About the Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is, essentially, the government of the Catholic Church. The Curia is made up of an assortment of offices, congregations, and councils which oversee the various areas of the church's work. The structure of the Curia has undergone many changes over time. The graphic below shows the structure of the Curia today (click to see a larger image).
For more information, you may want to examine the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus, issued by Pope John Paul II in 1988, which sets the current structure and norms of the Roman Curia.
Note that changes to the Roman Curia are anticipated to be announced sometime in 2020,
as part of the forthcoming encyclical Praedicate Evangelium. Stay tuned!
Other useful resources include:
- Noonan, James-Charles. "Sacred College" and "Roman Curia." In The Church Visible: The Ceremonial Life and Protocol of the Roman Catholic Church, 3-64 and 65-86. New York: Viking, 1996. Dinand Ref. BX1969 .N66 1996 OR check out online from the Internet Archive
- Reese, Thomas J. "The Roman Curia." In Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church, 106-139. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996. BX1802 .R44 1996 OR check out online from the Internet Archive
- "Inforgraphic: Understanding the Hierarchy." Denver Catholic, February 25, 2016. Link
Different sections of the Curia may variously issue publications or other important documents. Click the links below or scroll down to explore documents issued by....
Documents of Church Councils
Councils (also sometimes known as synods in the Roman Catholic tradition) are gatherings of clergy, usually bishops, convened to make an important decision or decisions related to the faith. These councils are often gathered in cases of emergency. There are many different kinds of councils and synods. In addition to councils convened on special occasions, the Curia also includes pontifical councils, headed by Cardinals, which meet regularly to work on specific projects of the church.
One of the more commonly-known types is the ecumenical council. These councils, sometimes also called general councils, are "assemblies of bishops and other invited persons who meet with and under the authority of the Roman Pontiff to discuss and determine matters of faith, morals, and discipline for the entire Catholic Church" (New Catholic Encyclopedia). While ecumenical councils are not convened very frequently, they often produce critical church doctrine and documents due to the high-stakes nature of their content. One of the most well-known ecumenical councils was the Second Vatican Council, but you may be familiar with the seven ecumenical councils of the early Church -- 1st Nicaea, 1st Constantinople, 1st Ephesus, Chalcedon, 2nd & 3rd Constantinople, and 2nd Nicaea.
Unlike ecumenical councils, which are universal, plenary councils usually pertain to specific nations, while provincial councils or synods pertain to specific provinces within the church (and, as you might guess, diocesan councils/synods relate to specific dioceses and are convened by the bishop of that diocese).
Council documents tend to be published in compilations. You will see some of the compilations available in Dinand listed on the other tabs of this box. Many conciliar documents may also be found online.
Ecumenical Councils (General) 
- Decrees of the Ecumenical CouncilsCall Number: BX825 .A1990 v.1-2
- Disciplinary decrees of the general councils: Text, translation, and commentaryCall Number: BX825 .S3 1937
- The seven ecumenical councils of the undivided church : their canons and dogmatic decrees,...Call Number: BR200 .P4Includes the Councils of: Nicaea I (325AD), Constantinople I (381AD), Ephesus (431AD), Chalcedon (451AD), Constantinople II (453AD), Constantinople III (680–681AD), and Nicaea II (787AD).
Council of Constance 1414–1418
- The Council of Constance: The unification of the churchCall Number: [E-Book]Compiles several translations of first-hand accounts of the Council.
Council of Basel–Ferrara–Florence–Rome (1431–1445)
- Concilium Florentinum documenta et scriptores.Call Number: BX830 1438 +A2 ser.B:v.2, 4, 7
- De gestis Concilii Basiliensis commentariorum: libri II;Call Number: BX 830 1431 P69
- Quae supersunt actorum Graecorum Concilii Florentini necnon descriptionis cuiusdam eiusdemCall Number: Oversize BX830 1438 +A2 Ser.B v.5 pt. 1-2
- Acta Camerae apostolicae et civitatum Venetiarum, Ferrariae, Florentiae, Ianuae, de Concilio FlorentinoCall Number: Oversize BX830 1438 +A2 Ser.A v.3 pt.1
Council of Trent (1545-1563)
- Concilium Tridentinum : diariorum, actorum, epistolarum, tractatuum nova collectioCall Number: Oversize BX830 1545 +A2 1901 v.1-13
- Monumentorum ad historiam concilii tridentini potissimum illustrandam spectantium amplissima colletio.Call Number: Special Collections Oversize BX830 1545 +L5 v.1Special Collections item.
