Ordinances of the General Chapters 2012-2018-2024

Table of Contents

Preface

The General Chapter, which according to canon 631 has “supreme authority in accordance with the Constitutions” in the Order, has among its powers, in addition to the task of safeguarding the patrimony of the institute (can. 578), promoting an adequate renewal that harmonizes with it, electing the Supreme Moderator, and dealing with matters of major importance, the possibility of issuing norms that everyone is required to observe.

The fundamental norms are contained in the Constitutions (or Fundamental Code – can. 587), a document that requires the recognitio of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life; However, other norms contained in statutes, regulations, directives, rationales, etc. are also part of the proper law. Among these are the Ordinances of General Chapters, which are promulgated by virtue of the legislative power enjoyed by the General Chapter in a clerical institute of pontifical right. They serve as a true complement to the Constitutions.

As such, the Ordinances of the General Chapters are a binding code for the entire Order. They contain a set of norms that are valid for the entire fraternity and therefore universally binding, even if open to diversity and the preservation of a healthy balance between unity and diversity. Since they are approved by the General Chapter, they can therefore be changed, adapted, increased, or decreased according to the times and for the good of the Order.

The Special General Chapter, held in Rome in 1968 at the International College of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, repealed the Ordinances of the General Chapters that were not included in the new Constitutions, drafted in accordance with the criteria expressed in the documents of the Second Vatican Council.

Subsequently, however, it was realized that it was necessary to resume some collection of the provisions of the General Chapters. Therefore, the General Chapter of 1988 decided that the collection of the Ordinances of the General Chapters should be resumed, beginning with the Special General Chapter of 1968.

In this way, the Capuchin Order also complied with the provisions of the Code of Canon Law (can. 598 § 2), according to which norms that are not considered fundamental should be appropriately included in other additional codes, not in the Constitutions.

Subsequently, within the Order there was a growing demand to better identify the rules that needed to be kept in the Constitutions and those that could be included in the Ordinances of the General Chapters. This demand was accepted by the General Chapter of 2000 and then by the General Chapter of 2006, which reaffirmed and clarified the decision of the previous Chapter.

The Order has therefore revised both the Constitutions and the Ordinances in order to comply with the above request to adapt the Constitutions to the most recent teachings of the Magisterium of the Church and to enrich them in the light of what the Order itself has matured in its reflection, especially through the Sixth and Seventh Plenary Councils.

The General Chapter, held in Rome from August 20 to September 22, 2012, carefully examined and then ratified the newly revised Constitutions.

The same General Chapter, with its legislative authority, also approved the new collection of Ordinances of the General Chapters, stipulating that these Ordinances, following their publication by the General Minister, should be made known and duly observed.

Therefore, the General Minister, together with the decree promulgating the renewed Constitutions (Prot. No. 00935/13), also published the Ordinances of the General Chapters.

To make it easier to consult and keep up to date with the current Ordinances, the text now being published includes the amendments, additions, and new Ordinances voted on at the 85th General Chapter (Rome 2018) and the 86th General Chapter (Rome 2024), which became effective at the end of each respective General Chapter and are indicated individually in bold type.

This text of the Ordinances, written in Italian, is to be considered authentic, and all translations into other languages must conform to it.

Rome, 09 February 2026
Blessed Leopold of Alpandeire

Br. Roberto Genuin
General Minister OFMCap

Prot. N. 00091/26

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Please note that the official abbreviation used to refer to the Ordinances of the General Chapters in various documents or references is: OG.

2Cel Thomas of Celano, Second Life (or: The Remembrance of the Desire of a Soul)
3Cp The Legend of the Three Companions
AA Apostolicam actuositatem
AOFMCap Analecta Ordinis Fratrum Minorum Capuccinorum
Can. The Code of Canon Law (1983 and variations)
CD Christus Dominus
GC General Chapter
Const. Constitutions OFMCap, 2013
PCO Plenary Council of the Order
OT Optatam totius
PO Presbyterorum ordinis
Service Auth Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, The Service of Authority and Obedience (May 11, 2008)
MP The Mirror of Perfection

 

ORDINANCES
OF THE GENERAL CHAPTERS
OF THE CAPUCHIN FRIARS MINOR

Ordinances attached to the 2013 Constitutions
and approved by the General Chapter of 2012
with additions and modifications
approved by the General Chapters of 2018 and 2024

Chapter II: THE VOCATION TO OUR LIFE AND THE FORMATION OF THE BROTHERS

2/1

1. To foster vocations, it is very useful to offer young men an opportunity to participate in some way in our fraternal life. This is best done in suitable houses where help with personal reflection may be offered at the same time.

