A provincial superior is an officer of a religious institute (including religious orders ) acting under the institute's Superior General . A provincial superior exercises general supervision over all the members of that institute in a territorial division of the order called a province , which is similar to, but not to be confused with, an ecclesiastical province . Instead, the province under a provincial superior is one made up of particular churches or dioceses under the supervision of a Metropolitan Bishop . The division of a religious institute into provinces is generally along geographical lines and may consist of one or more countries, or of only a part of a country. There may be, however, one or more houses of one province situated within the physical territory of another since the jurisdiction over the individual religious is personal, rather than territorial. The title of the office is often abbreviated to Provincial .
19-505: Among the friars and Third Order Religious Sisters of the Augustinian , Carmelite and Dominican orders, the title " Prior Provincial " or Prioress Provincial is generally used. The Friars Minor , in contrast, use the title " Minister Provincial ", in line with their emphasis on living as brothers to one another. The old orders had no provincial superiors; even when the monasteries were united to form congregations,
38-599: A non-ordained brother . The most significant orders of friars are the Dominicans , Franciscans , Augustinians , and Carmelites . Friars are different from monks in that they are called to the great evangelical counsels (vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience) in service to society, rather than through cloistered asceticism and devotion. Whereas monks live in a self-sufficient community, friars work among laypeople and are supported by donations or other charitable support. Monks or nuns make their vows and commit to
57-512: A particular community in a particular place. Friars commit to a community spread across a wider geographical area known as a province and so they will typically move around, spending time in different houses of the community within their province. The English term friar is derived from the Norman French word frere (brother), from the Latin frater (brother), which was widely used in
76-718: A regular institution, and some congregations have no such division. The provincial superior is ordinarily elected by the Provincial Chapter , subject to confirmation by the Superior General or the General Chapter , depending on the regulations of the particular groups (in the Society of Jesus he is directly appointed by the Father General). The "Regulations" (Normae) of 18 June 1901, vest
95-404: Is also a Spanish word for the priestly title "father"; in 1769 San Diego was founded by Spanish Franciscan friars under Junípero Serra ). The University of Michigan 's oldest a cappella group is a male octet known as The Friars. The University of Pennsylvania has a senior honor society known as Friars. Sports teams at Father Dueñas Memorial School on the island of Guam are known as
114-675: The Second Council of Lyons (1274): Some of the lesser orders are: In the Sovereign Military Order of Malta the term Fra' (an abbreviation for the Latin word "frater" meaning "brother") is used when addressing the professed Knights of Justice who have taken vows. Orders of friars (and sisters) exist in other Christian traditions, including the Order of Lutheran Franciscans , the Order of Ecumenical Franciscans and
133-562: The Second Vatican Council , women religious formed the International Union of superiors general . In canon law , the generic term supreme moderator is used instead of superior general. Many orders and congregations use their own title for the person who holds this position. Some examples, in addition to those named above, are: In many cases there is an intermediate level between the superior general and
152-507: The arch-abbot of each congregation was in the position of a superior general whose powers were limited to particular cases, almost like the powers of a metropolitan archbishop over the dioceses of his suffragans . Provincial superiors are found in the institutes of more recent formation, which began with the mendicant orders . The Holy See hesitated for a long time before allowing the division of congregations with simple vows , especially congregations of women, into different provinces as
171-690: The mendicant orders in the Roman Catholic Church . There are also friars outside of the Roman Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion . The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general , from the older monastic orders ' allegiance to a single monastery formalized by their vow of stability. A friar may be in holy orders or be
190-516: The Friars. Superior general A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations . The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while the general chapter has legislative authority. The figure of superior general first emerged in
209-863: The Latin New Testament to refer to members of the Christian community. Fray is sometimes used in Spain and former Spanish colonies such as the Philippines or the American Southwest as a title, such as in Fray Juan de Torquemada . In the Roman Catholic church, there are two classes of orders known as friars, or mendicant orders: the four great orders and the so-called lesser orders. The four great orders were mentioned by
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#1732802575306228-661: The Order of Lesser Sisters and Brothers. In the Anglican Communion there are also a number of mendicant groups such as the Anglican Friars Preachers , the Society of Saint Francis and the Order of St Francis. Several high schools , as well as Providence College , use friars as their school mascot . The Major League Baseball team San Diego Padres have the Swinging Friar ("padre"
247-605: The Provincial Chapter, presides over its deliberations, and takes care that the orders of the General Chapter and the Superior General are properly carried out. The provincial superior is an ex officio member of the chapter. The principal duty of the provincial superior is to make regular visitations of the houses of the province in the name of the General and to report to the latter on all the religious and
266-402: The appointment of the provincial in the general council. The provincial superior is never elected for life, but ordinarily for three or six years. In religious orders with clerics , he is a regular prelate , and has the rank of ordinary with quasi-episcopal jurisdiction. In religious institutes whether of men or of women, the provincial superior appoints the regular confessors , calls together
285-404: The first autonomous Indian reserve, known as the (Jesuit) Misiones or Reducciones , until 1667, ten years after a Guarani rebellion against increased abuse by the regular colonial authorities: the territory lost its status and was divided up between Spain (then under the viceroyalty of la Plata , previously part of Upper Peru) and Portugal (Brazil). Friar A friar is a member of one of
304-567: The precepts of that decree concerning Masses ; if he fails to do so, he loses his right to be elected and to vote in the general chapter. A unique case was eastern Paraguay, where the Spanish colonial authorities allowed the Jesuit missionaries to establish both the Catholic faith and a unique, humane regime for the local Guarani Indian tribes, making their provincial superior the governor of
323-467: The property of the order; authority over the various houses and local superiors differs in different orders. The provincial superior has, in many cases, the right of appointment to the less important offices. For institutes of men, at the end of his term of office, the provincial is bound, according to the Constitution "Nuper" of Innocent XII (23 December 1697), to prove that he has complied with all
342-533: The thirteenth century with the development of the centralized government of the Mendicant Orders . The Friars Minor ( Franciscans ) organized their members under a Minister General , and the Order of Preachers ( Dominicans ) elected a Master of the Order . Due to restrictions on women religious, especially the obligation of cloister for nuns , congregations of women were not initially able to organize with their own superior general. In 1609, Mary Ward
361-612: Was the superior general of a religious institute that imitated the Jesuit model, but the institute was not accepted by the Roman Curia . It was not until the nineteenth century that religious congregations of women were able to organize with a general superior, and the role is now very common. Mother Teresa , for example, was the superior general of the Missionaries of Charity , known by the honorific title of Mother . Following
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