- Canones et decreta Concilii Tridentini : ex editione RomanaCall Number: Special CollectionsBX830 1545 .A2 1853Special Collections item.
- Sacrosanctum oecumenicum Concilium Tridentinum : additis declarationibus cardinalium Concilii interpretum...cum decisionibus variis Rotae Romanae eodem spectantibus : e bibliotheca D. Prosperi Farinacii ... & indice librorum prohibitorum ...Call Number: Special Collections BX830 1545 .A2 1762Special Collections item.
- Sacro-sanctum oecumenicum Concilium Tridentinum : additis declarationibus cardinalium ejusdem Concilii interpretum, ex ultima recognitione...cum variis Rotae Romanae decisionibus.Call Number: Special Coll. Oversize BX830 1545 +A2 1773Publication Date: 1773Special Collections item.
- Vera Concilii Tridentini historia : contra salsam Petri Suavis Polani narrationem....Call Number: Special Coll. Jesuitana BX820 +P1Special Collections item.
First Vatican Council (1869-1870)
See the First Vatican Council tab.
Second Vatican Council (1962-1965)
See the Second Vatican Council tab.
First Vatican Council -- Vatican I (1869-1870)
Official Documents
- Acta et decreta sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani, in quatuor prioribus sessionibusCall Number: BX 830 1869 A2 1872
- Acta et decreta sacrosancti et oecumenici concilii vaticani : die 8. Decembris 1869 a ss. d. n. Pio P. IX. InchoatiCall Number: BX 830 1869 A2 1871
- Acta Pii ix, quaedam ad fidem spectantia neccon Concilii Vaticani Primi : canones et decreta (1869-1870) ...Call Number: BX 830 1869 A2 1870
- Documents of Vatican Council I, 1869-1870. Selected and translated by John F. Broderick.Call Number: BX 830 1869 B86
First-Hand Accounts & Other Sources
- Letters from Rome on the Council byCall Number: Special Collections BX830 1869 .D6Special Collections item.
- Letters from Rome on the occasion of the Œcumenical Council, 1869-1870 byCall Number: BX 830 1869 M9 v.1-2
- The Vatican : a weekly record of the Council, with special intelligence, official documents, &c. confirma fratres tuos -- pasce oves meas. Dec. 1869 to August 1870.Call Number: Special Coll. Jesuitana AP4 +T1a 1870Special Collections item.
Second Vatican Council -- Vatican II (1962-1965)
Official Documents
- Acta synodalia Sacrosancti Concilii Oecumenici Vaticani II.Call Number: Oversize BX830 1962 +A2 1970 [24 parts total, + indices, appendix, appendix altera]The official records of the Second Vatican Council.
- Council daybook, Vatican II, session 1-4Call Number: Oversize BX830 1962 +N27 (3 vols.)"A record of what was released to the press and communicated to the public at the time that the Council was in session, including texts of speeches and all documents promulgated."
- The documents of Vatican II: In a new and definitive translation with commentaries and notes by Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox authorities.Call Number: BX830 1962 .A3 A13 1966
- The teachings of the Second Vatican Council : complete texts of the constitutions, decrees, and declarationsCall Number: BX830 1962.A3 N5
Personal Accounts & Other Sources
- Letters from Vatican City byCall Number: BX830 1962 R9
- The second session; the debates and decrees of Vatican Council II, September 29 to December 4, 1963 byCall Number: BX 830 1962 R9s
- The third session; the debates and decrees of Vatican Council II, September 14 to November 21, 1964 byCall Number: BX 830 1962 R9t
- The fourth session; the debates and decrees of Vatican Council II, September 14 to December 8, 1965 byCall Number: BX 830 1962 R9f
- Pope John and his council; a diary of the Second Vatican Council, September-December 1962. byCall Number: BX830 1962 .F18
- Vatican Diary byCall Number: BX 830 1962 H82 v.1-4
Councils of Baltimore
- Concilii plenarii Baltimorensis II. : in ecclesia metropolitana Baltimorensi, a die vii. ad diem xxi. octobris, A.D., MDCCCLXVI., habiti, et a Sede apostolica recogniti, acta et decretaCall Number: BX835 1866Also available online through the HathiTrust Digital Library.