2. In order that vocations to religious life may be properly cultivated and more suitably prepared, the Provincial Ministers, with the consent of their council, and with the advice of the provincial chapter, if this seems appropriate, may establish special institutes, according to the needs of regions and times.

3. These institutes shall be organised in accordance with sound, personalized educational principles in such a way that, in addition to the sciences and the humanities, the students may lead a Christian life appropriate to their age, spirit and stage of development, while maintaining contact with society and their families. In this way a vocation to the religious life may be discerned and fostered.

4. The studies undertaken by the students shall be so arranged that they can be easily continued elsewhere.

2/2

The Provincial Minister, with the consent of his council, shall determine the manner of probation for a religious who transfers to our Order from another religious institute. Once the three years have passed, the time of such probation shall not be prolonged for more than a year.

2/3

1. For the promotion of research in spirituality and the Franciscan heritage, both from the historical and systematic points of view, and for the training of formators and teachers in spirituality, our Order promotes the Franciscan Institute of Spirituality as a valued resource.

2. Because of its international and inter-Franciscan character, the Institute should serve as a fixed reference point for cross-cultural exchange within the Order, and as a place of study and research into the ever-changing situations that challenge our life and vocation.

3. It is recommended that the Institute, collaborating closely with the General Formation Secretariat, fulfil a coordinating function between similar academic institutions, which the Order promotes at various levels.

2/4

Before educational structures are established for groups of circumscriptions, the General Minister is to be consulted.

2/5

Forms of interprovincial collaboration shall be regulated by special agreements and statutes, approved by the General Minister, with the consent of his council.

2/6

The General Secretariat for Formation carries out its task in accordance with the decisions of the general chapter and the instructions given by the General Minister and his council.

2/7

1. The Order is to have its own Ratio Formationis or General Formation Plan, approved by the General Minister and his council, after having consulted the General Secretariat and the General Formation Council.

2. The formation plan of individual circumscriptions or groups of circumscriptions must conform to the Constitutions and to the General Ratio formationis of the Order.

2/8

For the formation of candidates from several circumscriptions, the choice of houses and composition of the formation fraternities are jointly agreed upon by the ministers concerned, after consultation with their respective councils. The interested parties are to draw up regulations for the running of these fraternities.

2/9

The Ratio Formationis will provide the ways and means for the gradual incorporation of the candidate into the fraternity.

2/10

A document attesting to admission to postulancy must be drawn up.

2/11

The length of postulancy, ordinarily at least one year, and other possible ways of living this first period may be determined by the respective minister, with the consent of his council.

2/12

Normally, a brother coming into the Order keeps his baptismal name. To determine personal identity, the place of birth is not used, but rather the family name.

2/13

The Ratio Formationis of the Order gives the general outlines of post-novitiate formation. To apply these, individual provinces or groups of circumscriptions shall draw up a structured program for the accompaniment and initiation of the brothers.

2/14

Where it is impossible to wear our habit, simple clothing shall be worn. In such cases, the various circumscriptions of the Order shall make appropriate regulations.

2/15

1. At the times determined by the minister, after having consulted his council, the local fraternity, following the director’s report, shall discuss and reflect together on the suitability of the candidates and its own manner of acting towards them.

2. During the novitiate and before perpetual profession, the perpetually professed brothers who have lived for four months in the formation fraternity concerned shall also express their opinion by a consultative vote in the manner to be determined by the minister.

3. The brothers in temporary vows shall not be excluded from expressing their opinion even though they do not have a vote.

