Opera Omnia

FOURTH WEEK
The fourth volume (Fourth Week) was printed in the Pauline printing plant of Ostia (Rome) in June 1962, with the Imprimatur of Bishop Antonio Bergamaschi of San Marino-Montefeltro, dated 27 June 1962.

INSTRUCTION I
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCE
A Note on Canon Chiesa

Canon Francesco Chiesa was the Pauline Family's godparent. It was he who taught us, gave us our spirit and guidance; providing help daily for many years, in various ways. His was an exceptional life, heroic in every virtue; his zeal rubbed off on every person and every initiative; a teacher who communicated the spirit through knowledge; a model pastor. In his funeral oration Bishop Grassi spoke of him as the diocese's best son. This is why, apart from the desire of the diocese of Alba and of the Pious Society of Saint Paul, the cause of his beatification and canonization was promoted. The process is underway in the Curia in Alba. Fr Vigolungo, the seminary's spiritual director, has written a good biography.¹ Consequences: read it and draw profit from it. Now his mortal remains have been removed from the cemetery in Alba and transferred to our Church of Saint Paul. Many people stop there to pray; and there is often news of graces received.

Constitution of the Province

It is a tradition in the Church that, at the opportune time and in view of greater progress, an Institute be divided into Provinces.
The opportune time is judged by such circumstances as time, place and the state of things. Such matters are studied by the Superior General and his Council.
However, everything pertains to the Holy See: to erect, to suppress, and to change the boundaries of every Province.

Art. 389. Whenever, in any country, the Society presents evidence of a sound and vigorous establishment in respect to the personnel, the works of the apostolate and the economic conditions, so that it is not only self-sufficient but is also capable of spreading further, the Superior General with the consent of his Council may propose to the Holy See that a Province be canonically erected.
Art. 392. To erect Provinces, to join established Provinces, to change their boundaries, or to suppress them, pertains exclusively to the Holy See. However, within the year immediately preceding the summoning of the General Chapter, no erection of new Provinces is to be proposed.

To avoid pitfalls the region needs to have a solid basis: number and quality of members, organized study, good spirit and apostolate,

a financial footing such that it can survive; indeed not only survive overall but be able to expand.
The territory of a Province cannot be too small. To be always borne in mind are the needs of the apostolate. If, in general, the Province follows a country's boundaries, it does not follow that the territory of a Province is necessarily defined by or restricted to them.

Art. 390. In deciding about the erection of Provinces and establishing their boundaries, the particular necessities of the Apostolate of Communications are to be taken into consideration, lest, on account of the autonomy of each Province, the progress of the apostolate and its effectiveness be hampered by an over restricted boundary of the Province itself.
Art. 391. In order that a Province can be canonically erected, it is required that there exist at least three regular houses (domus formatae); but in accordance with article 390, as a rule no more than one Province should be erected in the same country; the territory of a Province, however, is not necessarily restricted to the boundaries of one country, so that a Province may extend to several countries.

As regards a Province's personnel, article 394 is to be followed:

Art. 394. The permanent assignment of members to any Province, for all effects, is made by the legitimate designation of the Superior General, after a member makes his perpetual profession in the case of Disciples, or after he has been raised to the sacred priesthood in the case of Clerics.

The Provincial Superior and his Councillors

The government of the Province pertains to the Provincial Superior together with his Council.

Art. 395. The Provincial Superior is appointed by the Superior General with the consent of his Council. He remains in office for six years, and can be appointed for a second term; not immediately, however, for a third term for the same Province.
Art. 397. Since the Superior General cannot efficaciously foster the good of the entire Society unless he is assisted by the assiduous and unanimous help of the Provincials, he must exert a sedulous care so that worthy and suitable members be appointed to this office.
Art. 399. The legitimately appointed Provincial Superior enjoys power over the entire Province, its houses and members, according to the Constitutions and under the dependence of the Superior General. However, he should allow the local Superiors to exercise their authority, although he should watch that everyone sincerely and diligently looks after his own duties, and that the Constitutions be faithfully observed. Every year the Provincial Superior should visit all the houses of the Province, either personally, or through another if legitimately impeded.
Art. 400. Four Councillors and an Administrator, appointed by the Superior General with the consent of his

Council, for a term of six years, must assist the Provincial Superior; their office expires with that of the Provincial. If during the six year period one of them dies, or terminates his office for any other reason, the Superior General, with the consent of his Council, must replace him with another member.

Prudence requires great delicacy in electing the Provincial, in the way of governing, and in mutual relations with the Superior General.

Art. 398. Not by domineering but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart, more by his example than by words, the Provincial Superior ought to lead his subjects to perfection; therefore, he should earnestly apply himself to his duty, eagerly promote the works of the apostolate, zealously foster the intellectual, moral, and economic growth of the entire Province, be ever devoted with affection to the Society and the Superior General, and act always in faithful concord with him in all things.

Art. 408. Although the Superior General and his Council is not bound to follow the presentations and decisions of the Provincial Council, yet it must give much weight to its unanimous votes, and should not deviate from its decision except for a cause which, according to its opinion, is graver and weightier.

