You see them on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, dressed in that striking scarlet. They are the "Princes of the Church," the men who will eventually huddle in a locked room to pick the next Pope. Naturally, you assume they’re all chatting away in the ancient tongue of Cicero and Virgil. It’s the Vatican, right? But if you’re wondering do all cardinals speak Latin, the answer is a lot more complicated—and a bit more human—than the movies suggest.
Honestly, the image of a secret society whispering in dead languages is mostly a Hollywood trope. While Latin remains the official language of the Holy See, the reality on the ground is a mix of Italian, English, Spanish, and a whole lot of "can you repeat that?"
The Great Latin Shift: From Fluency to "Vatican-ish"
Back in the day, specifically before the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), Latin was the undisputed king. It wasn't just for liturgy; it was the lingua franca for every bishop from Tokyo to Timbuktu. If a cardinal from Poland met a cardinal from Brazil in 1950, they spoke Latin. They had to. It was the only way to communicate.
But things changed. Fast.
Nowadays, a massive chunk of the College of Cardinals lacks the ability to hold a fluid, spontaneous conversation in Latin. They can read it. They can definitely pray in it. Most can stumble through a prepared text. But if you asked a random cardinal to describe his breakfast or debate climate change policy using only the language of the Romans, he’d likely struggle.
The requirement for becoming a cardinal isn't a PhD in Classics. It’s pastoral leadership.
Pope Francis has actually leaned into this shift. He’s the first pope in a long time who seems much more comfortable in Italian or Spanish than in the formal Latin of his predecessors. During the 2013 conclave, there were reports that some of the pre-vote speeches (called general congregations) were delivered in various languages with simultaneous translation provided. That would have been unthinkable a century ago.
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What "Speaking Latin" Actually Means in the 2020s
When we ask do all cardinals speak Latin, we have to define our terms.
- Ecclesiastical Latin: This is the simplified, rhythmic Latin used in the Mass. Every cardinal knows this. They’ve spent decades reciting the Pater Noster and the Gloria.
- Curial Latin: This is the technical jargon used in official documents (Apostolic Constitutions, Encyclicals). Only a handful of specialists in the Secretariat of State truly master this.
- Conversational Latin: This is almost extinct.
There are exceptions, of course. You have guys like Cardinal Raymond Burke, who is famously traditional and quite proficient. Then there are the scholars who spent years in Roman universities like the Gregorian or the Holy Cross, where some high-level philosophy classes used to be taught in Latin. But for the "pastoral" cardinals—those running massive dioceses in Chicago, Nairobi, or Manila—Latin is a tool they use for ceremony, not for social hour.
Why the Vatican Can’t Quite Quit the Language
Even if the fluency isn't there, the language still matters for legal reasons. Latin is uniquely "fixed." Because it's a dead language, the meanings of words don't drift the way they do in English or slang-heavy Italian. In Canon Law, precision is everything.
When a Pope resigns—as Benedict XVI famously did in 2013—he does it in Latin. In fact, that moment provided a hilarious (or humbling) reality check on the state of Latin in the Church. When Benedict read his resignation speech in Latin to a room full of cardinals, only a few people in the room actually understood what he was saying in real-time.
Giovanna Chirri, a journalist for the Italian news agency ANSA, was the one who broke the news to the world. Why? Because she actually understood his Latin. Most of the cardinals sitting right in front of him were waiting for the translation.
It was a wake-up call. The guys running the Church were literally watching history happen and didn't realize it for several minutes because their Latin was rusty.
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The Rise of Italian and English as the New Standards
If you walk through the Leonine Wall today, you’re going to hear Italian. It is the working language of the Vatican. If a cardinal wants to get a permit for a building project or talk to the Swiss Guard, he uses Italian.
English is a very close second. With the explosion of the Church in Africa and Asia, English has become the bridge. A cardinal from Nigeria and a cardinal from India are almost certainly going to use English to discuss theology over coffee.
Spanish is also massive, especially under the current papacy.
The Conclave Problem
This language gap creates a weird dynamic during a Conclave. When the doors lock and the "Extra omnes!" is shouted, the cardinals are alone. They have to talk. They have to lobby. They have to figure out who the next leader of 1.3 billion people should be.
If a cardinal can’t speak Italian or English, he’s effectively sidelined. He becomes a silent observer in one of the most important meetings on earth. This is why many "papabile" (cardinals considered likely to be elected Pope) spend months brushing up on their languages. You can’t be the universal pastor if you can’t talk to your colleagues.
The Survival of the Latinists
There is still a small, dedicated group of "Latinists" within the Vatican. They work in the Latin Letters Office. These are the guys who translate the Pope's tweets into Latin. Yes, the Pope has a Latin X (formerly Twitter) account. It has hundreds of thousands of followers.
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They have to invent new words constantly. How do you say "cybersecurity" or "nuclear proliferation" in a language that stopped evolving in the Middle Ages? They find a way. Usually, it involves complex compound words or pulling from obscure 4th-century texts.
But these specialists are the outliers. They aren't the norm.
Key Factors That Determine a Cardinal’s Latin Skills
Not all red hats are created equal. You can usually guess a cardinal's Latin proficiency based on three things:
- Age: Older cardinals who were educated shortly after the shift in the 60s often have a stronger "Classical" foundation.
- Academic Background: If they were a professor of Canon Law or Theology in Rome, they’re likely decent. If they were a grassroots social justice advocate in South America, probably not.
- Theological Leanings: Traditionalists tend to prize the language as a mark of identity. Progressives often view it as a barrier to being "a Church of the poor."
The Final Verdict
So, do all cardinals speak Latin? No. Not even close.
They all know Latin in the way an English speaker might "know" the lyrics to a song in a different language. they can follow along, they know the "big words," and they can perform the rituals. But the days of the College of Cardinals sitting around a table debating the finer points of Thomas Aquinas in the original Latin are largely gone.
The Church has become globalized. The scarlet robes now represent every corner of the planet, and with that diversity comes a shift away from Eurocentric, Latin-heavy education.
If you want to understand the modern Vatican, don't buy a Latin dictionary. Buy an Italian one—and maybe keep a translation app handy for the Spanish and English.
Actionable Insights for Church Watchers
- Watch the Conclave Speeches: If you see a cardinal speaking to the press in fluent Italian or English, his chances of being elected Pope (the "papabile" status) go up significantly. Communication is power in the Vatican.
- Check the Liturgy: To see Latin in its "natural habitat," look for the "Novus Ordo" celebrated in Latin at St. Peter’s. This is the common ground where all cardinals can still participate regardless of their native tongue.
- Follow the Latin Office: For a look at how the language is being kept alive artificially, follow the official Vatican Latin social media accounts. It's a fascinating exercise in linguistic gymnastics.
- Don't Be Fooled by Documents: Just because a document is released in Latin doesn't mean the person who signed it wrote the Latin version. Most documents are drafted in Italian or Spanish and then handed to the experts for translation into the "official" version.