Assistant to the papal throne

Tobia Aoun named Assistant at the Pontifical Throne in 1862

The Bishops-Assistant at the Pontifical Throne were ecclesiastical titles in the Roman Catholic Church. It designated prelates belonging to the Papal Chapel, who stood near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions. They ranked immediately below the College of Cardinals and were also Counts of the Apostolic Palace. Assistants at the Pontifical Throne, unless specifically exempted, immediately enter the Papal nobility as Counts of Rome.

Pope Paul VI ended the use of this and similar titles of nobility in 1968.