- Acta et decreta Concilii plenarii Baltimorensis tertii. A.D. MDCCCLXXXIV. Praeside illmo. ac revmo. Jacobo GibbonsCall Number: BX835 1884Also available online through the HathiTrust Digital Library.
Latin American Council (1899)
- Acta et decreta concilii plenarii Americae latinae in urbe celebrati anno Domini MDCCCXCIX.Call Number: [HathiTrust E-Book]Publication Date: 1900Available online through the HathiTrust Digital Library.
- Epitome theologiae moralis : codicis canonici praescriptionibus, ac subsequentibus Sanctae Sedis declarationibus, dispositionibus iuris Hispani ac Lusitani, decretis Concilii Plenarii Americae Latinae, necnon I Conc. Prov. Manilani, earundenque regionum lCall Number: BX1758 .F3Publication Date: 1922
Documents of Congregations
Congregations are departments within the Roman Curia, composed of cardinals and bishops assisted by other administrators, which are devoted to specific tasks or issues of the church. They and the other offices of the Curia "study the major problems of the present age...promote initiatives for the good of the universal Church...[and]review matters that the Christian faithful, exercising their own right, bring to the attention of the Apostolic See."(see Pastor Bonus Art. 13). Generally speaking, congregations defer to the authority of the Pope and must submit to their decisions to him for approval.
The congregations meet regularly, at least once per year and sometimes more, and will, on occasion, produce documents publishing their decisions, discussion and other important material. You can see a selection of these publications which are available in Dinand by visiting the other tabs on this box. Many documents may also be found online.
Congregation for the Bishops (Congregatio pro Episcopis)
Previous names: Congregation for the Erection of Churches and Consistorial Provisions, Consistorial Congregation / Congregatio Consistorialis
No holdings at this time. Click the icon above to visit the Congregation's page on the Vatican website for more information and documents.
Congregation for Catholic Education (in Seminaries and Institutes of Study) (Congregatio de Seminariis et Studiorum Universitatibus)
Previous names: Congregatio pro universitate studii romani, Congregatio studiorum, Sacra Congregatio pro institutione Catholica
- Educational guidance in human love : outlines for sex education, November 1, 1983, and Charter of the rights of the family, presented by the Holy See to all persons, institutions and authorities concerned with the mission of the family in today's world, OCall Number: HQ56 .C3 1983Publication Date: 1983
- Statuta facultatum theologiae et philosophiae in collegiis Societatis Iesu erectarum : accedunt Constitutio Apostolica "Deus scientiarum Dominus" et Ordinationes Sacrae Congregationis de Seminariis et Studiorum Universitatibus.Call Number: Special Coll. Jesuitana LC493 .J485 1934Publication Date: 1934Special Collections item.
Congregation for the Causes of Saints (Congregatio pro Causis Sanctorum)
Previous names: Sacred Congregation of Rites / Sacra Rituum Congregatio (separated from the Sacred Congregation of Rites in 1969)
- The Catholic martyrs of England and Wales : a chronological list of English and Welsh martyrs who gave their lives for Christ and His Church during the "Penal Times" (A.D. 1535-1680) : the saints, the "beati" and the eighty-five venerable martyrs whose caCall Number: BX4676 .C33 1979Publication Date: 1979
- Archdiocese of Westminster: cause of the canonization of blessed martyrs John Houghton, Robert Lawrence, Augustine Webster, Richard Reynolds, John Stone, Cuthbert Mayne, John Paine, Edmund Campion, Alexander Briant, Ralph Sherwin and Luke Kirby, put to deCall Number: Oversize BX2330 +C74Publication Date: 1968
- The Positio of the Historical section of the Sacred congregation of rites : on the introduction of the cause for beatification and canonization and on the virtues of the servant of God, Katharine Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks : being the original doCall Number: Special CollectionsBX4705.T2 T2 1940Special Collections item.
Congregation for the Clergy
Previous names: Sacra Congregatio Cardinalium Concilii Tridentini interpretum, Sacred Congregation of the Council / Congregatio Concilii
- General directory for catechesisCall Number: BV1471.2 .C36 1998Publication Date: 1998Revised and updated version of the General catechetical directory, 1971.
