The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy (Roman Catholic Professional Pontifical Ecclesiastical Diplomatic Training Post-Graduate Institution)
Address: Piazza Minerva, 74, 186 Rome (Extraterritorial entity of the State of Vatican City, under the authority of the Holy See)
Website: https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_academies/acdeccles/index.htm
Stakeholder group: Academia and Think Tanks
The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, also known as Pontificia Ecclesiastica Academia in Latin and Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica in Italian, is a prestigious institution of the Roman Catholic Church. The academy, located inside Palazzo Severoli on the Piazza della Minerva in central Rome, trains Catholic priests sent by their bishops from different parts of the world to study ecclesiastical and international diplomacy. The goal is for the alums to later serve in diplomatic posts of the Holy See, ultimately as a papal nuncio or ambassador.
Students undertake a four-year program, spending three years earning a licentiate in canon law (J.C.L.) from a Roman University and then two years earning a doctorate in canon law (J.C.D.), generally at the prestigious Pontifical Lateran University.
As a testament to the academy's commitment to global communication, each student is expected to develop a working knowledge of at least two languages besides their mother tongue by the end of their studies.
