Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith

Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith

Dicasterium pro doctrina fidei
Coat of arms of the Holy See
The Palace of the Holy Office
Dicastery overview
Formed	July 21, 1542; 481 years ago (1542-07-21)
Preceding agencies	Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Type	Dicastery
Headquarters	Palazzo del Sant'Uffizio, Rome, Italy
Dicastery executives	Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect Armando Matteo, Secretary John Joseph Kennedy, Secretary Joseph Augustine Di Noia, OP, Adjunct Secretary Charles Jude Scicluna, Adjunct Secretary Matteo Visioli, Undersecretary Robert Joseph Geisinger, SJ, Promoter of Justice

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible for promulgating and defending Catholic doctrine.^[1]

This institution was founded by Pope Paul III on 21 July 1542, as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition.^[a] It was then renamed in 1908 as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office. In 1965, it became the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF; Latin: Congregatio pro Doctrina Fidei). Since 2022, it is named Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.^[b] It is still informally known as the Holy Office (Latin: Sanctum Officium) in many Catholic countries.^[2]

The sole objective of the dicastery is to "spread sound Catholic doctrine and defend those points of Christian tradition which seem in danger because of new and unacceptable doctrines."^[1]

Its headquarters are at the Palace of the Holy Office, just outside Vatican City. The congregation employs an advisory board including cardinals, bishops, priests, lay theologians, and canon lawyers. On 1 July 2023, Francis named Argentine archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández as prefect, who took possession of the office in mid-September.^[3]

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