NUNCIO
160
NXTNCIO
ist (xcvii, 2); and verse 32, "A light to the revehition
of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel",
recalls Isaias, xlii, G.
The text of the Nunc Dimittis is given in full in the brief ('\cnin.!; praver found in the Apostolic Con- stitutions (Mook VII, xlviii) (P. G., I, lO,-)?). In the HiiMuui Oilier, the rantiele is assigned to Complin. If 8t. Ik-nediet did not originate this canonical Hour, he gave to it its liturgical character; but he neverthe- less did not include the Canticle, which was after- wards incorporated into tlie richer Complin Ser- vice of the Roman Rite, where it is preceded by the beautiful resjionsory, "In manus tuas, Domine, commendo .spiritinn meum" (Into thy hands, O Lord, I conmiend my spirit) etc.. with the Antiphon follow- ing. "Salva nos. Domine, vigilantes, cuslodi nos dor- mientes" (O Lord, keep us waking, guard us sleeping) etc. — all this harmonizing exquisitely with the sjiirit of the Xunc Dimittis and with the general character of the closing Hour of the Office. In the blessing of the candles on the feast of the Purification of the lilessed \'irgin, the Canticle, of course, receives great prominence both in its text and in the references to Simeon in the preceding prayers. Its last verse, "Lumen ad revclationem" etc., forms the Antiphon which not only precedes and ifollows the Canticle, but also precedes every verse of it and the Gloria Patri and Sicut erat of the concluding doxology. The symbolism of the Canticle and of its Antiphon is further emphasized by the lighted candles of Candle- mas. The complete Canticle also forms the Tract in the Mass of the feast, when the 2 February follows Septuagesima.
For a fuller explanation of the Nunc Dimittis, the following commentaries (in English) may be consulted; Cornelius a L.vpiDE, St. Luke's Gospel, tr. Mobsman (London, 1892), 113-116-, McEviLLY, An Exposition o/ the Gospel of St. Luke (New York, 188S), 61, 62; Breen, A Harmonized Exposition of the Four Gos- pels, I (Rochester, N. Y., 1899), 209-16; Makbach, Carmina Scripturanim lstr:iahurL'. 1907), 438-40 (gives detailed references totheuseof ii. .. . m M:i..i3 and Office) ; The Office of Compline, in Latin an ; / "linff to the Roman Rife, with full Grego-
rianNoiati" I: . 1 "^^'r. Squire in Grove, Dt'rf. o/ Music a?id Musicians, m\ l - -- \ - A ■i".c Dimittis, an explanation of its use in Anglican Evensong; Husenbeth, The Missal for the Use of the Laity (London, 1903), 562-66, for the prayers and canticles on the feast of the Purification
H. T. Henry.
Nuncio, an ordinary and permanent representative of the pope, vested with both political and ecclesias- tical powers, accredited to the court of a sovereign or assigned to a definite territory with the duty of safe- guarding the interests of the Holy See. The special character of a nuncio , as distinguished from other papal envoys (such as legates, collectors), consists in this: that his office is specifically defined and limited to a definite district (his nunciature), wherein he must re- side; his mission is general, embracing all the interests of the Holy See; his office is permanent, requiring the appointment of a successor when one incumbent is re- called, and his mission includes both diplomatic and ecclesiastical powers. Nuncios, in the strict sense of the word, first appear in the sixteenth century. The office, however, was not created at any definite mo- ment or by any one papal ordinance, but gradually developed under the influence of various historical factors into the form in which we find it in the six- teenth century. The first permanent representatives of the Holy See at secular courts were the apocrisarii (q. v.; see also Legate) at the Byzantine Court. In the Middle Ages the popes sent, for the settlement of important ecclesiastical or political matters, legates {legati a latere, q. v.) with definite instructions and at times with ordinary jurisdiction. The officials, sent from the thirteenth century for the purpose of collect- ing taxes either for the Roman Court or for the cru- sades, were called nuntii, nuntii apn.itoh'ci. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries this title was given also to papal envoys entrusted with certain other affairs of an ecclesiastical or diplomatic nature.
