[1] It was formed through the merger of two earlier bodies, the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Congregation for Catholic Education.
At the time of the merger, each of these bodies was headed by a cardinal of retirement age: Gianfranco Ravasi as president of the Council for Culture and Giuseppe Versaldi as prefect of the Congregation for Education.
[5] The Section for Culture promotes relationships between the Holy See and the world of culture, favoring dialogue to foster mutual enrichment, "so that lovers of the arts, literature, the sciences, technology and sport ... feel recognized by the Church as people at the service of a sincere search for the true, the good and the beautiful".
[8] It assists the research programs of Church institutions and participates as appropriate in efforts to promote culture on the part of nations and international bodies.
[12] It promotes the development of Catholic higher education institutes to form students for their role in the Church and in society.