4. A report on every such meeting, and the results of any votes taken, are to be sent to the minister.

2/16

1. A document of both temporary and perpetual profession shall be drawn up, indicating the brother’s age and other necessary information. This document must be signed by the professed, by the one who receives his profession and by two witnesses. This document, together with the others prescribed by the Church, must be carefully kept in the provincial archives.

2, The profession should also be recorded by the minister in a book of professions to be kept in the archives. In the case of perpetual profession, the minister must notify the pastor of the place where the professed brother was baptised.

2/17

When collaborating with other institutes, the primary duty and right of the Order to form its brothers must always be safeguarded. An assessment must be made to see whether the right conditions exist for such collaboration to arise, and whether it shall be continued.

2/18

Consent to receive sacred orders is to be given to those aspirants who, as well as being endowed with due human and spiritual maturity, have competently completed the study of philosophy and theology as required by the Church.

2/19

After the completion of specific formation, the religious ordinary may present a perpetually professed brother to the General Minister, so that, with the consent of his council, he may admit him to ordination as a permanent deacon. For a religious, this admission also requires the permission of the Holy See. The permanent deacon, who exercises his ministry with the consent of the local ordinary and of his religious ordinary, remains a professed brother subject to our proper law and cannot insist on being assigned to a fraternity within the territory of the diocese where he was ordained.

2/20

In addition to a central or regional library, which is highly recommended, there should be a community library in all our houses, adequately supplied to meet the needs of the particular fraternity. Where possible and with due precautions, our libraries shall be accessible to non-members of the Order. As far as possible, we should ensure that our libraries use information systems.

2/21

Decisions regarding the International College pertain to the General Minister with the consent of his council.

Chapter III: OUR LIFE OF PRAYER

3/1

In our fraternities, when circumstances suggest, some brothers shall be appointed to prepare the liturgical celebrations.

3/2

1. Every year, after the solemnity of Saint Francis, each local fraternity shall celebrate a commemoration of all deceased brothers, sisters, relatives, and benefactors.

2. Regarding suffrages, it is decreed that each fraternity shall celebrate a Mass on the death of the Roman Pontiff, of the General Minister, and of a former General Minister. The same shall done for general councillors and former general councillors in each fraternity of the group to which they belonged.

3. It is the responsibility of the provincial chapter to determine the suffrages to be offered for deceased Provincial Ministers, former Provincial Ministers and for deceased brothers, parents, and benefactors.

3/3

In the circumscriptions, there shall be directives to ensure that at least one period of meditation is spent in common.

3/4

It is commendable to occasionally organize times of retreat or recollection, using a variety of styles and taking into account the diversity of duties.

3/5

It pertains to the provincial chapter or Conference of Major Superiors to judge the advisability of establishing fraternities of recollection and to provide for their governance.

Chapter IV: OUR LIFE OF POVERTY

4/1

Each circumscription or group of circumscriptions shall devise and implement particular ways of being present among the poor.

4/2

1. The ministers and guardians, either personally or through others, within the limits of their own competence and in obedience to universal law, can perform civil acts in connection with temporal goods, if and insofar as this may be necessary for the brothers or for the works entrusted to us.

2. All the temporal goods belonging to the Order are ecclesiastical goods that must be administered according to universal and proper law, while also respecting civil law. We shall ensure that entities recognised in civil law are also ecclesiastically recognised. When this is not possible, ministers shall designate the physical or juridical persons in whose name the Order’s goods are to be registered in civil law. In this case, care shall be taken to ensure, through appropriate means, that the goods registered to physical or juridical persons are in any case ecclesiastical goods and are equally governed by canonical norms.

4/3

In particular cases, the ministers may give permission for individuals to administer money, but only for a limited time. The permission must be given in writing, and must indicate for how long it is given, and the manner of accounting for the administration.

4/4

1. The minister, with the consent of his council, and having consulted the local chapter, determines the maximum sum that each fraternity can manage and makes appropriate arrangements concerning money that is not necessary for the needs of the local fraternity. It is appropriate that the economic administration in each circumscription be centralized. For this purpose it is useful that there be a system of budgets at each level.

