CODE OF CANON LAW

25 January 1983

BOOK II
PART III
INSTITUTES OF CONSECRATED LIFE AND SOCIETIES OF APOSTOLIC LIFE

SECTION I
INSTITUTES OF CONSECRATED LIFE

TITLE I
Norms Common to all Institutes of Consecrated Life (Cann. 573 - 606)

Can. 573 §1. The life consecrated through the profession of the evangelical counsels is
a stable form of living by which the faithful, following Christ more closely under the
action of the Holy Spirit, are totally dedicated to God who is loved most of all, so that,
having been dedicated by a new and special title to His honor, to the building up of the
Church, and to the salvation of the world, they strive for the perfection of charity in
the service of the kingdom of God and, having been made an outstanding sign in the
Church, foretell the heavenly glory.

§2. The Christian faithful freely assume this form of living in institutes of consecrated
life canonically erected by competent authority of the Church. Through vows or other
sacred bonds according to the proper laws of the institutes, they profess the
evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, and obedience and, through the charity to
which the counsels lead, are joined in a special way to the Church and its mystery.

Can. 574 §1. The state of those who profess the evangelical counsels in institutes of
this type belongs to the life and holiness of the Church and must be fostered and
promoted by all in the Church.

§2. Certain Christian faithful are specially called by God to this state so that they
possess a special gift in the life of the Church and contribute to its salvific mission,
according to the purpose and spirit of the institute.

Can. 575 The evangelical counsels, based on the teaching and examples of Christ the
Teacher, are a divine gift which the Church has received from the Lord and preserves
always through His grace.
Can. 576 It is for the competent authority of the Church to interpret the evangelical
counsels, to direct their practice by laws, and by canonical approbation to establish the
stable forms of living deriving from them, and also, for its part, to take care that the
institutes grow and flourish according to the spirit of the founders and sound
traditions.

Can. 577 In the Church there are a great many institutes of consecrated life which have
different gifts according to the grace which has been given them: they more closely
follow Christ who prays, or announces the kingdom of God, or does good to people, or
lives with people in the world, yet who always does the will of the Father.

Can. 578 All must observe faithfully the mind and designs of the founders regarding
the nature, purpose, spirit, and character of an institute, which have been sanctioned
by competent ecclesiastical authority, and its sound traditions, all of which constitute
the patrimony of the same institute.

Can. 579 Diocesan bishops, each in his own territory, can erect institutes of
consecrated life by formal decree, provided that the Apostolic See has been consulted.

Can. 580 The aggregation of one institute of consecrated life to another is reserved to
the competent authority of the aggregating institute; the canonical autonomy of the
aggregated institute is always to be preserved.

Can. 581 To divide an institute into parts, by whatever name they are called, to erect
new parts, to join those erected, or to redefine their boundaries belongs to the
competent authority of the institute, according to the norm of the constitutions.

Can. 582 Mergers and unions of institutes of consecrated life are reserved to the
Apostolic See only; confederations and federations are also reserved to it.

Can. 583 Changes in institutes of consecrated life affecting those things which had
been approved by the Apostolic See cannot be made without its permission.

Can. 584 The suppression of an institute pertains only to the Apostolic See; a decision
regarding the temporal goods of the institute is also reserved to the Apostolic See.

Can. 585 It belongs to the competent authority of an institute to suppress its parts.

Can. 586 §1. A just autonomy of life, especially of governance, is acknowledged for
individual institutes, by which they possess their own discipline in the Church and are
able to preserve their own patrimony intact, as mentioned in ⇒ can. 578.

§2. It is for local ordinaries to preserve and safeguard this autonomy.

Can. 587 §1. To protect more faithfully the proper vocation and identity of each
institute, the fundamental code or constitutions of every institute must contain,
besides those things which are to be observed as stated in ⇒ can. 578, fundamental
norms regarding governance of the institute, the discipline of members, incorporation
and formation of members, and the proper object of the sacred bonds.

§2. A code of this type is approved by competent authority of the Church and can be
changed only with its consent.

