1. Other socii foster the mutual relationships of the provinces with the Master of the Order. They help him by communicating the decisions and the directives of the central government to the provinces committed to them, and by knowing the provinces well, and according to the plans of the Master of the Order, by frequenting them often. However, they enjoy no jurisdiction over individual provinces.
2. Their chief function is to help the provinces and to promote collaboration between those of the same region, putting into practice what is said about this in nn. 390-395. If the Master of the Order so decides, they may also be put in charge of some secretariats.

1. In every vicariate there shall be a council whose consent or advice the regional prior must seek on more serious matters, as laid down in the vicariate statutes.
2. The number of these councillors and the manner of their election or appointment shall be determined by the statutes of the vicariate.

1. The regional prior has charge of the vicariate as the vicar of the prior provincial and has, in addition to the faculties granted by the provincial chapter, the right:
   1. to assign brothers who are in the vicariate, without prejudice to the rights of the prior provincial;
   2. to confirm a conventual prior as provided for in n. 467 and to appoint superiors of houses as provided for in n. 332, unless the vicariate statute provides otherwise;
   3. to participate by right of office in the provincial council, unless something different has been laid down in the pro­vincial statute;
   4. to participate by right of office in a provincial chapter – see 352, § I, 1. (P, n. 494; K, n.372)
2.  
   1. The regional prior is elected for four years by the voters assigned in the region and is confirmed by the prior provincial with the consent of his council;
   2. when the time for which the regional prior was elected has expired or when for any reason whatsoever he has ceased to hold office, until a successor has been confirmed his office shall be held by the prior who has spent the longest time in the Order in the same vicariate;
   3. what has been laid down for a conventual prior in n. 302, § I, holds for a regional prior, mutatis mutandis. 

1.  In ordinary cases, at least four councilors should always be present for the deliberations to be valid. In more urgent cases, when more are not available, two are sufficient.
2. Whenever the agenda includes matters pertaining to the studium, the professors, and the students, or even to an apostolic school, the regent or promoter of studies mentioned in n. 366, 2° should always be present.

When the letter of convocation has been received:

1. the election of delegates mentioned in n. 352, § I, 5, shall be held; and in convents having the right, the election of the socius or socii of the prior going to the chapter shall be held under the presidency of the subprior;
2. three months before the beginning of the chapter, the prior provincial shall send out a report on the state of the province and the more serious problems facing it; the officials of the province (see nn. 376-381) shall send to the capitulars and convents a report on all that is within their competence;
3. in every convent of the province a discussion shall be held under the presidency of the prior in which the reports described in n. 2 shall be examined, and proposals or petitions to be sent
   to the chapter to the benefit of the province or the convent shall be determined.

1. When a prior provincial ceases to hold office in accordance with n. 344, § I, the vicar of the province, as laid down in the statute of the province, will be: either the prior of the convent where the next provincial chapter is to be held or, if that convent does not have a prior at that time, the prior of the convent where the last chapter was held and so on, retrospectively; or the prior provincial himself who has left office. (Bo, n. 300)
2. When a prior provincial leaves office for any other reason, the vicar of the province will be the socius of that prior provincial up to the day immediately before the vigil of the provincial chapter, from which day the vicar will be the conventual prior where the next provincial chapter is to be held, or if that convent does not have a prior at that time, the prior of the convent where the last chapter was held and so on, retrospectively. The latter ruling should be observed even if there is no socius.
3. When a prior provincial is prevented from exercising jurisdiction, the Master of the Order must be approached. If this is not possible, the socius of the prior provincial becomes the vicar of the province, as set out above in § II.
4. A prior provincial who, without hope of recovery within six months, is prevented by illness from properly fulfilling his duties, shall resign from office.
5. If he is unable or unwilling to resign, the socius of the prior provincial must summon the provincial council and preside over it even without the prior provincial. This council has power to approach the Master of the Order who shall either convoke an extraordinary elective chapter (see n. 351, § II) or appoint the vicar of the province as the vicar of the Master of the Order.

1.  
   1. A filial house dependent on a convent may be established by a provincial chapter;
   2. the superior of the house shall appoint a vicar, who in all matters should act according to the directives given him by the superior.
2. Norms for the appointment of a vicar, for sending brothers to a filial house, and for their rights and obligations in relation to the convent shall be determined by the provincial chapter.
3. The brothers living in a filial house, although assigned to the convent, shall not be reckoned in the number of brothers required for a convent properly speaking.

The prior shall appoint a sacristan, a librarian, a conventual reader, and other officials whom he shall judge useful.

For each official, a provincial chapter shall determine the conditions, length of service, duties, and other relevant matters.

1. Except in cases expressly indicated in the law, the votes of the council are decisive and not merely consultative.
2. For the council's decisions to be valid, the number of councillors must reach at least three, counting the chairman of the council.
3. The syndic shall always be called to take part in council deliberations without, however, having a vote unless he is already a member of the council. Officials of the convent shall be called to the council to be heard when the matters pertaining to their duties are to be dealt with.
4. Other officials of the convent shall be called to the council to be heard when the matters pertaining to their duties are to be dealt with.

1. A general chapter or the Master of the Order may freely assign brothers to any province or convent, but the provincial chapter or a prior provincial may make assignations within their own province.
2. A brother who has been simply assigned to a province by the master of the Order or by the general chapter needs, in addition, an assignment to a specific convent.
3. Direct or indirect assignations must be made in writing (see Appendix, n. 12)