Apostolic Constitutions – Page 11

A Catholic bishop holds the Apostolic Constitution 'Mindoniensis (Ferrolensis)' in the Church of St. Julian in Ferrol, Spain.

MINDONIENSIS (FERROLENSIS) (1959.03.09)

amdg / 2025-11-08

The text is an apostolic constitution of John XXIII (March 9, 1959) which, invoking papal authority, modifies the title of the diocese of Mondoñedo (Mindoniensis) to include “Ferrolensis,” elevates the church of St. Julian in Ferrol del Caudillo to the dignity of a concathedral, and grants the diocesan ordinary the possibility of residing there, all presented as prudent pastoral adaptation to contemporary conditions and as a benefit for the faithful. It is a short juridical act, couched in traditional Latin, by which the new regime of authority in Rome quietly normalizes itself through apparently innocuous administrative measures.

A solemn Catholic bishop in traditional vestments before the historic Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Logroño, illustrating the usurpation of John XXIII's authority.

Apostolic Constitutions

Calaguritanae et Calceatensis (Logrognensis) (1959.03.09)

amdg / 2025-11-08

The constitution issued by antipope John XXIII on 9 March 1959 concerns a seemingly technical act: the attachment of the appellation “Logrognensis” to the historic Diocese of Calahorra and Calceatense, and the elevation of the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary “de la Redonda” in Logroño to the rank of concatedral, with corresponding rights and obligations, all executed in line with the 1953 Concordat between the Holy See and Spain and delegated to Hildebrando Antoniutti as “Apostolic Nuncio.”

A solemn Catholic cathedral interior with canons in traditional liturgical vestments, reflecting the ceremonial splendor of the Botucatu chapter as described in the 'Botucatuensis' constitution.

Apostolic Constitutions

Constitutio Apostolica “Botucatuensis” (1959.03.07)

amdg / 2025-11-08

The Latin text promulgated under the name of John XXIII on 7 March 1959, titled “Botucatuensis,” establishes in the metropolitan church of Botucatu a chapter of canons (two dignitaries and six canons), defines their liturgical obligations, outlines vesture and insignia, and suppresses the diocesan consultors by transferring their functions to the new collegiate body; all is framed as an act to augment the external honor of God through ceremonial splendour and canonical order.

Catholic bishop in traditional vestments holding the Munduensis document before Sacred Heart Cathedral in Moundou, Africa

Apostolic Constitutions

MUNDUENSIS (1959.02.19)

amdg / 2025-11-08

The Latin text issued under the name of John XXIII on 19 February 1959, titled “Munduensis,” announces the elevation of the Apostolic Prefecture of Moundou (in former French Equatorial Africa) to the rank of diocese, assigns it as suffragan to Fort-Lamy (Banguensis), entrusts it to the Capuchin Friars Minor, designates Moundou as the episcopal see with the church of the Sacred Heart as cathedral, regulates its temporal goods and canonical administration, and threatens canonical penalties against anyone who would contravene these norms.

Church of St Mark the Evangelist in Arica, Chile, with traditional Catholics in prayer.

Apostolic Constitutions

Iquiqüensis (Aricensis) (1959.02.17)

amdg / 2025-11-08

The document establishes, by an alleged “apostolic” act of John XXIII, a new territorial ecclesiastical unit in Chile: from the Diocese of Iquique a portion of territory (“Departamento civil de Allea,” with a specified exception) is detached to erect the so‑called “prelatura nullius Aricensis,” defining its borders, assigning Arica as its see, designating the church of St Mark the Evangelist as prelatial temple, regulating its dependence on the metropolitan see of La Serena, outlining its temporal goods, seminary obligations, transfer of archives, and executive implementation by Sebastianus Baggio as nuncio. In other words, it is a piece of bureaucratic cartography that presumes an authority it no longer possesses and exemplifies the new geography of a structure already in doctrinal rupture with the integral Catholic faith it claims to administer.

Depiction of John XXIII signing the Niameyensis (Fadangurmaensis) apostolic constitution with Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in a Vatican hall, symbolizing the early signs of the conciliar revolution.

