Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei founded by John Paul II
The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei (Latin: Pontificia Commissio Ecclesia Dei) was a commission of the Catholic Church established by Pope John Paul II's motu proprio Ecclesia Dei of 2 July 1988 for the care of those former followers of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre who broke with him as a result of his consecration of four priests of his Society of St. Pius X as bishops on 30 June 1988, an act that the Holy See deemed illicit and a schismatic act. It was also tasked with trying to return to full communion with the Holy See those traditionalist Catholics who are in a state of separation, of whom the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) is foremost, and of helping to satisfy just aspirations of people unconnected with these groups who want to keep alive the pre-1970 Roman Rite liturgy.
Pope Benedict XVI gave the Commission additional functions on 7 July 2007, and on 8 July 2009 he made the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith the ex officio head of the Commission. Pope Francis suppressed the Commission and merged its responsibilities into the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on 17 January 2019.