Opera Omnia

INSTRUCTION XI
THE GENERAL COUNCIL AND THE DELEGATIONS
A Note on Maggiorino Vigolungo

The Lord has led many wonderful, generous and faithful people into the Pauline Family. Among these let us recall the first flower, Maggiorino Vigolungo, who was soon transplanted into heaven. On 12 December 1961 the Cause of Beatification started in the Bishop's Curia in Alba. He can be considered, in so far as is humanly possible to know, the Dominic Savio of the Pauline Family. Above all he had an inner knowledge and love of the Lord, a generous way of giving himself in all his duties, a very delicate conscience, and a clear vision of the apostolate of the good press.
Read the little book of his life, pray to him in accordance with the explanation on the holy cards, spread knowledge of him, and imitate his virtues.

A democratic government

The Superior General and the Provincial Superior have the major responsibilities in the Congregation, and thus wider powers. Each one according to his own position.

They represent the Lord. But they must consider that Religious Institutes are Societies in which there is a union of forces to achieve the two goals: sanctification of the members and apostolate-ministry.
Therefore it is a democratic government in which the members can express their opinions through the Councillors in matters of great importance. And the opinion of the Councillors is of such importance that it is mandatory in many cases; and a decision would be invalid without their consent.
The Church's government is particular in nature; the societies, which live in the Church and are part of it, must model themselves, within their albeit limited government, on that of a general nature.

The General Council

When is it necessary to have the consent of the Councillors so that the Superior General can act?

Art. 347. The Superior General needs the consent of his Council:
1. To designate the place for the meeting of the next General Chapter and to determine the date on which it has to begin;
2. To announce and summon the General Chapter outside the times prescribed by the Constitutions, having first obtained for this the Apostolic permission;
3. To appoint a member to take the place of any Councillor, or of the Procurator, Secretary, or Administrator General, in the case of cessation

of office. This new member shall remain in charge until the next General Chapter;
4. To appoint a Visitor General;
5. To transfer the see of the General Council to another house, the permission of the Holy See having been obtained beforehand;
6. To erect or suppress a religious house, previous written permission having been procured from the local Ordinary, and if the house is to be erected in places subject to the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide, also the consent of the same Congregation;
7. To erect a House of Novitiate, or to transfer the Novitiate to another house, with the permission of the Holy See;
8. To designate the houses for the formation of the Clerics, as well as those for the training of the Disciples;
9. To appoint Provincial, Regional, Local Superiors and their Councillors, as well as the Provincial Administrators; likewise the Master of Novices and his assistant; the Master both for Clerics and Disciples; in like manner the professors of philosophy and theology, and the examiners for Confessors and newlyordained Priests; and the two Disciples as stated in article 284;
10. To commission members to the office of censors of the works to be published;
11. To admit the candidates to the Novitiate, if they are under any of the impediments specified in articles 18-22;
12. To admit the Novices to the first temporary religious Profession;
13. To admit the members to each Sacred Order;
14. To dismiss professed members of temporary vows,

according to article 92, and professed members of perpetual vows according to articles 96-103;
15. To remove a member from his office, for a grave cause, before the term of the office expires;
16. To draw up particular rules, for any reasonable cause, for individual persons or houses;
17. To approve the method of studies for the schools of the Society;
18. To approve the financial report of the Administrator General;
19. To grant permission to make extraordinary expenses and transfers (sales), to contract debts, to assume obligations, and, in general, to make contracts; likewise to determine the amount of money each Province and Region has to contribute to the general treasury for the common needs of the Society, according to the norm approved by the General Chapter, besides the prescriptions of the Sacred Canons;
20. To approve any investment of money or the exchange of it;
21. To approve the administration or the use of donations and bequests, provided the prescriptions of Canon 533, §1, n. 3, and §2 of Canon Law are observed;
22. To introduce or accept any new work which, however, ought to be within the special purpose of the Society;
23. To determine the conditions under which the members may work for others, according to the norm of article 243;
24. To decide whether or not to have recourse to the Holy See in order to obtain the dispensation from various canonical impediments affecting either the entrance into the Novitiate, or the admission to the Profession, or the reception of the Orders;

25. To erect Provinces, with the previous consent of the Holy See; and to constitute Regions;
26. To decide about matters which, according to the Sacred Canons or the Constitutions, are subject to the consent of the General Chapter, or have been defined of major importance by the Chapter itself.

So that everything may proceed in a regular way in the Council meetings the provision in article 358 is to be followed:

Art. 358. Each Councillor, beginning from the last, should express his opinion and timely remarks about the matters being discussed within the General Council. If consent is required, it is necessary that the issue be decided by an absolute majority manifested by secret vote. However, in the case of a tie, the votes being equally divided, the Superior General can decide the matter on the third ballot.

The Regional Delegations

To be considered secondly are the Regional Delegations and the powers of the delegate or Regional Superior.
Premise:
Art. 425. To decide about the expansion of the Society in those countries where there is no Province, pertains to the Superior General and his Council. However, houses thus founded are governed, according to

Canon Law, by the local Superior who depends directly on the Superior General.

