Vatican City, 05 May, 2022 / 2:00 pm (ACI Africa).
Pope Francis issued a decree on Thursday merging four foundations into a new Vatican institution dedicated to hospitality.
The document, known as a chirograph, united the foundations under a new body known as the Domus Vaticanae. The pope said that he was taking the step “considering the new situation that has matured over time.”
The May 5 decree merged the Domus Sanctae Marthae, Domus Romana Sacerdotalis, Domus Internationalis Paulus VI, and Casa San Benedetto foundations into the new institution, which the pope established as a public canonical juridic person based in the Vatican City State.
The text said that the new body would pursue the hospitality goals of the merged foundations in line with the provisions of the apostolic constitution Universi Dominici gregis, “which reserves the building of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, during the conclave for the election of the Supreme Pontiff, for the exclusive use of the cardinal electors.”
Universi Dominici gregis, issued by Pope John Paul II in 1996, sets out the rules governing the process of electing a new pope.