@article{Kopiec_2022, title={"Ad limina" Reports by the Bishops of Wrocław from the 17th and 18th centuries}, volume={138}, url={https://ojs.academicon.pl/np/article/view/5070}, DOI={10.52204/np.2022.138.2.11-52}, abstractNote={<p>The article refers to the duty of paying regular visits at the Holy See, “imposed on diocesan bishops by the Council of Trent,” on the example of the Wrocław dio-cese in the 17th and 18th centuries. Pursuant to the Romanus Pontifex bull by Pope Sixtus V of 20 December 1585, bishops of Wrocław (as well as all the other bish-ops from this part of Europe) were obliged to regularly visit the Holy See, going to Rome every four years to submit a written report on the condition of their dioces-es. Vatican sources contain 14 written reports from Wrocław from the period of 1603-1777. These reports lead to the conclusion that bishops of Wrocław treated the duty in a rather formalistic manner. The interval of four years required by the bull of Pope Sixtus V was rarely observed; often, there was just one visit through-out the governance of a given bishop. They also failed to pay visits in person, but were represented by special procurators approved by Rome, usually canons or trustees who also wrote the reports. Because, until 1740, there were no specific regulations or templates for writing the reports, their scope and contents signifi-cantly differed. The longest and the most abundant in contents were the ones drafted by bishops Sebastian von Rostock (1667), Friedrich von Hessen (1678), and Franz Ludwig (1708). In the report, the focus is on the static description of the diocese (seat of the diocese with the cathedral, chapter, and bishop’s residence, diocesan institutions, administrative structure of the diocese, convents on the premises), but the confession and political conditions in which the Catholic Church in Silesia had to proceed with its pastoral duties are rarely analysed. In the 17th and 18th centuries, it was always pointed out that the Church was unable to oper-ate successfully, principally due to the aggressive behaviour of the Protestants, and the hostile attitude of rulers of particular Silesian duchies. There was much less information about the clergy and the faithful. Attention must be drawn to measures indicated by some bishops of Wrocław, aimed at eliminating the shortages and intensifying the religious life in Silesia.</p>}, number={2}, journal={Nasza Przeszłość}, author={Kopiec, Jan}, year={2022}, month={grudz.}, pages={2.11–52} }