§3. In this code spiritual and juridic elements are to be joined together suitably;
nevertheless, norms are not to be multiplied without necessity.

§4. Other norms established by competent authority of an institute are to be collected

suitably in other codes and, moreover, can be reviewed appropriately and adapted
according to the needs of places and times.

Can. 588 §1. By its very nature, the state of consecrated life is neither clerical nor lay.

§2. That institute is called clerical which, by reason of the purpose or design intended
by the founder or by virtue of legitimate tradition, is under the direction of clerics,
assumes the exercise of sacred orders, and is recognized as such by the authority of
the Church.

§3. That institute is called lay which, recognized as such by the authority of the Church,
has by virtue of its nature, character, and purpose a proper function defined by the
founder or by legitimate tradition, which does not include the exercise of sacred
orders.

Can. 589 An institute of consecrated life is said to be of pontifical right if the Apostolic
See has erected it or approved it through a formal decree. It is said to be of diocesan
right, however, if it has been erected by a diocesan bishop but has not obtained a
decree of approval from the Apostolic See.

Can. 590 §1. Inasmuch as institutes of consecrated life are dedicated in a special way
to the service of God and of the whole Church, they are subject to the supreme
authority of the Church in a special way.

§2. Individual members are also bound to obey the Supreme Pontiff as their highest
superior by reason of the sacred bond of obedience.

Can. 591 In order to provide better for the good of institutes and the needs of the
apostolate, the Supreme Pontiff, by reason of his primacy in the universal Church and
with a view to common advantage, can exempt institutes of consecrated life from the
governance of local ordinaries and subject them to himself alone or to another
ecclesiastical authority.
Can. 592 §1. In order better to foster the communion of institutes with the Apostolic
See, each supreme moderator is to send a brief report of the state and life of the
institute to the Apostolic See, in a manner and at a time established by the latter.

§2. The moderators of every institute are to promote knowledge of documents of the
Holy See which regard the members entrusted to them and are to take care about
their observance.

Can. 593 Without prejudice to the prescript of ⇒ can. 586, institutes of pontifical right
are immediately and exclusively subject to the power of the Apostolic See in regards to
internal governance and discipline.

Can. 594 Without prejudice to ⇒ can. 586, an institute of diocesan right remains under
the special care of the diocesan bishop.

Can. 595 §1. It is for the bishop of the principal seat to approve the constitutions and
confirm changes legitimately introduced into them, without prejudice to those things
which the Apostolic See has taken in hand, and also to treat affairs of greater
importance affecting the whole institute which exceed the power of internal authority,
after he has consulted the other diocesan bishops, however, if the institute has spread
to several dioceses.

§2. A diocesan bishop can grant dispensations from the constitutions in particular
cases.

Can. 596 §1. Superiors and chapters of institutes possess that power over members
which is defined in universal law and the constitutions.

§2. In clerical religious institutes of pontifical right, however, they also possess
ecclesiastical power of governance for both the external and internal forum.

§3. The prescripts of cann. ⇒ 131, ⇒ 133, and ⇒ 137- 144 apply to the power
mentioned in §1.

Can. 597 §1. Any Catholic endowed with a right intention who has the qualities
required by universal and proper law and who is not prevented by any impediment can
be admitted into an institute of consecrated life.

§2. No one can be admitted without suitable preparation.

Can. 598 §1. Each institute, attentive to its own character and purposes, is to define in
its constitutions the manner in which the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, and
obedience must be observed for its way of living.
§2. Moreover, all members must not only observe the evangelical counsels faithfully
and fully but also arrange their life according to the proper law of the institute and
thereby strive for the perfection of their state.

Can. 599 The evangelical counsel of chastity assumed for the sake of the kingdom of
heaven, which is a sign of the world to come and a source of more abundant
fruitfulness in an undivided heart, entails the obligation of perfect continence in
celibacy.

