Catholic Church. Congregatio Lauretana.

The sanctuary of Loreto was a very popular destination for pilgrims in the late Middle Ages. According to tradition, the home of the Virgin Mary, when threatened by destruction by the Turks, was carried from Nazareth by angels and deposited (in 1291) on a hill at Tersatto in Dalmatia, where an alleged apparition of Mary and subsequent cures attested to the holiness of the house. Three years later it was transported in like manner across the Adriatic to a laurel grove (hence Loreto) near Recanati (the Marches), Italy, and from there removed in 1295 to its present site. Because of its popularity, the administration of the sanctuary ammassed substantial holdings. Located in the diocese of Recanati, the shrine was removed from the jurisdiction of that diocese in 1476. Sixtus IV, with his constitution Ad ecclesiam (Nov. 28, 1476), placed it, with all its vast possessions, directly under the jurisdiction of the Holy See. However, because of protests from the people of the area, he himself revoked this arrangement with the constitution Romanus Pontifex (Feb. 8, 1477). Julius II, with his constitution In sublimia (Oct. 21, 1507), reclaimed the jurisdiction and, in the course of time, nominated a governor, removable at will, under whose spiritual and temporal jurisdiction were placed not only the inhabitants of Loreto and all connected with the Holy House of Loreto, but also visitors and pilgrims during their stay in the Lauretan territory.

Other successive pontiffs accorded the sanctuary new privileges. Leo X (constitution Ex supernae providentia, 8 Dec 1514) erected the collegiate church Ecclesia Sanctae Mariae de Laureto, confirming at the same time exemption from episcopal jurisdiction for pilgrims and those attlached to the sanctuary. Clement VII extended the limits of the exemptions (brief, Cum nonnulli Romani Pontifices, 17 Apr 1525), which Paul III confirmed with the constitution, Ad sacram beati Petri sedem (18 Feb 1536).

Sixtus V finally declared the Church of Loreto a cathedral (constitution, Pro excellenti praeminentia, 17 Mar 1586), and constituted its territory a diocese, stabilizing precisely the jurisdiction of the bishop and that of the cardinal protector, or apostolic commissary of the sanctuary.

In spite of the exact boundaries of authority fixed by Sixtus V between the two powers of authority set up for the administration of the Holy House and all that belonged to it, there were many conflicts regarding jurisdictions. These increased to such an extent that Paul V had to address the questions and set even more precisely the jurisdiction of the cardinal protector and that of the bishop of Loreto (constitution Divina disponente clementia, July 14, 1620). Nevertheless, with the passage of time new conflicts arose between the authorities regarding the administration of the sanctuary.

Innocent XII, in order to find a solution, reserved to the Roman Pontiff the governance of Loreto, suppressed the task assigned to the office of the cardinal protector, vacant at the time, and erected in its place (constitution Sacrosancta Redemptionis, 10 Aug 1698) a special Congregatio Lauretana for which he provided a specific internal constitution with a chirograph (1 Oct 1698) directed to the Cardinal Secretary of State, naming him prefect.

According to this document the Congregatio Lauretana was responsible for the spiritual and temporal administration of the sanctuary delegated in the first place to the bishop of Loreto and in the second place to a prelate governor, resident of the place. It exercised a triple power: beneficent, administrative, and contentious, being empowered in this last case to deal with all controversies arising out of the administration of the possessions of the sanctuary and disciplinary or strictly judicial matters.

Although Innocent XII was concerned with limiting more precisely the functions of both the bishop and the governor, jurisdictional interference between the two authorities continued to such an extent that often the congregation had to intervene to settle differences. Benedict XIV with his constitution Humilitatis nostrae (Jan. 7, 1742) ordered that all the resolutions drawn up by the congregation be gathered together, ordered alphabetically, and published in Rome in 1743 as the Synopsis lauretana, commonly called the Raccolta.

The Congregatio Lauretana had extensive authority until the time of Pius VII (1800-1823) since it included jurisdiction not only over the Holy House of Loreto and its property but also over civil and criminal matters connected with the sanctuary. These powers were successively limited by Pius VII with the constitution Post diuturnas (Oct. 30, 1800) and with his motu proprio Quando per ammirabile (Jul. 6, 1816), which abolished privileges and withdrew from the Congregatio Lauretana all jurisdiction over contentious issues, transferring that juristiction to ordinary tribunals.

Leo XII (brief Sacra aedes, 24 Jul 1827) appointed a prelate of the Roman Curia as Apostolic Commissary of the House of Loreto and with a brief (Laureti civitas, 21 Dec 1827) provided also for the reestablishment of the contentious power of the congregation. Gregory XVI (21 Nov 1831) published regulations for the administration of justice in the city of Loreto, and issued legislation for four turni to deal with civil and criminal cases (20 Feb 1832).

After the Italian occupation of the Marches in 1860 when the Piedmontese annexed the province of Pisenum, the entire administration of the Holy House of Loreto passed to the civil authorities. Although the congregation retained the fiscal management as well as the spiritual supervision of the sanctuary, it was declared a national monument. The congregation lost, however, almost all of its functions and retained only those regarding charitable bequests.

The constitution of Pius X (Sapienti consilio, 29 Jun 1908) did not abolish the Congregatio Lauretana but provided that the congregation would remain distinct from the others, although attached to the Congregation of the Council (ID VATV011-A). The office of prefect, formerly held by the cardinal secretary of state, would now be held by the prefect of the Congregation of the Council. The constitution of Pius X did not define the powers of the Congregation of Loreto but they were already much diminished by events that had taken place in Italy in the previous fifty years. The functions, therefore, related primarily to the restorations of the basilica and supervision of the numerous pilgrimages to the shrine. The Congregation of the Council transacted the business of the Lauretan Congregation in all other matters of its authority according to the established rules of procedure.

The Congregatio Lauretana was quietly suppressed in 1917. The sanctuary was placed under pontifical administration on October 11, 1935. It was named a prelature nullius on June 24, 1965, which is now called a territorial prelature.

To see a general agency history for the Curia Romana, enter "FIN ID VATV214-A"

From the description of Agency history record. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 145570648