There may be a case where there is a need to establish a Regional Delegation, which will be outside the territory and jurisdiction of any province.

Art. 426. In a country where there are at least two houses, the Superior General with the consent of his Council can set up a Regional Superior to whom are delegated those faculties which the Superior General and his Council shall have judged suitable and opportune.

The powers of the Delegate Superiors are primarily those set out in the act in which a priest is elected to such an office.
Secondly he has the powers and the duties set out in the following articles of the Constitutions:

Art. 427. The Regional Superior delegate can also be, at the same time, local Superior. He exercises the faculties delegated to him for the government of the Region, either alone or assisted by two Councillors, according to what has been laid down in the letters of appointment.
Art. 428. In a Regional Delegation a Novitiate can be erected with the previous permission of the Holy See.
Art. 429. The Regional Superior enjoys the right to participate in the General Chapter.

Note is to be taken, however, of what articles 430, 298, and 431 prescribe.

Art. 430. All houses which are erected outside the territory of any Province depend directly on the Superior General, even if Regional Delegations have been established. As far as the delegates to the General Chapter are concerned, the prescript of article 298 is to be observed.
Art. 298. Those houses which depend directly on the Superior General, as far as the election of delegates to the General Chapter is concerned, constitute one unit, in which the Priests and Disciples in perpetual vows have active and passive voice. For the election of these delegates those rules which are contained in article 418 are to be observed.
Art. 431. Every member of the houses directly dependent on the Superior General, can communicate to the delegates all those things that he thinks would be for the good of the Society, and, as such, ought to be brought to the attention of the General Chapter, as was stated in article 424, concerning the provincial delegates.

Local Superiors

Authority is represented thirdly in the Congregation by local Superiors.
They are constituted in their office for a three-year term and can be confirmed for a further three years.
The qualities and conditions to be appointed are set out in articles 442, 452, 454:

Art. 442. The local Superiors who are to be placed at the head of each house ought to be chosen from among the Priests of the Society who are outstanding in virtue, learning, and prudence and have been perpetually Professed for at least three years. They are appointed by the Superior General with the consent of his Council, upon previous presentation of the respective major Superior.
Art. 452. Even in the houses which are non-regular - domus non formatae - the Major Superior is to appoint a Priest to assist the local Superior as Councillor and local Vicar, and to take his place whenever it is necessary.
Art. 454. The Superior General with the consent of his Council will appoint for every house a local Administrator who, under the direction and supervision of the local Superior, must take care of the temporal goods of the house. If the Superior General and his Council deem it necessary, the local Superior can also function as local Administrator, although it is better that the two positions be held by different persons.
Their tasks are outlined in articles 446, 447, 448, 450, and 451.
Art. 446. The local Superior is to promote religious observance and piety in the community; transact the affairs of the house conscientiously; ascertain that everyone strives after perfection and faithfully accomplishes his duties; and, as much as possible, foster the good of the house by his words, examples, and deeds.
Art. 447. He should frequently call a meeting of the members, both Priests and perpetually professed Disciples, according to his prudence

even separately, so that their individual experiences and suggestions may help him in the more perfect government of the house and its activities as well as in the discernment of the various external abuses that perchance have crept into the life of the community, thus enabling him to point out the proper means to remedy them.
Art. 448. Local Superiors are duty-bound:
1. to promote among their subjects the knowledge and execution of the decrees of the Holy See concerning Religious;
2. to have the Constitutions read as laid down in article 461, as well as the decrees which the Holy See may order to be read publicly;
3. to give a pious exhortation to all the members of the community at least twice a month;
4. to provide for an ample amount of religious instruction for the Disciples, according to the Constitutions, and above all, to take care of their spiritual necessities with special solicitude and paternal affection.
Art. 450. The Superior General, with the consent of his Council, must appoint two Priests as Councillors to the local Superiors of each regular house (domus formata). In addition, the Major Superior, with his Council, will appoint two Disciples to be present at the sessions when it is a question of economic affairs and of the apostolate in respect to technical art and propaganda work.
Art. 451. The local Superior should meet with his Council at least once a month to discuss

the economic affairs and the more serious matters of the house and, if necessary, to ask for their consent. Whatever of some importance has been discussed or decided upon in the meeting ought to be truthfully related to the major Superior, in the warranted procedure, by the local Superior, who must request of him the necessary permission and faculties.

The local Superior is to welcome the directives of the Provincial Superior. Indeed he will confide in him so as to have his guidance and support; he will ask him to visit the community regularly, especially on the occasion of the monthly day of recollection and the spiritual exercises.
The local Superior is responsible for the four parts: spirit, study, apostolate, economy.
Nonetheless his office requires that if it is a vocation house he should have particular care for the promotion and formation of vocations. If, instead, the house is composed of religious alone, his greatest commitment will be to take care of the life of piety and religious discipline.
Preceding by example, being always a source of encouragement, radiating a healthy and supernatural optimism, he will obtain good results and demonstrate how religious life is a joyful preparation for heaven.