Frequently they were given the right of granting cer-
tain privileges, favours, and benefices. During the
Great Western Schism and the period of the reform
councils (fifteenth century), such cmbiissies were more
frequentlj' resorted to by the Holy See. Then were
also gradually established permanent diplomatic rep-
resentation at the various courts. ^^ ith previous
forms of i)apal rei)resentation as a precedent and
nidclelled ujinn the permanent dijilomatic legations of
teniiiciiMJ .sdvercigii.s. there lin:dly arose in the six-
teenth eenturv the permanent nunciatures of the
Holy See.
The exact date of the establishment of many of the nunciatures is not easy to determine, as it is impossi- ble to fix exactly in all cases when an earlier type of papal envoy was replaced by a nuncio proper, and es- pecially as in the beginning we find interruptions in the succession of envoys who, owing to their powers and their office, must be regarded as real nuncios. The necessity of resisting Protestantism was a special fac- tor in the increase of the nunciatures. After the Council of Trent they became the chief agents of the popes in their efforts to check the spread of heresy and to carry out true reform. The fact that in 1537 the papal correspondence with foreign [low ers, pre\'iousIy carried on by the pope's private secretary, was handed over by Pavil III to the vice-chancellor. Cardinal Alex- ander F;iniese, was the chief element within the curia which led to the permanence of nunciatures. Thereby the political correspondence of the Holy See lost its somewhat private character, and was entrusted to the secretariate of state, with which the nuncios were henceforth to be in constant comniunciation. The popes akso employed extraordinary en^•oys for special purposes. Angelo Leonini, sent to Venice by Alexan- der VI in 1500, is commonl)- regarded as the first nun- cio, as we understand the term to-day. In Spain the collector-general of the papal exchequer, Giovanni Ruffo dei Teodoli, was also gi\cn diplomatic powers: he resided in the country, and discharged these two offices from 1506 to 1518 or 1519. As his successors were appointed collectors-general with fiscal, and po- litical representatives with di|il(j|ii;itic iiowers, so that from thenceforth the Spanish nunciature may be re- garded as permanent. The beginning of a papal nun- ciature in Germany dates from 1511 when Julius II sent Lorenzo Campeggio to the Imperial Court. His mission was ratified in 1513 by Leo X, and from 1530 a nuncio was permanently accredited. The nuncios often accompanied Emperor Charles V, even when he resided outside the empire. Another German nuncia- ture was established in 1524, when Lorenzo Pimpinella was sent to the court of King Ferdinand of Austria. The first real nuncio in France was Leone Ludovico di Canossa (1514-17). The French nunciature contin- ued from the Council of Trent to the Revolution.
After the Council of Trent a luiinber of new nun- ciatures were erected. In Italy dii)l(>matic represen- tatives were appointed for Piediiionl, Milan, Tuscany (Florence), and for Naples, where the nunciature tjn- derwent the same develo])ment as in Spain. The nunlius entrusted with the duty of collecting the papal taxes received also diplomatic powers, and was recog- nized in this capacity by Philii) II in 1569. Portu- gal and Poland likewise received permanent nuncios shortly after the Council of Trent. To foster Catho- lic revival new nunciatures were erected in the southern parts of the German Empire. Thus, in 1573, Barto- lomeo Portia was made nuncio of Salzburg, Tyrol, and Bavaria, although no further successor was appointed after 153S. In 1580 Germanico Malaspina was ap- pointed first nuncio of Styria, but this nunciature was discontinued in 1621. Bishop Bonhomini arrived in Switzerland in 1579, and up to 1581 with great zeal and success introduced ecclesiastical reforms. In 1586 Giovanni Battista Santonio succeeded him, whereupon the Swiss nunciature became permanent.
