„NE QUID RERUM DICTAE POENITENTIARIAE LAPSU TEMPORIS PEREAT”: Discovering the Archives of the Apostolic Penitentiary

Abstract

The Apostolic Penitentiary is one of the oldest dicasteries of the Roman Curia. Its origins dates to the late 12th century when the popes began delegating to a cardinal – known as Major Penitentiary – to absolve censures and grant dispensation from irregularities reserved to the Roman Pontiff. During the Middle Ages, the jurisdic- tion of the Penitentiary gradually expanded over a wide range of matters, both in the internal forum (the private sphere of individual conscience) and in the exter- nal, public forum. In 1569 Pius V carried out a profound reform of the office’s jurisdiction and organization, adapting it to the reforming impulses of the pos- Tridentine Church. Throughout the early modern period, the Apostolic Penitentiary thus became the Church’s supreme authority for matters of the inter- nal forum. Nevertheless, at times of particular crisis, popes continued to entrust the Major Penitentiary with specific faculties in the external forum. In 1908, Pius X definitively defined the Penitentiary’s jurisdiction as a tribunal of the internal forum, a status most recently reaffirmed by Francis. By long-standing custom, the Penitentiary has maintained its historical archives independently. Owing to the sensitive nature of cases pertaining to the internal forum, this documentary heritage remained closed to historical research for a long time. Following an initial partial opening in 1988, the archival fonds relating to the history of the Penitentiary and its activities in the external forum were officially opened for public consultation in 2011. This paper offers an initial guide to the available documentation, together with a concise overview of the his- tory of the office and its archives.