An apostolic constitution (Latin: constitutio apostolica) is the most solemn form of legislation issued by the Pope.
By their nature, apostolic constitutions are addressed to the public. Generic constitutions use the title apostolic constitution and treat solemn matters of the church, such as the promulgation of laws or definitive teachings. The forms dogmatic constitution and pastoral constitution are titles sometimes used to be more descriptive as to the document's purpose.
A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, of the Latin or an Eastern church, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation.
Until 1986, they were called "military vicariates" and had a status similar to that of apostolic vicariates, which are headed by a bishop who receives his authority by delegation from the Pope. The apostolic constitution Spirituali militum curae of 21 April 1986 raised their status, declaring that the bishop who heads one of them is an "ordinary", holding authority by virtue of his office, and not by delegation from another person in authority. It likened the military vicariates to dioceses. Each of them is headed by a bishop, who may have the personal rank of archbishop. If the bishop is a diocesan, he is likely to delegate the daily functions to an auxiliary bishop or a lower cleric.
The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus as the assumption of Mary, body and soul, into heaven. It is celebrated on 15 August.
It leaves open the question of whether Mary died or whether she was raised to eternal life without bodily death.
A personal ordinariate for former Anglicans, shortened as personal ordinariate or Anglican ordinariate, is a canonical structure within the Catholic Church established in order to enable "groups of Anglicans" and Methodists to join the Catholic Church while preserving elements of their liturgical and spiritual patrimony.
Created in accordance with the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum coetibus of 4 November 2009 and its complementary norms, the ordinariates are juridically equivalent to a diocese, "a particular church in which and from which exists the one and unique Catholic Church", but may be erected in the same territory as other dioceses "by reason of the rite of the faithful or some similar reason".
Praedicate evangelium (English: Preach the gospel) is an apostolic constitution reforming the Roman Curia; it was published and promulgated on 19 March 2022 by Pope Francis, and the document took effect on 5 June 2022.
The apostolic constitution was developed over nine years by the Council of Cardinals. It is the fifth time that a reform of the Roman Curia of this kind has occurred. The document replaces Pope John Paul II's Pastor bonus of 1988.
The papal conclave of 2025 was convened to elect a pope, the leader of the Catholic Church, to succeed Francis following his death on 21 April 2025. In accordance with the apostolic constitution Universi Dominici gregis, which governed the vacancy of the Holy See, only cardinals who had not passed their 80th birthdays on the day on which the Holy See became vacant (in this case, those who were born on or after 21 April 1945) were eligible to participate in the conclave. Although not a formal requirement, the cardinal electors have almost always elected the pope from among their number. The election was carried out by secret ballot (Latin: per scrutinium).
Of the 252 members of the College of Cardinals at the time of Francis's death, 135 cardinal electors were eligible to participate in the subsequent conclave. Two cardinal electors did not attend, decreasing the number of participants to 133. The required two-thirds supermajority needed to elect a pope was 89 votes.
Munificentissimus Deus (Latin: The most bountiful God) is an apostolic constitution published in 1950 by Pope Pius XII. It defines ex cathedra the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was the first and thus far the only ex-cathedra infallible statement since the official ruling on papal infallibility was made at the First Vatican Council (1869–1870). In 1854 Pope Pius IX had made an infallible statement with Ineffabilis Deus on the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, which was a basis for this dogma.
A pontifical university or athenaeum is an ecclesiastical university established or approved directly by the Holy See, composed of three main ecclesiastical faculties (Theology, Philosophy and Canon Law) and at least one other faculty. According to the apostolic constitution Veritatis gaudium, an institution with four ecclesiastical faculties is canonically erected as an Pontifical university, while one with three ecclesiastical faculties is erected as an Pontifical athenaeum. These academic institutes deal specifically with Christian philosophy and related disciplines, and the Church's mission of spreading the Gospel, as proclaimed in the apostolic constitution Sapientia christiana. As of 2018, they are governed by the apostolic constitution Veritatis gaudium issued by Pope Francis on 8 December 2017.
Johannes Baptist Franzelin (15 April 1816 – 11 December 1886) was an Austrian Jesuit theologian and Cardinal. A papal theologian at the First Vatican Council, he assisted with drafting the Apostolic Constitutions composed during the council.