Apostolic Constitutions

Niameyensis (Fadangurmaensis) (1959.02.12)

amdg / 2025-11-08

The Latin text titled “Niameyensis (Fadangurmaensis)” (12 February 1959) presents itself as an apostolic constitution of John XXIII, administratively dividing territory from the apostolic prefecture of Niamey in French West Africa to erect a new apostolic prefecture of “Fadangurmaënsis,” entrusted to the Redemptorists and made suffragan to Ouagadougou. It is framed as a routine act of missionary governance for the spread of the Gospel and the better organization of ecclesiastical structures. In reality, it stands as an early juridical monument of the incoming conciliar revolution, revealing the already operative rupture of doctrine under the outward veneer of pre-conciliar language.

A Catholic priest in a wooden church in Berberati, holding a Latin document detailing the division of the diocese.

Apostolic Constitutions

Berberatensi (1959.02.09)

amdg / 2025-11-08

In this 1959 constitutional act, Angelo Roncalli, styling himself “John XXIII,” claims to exercise supreme apostolic authority to detach portions of the Berberati diocese in French Equatorial Africa (Bossangoa, Bouca, Batanfago, Paoua) in order to erect a new apostolic prefecture of Bossangoa, entrusted to the Capuchin Friars Minor. The text outlines jurisdictional boundaries, subordination to the metropolitan of Bangui, procedural norms for implementation by Marcel Lefebvre as Apostolic Delegate, and asserts the perpetual validity and binding force of this institutional reconfiguration under “pontifical” authority. Already in its premises and juridical claims, this document exposes the nascent conciliar revolution: a human-engineered administrative rearrangement presented as an act of Petrine authority at the very moment when that authority was being emptied and weaponized against the integral Catholic faith.

Traditional Catholic scene depicting the 1959 erection of the Sicuani Prelature in Peru under Ioannes XXIII, highlighting canonical form without doctrinal substance.

Apostolic Constitutions

CUSCHENSIS (Sicuanensis) (1959.01.10)

amdg / 2025-11-08

The Latin text issued under the name of Ioannes XXIII on 10 January 1959, titled “CUSCHENSIS (Sicuanensis),” decrees the erection of a new territorial prelature “nullius” in Peru (Sicuani) by detaching several provinces from the Archdiocese of Cuzco, defining its borders, cathedral, clergy ascription, seminary obligations, temporal goods, and procedural execution, in full juridical form of an apostolic constitution according to the 1917 Code of Canon Law.

A solemn liturgical ceremony in a grand Byzantine-inspired church marking the elevation of Changanacherry to a metropolitan archdiocese in 1959.

Apostolic Constitutions

Changanacherrensis et aliarum (1959.01.10): Oriental Ornament for a Conciliar Revolution

amdg / 2025-11-08

Regnum caelorum is invoked, missionary expansion is praised, and in polished curial Latin the text informs us that the eparchy of Changanacherry (Changanacherrensis) of the Syro-Malabar rite is elevated to a metropolitan archdiocese and made the head of a new ecclesiastical province, with Palai and Kottayam as suffragans; the archbishop gains the use of the pallium and certain ceremonial privileges, and the whole is clothed with the solemn formulae of perpetuity and canonical efficacy under John XXIII.

Traditional Catholic chapter of canons in Chihuahua Cathedral praying solemnly in 1950s attire.

Apostolic Constitutions

CHIHUAHUENSIS (1959.01.08)

amdg / 2025-11-08

The document issued by John XXIII on 8 January 1959, titled “Chihuahuensis,” externally appears as a brief Apostolic Constitution erecting a chapter of canons in the metropolitan church of Chihuahua. It prescribes: the establishment of six canons and two prebendaries; one archdeacon and specific dignities (theologian, penitentiary, administrator); concessions regarding choir dress and the so‑called “Pian habit”; norms on cumulative benefices due to a shortage of clergy; a minimal schedule of capitular liturgical functions; reference to statutes to be drawn up by the local ordinary; and the automatic cessation of diocesan consultors once the chapter is erected. It culminates in the usual solemn formulas of perpetuity, nullification of contrary dispositions, and threats of canonical penalties.

Behind this seemingly pious and orderly façade stands the juridical and spiritual self-exposure of an emerging conciliar regime that manipulates authentic ecclesiastical forms while already hollowing out their substance.