Black nobility

Pius IX funeral escorted by the noble guard

Despite the relatively recent name, the Black Nobility had existed for centuries, originating in the baronial class of Rome and in the powerful families who moved to Rome to benefit from a family connection to the Vatican. These supported the Popes in the governance of the Papal States and in the administration of the Holy See.[2] Many of the members of Black Noble families also became high-ranking clergy and even Popes. Black Nobility families (in this instance families whose ancestors included Popes) still in existence include notably the Colonna, Massimo, Orsini, Ruspoli, Pallavicini, Theodoli, Sacchetti, Borghese, Odescalchi, and Boncompagni-Ludovisi. Major extinct papal families include the Savelli, Caetani, the Aldobrandini and Conti. Famous members of Black Nobility families include Arnaldo De Rosette, Bishop of Asti, who promulgated a Synod which provided some decrees to regulate and classify the clergy of Lombardy and Piedmont and its composition, with a particular emphasis on the Knights Hospitallers; Eugenio Pacelli, who later became Pope Pius XII; Ernesto Pacelli, an important financier; and Prospero Colonna, mayor of Rome.

Following the conclusion of the Lateran Treaty in 1929, the Black Nobility were given dual citizenship in Italy and Vatican City. Under the provisions of the treaty, noble titles granted by the pope were recognized in the Kingdom of Italy. Many of these families were members of the largely ceremonial Papal Noble Guard; others were foreigners affiliated with the Holy See in various ways. In 1931, Pope Pius XI denied the request of Alfonso XIII of Spain to open the Noble Guard further to nobles from all Catholic countries. In World War II, the Papal Noble Guard guarded the Pope alongside the Swiss Guard.[3]

Pope Paul VI abolished many Vatican City positions with the motu proprio document Pontificalis Domus (English: The Papal Household) in 1968. As well as changing the name of the group from Papal Court to Papal Household, many of the positions occupied by the Black Nobility were abolished. According to the motu proprio: "Many of the offices entrusted to members of the Papal Household were deprived of their function, continuing to exist as purely honorary positions, without much correspondence to concrete needs of the times."[4] Many of these positions and the Papal Court itself were still set up for administering the Papal States, which had been lost in 1870. The Black Nobility's perks, such as Vatican City licence plates, were also withdrawn. Some Black Nobles resented these changes. According to diplomat and author Roger Peyrefitte, it was members of the Black Nobility who first told him of the Pope's alleged association with an actor, which eventually led to Peyreffite's public statements and subsequent scandal.[5] In May 1977, some members of the Black Nobility, led by Princess Elvina Pallavicini, started courting traditional Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

• Papal nobility
• Papal household
• Prince Assistants to the Papal Throne
• Pontificalis Domus
• Roman Question
• Law of Guarantees
• Prisoner in the Vatican
• Ernesto Pacelli
• Arnaldo De Rosette, Bishop of Asti
• Orsini family
• House of Farnese

• Alvarez, David. The Pope's Soldiers: A Military History of the Modern Vatican (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2011)
• Coulombe, Charles A. (2003). Vicars of Christ: A History of the Popes. New York: Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-2370-0. p. 415
• Arlington, Paul I. Murphy with R. René (1983). La popessa (1. print. ed.). New York: Warner. ISBN 0-446-51258-3. p. 41
• Article on the pre-1968 reform Papal Court, including hereditary officers
• Text of the apostolic letter Pontificalis Domus (in Latin)

Calendario Pontificio (tutte le edizioni) Gallelli-editore Libro d'Oro della Nobiltà Pontificia (tutte le edizioni) Gallelli-editore

Fiction using the term

• Greeley, Andrew M. (1997). White Smoke: A Novel about the Next Papal Enclave (1st mass market ed.). New York: Forge. ISBN 0-8125-9055-4. p. 64.
• Segal, Erich. 1993. Acts of Faith. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-56070-0. p. 315.