Sede vacante
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Sede vacante (lit. 'with the chair [being] vacant' in
History
Early in church history, the archpriest, archdeacon, and "primicerius of the notaries" in the papal court made a regency council which governed the sede vacante period.[2]
It was the obligation of the
Vacancy of the Holy See
After the
According to
The coat of arms of the Holy See also changes during this period. The papal tiara over the keys is replaced with the umbraculum, or ombrellino in Italian. This symbolizes both the lack of a Pope and the governance of the Camerlengo over the temporalities of the Holy See. As further indication, the Camerlengo ornaments his arms with this symbol during this period, which he subsequently removes once a pope is elected. Previously during this period the arms of the Camerlengo appeared on commemorative Vatican lira coinage. It now makes its appearance on Vatican euro coins, which are legal tender in all Eurozone states.
The
The most recent period of sede vacante of the Holy See began on 28 February 2013, after the resignation of Benedict XVI,[5] and ended on 13 March 2013 with the election of Pope Francis, a period of 13 days.
The longest period without a Pope in the last 250 years was the approximately half year from the death in prison of Pius VI in 1799 and the election of Pius VII in Venice in 1800.
Extended sede vacante periods
Whilst conclaves and papal elections are generally completed in short order, there have been several periods when the papal chair has been vacant for months or even years.
The following table details sede vacante periods in excess of a year:
Preceding Pope | Subsequent Pope | Beginning | Ending | Duration |
---|---|---|---|---|
Clement IV | Gregory X | 29 November 1268 | 1 September 1271 | 2 years 10 months |
Nicholas IV | Celestine V | 4 April 1292 | 5 July 1294 | 2 years 3 months |
Clement V | John XXII | 20 April 1314 | 2 August 1316 | 2 years 3 months |
Gregory XII | Martin V | 4 July 1415 | 11 November 1417 | 2 years 5 months |
Sede vacante periods since 1799
Preceding Pope | Subsequent Pope | Beginning | Ending | Duration[6] |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pius VI | Pius VII | 29 August 1799 | 14 March 1800 | 197 days |
Pius VII | Leo XII | 20 August 1823 | 28 September 1823 | 39 days |
Leo XII | Pius VIII | 10 February 1829 | 31 March 1829 | 49 days |
Pius VIII | Gregory XVI | 30 November 1830 | 2 February 1831 | 63 days |
Gregory XVI | Pius IX | 1 June 1846 | 16 June 1846 | 15 days |
Pius IX | Leo XIII | 7 February 1878 | 20 February 1878 | 13 days |
Leo XIII | Pius X | 20 July 1903 | 4 August 1903 | 15 days |
Pius X | Benedict XV | 20 August 1914 | 3 September 1914 | 14 days |
Benedict XV | Pius XI | 22 January 1922 | 6 February 1922 | 15 days |
Pius XI | Pius XII | 10 February 1939 | 2 March 1939 | 20 days |
Pius XII | John XXIII | 9 October 1958 | 28 October 1958 | 19 days |
John XXIII | Paul VI | 3 June 1963 | 21 June 1963 | 18 days |
Paul VI | John Paul I | 6 August 1978 | 26 August 1978 | 20 days |
John Paul I | John Paul II | 28 September 1978 | 16 October 1978 | 18 days |
John Paul II | Benedict XVI | 2 April 2005 | 19 April 2005 | 17 days |
Benedict XVI | Francis | 28 February 2013 | 13 March 2013 | 13 days |
Catholic dioceses and archdioceses
The term sede vacante can be applied to Catholic dioceses, archdioceses, and
Within eight days after the episcopal see is known to be vacant, the college of
If the college of consultors fails to elect a qualifying person within the time allotted, the choice of an administrator passes to the
Before the election of the administrator of a vacant see, the governance of the see is entrusted, with the powers of a vicar general, to the auxiliary bishop, if there is one, or to the senior among them, if there are several, otherwise to the college of consultors as a whole. The administrator has greater powers, essentially those of a bishop or archbishop except for matters excepted by the nature of the matter or expressly by law.[11] Canon law subjects his activity to various legal restrictions and to special supervision by the college of consultors (as for example canons 272 and 485).
Vicars general and episcopal vicars lose their powers sede vacante if they are not bishops or archbishops;[12] the vicars that are themselves having both positions retain the powers they had before the see fell vacant, which they are to exercise under the authority of the administrator.[13]
A coat of arms of the last (arch)bishop of a/an (arch)diocese may also be used during sede vacante period as placeholder to indicate and establish continuity while awaiting for the installation of a successor. Once a successor is installed or assumed office which ends the sede vacante period, the coat of arms of a new (arch)bishop will then be used by the (arch)diocese and discontinuing the usage of the predecessor's arms.
Other uses
The term has been adopted in
See also
Notes
- ^ An ablative absolute construction; the phrase in the nominative case is sedes vacans. The term in Greek: εν χηρεία, translit. en khēreia, lit. "in widowhood".[1]
References
- ^ "Κρήτη: Εν χηρεία η θέση του Αρχιεπισκόπου - Ξεκινά η διαδικασία διαδοχής" [The See of the Archbishop in widowhood: the succession process begins] (in Greek). parapolitica.gr 98.1 FM. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- )
- ^ ISBN 978-90-04-20623-6.
- ^ "Motu proprio Normas nonnullas". Vatican.va. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ "Declaration of Resignation, News.va, 11 Feb 2013". News.va. Archived from the original on 11 August 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ As is usual in English, in canon law also (Code of Canon Law, canon 203), the initial day is not counted in calculating the length of a period, unless the period began with the beginning of the day.
- ^ See Codex Iuris Canonici Canon 502 § 3 (noting that an episcopal conference can transfer the functions of the consultors to the cathedral chapter).
- ^ "Code of Canon Law, canon 421 §1". Intratext.com. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ Code of Canon Law, canon 425 §1. The word used (sacerdos) applies also to a bishop, not just a priest.
- ^ "Code of Canon Law, canons 421 §2 and 425 §3". Intratext.com. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ "Code of Canon Law, canons 426-427". Intratext.com. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ Codex Iuris Canonici Canon 481 § 1.
- ^ Codex Iuris Canonici Canon 409 § 2.
- ISBN 978-0-31305078-7), p. 16
- ISBN 978-0-81085755-1), p. 434
- ISBN 978-0-25332922-6), p. 257