The Secretariat of State is chaired by a Cardinal that is called the Secretary of State. The Pope’s first collaborator in running the universal Church, the Cardinal who is the Secretary of State can be regarded as the highest representative of the diplomatic and political activity of the Holy See and in some circumstances he acts on behalf of the Supreme Pontiff. The historical origin of the Secretariat of State dates back to the XV century. The Secretariat of State became particularly developed at the time of the Council of Trent. In recent times, Paul VI, through the apostolic Constitution Regimini Ecclesiae Universae of August 15th 1967, in implementation of the will expressed by the Bishops during the Second Vatican Council, reformed the Roman Curia and changed the face of the Secretariat of State. On June 28th 1988, John Paul II issued the apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus through which, by reforming the Roman Curia, he split the Secretariat of State into two Sections: The General Affairs Section and the Relations with states section, which then came to include the Council for Public Affairs of the Church. This guaranteed both the uniqueness and the differentiated specificity of the service that the Secretariat of State is called to offer to the Pope. Overall, the Cardinals who have been Secretaries of State so far are 56 (from: “La Curia romana”, Lev); card. Tarcisio Bertone, archbishop of Genoa, is the 57th Secretary of State.