Can. 600 The evangelical counsel of poverty in imitation of Christ who, although he
was rich, was made poor for us, entails, besides a life which is poor in fact and in spirit
and is to be led productively in moderation and foreign to earthly riches, a dependence
and limitation in the use and disposition of goods according to the norm of the proper
law of each institute.

Can. 601 The evangelical counsel of obedience, undertaken in a spirit of faith and love
in the following of Christ obedient unto death, requires the submission of the will to
legitimate superiors, who stand in the place of God, when they command according to
the proper constitutions.

Can. 602 The life of brothers or sisters proper to each institute, by which all the
members are united together as a special family in Christ, is to be defined in such a
way that it becomes a mutual support for all in fulfilling the vocation of each.
Moreover, by their communion as brothers or sisters rooted and founded in charity,
members are to be an example of universal reconciliation in Christ.

Can. 603 §1. In addition to institutes of consecrated life, the Church recognizes the
eremitic or anchoritic life by which the Christian faithful devote their life to the praise
of God and the salvation of the world through a stricter withdrawal from the world,
the silence of solitude, and assiduous prayer and penance.

§2. A hermit is recognized by law as one dedicated to God in consecrated life if he or

she publicly professes in the hands of the diocesan bishop the three evangelical
counsels, confirmed by vow or other sacred bond, and observes a proper program of
living under his direction.

Can. 604 §1. Similar to these forms of consecrated life is the order of virgins who,
expressing the holy resolution of following Christ more closely, are consecrated to God
by the diocesan bishop according to the approved liturgical rite, are mystically
betrothed to Christ, the Son of God, and are dedicated to the service of the Church.

§2. In order to observe their own resolution more faithfully and to perform by mutual
assistance service to the Church in harmony with their proper state, virgins can be
associated together.
Can. 605 The approval of new forms of consecrated life is reserved only to the
Apostolic See. Diocesan bishops, however, are to strive to discern new gifts of
consecrated life granted to the Church by the Holy Spirit and are to assist promoters so
that these can express their proposals as well as possible and protect them by
appropriate statutes; the general norms contained in this section are especially to be
utilized.

Can. 606 Those things which are established for institutes of consecrated life and their
members are equally valid in law for either sex, unless it is otherwise evident from the
context of the wording or the nature of the matter.

TITLE II
Religious Institutes (Cann. 607 - 709)

Can. 607 §1. As a consecration of the whole person, religious life manifests in the
Church a wonderful marriage brought about by God, a sign of the future age. Thus the
religious brings to perfection a total self-giving as a sacrifice offered to God, through
which his or her whole existence becomes a continuous worship of God in charity.

§2. A religious institute is a society in which members, according to proper law,

pronounce public vows, either perpetual or temporary which are to be renewed,
however, when the period of time has elapsed, and lead a life of brothers or sisters in
common.

§3. The public witness to be rendered by religious to Christ and the Church entails a
separation from the world proper to the character and purpose of each institute.

CHAPTER I
RELIGIOUS HOUSES AND THEIR ERECTION AND SUPPRESSION

Can. 608 A religious community must live in a legitimately established house under the
authority of a superior designated according to the norm of law. Each house is to have
at least an oratory in which the Eucharist is to be celebrated and reserved so that it is
truly the center of the community.

Can. 609 §1. Houses of a religious institute are erected by the authority competent
according to the constitutions, with the previous written consent of the diocesan
bishop.

§2. In addition, the permission of the Apostolic See is required to erect a monastery of
nuns.
Can. 610 §1. The erection of houses takes place with consideration for their advantage
to the Church and the institute and with suitable safeguards for those things which are
required to carry out properly the religious life of the members according to the
proper purposes and spirit of the institute.

§2. No house is to be erected unless it can be judged prudently that the needs of the
members will be provided for suitably.

Can. 611 The consent of the diocesan bishop to erect a religious house of any institute
entails the right:

1/ to lead a life according to the character and proper purposes of the institute;

2/ to exercise the works proper to the institute according to the norm of law and
without prejudice to the conditions attached to the consent;

3/ for clerical institutes to have a church, without prejudice to the prescript of ⇒ can.
1215, §3 and to perform sacred ministries, after the requirements of the law have
been observed.

