Decretum laudis

The decretum laudis, Latin for “decree of praise”, is the official measure with which the Holy See grants to institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life the recognition of ecclesiastical house of pontifical right. When the decree of praise is issued in the gain of an apostolic brief, it is just short of the decretum laudis.

Structure

The decretum laudis contains, as a rule, a abstract of the historical origins of the congregation, and a brief representation of the goal and the constitution of the same, references and letters from the bishops, and the examination portrayed by the appropriate Congregation of the institute. It concludes with the approval and recommendation, amplissimis verbis Latin, “in the strongest terms”, of the institute in question.

The practice of using decretum laudis by the Popes to grant the recognition of the pontifical correct to the congregations began to be consolidated in the years between the 18th and 19th centuries, although in the beginning these decrees were followed by formal acts in the pretend of the Papal bull and Papal brief.