Two years after a prior provincial has been confirmed in office, At the first council at the time of the next meeting of the provincial council, the prior provincial must summonto a larger council, in addition to the members of the provincial council, the vicars provincial and conventual priorsin the strict sense; unless the provincial chapter has determined otherwise regarding regional priors, vicars provincial, and priors in remote regionsthe statute of the province can determine whether vicars provincial and priors from remote regions are to be summoned, as well as designate others who, as the case may be, are to be summoned.
At this largercouncil meeting, which may exercise only a consultative vote, all topics are to be dealt with that seem to be useful for the good of the province; first of all, there shall be a review of whether the ordinations and exhortations of the last provincial chapter and general chapter have been put into practice.
regional priors; 2. vicars provincial elected according to the norm of n.389;to the extent that they have voice according to n. 384-bis and the statutes of the vicariate;
conventual priors; if the prior cannot attend on account of sickness or another grave reason accepted by the prior provincial, the subprior may take his place.
socii of priors going to the chapter, in accordance with n. 490;
delegates of the brothers, in accordance with nn. 497-501;
a delegate of a non-prioral house with at least four brothers with active voting rights in the territory of any nation where there is no other house of the same province.
a prior provincial who immediately before the chapter completed his term of office in that province.
If the voters at a provincial chapter, elected in accordance with the constitutions, are fewer than twenty, the statute of the province may make provision for extra voters. It is obliged to do this if there are fewer than ten voters. These, of whom there may not be more than three, are to be constituted such by election and not by personal entitlement.
A province consists of a least three convents, two of which must contain at least teneight voters. Furthermore, each province must have at least forty voters.
A province must have its own territory distinct from the territory of other provinces.
When a brother has spent the year immediately preceding solemn profession, which for a cleric can be a scholastic year, in a convent of his own province, the prior provincial may admit him to profession, if the vote of the chapter and the vote of the council are favourable. He may also do so if the vote of either one is favourable, but not if both are contrary. In convents and houses where, according to n. 139-bis and n. 333, the council is not distinct from the chapter, the second vote is taken by the provincial council; in vicariates it is taken by the vicariate council.
When a brother has spent the aforesaid year outside his own province, the vote of its chapter and council are consultative only. However, in that case a vote of the council of the province of affiliation is always required. If it is favourable, the prior provincial may admit the brother to profession but not if it is contrary.
If a brother has not yet lived for a year in the convent of his actual assignation and is due to make solemn profession, the convent in which he spent the immediately preceding year takes a vote of the chapter and council according to n. 206, 2 But the convent where he is actually living must first take a vote for the sake of information.
Simple profession is to be made according to this formula: ‘I, brother N.N., make profession and promise obedience to God, to blessed Mary, and to blessed Dominic, and to you brother N.N., Master of the Order of Preachers and to your successors (or: to you brother N.N., prior provincial of the province of...; or: delegated...; in place of N.N. Master of the Order of Preachers and his successors), according to the rule of blessed Augustine and the institutions of the Friars Preachers, that I will be obedient to you and your successors for three years.’ (or: one year).
If, however, the Order does not have a Master at the time of profession, the brother making profession promises obedience to whoever presides in place of the Master of the Order without mentioning any name.
All the brothers, especially those whose ministry is among adolescents and young men, should consider it a duty of their Dominican vocation to work actively and prudently in fostering vocations to the Order.
Every province should appoint a promoter of vocations for whom, insofar as this is possible, this is to be his primary task.
Everyone should remember, however, that the life and apostolate of each brother and of each community will be the first invitation to take up Dominican life.
All the brothers, especially those whose ministry is among adolescents and young men, should consider it a duty of their Dominican vocation to work actively and prudently in fostering vocations to the Order.
Everyone should remember, however, that the life and apostolate of each brother and of each community will be the first invitation to take up Dominican life.