- General catechetical directory (Directorium catechisticum generale)Call Number: BV1471.2 .C36Publication Date: 1971
- Selected documentationCall Number: BV1463 .I46 1971Publication Date: 1971Published by the International Catechetical Congress, organized by the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy.
- De forma sponsalium ac matrimonii post decretum, "Ne temere" 2 Aug. 1907Call Number: HQ1024 .V5Publication Date: 1907
Congregation for Divine Worship & the Discipline of the Sacraments (Congregatio de Cultu Divino et Disciplina Sacramentorum)
Previous names: Sacred Congregation of Rites (separated from the Sacred Congregation of Rites in 1969); Sacred Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments/Sacra Congregatio de Disciplina Sacramentorum; Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship/Sacra Congregatio pro Cultu Divino; Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Congregatio de Doctrina Fide)
Previous names: Sacred Congregation of the Universal Inquisition, Congregation of the Holy Office / Congregatio Sancti Officii
- Instruction on certain aspects of the "theology of liberation"Call Number: BT83.57 .C3Publication Date: 1984
- The Schillebeeckx case : official exchange of letters and documents in the investigation of Fr. Edward Schillebeeckx, O.P. by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 1976-1980Call Number: BX4705.S33 S3313 1984Publication Date: 1984
- I. Declaration on certain questions concerning sexual ethics : Sacred congregation for the doctrine of the faith : Persona humana, December 29, 1975 : II. Commentaries.Call Number: HQ32 .C39 1977Publication Date: 1977
- A decree made at Rome, the second of March, 1679 : condemning some opinions of the Jesuits and other Casuists (Sanctissimus)Call Number: Special Coll. Jesuitana BX3702.A2 C3Publication Date: 1679Special Collections item.
Titles specifically pertaining to the Index of Prohibited Books (Index Librorum Prohibitorum)
- Index librorum prohibitorum, SS. mi D.N. Pii PP. XII iussu editus, anno MDCCCCXLVIII.Call Number: Z 1020 1948Publication Date: 1948
- Index of prohibited books, revised and published by order of His Holiness Pope Pius XI.Call Number: Z 1020 1930Publication Date: 1930
- Index librorum prohibitorum Leonis XIII sum. pont. auctoritate, recognitus ss. d.n. Pii p. X iussu.Call Number: Z 1020 1911Publication Date: 1911
- Index librorum prohibitorum sanctissimi domini nostri Pii Sexti pontificis maximi jessu editus : et sub Pio Septimo ad annum usque 1806 continuatus.Call Number: Special Collections Z1020 1806Publication Date: 1806Special Collections item.
- Index librorum prohibitorum : Alexandri VII Pontificis Maximi iussu editusCall Number: Special Collections Z1020 1664Publication Date: 1664Special Collections item.
- Sacrosanctum oecumenicum Concilium Tridentinum : additis declarationibus cardinalium Concilii interpretum...cum decisionibus variis Rotae Romanae eodem spectantibus : e bibliotheca D. Prosperi Farinacii ... & indice librorum prohibitorum ...Call Number: Special Collections BX830 1545 .A2 1762Special Collections item.
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
Previous names: Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith / Congregatio pro Propaganda Fide
- United States documents in the Propaganda Fide archives : a calendarCall Number: BX1405 .A16 v.1-13Publication Date: 1966
- Collectanea S. Congregationis de propaganda fide, seu decreta, instructiones, rescripta pro apostolicis missionibus ex tabulario eiusdem Sacrae Congregationis deprompta.Call Number: Oversize BX809 +P9 1893Publication Date: 1893
Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life & Societies of Apostolic Life
Previous names: Sacred Congregation for Consultations about Regulars, Congregation for Religious / Congregatio de Religiosis, Congregation for Religious and for Secular Institutes
- Acta et documenta.Call Number: BX850 .C7 1950 v.1-4Publication Date: 1952Documents from the conference Congressus Generalis de Statibus Perfectionis, held in Rome.
Congregation for the Oriental Churches (Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus)
Previous names: Congregatio de Propaganda Fide pro negotiis ritus orientalis, Congregatio pro Ecclesia Orientali
- Statistica con cenni storici della gerarchia e dei fedeli di rito orientaleCall Number: BX1615 .S7Publication Date: 1932
Congregation for Indulgences & Holy Relics [defunct]
Merged with the Congregation of Sacred Rites as of 1904.