Can. 612 For a religious house to be converted to apostolic works different from those
for which it was established, the consent of the diocesan bishop is required, but not if
it concerns a change which refers only to internal governance and discipline, without
prejudice to the laws of the foundation.

Can. 613 §1. A religious house of canons regular or of monks under the governance
and care of its own moderator is autonomous unless the constitutions state otherwise.

§2. The moderator of an autonomous house is a major superior by law.

Can. 614 Monasteries of nuns associated to an institute of men maintain their own
way of life and governance according to the constitutions. Mutual rights and
obligations are to be defined in such a way that spiritual good can come from the
association.

Can. 615 An autonomous monastery which does not have another major superior
besides its own moderator and is not associated to another institute of religious in
such a way that the superior of the latter possesses true power over such a monastery
as determined by the constitutions is entrusted to the special vigilance of the diocesan
bishop according to the norm of law.

Can. 616 §1. The supreme moderator can suppress a legitimately erected religious
house according to the norm of the constitutions, after the diocesan bishop has been
consulted. The proper law of the institute is to make provision for the goods of the
suppressed house, without prejudice to the intentions of the founders or donors or to
legitimately acquired rights.

§2. The suppression of the only house of an institute belongs to the Holy See, to which
the decision regarding the goods in that case is also reserved.

§3. To suppress the autonomous house mentioned in ⇒ can. 613 belongs to the
general chapter, unless the constitutions state otherwise.

§4. To suppress an autonomous monastery of nuns belongs to the Apostolic See, with
due regard to the prescripts of the constitutions concerning its goods.

CHAPTER II
THE GOVERNANCE OF INSTITUTES

Art. 1
Superiors and Councils

Can. 617 Superiors are to fulfill their function and exercise their power according to
the norm of universal and proper law.

Can. 618 Superiors are to exercise their power, received from God through the
ministry of the Church, in a spirit of service. Therefore, docile to the will of God in
fulfilling their function, they are to govern their subjects as sons or daughters of God
and, promoting the voluntary obedience of their subjects with reverence for the
human person, they are to listen to them willingly and foster their common endeavor
for the good of the institute and the Church, but without prejudice to the authority of
superiors to decide and prescribe what must be done.

Can. 619 Superiors are to devote themselves diligently to their office and together with
the members entrusted to them are to strive to build a community of brothers or
sisters in Christ, in which God is sought and loved before all things. Therefore, they are
to nourish the members regularly with the food of the word of God and are to draw
them to the celebration of the sacred liturgy. They are to be an example to them in
cultivating virtues and in the observance of the laws and traditions of their own
institute; they are to meet the personal needs of the members appropriately,
solicitously to care for and visit the sick, to correct the restless, to console the faint of
heart, and to be patient toward all.

Can. 620 Those who govern an entire institute, a province of an institute or part
equivalent to a province, or an autonomous house, as well as their vicars, are major
superiors. Comparable to these are an abbot primate and a superior of a monastic
congregation, who nonetheless do not have all the power which universal law grants
to major superiors.
Can. 621 A grouping of several houses which constitutes an immediate part of the
same institute under the same superior and has been canonically erected by legitimate
authority is called a province.

Can. 622 The supreme moderator holds power over all the provinces, houses, and
members of an institute; this power is to be exercised according to proper law. Other
superiors possess power within the limits of their function.

Can. 623 In order for members to be appointed or elected validly to the function of
superior, a suitable time is required after perpetual or definitive profession, to be
determined by proper law, or if it concerns major superiors, by the constitutions.

Can. 624 §1. Superiors are to be constituted for a certain and appropriate period of
time according to the nature and need of the institute, unless the constitutions
determine otherwise for the supreme moderator and for superiors of an autonomous
house.

§2. Proper law is to provide suitable norms so that superiors, constituted for a definite
time, do not remain too long in offices of governance without interruption.

