A pontifical academy is an academic honorary society established by or under the direction of the Holy See. Some were in existence well before they were accepted as "Pontifical."
The Pontifical Academy of Martyrs or Pontificia Academia Cultorum Martyrum dates from 1879 and promotes the veneration of the martyrs and the study of the catacombs
The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences or Pontificia Accademia delle Scienze Sociali, founded 1994, promotes social, economic, political, and legal sciences in the light of the church's social teachings
The Pontifical Academy for Latin, also Pontificia Academia Latinitatis or Pontificia Accademia di Latinità was established in 2012 for the dissemination and education of Latin.[1]