The Holy See published this Thursday the Rescriptum ex Audientia Sanctissimi by which Leo XIV approves the Statutes of Donum Missionis, a new foundation linked to the Dicastery for Evangelization that will assume the material management of several colleges primarily intended for seminarians, priests, religious men and women coming from mission territories.
According to Vatican News, the new entity is born from the merger of the foundations Domus Missionalis and Domus Urbaniana, which in recent years have provided accommodation to priests, religious sisters and seminarians from Africa, Asia, America and Oceania sent to Rome to complete or expand their formation at the pontifical universities.
The decision responds to the need to harmonize the canonical status of both foundations with the current legal framework of the Roman Curia and with the reforms introduced following the apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium.
The new regime will enter into force on 1 November 2026.
A single foundation for the missionary colleges
Domus Missionalis and Domus Urbaniana were established by Benedict XVI through a rescript of 20 May 2005 as instrumental juridical entities of the then Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
The new Statute recalls that Leo XIV had already approved on 13 June 2025 the constitution of a single institution called Donum Missionis, the result of the integration of the two previous foundations.
The rescript now published formally approves its Statutes and replaces the provisions that until now governed Domus Missionalis and Domus Urbaniana.
The new Foundation will be an instrumental juridical entity of the Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches of the Dicastery for Evangelization.
Six centers under its responsibility
Donum Missionis will be entrusted with the conservation and ordinary and extraordinary maintenance of six institutions historically linked to Propaganda Fide.
These are the Pontifical Urban College of Propaganda Fide, the International Missionary College of St. Peter the Apostle, the Pontifical International Missionary College of St. Paul the Apostle, the International Missionary College of St. Joseph, the International Missionary College Mater Ecclesiae and the International Center for Missionary Animation (CIAM).
The colleges are intended to offer hospitality to candidates for the priesthood, clerics, religious men and women sent to Rome from mission territories to undertake periods of initial or ongoing formation and to pursue university or specialization studies.
Academic and spiritual formation will continue under the responsibility of the professors, rectors and superiors of each institution. The new Foundation will be mainly responsible for administrative, technical and patrimonial aspects.
The CIAM, for its part, will continue to be dedicated to the ongoing missionary formation of the Pontifical Mission Societies and may also welcome pilgrims, groups for spirituality and prayer, and lay faithful.
An initial endowment of one million euros
The initial endowment of Donum Missionis is set at one million euros.
Its sources of funding include primarily the annual contribution requested from the Pontifical Mission Societies, contributions from the Dicastery for Evangelization, income from the assets managed by this body, and revenues derived from the accommodation activities of the CIAM.
The Foundation will have its legal seat in Vatican City and will also have an operational seat in the Palazzo di Propaganda Fide.
The pro-prefect of the Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches will, by virtue of his office, be the legal representative of the entity.
The governance structure
The organs of Donum Missionis will be the president, the vice-president, the Board of Directors, the director and the Board of Auditors.
The president will be the secretary of the Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches, while the assistant secretary for Administration will serve as vice-president.
The Board of Directors will be composed mainly of superiors of the Dicastery for Evangelization and officials of the Pontifical Mission Societies. Its functions include the approval of budgets and accounts, management strategies and acts of extraordinary administration.
The Statute also establishes a system of financial control involving the Secretariat for the Economy and the Council for the Economy.
The Board of Auditors will consist of three members. Two will be appointed by the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization and its president will be designated directly by the prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy.
The auditors will be responsible for controlling the administration of the Foundation, verifying the regularity of the accounting and supervising compliance with the Statute and Vatican legislation.
The new structure thus concentrates in a single entity the material management of several of the main colleges linked to the Dicastery for Evangelization and intended for the formation of seminarians, priests and religious coming from mission territories.