Legatus a latere': addenda varia |journal=Traditio |year=1960 |volume=16 |pages=405–416 |doi=10.1017/S0362152900006152 |jstor=27830415 |s2cid=151584067 }}
* {{cite book |last=Harvey |first=Margaret M. |title = England, Rome, and the Papacy, 1417–1464: The Study of a Relationship |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4DvpAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA272 |year=1993 |publisher = [[Manchester University Press]] |location = Manchester, England |isbn=978-0-7190-3459-6 }}
* {{cite book |last=Gillett |first=Andrew |author-link = Andrew Gillett |title=Envoys and Political Communication in the Late Antique West, 411–533 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SvCrnyRi3JkC&pg=PA267 |year=2003 |publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]] |location = Cambridge, England |isbn=978-1-139-44003-5 }}
* {{cite book |last = Melnyk |first = Roman A. |title = Vatican Diplomacy at the United Nations: A History of Catholic Global Engagement |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ShZCAQAAIAAJ |year=2009 |publisher=[[Edwin Mellen Press]] |location = Lewiston, NY |isbn = 978-0-7734-3881-1 }}
* {{cite book |last = Rennie |first = Kriston R. |title = The Foundations of Medieval Papal Legation |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tJNEAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT85 |year=2013 |publisher = Palgrave Macmillan UK |location = Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England |isbn = 978-1-137-26494-7}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* {{commons category-inline|Papal legations}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Diplomats for the Holy See|*]]
[[Category:Catholic ecclesiastical titles]]
[[Category:Diplomats by role]]
[[Category:Gubernatorial titles]]