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Utilisateur:FHd/Cardinaux/Dataires

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L'origine de la daterie remonte au moins au XIVe siècle lorsqu'on distinguait la signature des lettres pontificales de l'apposition de la date, qui était à la charge d'une personne spécifique, le dataire (datarius).

Sous Sixte IV, les charges du dataire sont étendues et à la fin du XVe siècle, il est à la tête d'un office pour préparer et dater la concession de certaines dispenses matrimoniales, la collation de bénéfices, et l'octroie d'indults et de grâces. À partir du XVIIe siècle, l'office est dirigé par un cardinal nommé le pro-dataire.

Le pro-dataire dirige l'office avec l'aide du sous-dataire, un prélat de la curie, et une importante équipe d'officiels. Ces charges d'officiel sont remplies par des laïcs et se transmettaient en général de père en fils avec souvent des profits faits au dépend du Saint-Siège. Léon XIII introduit des réformes dans l'organisation de la daterie en 1901, et Pie X réduit les compétences de l'office dans la constitution apostolique Sapienti consilio en 1908. L'octroi des dispenses est transféré vers la nouvelle Congrégation des sacrements, mais le cardinal reçoit le nom de dataire et reste responsable de la collation des bénéfices non-consistoriaux (non dispensés en consistoire) du pape.

L'office est supprimé par Paul VI par la constitution apostolique Regimini Ecclesiae Universae le 15 août 1967.


Traces of the office of Datarius are found as early as the pontificate of Pope Martin V (1417-1431). Its origin goes back to the distinction which was introduced at the time of the Western Schism between the signature on Pontifical Letters and the marking of the date, which was entrusted to a specific person.

Under Pope Sixtus IV (1471-1484), the duties of the Datarius were expanded and, starting with the end of the XV century, he was at the head of a special office for the preparation and the dating of the grants of favors, especially of non-consistorial benefices reserved to the Holy See, and of certain dispensations. Beginning with the XVII century, the office was usually entrusted to a cardinal with the title of pro-datarius.

The pro-datarius had under his jurisdiction the sub-datarius, and a considerable staff. Leo XIII, on February 6, 1901 organized and divided the business of the Datary into three sections, each with its own respective head or prefect: the section for the conferring of benefices, the section for matrimonial dispensations, and the administrative section.

Through the apostolic constitution Sapienti Consilio issued on June 29, 1908, Pope St. Pius X (1903-1914), turned over to the new S.C. of the Sacraments the faculty for matrimonial dispensations; however, he made the Datary independent of the Chancery in the despatching of papal bulls, and he determined its field of competence in the following terms: "This office is under the charge of a Cardinal of Holy Roman Church, who will henceforth have the title of Datarius. To the Datary was entrusted the sole task of examining the qualifications of those who apply for non-consistorial benefices reserved to the Apostolic See (or which have fallen within its jurisdiction); to draw up and despatch the Apostolic Letters for the conferring of these benefices; to grant dispensations from conditions required for the conferring of such benefices; to supervise the pensions and obligations which the Sovereign Pontiff may have imposed in the conferring of the aforementioned benefices."

the concession of matrimonial dispensations of external jurisdiction, and with the collation of benefices reserved to the Holy See. To this double faculty was added that of granting many other indults and graces


With the Code of Canon Law (promulgated on May 27, 1917, effective on May 19, 1918), the Apostolic Reservations were extended to the universal Church and constituted universal law. The cardinal datary was one of the palatine cardinals. The office was suppressed by Pope Paul VI (1963-1978), with the apostolic constitution Regimini Ecclesiae Universae, August 15, 1967.