Annuario Pontificio

The Annuario Pontificio (Italian for Pontifical Yearbook) is a yearly book about the Catholic Church. It lists the popes in chronological order and all the people who work in the Holy See's departments.

It also has the names and contact details for all cardinals and bishops. It talks about dioceses and the Roman Curia.

The book covers the Holy See's diplomatic missions abroad and embassies that work with the Holy See. It also includes information about the headquarters of religious institutes. It has statistics and important data about these groups. The book lists priests who have been given the title of "Monsignor".

Published each year by the Central Office of Church Statistics and the Libreria Editrice Vaticana, the Annuario Pontificio is mostly in Italian.

History

A yearbook of the Catholic Church was published from 1716 to 1859 by a printing firm in Rome. In 1860, the Holy See began producing its own yearbook called the Annuario Pontificio.

The Vatican Press took over the yearbook in 1885. From 1912 to 1924, it included notes about the departments of the Roman Curia and certain posts within the papal court. A similar yearbook was also made in French by a publishing house in Paris.

List of popes

See also: List of popes

The Annuario Pontificio lists the popes of the Catholic Church. The list can change when new popes review history. For example, in 1942, it included popes from the Council of Pisa in 1409: Gregory XII, Alexander V, and John XXIII. Later, Pope John XXIII chose to reuse the name John XXIII, saying there were twenty-two Johns before him who were true popes. This change appeared in the 1963 Annuario Pontificio, which no longer listed Alexander V and the first John XXIII as true popes.

Statistical data

The Annuario Pontificio helps churches learn about their members. It shares details about each area, like how many people live there and how many belong to the church. This information comes from local church leaders and shows the situation at the end of the previous year.

The yearbook includes facts, like the size of the area, the number of churches, and how many people work for the church. It also tracks events, such as baptisms and new priests, to help understand how the church is growing and serving its members.

Release details

The Annuario Pontificio per l'anno is published each year by the Libreria Editrice Vaticana in Vatican City. The 2021 edition has the ISBN number 9788826605999.