The powers of the Provincial Superior are defined in articles 399 [above] and 406:

Art. 406. The Provincial with the deliberative vote of his Council decides upon the following matters:
1. He admits to the Novitiate, Tonsure, and Minor Orders;

2. He presents to the Superior General, for dismissal, the professed members either with temporary or perpetual vows;
3. He presents the members to be admitted to the first Profession and the Major Orders;
4. He presents the local Superiors, their Councillors, and the local Administrators; the Master of Novices and his assistant; the Master or Prefect of the student clerics as well as that of the Disciples; the professors of philosophy and theology, and the examiners for Confessors, preachers, and newly-ordained Priests, in accordance with Canon 590; and the two Disciples spoken of in article 401.
5. He presents the Priests that must be the censors of the books that are to be printed;
6. He appoints the Master or Prefect of the Aspirants and Postulants;
7. He approves the accounts of the Province and of its individual houses;
8. He designates the place for the provincial Chapter;
9. He decides about the founding of new houses in the Province; however, after he has examined all things and discussed the matter with his Council, he submits the affair adding his own and his Councillors' views and reasons to the Superior General, to whom alone pertains the canonical erection of new houses. The same procedure is to be followed whenever it is the case of suppressing houses;
10. He determines, with the consent of the General Council, the amount of money each house, in ordinary circumstances, must contribute to the provincial treasury;
11. He contracts debts and other obligations, and mortgages the goods of the Province, with due regard to the norms of common

law, and after having obtained the permission of the Superior General, if necessary, in accordance with article 326;
12. He approves the contracts and the extraordinary expenses of the houses, likewise with the permission of the Superior General in accordance with article 326;
13. He decides all other business of major importance which he has to transact with the Superior General, the ecclesiastical or the civil authority.

The manner of exercising such powers is set out in articles 400 [above], 401, 409, and 410:

Art. 401. There shall also be two members Disciples, appointed by the Superior General with the consent of his Council, who are to reside in the Provincial House or in another house nearby, and who are to be present at the sessions of the Council to give their opinion and to cast their consultative vote together with the other councillors, when it is a question of economic affairs and of the apostolate in respect to technical art and propaganda work.
Art. 409. When the Provincial Superior is absent, impeded or has died, the first Councillor takes his place; nevertheless, he can only decide those matters which concern the ordinary administration or cannot be deferred, and always with the consent of the Provincial Council.
Art. 410. At the end of every year, the Provincial Superior must draw up a complete report of the personnel, the disciplinary and economic conditions, as well as of the studies and the works of the apostolate of the entire Province. This report,

after it has been re-examined and approved by himself and his Council, is to be transmitted to the Superior General.

The Provincial Chapter

The Province has to celebrate its own Provincial Chapter in accordance with articles 411 and 412:

Art. 411. As often as the General Chapter is to be summoned, then there must also take place the Provincial Chapter for the election of the delegates who, together with the Provincial Superior, must represent the Province at the General Chapter. On this occasion those matters of greater importance concerning the whole Province and subject to the approval of the General Chapter, are to be discussed and taken care of.
Art. 412. The Provincial Chapter is called by the Provincial Superior, in adequate time before the meeting of the General Chapter, by sealed letters addressed to the local Superiors.

Taking part in the Chapter are the members designated by the Constitutions in article 413:
Art. 413. Members of the Provincial Chapter are:
1. the Provincial Superior, his four Councillors, the Administrator, and the Secretary; also two member Disciples as reported in article 401;
2. the Superiors of the houses;
3. two delegates, one a Priest and the other a Disciple, for each major House, elected according to the norm of articles 414-416;

4. two delegates, one a Priest and the other a Disciple, for every group of smaller houses, elected according to articles 417-418.
Articles 419 and 422 concern its celebration:
Art. 419. The Provincial Chapter is presided over by the Provincial Superior himself. With the fitting changes, the norms prescribed for the General Chapter as laid down in articles 299, 300, 301, 304, 305, are to be observed.
Art. 422. As soon as the election is over and the promulgation has been made by the Provincial Superior who is acting as President, the authentic documents are drawn up and, signed by the President himself and the two tellers, handed over to the delegates, both principal and substitute, so that their lawful delegation to the General Chapter be manifestly clear.

Harmony and charity

Harmony between the Provincial Superior and his Councillors is the great means for advancing vocations, the spirit, study, the apostolate and the economy.
As in everything, so here too, an underlying spirit of charity and self-denial is needed: knowing how to sacrifice something, even worthwhile, in view of the common good; and, for the same common good, each one giving his support to the Provincial Superior, to the Councillors and to the Bursar.
Taking an inflexible stand can be the source of long-term dissension.
In his letters Saint Paul wrote against dissension

and division; he exhorted everyone to live in harmony and peace, in accordance with Christian teaching.
To have lawsuits at all with one another is defeat for you. Why not suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud, and that even your own brethren (1 Cor 6:7-8).
More often it happens that heated discussions and the hardening of one's own views come about under the pretext and the appearance of what is better… But is not charity best?
In everything let the good we do be good: Vince in bono malum.² You will, in humility, discover many times that your confrere was right.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God [Mt 5:9], says the Divine Teacher.
Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Cor 13:4-7).