2. In each circumscription, the chapter is to decide how much is necessary for the ordinary management of the circumscription, and the total amount held in reserve for internal extraordinary expenditures (e.g., maintenance of buildings, the sick, employees insurance, formation) and for external solidarity (e.g., missions and charity). Monies exceeding the ordinary and extraordinary needs of a circumscription shall be generously made available to the Order, the Church, and the poor.

3. It is the responsibility of ministers, with the consent of their councils, to set up the funds or financial reserves mentioned in §2. The income from such investments should be used for the same purpose as that of the fund. All investments, whether in the form of fixed assets, cash or other financial instruments, must be managed and evaluated on the basis of ethical principles that are consistent with the social doctrine of the Church.

4/5

Having observed the norms for the administration of temporal goods, the General Minister or the Provincial Minister, with the consent of the respective council, is to decide what is to be done with the surplus goods of the provinces or custodies.

4/6

It pertains to the provincial chapter to lay down norms for the use of the goods of suppressed fraternities, maintaining the wishes of the founders and donors and their legitimately acquired rights. If the goods of a suppressed circumscription are involved, the competent authority is the General Minister, who must proceed collegially with his council, having consulted the relevant Conference and the ministers concerned and their councils.

4/7

Economic solidarity in the Order shall be regulated by an appropriate statute, which defines the relationships between the circumscriptions and the Conferences, among themselves and with our entire fraternity. This statute is to be approved by the General Minister with the consent of his Council (Variation – CG 2018).

4/8

Each circumscription shall periodically assess the buildings it has available, and proceed to sell those that are unnecessary or to allow others to use them, observing the norms of common and particular law. Where possible, this shall be done in dialogue with the neighbouring circumscriptions and with the Conference. For this purpose the General Minister with his council shall issue appropriate guidelines.

4/9

1. The construction, acquisition and alienation of our houses are the responsibility of the Provincial Minister with the consent of his council, the prescriptions of law being observed.

2. When construction is finished, a guardian may not build or demolish anything or enlarge a building without consulting the local chapter, and obtaining the consent of the councillors and the permission of the minister.

3. The guardian must carefully provide for the maintenance of the house and the care of the property, obtaining the consent of the councillors in matters of greater importance.

4/10

In the larger houses, the office of the bursar shall ordinarily be separate from that of the guardian.

4/11

In each circumscription, or if appropriate also at other levels, formation and in-service training of brothers in economic administration shall be provided.

4/12

1. All bursars, administrators and guardians are to give an exact account of their administration to their superiors and to the fraternity at a time and in a manner determined by the ministers.

2. On the occasion of the triennial report, the Provincial Ministers, in a document signed by the council, shall present to the General Minister a true account of the financial situation of the province, so that its needs may be appropriately provided for and the observance of poverty effectively supervised.

3. The Custodes shall also provide a financial statement for their minister, signed by the councillors.

4. The General Minister shall report on the financial situation of the Order at the general chapter in the manner determined by the chapter itself. The other ministers shall do likewise at their respective chapters.

4/13

To change regulations regarding temporal goods or to take any action involving them that exceeds the limits of one’s own competence, the permission of the immediate major superior is required.

4/14

1. The Order should prepare a statute for the administration of assets, which must be approved by the general chapter.

2. Circumscriptions or groups of circumscriptions, or even Conferences as appropriate, shall have similar statutes, which must be approved by the General Minister, with the consent of his council.

4/15

1. In the circumscriptions of the Order, a finance committee, as mentioned in the Code of Canon Law, can. 1280 must be established. It is recommended that one or more committees on financial matters, whose function would be to offer advice about the administration of goods, and on the building, maintenance and alienation of houses, be established.

2. These commissions are established by the chapter, which also determines their competence. However, their members, some of whom may be lay people, are appointed by the minister with the consent of the council.

4/16

1. After consulting the ministers or, if necessary, the Conferences of Major Superiors, the General Minister, with the consent of the council, shall establish limits, according to the differing values of currencies, beyond which ministers are bound to ask either the consent of the council or the permission of a higher authority to validly contract obligations, alienate goods or incur extraordinary expenses. Such permissions must be given in writing.

2. The minister, with the consent of the council, will do the same with appropriate adaptations for the guardians of his circumscription.

