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The papal majordomo or chief steward of the household of the pope is one of the three (formerly four) palatine prelates (prelati palatini), concerning whom particulars have been given in the article maestro di camera.
He belongs also to the four "prelati di fiocchetto", so called because they have the right to ornament the harness of their horses with violet and peacock-coloured feathers. The four prelates di fiocchetto are the Governor of Rome in his quality of Vice-Chamberlain, the Auditor and the Treasurer of the Apostolic chamber, and the Majordomo.
In the "Introitus et Exitus Cameræ Apostolicæ" of the Vatican Archives, which begins with the year 1295, the officials of the Apostolic Household were given in regular order according to their stipends. Although even at this date there undoubtedly existed a supreme steward of the papal palace, the name and duties attached to the office of a majordomo were not strictly defined until later. The alterations in the domestic administration of the papal household, necessitated under Clement V and John XXII by the transition from the "natural economy" to the "economy of money", were of a far-reaching nature; but it was only after the return of Martin V from Avignon to Rome in 1418 that the modern offices were gradually evolved, to attain subsequently during the Renaissance a full development. In the sixteenth century a maestro DI casa 'master of the house(hold)' stood at the head of the whole administration of the papal household.
Towards the end of the 16th century, the same official was accorded the title of prefetto del Sacro Palazzo Apostolico, and under Urban VIII (1623–44) he was first granted the title of Maggiordomo Pontificio 'pontifical majordomo'. It was then his duty, on the accession of a new pope, to form the papal famiglia, that is, to suggest candidates for the various household offices and then to direct the whole household. In so far as this duty necessitated expenditure, the Treasurer of the Holy Roman Church, the minister of finance for the time being, exercised sharply defined control over the majordomo and his assistants. This circumstance did not, however, constitute the treasurer a household official, or the Præfectus Sacri Palatii and administrative official; the Majordomo has always been exclusively a household official. A complete list of the occupants of the office from 1534 is preserved. The general rule recognised by the Roman Curia at the close of the Middle Ages, that the head of any important, department should have jurisdiction over all his assistants, extended to the Majordomo. Not merely in civil matters but likewise in criminal charges, sedebat pro tribunali—he pronounced judgment on all officials of the papal palace. In the course of time his duties as majordomo were sharply distinguished from those he performed as Prefect of the Palace, so that the majordomo was said to be simultaneously Prefect of the Palace. To the prefecture belonged the management of the museums and of all establishments of a special kind existing in the palaces—provided they were not autonomous. The keeping of the palace accounts also fell to the prefect.
After 1870, following the loss of the Papal states to reunited Italy, there was a great change in these conditions. The important office of the prefect was separated from that of the majordomo, and entrusted to the commission of cardinals appointed to administer the business affairs of the Holy See. The arrangement of Leo XIII was so far altered by Pius X, that the Cardinal Secretary of State was made Prefect of the Apostolic Palaces. Subordinate to him were the subprefect, the forriere maggiore, the cavallerizzo maggiore, the segreteria della prefettiora, the computisteria, the architetto and the juristic counsellors, forming in their corporate capacity, the divisional boards of direction of the palace administration. The museums and galleries were also entrusted to this body.
The above-mentioned alteration by Leo XIII took place on 29 December 1891, after the prefecture had been separated by a Motu proprio of 7 December. The rights of the Majordomo became as follows: He retained his old privilege of accompanying the Pope, and remained Governor of the Conclave. In this capacity he has the general control of the personnel of the palaces, and responsibility for the quiet and good order therein during the Conclave. In the Congresso Palatino (Palatine Commission), should it be hereafter convened, he got a seat and a vote. He conducted the Congregation of the Apostolic Hospice and was director of the Sistine Chapel Choir, the musical direction of which was in 1910 entrusted to Maestro Perosi. All ordinary and extraordinary religious functions in which the pope and papal court participate came under his arrangement and direction. The appointments of papal chamberlains were forwarded by him at the pope's order, and he distributed the annual medals to the members of the papal household. His earlier duty of issuing cards of admission to the galleries and museums for purposes of study and copying was withdrawn from him. The Majordomo as the chief Prelate of the Household has a distinctive dress and a free official residence in the papal palace.
