During the nineteenth century, the subject of populations subject to relocation was under the jurisdiction of the
Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, with the
Office for the Spiritual Care of Emigrants later replacing it. In 1952, within the
Sacred Consistorial Congregation,
Pope Pius XII founded the
Superior Council for Emigrants and the
General Secretariat for the Direction of the Apostolatus Maris; in 1958, the
General Direction of the Apostleship of the Skies or the Air was also erected.
Pope Paul VI founded the
International Secretariat for the Direction of the Apostolatus Nomadum in the same
dicastery in 1965. In 1967, Pope Paul instituted the
Office for the Pastoral Care of people who are part of the complex phenomenon known commonly as "
Tourism" in the
Congregation for the Clergy. On March 19, 1970, Paul condensed all sectors dealing with human mobility into the
Pontifical Commission for the Spiritual Care of Migrants and Itinerants, in the
motu proprio Apostolicae caritatis. The commission was made dependent on the Congregation for Bishops but this dependence was eventually terminated by
Pastor bonus, which granted it the status of a pontifical council. Effective 1 January 2017, the
Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development took responsibility for the work of the council through its
Migrants and Refugees Section. ==List of presidents==