3. Expenses are considered extraordinary that are unnecessary either for the minister in the exercise of his office or in the ordinary service of the brothers, or for the guardian in those matters that do not pertain to the ordinary care of the fraternity entrusted to him.

Chapter V: THE MANNER OF WORKING

5/1

It is up to the chapter of each circumscription to adopt suitable norms regarding holidays and free time, based on the principles of fraternal fairness.

Chapter VI: OUR LIFE IN FRATERNITY

6/1

In circumscriptions where it seems useful, a shared infirmary may be established.

6/2

1. Where an enclosure cannot be maintained because of particular circumstances, the minister, with the consent of his council, shall provide norms adapted to the local circumstances.

2. It pertains to the ministers to determine the precise boundaries of the enclosure or to change them for legitimate reasons. They may also suspend the enclosure temporarily.

3. In urgent cases, on a particular occasion, the guardian can dispense from the enclosure.

6/3

1. The consent of the local chapter shall be obtained for laymen who wish to share temporarily in our life. If, however, the stay is to be protracted, the consent of the minister is also required.

2. The minister, with the consent of the council, may admit laymen as members of the family perpetually dedicated to God, i.e., oblates, after an agreement has been drawn up concerning mutual rights and obligations.

6/4

1. It pertains to the General Minister, with the consent of his council, to issue travel regulations for the whole Order, and to the Provincial Minister, with the consent of his council, to do likewise for his province, in accordance with the instructions of the General Minister.

2. For a prolonged stay outside a house of the fraternity, the norms of universal law must be observed.

6/5

It is the Provincial Minister’s responsibility, after consulting his council, to judge the appropriateness of having vehicles for a ministry, an office, or the service of a fraternity, and to decide how they are to be used.

6/6

The brothers, as far as possible, shall inform the guardian in advance of their arrival. They shall spontaneously show their letters of obedience, if these are necessary.

6/7

If brothers, for reasons of study, need to stay for a long time in a house of another circumscription, the ministers of those involved shall fraternally come to an agreement about payment for living expenses.

6/8

1. In the case of associating a monastery to the Capuchin Poor Clares, the General Minister, with his council, proceeds collegially in accordance with the provisions of law.

2. The minister exercises his office in relation to the associated monastery in accordance with universal law and the Constitutions of the sisters themselves.

6/9

The General Minister must proceed collegially with his council in every case concerning the aggregation of an Institute of Consecrated Life.

6/10

As a sign of co-responsibility, the governing board of the respective Secular Franciscan fraternities shall be consulted in the appointment of spiritual assistants or when establishing fraternities.

Chapter VII: OUR LIFE OF PENANCE

7/1

1. In addition to what is provided in the Constitutions, it is the responsibility of the chapter of each circumscription to establish further norms regarding both the days of fasting and abstinence and the manner of fasting.

2. Equally, in each circumscription, chapters shall make appropriate regulations about other forms of communal penance according to the circumstances of time and place.

7/2

If a brother is guilty of an offence against a person or an ecclesiastical or social institution, by the same law of charity which requires justice and respect for the rights and dignity of all, especially the most vulnerable, we shall help him to assume his responsibilities, make good the harm he has done and accept the canonical and civil consequences of his behaviour. Indeed, responsibility for an offence rests with the one who commits it.

7/3

In order to prevent sin, ministers and guardians shall encourage the brothers to observe in all things our own law and that of the Church, as well as civil legislation. But if a brother commits an offence, or there is a danger of its being repeated, the ministers should take all possible suitable measures, including cooperation with the civil authorities, to prevent it. In every case, even a brother who sins or is suspected of an offence must always be accorded the rights and protections enjoyed by any accused person. Our collaboration with civil authorities shall not be in conflict with the divine or canon law.

Chapter VIII: THE GOVERNANCE OF OUR ORDER

8/1

For the establishment, suppression and unification of provinces, local situations shall be taken into account and at least the following aspects should be assessed:

– the presence of a group of brothers and fraternities able to sustain effectively, either by themselves or through the solidarity of the Order, the various aspects of the life and activities of the brothers, both internally and externally, in terms of their openness to the needs of the Order and the Church;

– their capacity to assume the promotion of vocations, formation and apostolic works also in cooperation with other circumscriptions,

– material and economic needs.