The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and the Vatican Palace. The Vatican itself refers to the building as the Palace of Sixtus V, in honor of Pope Sixtus V, who built most of the present form of the palace.
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, though this was not the case prior to the 15th century. 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. 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.
A Papal gentleman, also called a Gentleman of His Holiness, is a lay attendant of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. Papal gentlemen serve in the Apostolic Palace near St. Peter's Basilica in ceremonial positions, such as escorting dignitaries during state visits and other important occasions. The position is a successor to the earlier position of papal chamberlain, that existed prior to 1968; it is a local name for the old court position of valet de chambre. To be appointed is an honor. The appointee is an unpaid volunteer.
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Palatinus, Latin for "palatial", were designations for various ecclesiastical offices in the Catholic Church, primarily of certain high officials in the papal court.
The Prefecture of the Papal Household is the office in charge of the Papal Household, a section of the Roman Curia that comprises the Papal Chapel and the Papal Family.
The Apostolic Camera, formerly known as the Papal Treasury, is an office in the Roman Curia. It was the central board of finance in the Papal administrative system and at one time was of great importance in the government of the States of the Church, and in the administration of justice, led by the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church.
In the Roman Catholic Church, Theologian of the Pontifical Household is a Roman Curial office which has always been entrusted to a Friar Preacher of the Dominican Order and may be described as the pope's theologian. The title was formerly known as the Master of the Sacred Apostolic Palace before the changes implemented in Pope Paul VI's 1968 apostolic letter Pontificalis Domus.
The Roman Court or Papal Curia was reformed by the papal bull Pontificalis Domus issues by Pope Paul VI in 1969. It abolished the role of the old Roman nobility at the papal court with the exception of the position of Prince Assistant to the Papal Throne. The titles abolished, such as the Grand Master of the Sacred Apostolic Hospice and Marshal of the Holy Roman Church and the Sacred Conclave, remain heredity but are now purely honorary.
Introitus et Exitus Cameræ Apostolicæ is a six-hundred-and-six-volume financial record of the Apostolic Camera of the Holy See, from 1279 to 1524, located in the Vatican Secret Archives. The volumes span the reigns of thirty-two popes from Pope Nicholas III to Pope Clement VII. The volumes relating to the Avignon Popes (1305—1387) as well as the following antipopes were moved from Comtat Venaissin to the Secret Archives in 1783.
Mario Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Apostolic Palace from 1967 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1969.
The 53 cardinal electors in the 1922 papal conclave are listed by region, and within each alphabetically by country. Seven out of the sixty electors did not participate, three for reasons of health: José María Martín de Herrera y de la Iglesia, Giuseppe Prisco, and Lev Skrbenský z Hříště. Joaquim Arcoverde de Albuquerque Cavalcanti of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro knew he could not reach Rome in time for the conclave and did not attempt the journey. The other three non-European cardinals–William Henry O'Connell of Boston, Denis Dougherty of Philadelphia, and Louis-Nazaire Bégin of Québec City–did not arrive in time to participate in the conclave. Within a month of his election, Pope Pius XI lengthened the waiting period before the start of a papal conclave to allow cardinals from distant places to participate in the balloting.
Ottavio Cagiano de Azevedo was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Religious from 1913 to 1915, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1905.
Benedetto Barberini was a Catholic Cardinal and Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals.
Pontificalis Domus was a motu proprio document issued by Pope Paul VI on 28 March 1968, in the fifth year of his pontificate. It reorganized the Papal Household, which had been known until then as the Papal Court.
Giambattista Orsini was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal. He served as papal legate to the Marches of Ancona.
Alessandro Sforza (1534–1581) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal.
Filippo Spinola was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal.
Augusto Theodoli was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who, as the son of a noble family, filled assignments that associated him closely with the papal household, ceremonies, and basilicas. He became a cardinal in 1889.