Roman Curia Facts for Kids

The Roman Curia (Latin Curia Romanae) is usually called "The Curia". It is the cabinet of Vatican City and the Roman Catholic Church.

Parts of The Curia look after the independent country of the Vatican. For example, The Curia includes the Vatican's courts.

Other parts of The Curia do jobs that are important for the Catholic Church. For example, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is in charge of meeting other churches.

All of the parts of The Curia that are listed on the Vatican's website are explained in this table.

The Roman Congregations
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith	Looks after Catholic doctrine (the beliefs that the Church teaches)
The Congregation for the Oriental Churches	Keeps in touch with the Eastern Catholic Churches
The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments	In charge of Catholic liturgy (the way Catholics worship)
The Congregation for the Causes of Saints	Controls the process of declaring someone a saint
The Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples	In charge of missionary work
The Congregation for the Clergy	Looks after priests and deacons who are not in a religious order
The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life	Looks after members of religious orders (like Benedictine monks and Carmelite nuns)
Congregation for Catholic Education (in Seminaries and Institutes of Study)	Oversees Catholic education in schools, universities, and seminaries (places were priests are trained)
The Congregation for Bishops	Helps choose new bishops
The Tribunals
The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Penitentiary	The Supreme Court for issues that have to do with forgiveness of sin
The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura	The Supreme Court for other matters (like the annulment of marriage)
The Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota	The highest appeals court in the Roman Catholic Church
The Pontifical Councils
The Pontifical Council for the Laity	Helps the Pope in dealings with ordinary Catholics ("laity" are people who are not priests or clergy)
The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity	Arranges working with other Churches and promotes ecumenism
The Pontifical Council for the Family	Promotes the care, rights, and dignity of families
The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace	Works for justice, peace, and human rights
The Pontifical Council Cor Unum	Does humanitarian relief work after disasters; encourages charity; and is in charge of other Catholic organizations that do these things
The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants	Looks after the religious needs of migrants, refugees, exiles, and people without homes
The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers	Looks after the religious needs of health care workers
The Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts	Interprets the Church's laws when there is a question about what they mean
The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue	Encourages different religious groups to study each other's religions, think, and talk together
The Pontifical Council for Culture	Tries to create good relationships between the Catholic Church and people of different cultures
The Pontifical Council for Social Communications	In charge of using the media to spread the Gospel.
The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization	In charge of spreading Catholicism in places where it is common, but religion is getting less popular
The Synod
The Synod of Bishops	A group of Bishops chosen to advise the Pope
The Offices
The Apostolic Camera	The Church's central board of finance
The Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See	Manages and deals the Holy See's properties
The Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See	Manages the financial investments and budget of Vatican City and the Roman Catholic Church (except the Vatican Bank)
Council for the Economy	Supervises the financial activities of all of Vatican City, including the Holy See and the Roman Curia
The Office of the Auditor General	Audits the Roman Curia and the government of Vatican City (for example, to make sure no fraud is happening)
The Pontifical Commissions
The Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church	Guards the art, books, papers, and other important things in the Church's libraries and archives
The Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archeology	Protects ancient Catholic cemeteries and monuments in Rome
The Pontifical Biblical Commission	Made of Bible scholars who interpret the Bible and answer questions that come up about it
The International Theological Commission	Helps the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith answer important questions about Catholic doctrine
The Interdicasterial Commission for the Catechism of the Catholic Church	A temporary commission set up to translate the Church's Catechism into Latin
The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei	Looks after the religious care of certain clergy and laity, with the goal of ending a disagreement in the Church
The Pontifical Commission for Latin America	Looks after the Church in Latin America
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors	Makes sure children are safe in the Church
Other institutions
The Swiss Guard	Guard the Apostolic Palace, the entrances to the Vatican City, and the Pope, and keep them safe
The Pontifical Academies	There are ten academies in which leading teachers and scientists help to advise the Pope
The Labour Office	In charge of keeping good relationships with the people who work at the Vatican, and solving problems when workers are unhappy

Images for kids

The headquarters of the Propaganda fide in Rome with north facade on Piazza di Spagna by architect Bernini; seen here is the southwest facade by Borromini: etching by Giuseppe Vasi, 1761
The Basilica of the Annunciation is the largest Christian church building in the Middle East under the supervision of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
Good Shepherd fresco from the Catacombs of San Callisto under the care of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archeology

Roman Curia facts for kids

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