In particular, the following should be verified:

– the brothers’ sense of belonging to the brothers, at its various levels;

– the possibility of filling the offices of  governance and ensuring an effective turnover of officeholders;

– the capacity to assume a missionary commitment;

– geographic and linguistic unity, as far as possible.

8/2

1. In particular circumstances, the General Minister, observing the conditions for altering the circumscriptions, may establish a federation of several provinces, with its own statute.

2. A federation entails unity of governance: a single Provincial Minister, with his council, who has jurisdiction over all the federated provinces.

8/3

1. When helping a circumscription temporarily, that is, for not more than three years, Provincial Ministers have the faculty of sending their own brothers without having recourse to the General Minister. This time limit does not apply to the service given to a circumscription that depends on one’s own province. For other services which are expected to continue for more than three years, or if it is desired to continue the service after the three years have elapsed, letters of obedience must be requested from the General Minister.

2. After one year of service, the right to vote mentioned in n.121,6 of the Constitutions is no longer exercised in one’s own circumscription, but in the circumscription in which the service is rendered, except for what is prescribed for delegations. However, voting rights are exercised after the end of the first year of service. There must be a specific and verifiable date for the start of service in another circumscription (Addition – CG 2024).

8/4

In exceptional cases, the ministers are not bound to convene their council when it is only a case of consulting them. Outside of a meeting, they may consult the council in a suitable way. The consultation and the decision taken by the minister must be noted in the council minutes. The same may be done in the case of consulting others.

8/5

1. To be able to proceed to a vote by postulation, at least one third of those having the right to vote must request it in writing from the president of the chapter. In all other cases a vote to postulate must be considered null.

2. The postulation is valid only if the candidate, in the first scrutiny, obtains two thirds of the votes of the vocals present. Otherwise, further postulations are excluded, and the voting resumes in the normal way, starting with the first scrutiny.

8/6

1. A minister may be removed by the General Minister, with the consent of his council, for a serious reason, including repeated neglect or violation of his duties even after an admonition, or for maladministration.

2. The guardian, as also the delegate, can be removed by the Provincial Minister, with the consent of his council, for a just cause, that is, if required by the good of the fraternity, whether local or provincial, or of the particular Church.

8/7

The chapter, at all levels, is a temporary collegial body which exercises its own authority in accordance with the competence accorded to it by the Constitutions.

8/8

In order to allow the participation of qualified brothers who otherwise could not participate in a general chapter, either as a delegate of their provinces or an ex-officio members, each Conference is to elect one perpetually professed lay brother as a delegate. The manner of his election is to be established by the norms of each Conference.

8/9

1. Once the general chapter has been announced, in every province all the perpetually professed brothers shall elect one delegate to the general chapter and a substitute for every hundred brothers.

2. This election is conducted in the manner determined by the provincial chapter, and the results are to be published at least three months before the general chapter.

8/10

1. Preparation for the general chapter and a consultation of the brothers with regard to its agenda shall take place in accordance with the Procedures for Conducting a General Chapter.

2. The General Minister, with the consent of his council, prepares a list of possible agenda items, and informs all the capitulars in good time. But the chapter itself decides the questions to be treated.

8/11

Eight or more councillors are to be elected at the general chapter (Variation – CG 2018)..

8/12

1. If the General Minister is elected from outside the chapter, the chapter is suspended until the new General Minister arrives at the Chapter.

2. General councillors elected outside the Chapter become, ipso facto, members of the chapter.

8/13

1. A number of offices and structures are established at the general curia for the service of the Order, such as the following:

– the General Secretariat of the Order;

– the office of the General Procurator to handle the Order’s business with the Holy See;

– the office of the General Postulator, for transactions with the Congregation for the Causes of Saints;

– the General Formation Secretariat;

– the General Secretariat for Evangelisation, Mission Animation and Collaboration;

– the office of the General Assistant to the Secular Franciscan Order;

– the Office for Assistance to Nuns and Institutes affiliated to the Capuchin Order;

– the Justice, Peace and Ecology Office;

– the General Archives;

– the Central Library;

– the General Bursary;

– the Offices for Communication, Statistics, and the central Registry (Protocol).

