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General Government
Brother Superior General
130. As successor to the Founder, the Brother Superior General gathers all the Brothers of the Institute around Christ. He guides them and accompanies them in their fidelity to their commitment. He discerns with them the best way to adapt their apostolate to the needs of the times, according to the charism of the Institute. He has direct authority over all Brothers, houses, Districts, and Provinces1. He can, for a time, dispense a Brother, a community, or a Province from particular points of discipline of the Constitutions.
130.1 The Brother Superior General must visit the Provinces and Districts at least twice during his term of office, either in person or by his Vicar, his Councillors, or other delegated Brothers. (c 628)
131. He is elected by the General Chapter in accordance with Canon Law, by a secret ballot, and by an absolute majority of the Brothers present1.
At the time of his election he must be perpetually professed for at least ten years2. The term of his mandate is eight years. He can be re-elected consecutively only once3. His resignation or his deposition is reserved to the Holy See.
The election is carried out in the following manner: After three ballots have not given a result, only the two candidates who have the highest number of votes are eligible. If there are more than two with the same number of votes, the oldest two are taken. If, after a fourth ballot, there is still an equality, the older Brother will be considered elected.
Brother Vicar General
132. The Brother Vicar General is the closest collaborator of the Brother Superior General, replacing him in his absence, and when the Superior finds himself unable to carry out his task in whole or in part.
133. He is elected or re-elected by the General Chapter under the same conditions and in the same way as the Brother Superior General.
134. If it becomes impossible for him to fulfil his role during his term of office, a new Vicar General will be elected by the Brother Superior General and his Council1.
135. If it becomes impossible for the Brother Superior General to fulfil his role during his term of office, the Brother Vicar General becomes Superior General and continues to govern the Institute until the following General Chapter. If he has been elected by the Brother Superior General and his Council, he must convoke the Chapter within a year.
135.1 The Brother Superior General and the Brother Vicar General normally reside at the General House. If both have to be absent at the same time, the Brother Superior General or his Vicar, according to circumstances, will appoint the Councillor who is to take his place. (c 629)
The General Council
136. The General Council is made up of the Brother Vicar General and of Brothers called Councillors General, who, with the Brother Superior General, form a community.
The General Chapter decides on the number of General Councillors (at least four) whom it is to elect, and on the way they are to be elected. At the time of their election, they must be at least ten years perpetually professed. Their term of office lasts from one ordinary General Chapter to the next.
136.1 Should circumstances call for it, the Brother Superior General and his Council can elect one Councillor to meet some urgent need. (cf 137.4.2)
136.2 The Brother Secretary General is the Councillor who has charge of the Secretariate of the General Council. He draws up the minutes of the General Council meetings, and handles the official correspondence in the name of the Institute.
136.3 The Brother Econome General is the Councillor whose service is to administer the finances and goods of the Institute. He cannot be, at the same time, Vicar General.
Brother Superior General and his Council
137. The Brother Vicar General and the Councillors General are the direct collaborators of the Brother Superior General in governing the Institute. They are available to the Brother Superior General for any task that he may entrust to them. He consults them on the important matters concerning the Provinces and the Districts.
137.1 The Brother Superior General will convoke his entire Council at least once a year, to assess the situation of the Institute, to define the overall policy of his administration, and to examine questions of pressing urgency. (cf 137.4)
137.2 When a perpetually professed Brother asks for an indult to leave the Institute, the Brother Superior General will forward the request to the competent authority, together with his advice and that of his Council. (c 691, 1)
137.3 The Brother Superior General cannot act without the consent of his Council (four members of which form a quorum) when there is question of:
1. closing a house, on the request of the Brother Provincial
(c 616, 1; cf 150.2.13);
2. setting up, transferring, or closing a novitiate house (c 647, 1);
3. permission to establish several novitiates in the same Province or District;
4. authorising a candidate, in a particular case and by way of exception, to make his novitiate in a community of the Institute other than that of the novitiate, under the care of an experienced Brother, who takes the place of the Master of Novices (c 647, 2);
5. the transfer of a perpetually professed Brother to another Institute, and the admission of a perpetually professed religious coming from another Institute (c 684);
6. granting an indult of exclaustration to a perpetually professed Brother, the maximum length of time being three years (c 686);
7. granting to a Brother in temporary profession an indult to leave the Institute (c 688, 2);
8. re-admission into the Institute (c 690, 1; cf 113.9);
9. affiliating someone to the Institute;
10. authorising the appointment of a local Superior for a third term;
11. authorising construction work, borrowings, loans, purchases, the disposing of property or of objects of special value, - beyond the limit fixed for the Provinces, - with the permission of the Holy See, if this is needed (c 638, 3; cf 161, 11 and 14 and 15);
12. approving the Norms established by the Provincial Chapter (cf 151.1.3);
13. other cases which, because of the universal law of the Church or the proper law, require the consent of the Council.