- Resolutiones seu Decreta authentica sacrae congregationis indulgentiis sacrisque reliquiis : praepositae ab anno 1668 ad annum 1861Call Number: Special CollectionsBX2281 .C23 1862Publication Date: 1862Special Collections item.
- Resolutiones seu decreta authentica sacrae congregationis indulgentiis sacrisque reliquiis, praepositae ab anno 1668 ad annum 1861 accurate collecta.Call Number: Special Collections BX2281.C23 1862bPublication Date: 1862Special Collections item.
- Rescripta authentica sacrae Congregationis indulgentiis sacrisque reliquiis praepositae : necnon summaria indulgentiarumCall Number: Special CollectionsBX2281 .C2 1885Publication Date: 1885Special Collections item.
- Decreta authentica sacrae Congregationis indulgentiis sacrisque reliquiis praepositae : ab anno 1668 ad annum 1882Call Number: Special CollectionsBX2281.C2 D4 1883Publication Date: 1883Special Collections item.
Sacred Congregation of Rites (Congregatio Sacrorum Rituum) [defunct]
Divided into the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments as of 1969.
- Archdiocese of Westminster: cause of the canonization of blessed martyrs John Houghton, Robert Lawrence, Augustine Webster, Richard Reynolds, John Stone, Cuthbert Mayne, John Paine, Edmund Campion, Alexander Briant, Ralph Sherwin and Luke Kirby, put to deCall Number: Oversize BX2330 +C74Publication Date: 1968
- Instruction on eucharistic worship, May 25, 1967.Call Number: BX2230.2 .A43 1967Publication Date: 1967
- Instruction on worship of the eucharistic mystery.Call Number: Oversize BX2215.2 +C36Publication Date: 1967
- On renewing the Holy Week liturgy : a general decree and instructiion of the Sacred Congregation of Rites by which the Holy Week liturgy is renewed.Call Number: BX2010 .C3 1955Publication Date: 1955
- Simplifying the rubrics of the Roman Breviary and Missal. Text of the decree "Cum nostra," with an English version and a commentary by J.B. O'Connell.Call Number: BX1971 .O1 1955Publication Date: 1955
- The Positio of the Historical section of the Sacred congregation of rites : on the introduction of the cause for beatification and canonization and on the virtues of the servant of God, Katharine Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks : being the original doCall Number: Special CollectionsBX4705.T2 T2 1940Special Collections item.
- Urbis et orbis : concenssionis tituli doctoris et extensionis ejusdem tituli ad universam ecclesiam nec non officii et missae sub ritu dupl. de comm. doctorum pontificum in honorem S. Roberti S.R.E. Card. Bellarmino e Societate JesuCall Number: Oversize BX4700.R6 +S1 1931Publication Date: 1931
- Urbis et orbis concessionis tituli Doctoris : et extensionis ejusdem tituli ad universam Ecclesiam, nec non Officii et Missae sub ritu doctorum pontificum, in honorem Sancti Roberti BellarminoCall Number: Oversize BT70 +R6uPublication Date: 1931
- Graduale Sacrosanctae Romanae Ecclesiae de tempore et de sanctis Ss. D. N. Pii X. Pontificis Maximi jussu restitutum et editum, cui addita sunt festa novissima.Call Number: Music Library M2149 1908Publication Date: 1908
- Decreta authentica Congregationis Sacrorum RituumCall Number: Oversize BX865 +1898 v.1-7Publication Date: 1898
- Compendium Gradualis et Missalis Romani / concinnatum ex editionibus typicis cura et auctoritate Sacrorum Rituum Congregationis publicatis.Call Number: Music Librarian's Office M 2148 L42 1886Publication Date: 1886Alternate title: Gradual (Pre-Vatican II).
For use within the Music Library only. Please visit the Music Library between the hours of 8:30am-4:30pm, Mon-Fri for assistance. - Supplementa ad Breviarium Romanum, seu, Officia sanctorum : quorumdam recentium, in Breviario Romano apponenda.Call Number: Special CollectionsBX2000 .A4 1734Publication Date: 1734Special Collections item.