An apostolic constitution represents a very solemn pronouncement issued by the Pope on a doctrinal or disciplinary question. For example, Pope Paul VI’s apostolic constitution Missale …

On October 11, 1992, Pope John Paul II officially promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church with his apostolic constitution Fidei Depositum. The idea of a catechism is not new. …

The Gloria is a hymn of praise. The opening verse is taken from the angels announcement to the shepherds of the birth of Our Lord (Luke 2:14). The Greek version appeared about the year …

In more recent times, all of the Popes since Pope St. Pius X (except Pope John Paul I) have refined the election process, in particular Pope Paul VI in the apostolic constitution Romano …

Beginning with Pope Urban VIII in 1634, various popes have revised and improved the norms and procedures for canonization, even in the last century — Pope Pius XI, Pope Paul VI, and most …

The Holy Father, thereupon, established a special commission of cardinals and bishops in 1986, and he promulgated the new catechism Oct.11, 1992 with the Apostolic Constitution, “Fidei …

To this day, a papal tiara may still be used. Pope Paul VI, the last Pope to use a papal tiara, issued his apostolic constitution Romano Pontifici Eligendo (1975) which updated the …

Pope Paul VI exhorted the faithful in his apostolic constitution Paenitemini, “Mortification aims at the ‘liberation’ of man, who often finds himself, because of concupiscence, almost chained by …

Apostolic Constitution and the New Testament Codex Alexandrinus (5th century) which contain the gloria almost exactly in its present wording. In the Middle Ages, it was used as a solemn …

In 1972, Pope Paul VI released his Apostolic Constitution Sacram Unctionem infirmorum which prescribed that a priest first lay his hands on the head of the sick person in silence, and then …