2. Without prejudice to the prescriptions of the Constitutions, and observing the decisions of the general chapters, the General Minister, with the consent of his council, when it is necessary and appropriate, may establish other offices and structures of the general curia, and may also suppress or modify existing ones.

8/14

The electoral assembly is composed of: the General Vicar, the general councillors, the former General Minister in the period from the expiration of his term of office until the next general chapter inclusive, the Provincial Ministers, the custodes, the general secretary and the general procurator.

The work of the electoral assembly will be determined by appropriate regulations approved by the general chapter.

8/15

The ordinary provincial chapter is announced and convened every three years. The General Minister has the faculty to permit the chapter, for a good reason, to be held six months before or after a three year term has elapsed.

8/16

All the capitulars are to be informed in due time about the list of possible agenda items proposed by the Provincial Minister with the consent of his council. The chapter itself, however, decides the agenda items.

8/17

1. In a chapter with delegates, the number of participants by right must be less than the number of delegates.

2. Non-capitulars in a province may attend the chapter as auditors, unless the chapter procedures determine otherwise.

3. Brothers who are capitulars lose active voice if, without lawful dispensation, they are not present at the chapter for the entire time of the chapter itself, whether it is held with direct suffrage or with delegates.

8/18

1. Provinces with one hundred brothers or fewer conduct their chapter with direct suffrage. Provinces with more than one hundred brothers conduct a chapter with delegates. However, even provinces with more than one hundred brothers may conduct the chapter with direct suffrage, and, for good reasons, provinces with one hundred or fewer brothers may hold a chapter with delegates.

2. In both cases, this must be decided by a majority of two-thirds of the voters in a general consultation, in which at least seventy-five percent (75%) of all the perpetually professed brothers must participate. The decision is then recorded in the Procedures for Conducting a Provincial Chapter.

8/19

1. Brothers who have been declared unlawfully absent, and those who have submitted a request for exclaustration or for dispensation from religious vows and from the duties connected to sacred ordination, are deprived of active and passive voice. If the request is submitted after the chapter has been convened, they are excluded from the chapter without being substituted.

2. In the judgment of the Provincial Minister, with the consent of the council, brothers who have submitted a request to be absent from the religious house may be deprived of active and passive voice.

8/20

1. The Provincial Minister and councillors are elected for three years.

2. What is stated in Const. 132:5 regarding the confirmation of the election of the provincial minister also applies to the provincial vicar as a major superior (Addition – CG 2024).

8/21

No brother may hold the office of Provincial Minister and/or Custos for more than three consecutive terms, in whatever legitimate way it may have been conferred on him. Following a third consecutive term of office election, appointment or postulation is not possible.

8/22

In the election of councillors, the outgoing Provincial Minister enjoys only active voice.

8/23

The chapter of a custody is held every three years. The Custos and his councillors are elected for the same length of time.

8/24

The outgoing Custos does not have passive voice in the election of the councillors.

8/25

1. A delegation is a structure of the Order that is transitory in nature. It is made up of a group of brothers gathered in local fraternities, and entrusted to a province. Its purpose is to ensure fraternal life in geographical areas where, although there is more than one house, the prerequisites for establishing or maintaining a circumscription are lacking.

2. The General Minister, with the consent of his council, having consulted the Conferences of Major Superiors concerned, may establish, modify and suppress a delegation.

3. A delegation has its own statute, approved by the Provincial Minister, with the consent of his council.

4. A brother delegated by the Provincial Minister shall be placed in charge of each delegation, and he shall be assisted by two councillors. It is his duty to represent the delegation, in the name of the Provincial Minister, in dealings with the local ecclesiastical and civil authorities, as far as this is possible.

5. The delegate and the two councillors are appointed by the Provincial Minister in accordance with the statute, with the consent of his council, after having first consulted the perpetually professed brothers of the delegation. However, the delegate may not be reappointed for a longer time than in the case of a guardian.

