Protonotary apostolic

History

In late antiquity, there were in Rome seven regional notaries who, on the further development of the papal administration and the accompanying increase of the notaries, remained the supreme palace notaries of the papal chancery (notarii apostolici or protonotarii).

In the Middle Ages, the protonotaries were very high papal officials and were often raised directly from this office to the cardinalate. Originally numbering seven, Pope Sixtus V (1585–90) increased their number to twelve. Their importance gradually diminished, and at the time of the French Revolution, the office had almost entirely disappeared. On 8 February 1838, Pope Gregory XVI re-established the college of real protonotaries with seven members called protonotarii de numero participantium, also known as numerary protonotaries, because they shared in the revenues, as officials of the Roman Chancery.

Since the sixteenth century, the popes had also appointed honorary protonotaries, who enjoyed the same privileges as the seven real members of the college; and titular protonotaries, who held a corresponding position in the administration of the episcopal ordinariate or in the collegiate chapter.

By the motu proprio Inter multiplices of 21 February 1905, Pope Pius X defined the position of the protonotaries, ... privileges, dress, and insignia of the members of the four classes:

• Apostolic protonotaries de numero (protonotarii apostolici de numero participantium), members 'within the number' of the college of prelates, who exercised their office in connection with the acts of consistories and canonizations, had a representative in the Congregation of the Propaganda, and, according to the reorganization of the Curia by the Constitution "Sapienti consilio" of 29 June 1908, signed the papal Bulls instead of the earlier abbreviatores.
• Apostolic protonotaries supernumerary (protonotarii apostolici supranumerarii), a dignity to which only the canons of the four Roman patriarchal basilica majors (the Lateran and the Prefects of the Diocese of Rome, St. Peter's, St. Mary Major, St. Paul Outside the Walls), and of cathedral chapters outside Rome to which the privilege had been granted, could be raised;
• Apostolic protonotaries ad instar (protonotarii apostolici ad instar sc. participantium), who were appointed by the pope and had the same external insignia as the real protonotaries;
• Titular or Honorary Protonotaries (protonotarii titulares seu honorarii), who were found outside Rome, and who received this dignity from the nuncios, or as a special privilege or being a vicar general or vicar capitular.