Ordination

I. It is the duty of the promoter general for nuns:

1. to assist the Master of the Order and the procurator general in matters concerning the nuns;
2. to collect information concerning them or for them and to communicate it to them and the different provinces.

II. It also belongs to him to take care of the aggregated or aggregating secular institutions of the Order.

A general chapter, under the presidency of the Master or vicar of the Order, shall be conducted in the following manner:

1. on the day before the commencement of the chapter: 
   1. the credentials of the voters shall be examined by three of the brothers designated by the president. Serious difficulties shall be referred to the voters of the chapter;
   2. at least two secretaries shall be appointed by the president and they may be assisted by other secretarial staff;
   3. three revisers shall be designated from the voters with the consent of the chapter. It will be their task to verify in due time the texts that have been approved;
   4. the president, having consulted the chapter, shall confirm the allocation already made of chapter members to the various commissions, which may be modified if he deems it opportune.
2. The chapter shall begin with the celebration of the Mass of the Holy Spirit. After the homily, in the prayer of the faithful, petitions shall be made for the successful outcome of the chapter and for the living and the dead.
   1. In the first plenary session of the general chapter, the method of procedure shall be discussed;
   2. the commissions begin their work. The chairman of each commission, having heard the preference of the other members, shall appoint a secretary from among the voters or other participants who shall record accurately the minutes of the commission; a commission shall conduct and conclude all business by public or secret votes; the chairman of a commission shall report to the president of the chapter as well as to the chapter itself in plenary sessions. The written resolutions of each commission shall be distributed to all the voters as well as the other participants before the plenary sessions;
   3. the Master shall give a report on the state of the Order;
   4. the Master shall give a report on his personal receipts and expenses to the commission on economic administration which shall inform the chapter about it;
   5. in an elective chapter, the election of the Master of the Order shall be conducted on the fifth day from the beginning of the chapter;
   6. the voters with the Master shall discuss chapter matters and shall make decisions by majority vote; there shall be a secret vote when the president or a significant number of the voters request it. If the votes are equal, the matter shall be remitted for further examination and a new vote. If the voting is still equal, the president of the chapter shall break the tie with his vote. Questions shall be resolved by way of admonition, declaration, or ordination, and if a new constitution is to be formulated, this shall be done without ambiguity;
   7. voters may propose questions for discussion even while the chapter is under way, and they shall determine the schedule for discussing them;
   8. a session must be held of the voters alone if a third of the capitulars have either previously requested this, or have approved this by vote at the request of a member of the chapter.
   9. within two days after every session, the minutes as well as the approved texts verified by the revisers shall be set out in a suitable place so that they can be examined by all. If a doubt is raised about an approved text, the revisers shall refer the matter to the chapter as soon as possible;
   10. the time and place of the next chapter shall be noted in the acts;
   11. during the chapter, the acts shall be prepared and signed by the president, the revisers, and the secretaries.
3. If the Master happens to be away from the chapter, he shall appoint a vicar from among the vocals who will take his place in all matters.

1. Conferences of priors provincial and regional priors as well as vicars shall be established according to nations or regions so that fraternal collaboration is truly organized and has a permanent character. These conferences shall meet regularly according to norms drawn up by the members of the entities and approved by the Master of the Order.
2. To foster these mutual relationships, the socii of the Master of the Order shall visit these regions frequently and remain there for some time. At an opportune time, they shall inform the Master of the Order and the general chapter about the activities and progress made there.

Where the conditions for a regional vicariate indicated in n. 384 above are lacking, a provincial chapter has power to establish a provincial vicariate and to draw up a special statute for it. If there are at least ten voters, they have the right to elect a vicar provincial; otherwise, having consulted the brothers, a vicar provincial shall be appointed by the prior provincial.

The vicar of the province remains in office until the newly elected or postulated prior provincial is present where the chapter is located, and who from that moment shall discharge the office of vicar of the province and preside over the chapter.

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. Two years after a prior provincial has been confirmed in office, he must summon to the next provincial council, in addition to its members, regional priors, vicars provincial, and conventual priors, unless the provincial chapter has determined otherwise regarding regional priors, vicars provincial, and priors in remote regions.
2. At this council meeting, 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.

Among other things, the following must be dealt with in the provincial council:

1. the appointment or removal of a regional prior vicar provincial and of a conventual prior;
2. the presentation or removal of a pastor;
3. the erection of a house as a convent, in accordance with n. 262;
4. the cassation of a decision of a conventual chapter or council, councillors assigned to that convent being excluded from taking part in the cassation;
5. the transfiliation of a brother;
6. temporarily excluding a brother from active voting rights for a grave reason;
7. a declaration of the fact for the dismissal of a brother in accordance with common law (CCL 694, § 2). 

1. The voters at a provincial chapter are:
   1. regional priors;
   2. vicars provincial elected in accordance with n. 389;
   3. 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.
   4. socii of priors going to the chapter, in accordance with n. 490;
   5. delegates of the brothers, in accordance with nn. 497-501;
   6. 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 not another convent or another house of the same province. (B, n. 263, P, n. 492)
   7. a prior provincial who immediately before the chapter completed his term of office in that province.
2. 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.

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 who is senior by profession in the province; 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.