6. The delegate, who is not a major superior, is to receive from the Provincial Minister, in writing, the necessary delegations to facilitate practical, pastoral and administrative governance, and to encourage a certain amount of autonomy of action in the group, especially with a view to service to the local Church and the implantation of the Order.

7. The brothers of the delegation retain all the rights and duties of their respective province.

8. In delegations, friars from another circumscription exercise voting rights in their own circumscription of aggregation or in the province on which the delegation depends on the basis of the agreement between the major superiors concerned, approved by the General Minister (Variation – CG 2024).

8/26

The term of office of a guardian and a vicar lasts for three years.

8/27

Let the guardians not only inform but also consult the brothers by suitable means about agenda of a local chapter.

8/28

1. In the general and provincial curias and in the residence of the Custos there shall be a private archive, in which are carefully kept all documents that must remain secret.

2. In the management of the archives, the prescriptions of ecclesiastical law and of our own law are to be observed. The requirements of archival science are to be respected and an inventory of documents preserved in the archives must not be omitted.

3. The care of the archives should be entrusted to qualified brothers who, for that purpose, with the permission of the minister, may be assisted by external helpers.

8/29

In all the fraternities, the custom of keeping a chronicle (log book) is to be maintained.

8/30

Meetings of the Conferences are attended by the representatives of delegations and of the houses of presence in the territory. General councillors, delegated by the General Minister, also attend the meetings by right. All of the aforementioned do not have the right to vote.

8/31

Conferences shall encourage and promote opportunities and structures of collaboration among themselves so as to increase the sense of brotherhood and the greatest possible sharing in the Order.

8/32

The presidents of the Conferences, convened by the General Minister, shall meet together with the General Minister and his council at least every two years.

Chapter X: OUR LIFE IN OBEDIENCE

10/1

1. During his term of office, the General Minister shall visit all the brothers either personally or through others, principally through the general councillors.

2. The other ministers shall make such a visitation to all the fraternities in their own territories at least twice in a three-year term.

3. The custodies, in addition to a visitation by the Custos, shall be visited by the Provincial Minister during each three-year term.

4. Moreover, when the opportunity arises, let the General Minister visit the brothers in the various countries and occasionally be present at meetings of the Conferences of Major Superiors.

5. Let the other ministers as well, in their concern for individuals and their work, willingly take advantage of opportunities of meeting with the brothers.

10/2

1. Once the visitation is completed, the delegated visitator shall send a complete report to his respective minister.

2. In a spirit of obedience, the brothers shall welcome the recommendations made after the visitation and seek to implement them faithfully. There shall be suitable community evaluations of the recommendations.

3. At an appropriate time, ministers and guardians shall report to their own immediate superior on what has been implemented. Similarly, they shall inform them how they have put into practice those things which the Constitutions delegate to provincial chapters or to the superiors.

4. Once during a three-year term, let the ministers send a report concerning the state of their own jurisdiction to their respective superior.

Chapter XI: OUR LIFE IN CONSECRATED CHASTITY

11/1

A religious is ordinarily dismissed from our Order by virtue of proper law (Cf. can. 696§1), in the event that he generates offspring and this is proven with moral and medical certainty. We proceed to dismiss by applying, with due difference, what is established in can. 695§2 (New Ordinance – CG 2024). 

Chapter XII: THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL AND THE LIFE OF FAITH

12/1

It is for the general chapter, with the consent of two-thirds of the vocals, both to approve the norms of the Ordinances of the General Chapters and to add to, change, derogate from or abrogate them, as the needs of the times and of renewal require, while keeping within the thrust of our tradition. The same general chapter is competent to issue an authentic interpretation of the Ordinances of the General Chapters.

12/2

1. A temporary dispensation from the disciplinary norms of the Constitutions for an entire province is reserved to the General Minister and for an entire fraternity to its own minister.

2. It belongs to the General Minister, with the consent of his council, to grant a temporary dispensation on a case-by-case basis from observing the Ordinances of the General Chapters. Other ministers are bound by what is laid down in these Ordinances.

12/3

It belongs to the Provincial Minister or the Custos, with the consent of his council, to approve particular statutes for individual fraternities or houses.