137.4 The Brother Superior General acts collegially with his Council, of which at least two-thirds of the members must be present, in certain matters. Decisions are taken by an absolute majority of those present. The matters are:
1. the setting up, modifying, or suppressing of Provinces and Districts (c 581; c 585);
2. electing the Brother Vicar General and Councillors General outside the time of a General Chapter;
3. the resignation or the removal from office of the Brother Vicar General or of a Councillor General;
4. appointing the Brother Procurator General and the Brother Postulator General;
5. appointing the members of the Institute's Finance Committee (c 1280; cf 160.4);
6. fixing the date of the General Chapter, and the convoking of an extraordinary Chapter;
7. appointing the members of the Preparatory Committee of the General Chapter;
8. appointing the members of the Committee to verify the credentials of the capitulants;
9. appointing the members of the Provisional Committee of the General Chapter;
10. fixing the maximum amount that a Province or District can dispose of without authorisation, and the raising of that limit;
11. approving the financial report of the General Administration, presented each year by the Brother Econome General (cf 160.1);
12. approving the legal statutes of Provinces and Districts;
13. approving the Statutes of Districts, of groups of Provinces or Districts, and of houses dependent on the General Administration;
14. interpreting the decisions of the General Chapter.
137.5 The Brother Superior General acts, as in the previous Statute (137.4), with at least four members of the Council, when there is question of:
1. appointing Brothers Provincial and the Superiors dependent on the Brother Superior General;
2. the resignation or the removal from office of the Brothers referred to above;
3. extending the term of office, for not more than six months, of a Provincial Superior or a Superior of a District dependent on the Brother Superior General;
4. appointing the Brothers chosen to work in the general services;
5. dismissing a Brother from the Institute, in accordance with procedures of Canon Law.
General Services
137.6 The Brother Procurator General is the Institute's representative accredited to the Holy See. He provides the Brother Superior General and his Council with information from the Church and with material concerning Canon Law for Religious.
137.7 The Brother Postulator General is the official in charge of the Institute's causes of beatification and canonisation. He prepares the documents dealing with these causes, and works to make known whatever could bring them to a successful conclusion.
137.8 Other Brothers provide services connected with the General Administration - in particular, archives, statistical information, periodicals published, and research into the history of the Institute.
The General Chapter
138. The General Chapter is an assembly representative of the whole Institute. It is an expression of the participation of all Brothers in the life and mission of the Institute, as well as of their co-responsibility in its government1.
It exercises the highest extraordinary authority2. The Brother Superior General convokes it and presides over it.
He convokes the ordinary General Chapter every eight years. For grave reasons and with the consent of his Council, he can also convoke an extraordinary General Chapter3.
138.1 Not only Provinces and local communities, but also any Brother or group of Brothers , are free to make their wishes and suggestions known to the General Chapter. These contributions are signed and sent to the Preparatory Committee, which passes them on to the capitulants.(c 631, 3)
The Functions of the Chapter
139.The ordinary General Chapter has the following functions1:
1. to elect the Brother Superior General, the Brother Vicar General, and the members of the General Council, as prescribed in the proper law of the Institute;
2. to deal with major issues concerning the nature, aim, and spirit of the Institute, and to further their renewal and adaptation, preserving all the while the spiritual heritage of the Institute;
3. to draw up Statutes for the whole Institute;
4. to put before the Holy See the modifications that may be needed on some points of the Constitutions.
Composition of the Chapter
140. The General Chapter is made up1 of members by right and of members elected by the Provinces and Districts. The number of those elected must be greater than the number of those who are members by right. The Institute's proper law determines who are members by right, and lays down the way in which the elections are carried out.
140.1 Members by right in the General Chapter are:
1. the Brother Superior General;
2. the former Brother Superior General;
3. the Brother Vicar General and the Councillors General who are in office at the time the Chapter opens;
4. the Brothers Provincial.
140.2 In each Province for every group of 150 Brothers, or part of a group of 150 Brothers, one delegate is to be elected. In each District, one delegate is to be elected. In a District dependent on a Province, the number of professed Brothers in the District is subtracted from that of the Province in calculating the number of delegates the Province is entitled to.
140.3 Brothers who, in the course of the Chapter, are elected Superior General, Vicar General, or Councillors General become members of the Chapter if they are not already present. If the elected Brother Superior General is not present, the Chapter must await his arrival before continuing its work.
Brothers eligible for Election
141. All Brothers perpetually professed, except those exclaustrated or those in the process of joining another Institute, are eligible as delegates to the General Chapter.
Brothers with the Right to Vote
142. Those with the right of electing delegates to the General Chapter are: all Brothers, whether in temporary or perpetual profession, except those exclaustrated or those in the process of transferring to another Institute.
The General Conference
The General Conference is a consultative assembly, made up of the Brother Superior General, the Brother Vicar General, the Councillors General, the Brothers Provincial and, if the Statutes of the Districts provide for it, the Superiors of Districts.
The aim of the General Conference is:
1. to strengthen the unity of the Institute, and to enable the Superiors to have direct contact with the Brother Superior General, the members of his Council, and with one another;
2. to study questions of general concern and to propose ways of answering them.
The Brother Superior General convokes the General Conference in the period between two General Chapters. If he judges it opportune, he can invite other Brothers to attend.
(c 632; c 633, 1)
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