A papal gentleman, formally a Gentleman of His Holiness, is a lay attendant of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. Papal gentlemen serve in the Apostolic Palace near St. Peter's Basilica in ceremonial positions, such as escorting dignitaries during state visits and other important occasions. It is a local name for the old court position of valet de chambre. To be appointed is an honor. The appointee is an unpaid volunteer.
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A chamberlain (Medieval Latin: cambellanus or cambrerius, with charge of treasury camerarius) is a senior royal official in charge of managing a royal household. Historically, the chamberlain superintends the arrangement of domestic affairs and was often also charged with receiving and paying out money kept in the royal chamber. The position was usually awarded as an honour to a high-ranking member of the nobility (nobleman) or the clergy, often a royal favourite. Roman emperors appointed this officer under the title of cubicularius. The Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church enjoys very extensive powers, having the revenues of the papal household under his charge. As a sign of their dignity, chamberlains bore a key, which in the seventeenth century was often silvered, and actually fitted the door-locks of chamber rooms. Since the eighteenth century, it has turned into a merely symbolic, albeit splendid, rank-insignia of gilded bronze. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign.
The papal household or pontifical household (usually not capitalized in the media and other nonofficial use, Latin: Pontificalis Domus), called until 1968 the Papal Court (Aula Pontificia), consists of dignitaries who assist the pope in carrying out particular ceremonies of either a religious or a civil character.
It is organised into two bodies: the Papal Chapel (Cappella Pontificia), which assists the pope in his functions as the spiritual head of the church, especially in religious ceremonies; and the Papal Family or Household (Familia Pontificia), which assists him as head of a juridical body with civil functions.
Count Christopher de Paus (10 September 1862 – 10 September 1943) was a Norwegian-born aristocrat, papal courtier and philanthropist.
A member of the Paus family—the name means pope—he was heir to the Norwegian timber firm Tostrup & Mathiesen and inherited a fortune from his grandfather, timber magnate Christopher Tostrup. From the 1870s, he spent much of his life in Rome, where he converted to Catholicism. He was appointed as a papal chamberlain by Pope Benedict XV in 1921 and conferred the title of count by Pope Pius XI in 1923. He was a prominent benefactor of museums and the Catholic Church. He donated the Paus collection of classical sculpture that now forms part of the National Museum of Norway. Paus was considered "the founder of the National Gallery's antiquities collection" by Harry Fett.
The papal nobility are the aristocracy of the Holy See, composed of persons holding titles bestowed by the Pope in his capacity as the head of state of Vatican City (rather than his positions within the Roman Catholic Church). From the Middle Ages into the nineteenth century, the papacy held direct temporal power in the Papal States, and many titles of papal nobility were derived from fiefs with territorial privileges attached. During this time, the Pope also bestowed ancient civic titles such as patrician. Today, the Pope still exercises authority to grant titles with territorial designations, although these are purely nominal and the privileges enjoyed by the holders pertain to styles of address and heraldry. Additionally, the Pope grants personal and familial titles that carry no territorial designation. Their titles being merely honorific, the modern papal nobility includes descendants of ancient Roman families as well as notable Catholics from many countries. All pontifical noble titles are within the personal gift of the pontiff, and are not recorded in the Official Acts of the Holy See.