§3. Nevertheless, they can be removed from office during their function or be
transferred to another for reasons established in proper law.

Can. 625 §1. The supreme moderator of an institute is to be designated by canonical

election according to the norm of the constitutions.

§2. The bishop of the principal seat presides at the elections of a superior of the
autonomous monastery mentioned in ⇒ can. 615 and of the supreme moderator of an
institute of diocesan right.

§3. Other superiors are to be constituted according to the norm of the constitutions,
but in such a way that, if they are elected, they need the confirmation of a competent
major superior; if they are appointed by a superior, however, a suitable consultation is
to precede.

Can. 626 Superiors in the conferral of offices and members in elections are to observe
the norms of universal and proper law, are to abstain from any abuse or partiality, and
are to appoint or elect those whom they know in the Lord to be truly worthy and
suitable, having nothing before their eyes but God and the good of the institute.
Moreover, in elections they are to avoid any procurement of votes, either directly or
indirectly, whether for themselves or for others.

Can. 627 §1. According to the norm of the constitutions, superiors are to have their
own council, whose assistance they must use in carrying out their function.
§2. In addition to the cases prescribed in universal law, proper law is to determine the
cases which require consent or counsel to act validly; such consent or counsel must be
obtained according to the norm of ⇒ can. 127.

Can. 628 §1. The superiors whom the proper law of the institute designates for this
function are to visit the houses and members entrusted to them at stated times
according to the norms of this same proper law.

§2. It is the right and duty of a diocesan bishop to visit even with respect to religious
discipline:

1/ the autonomous monasteries mentioned in ⇒ can. 615;

2/ individual houses of an institute of diocesan right located in his own territory.

§3. Members are to act with trust toward a visitator, to whose legitimate questioning
they are bound to respond according to the truth in charity. Moreover, it is not
permitted for anyone in any way to divert members from this obligation or otherwise
to impede the scope of the visitation.

Can. 629 Superiors are to reside in their respective houses, and are not to absent
themselves from their house except according to the norm of proper law.

Can. 630 §1. Superiors are to recognize the due freedom of their members regarding
the sacrament of penance and direction of conscience, without prejudice, however, to
the discipline of the institute.

§2. According to the norm of proper law, superiors are to be concerned that suitable
confessors are available to the members, to whom the members can confess
frequently.

§3. In monasteries of nuns, in houses of formation, and in more numerous lay

communities, there are to be ordinary confessors approved by the local ordinary after
consultation with the community; nevertheless, there is no obligation to approach
them.

§4. Superiors are not to hear the confessions of subjects unless the members request it
on their own initiative.

§5. Members are to approach superiors with trust, to whom they can freely and on
their own initiative open their minds. Superiors, however, are forbidden to induce the
members in any way to make a manifestation of conscience to them.
 Art. 2
Chapters

Can. 631 §1. The general chapter, which holds supreme authority in the institute
according to the norm of the constitutions, is to be composed in such a way that,
representing the entire institute, it becomes a true sign of its unity in charity. It is for
the general chapter principally: to protect the patrimony of the institute mentioned in
⇒ can. 578, promote suitable renewal according to that patrimony, elect the supreme
moderator, treat affairs of greater importance, and issue norms which all are bound to
obey.

§2. The constitutions are to define the composition and extent of the power of a
chapter; proper law is to determine further the order to be observed in the celebration
of the chapter, especially in what pertains to elections and the manner of handling
affairs.

§3. According to the norms determined in proper law, not only provinces and local
communities, but also any member can freely send wishes and suggestions to a
general chapter.

Can. 632 Proper law is to determine accurately what is to pertain to other chapters of
the institute and to other similar assemblies, namely, what pertains to their nature,
authority, composition, way of proceeding and time of celebration.

Can. 633 §1. Organs of participation or consultation are to fulfill faithfully the function
entrusted to them according to the norm of universal and proper law and to express in
their own way the concern and participation of all the members for the good of the
entire institute or community.

§2. In establishing and using these means of participation and consultation, wise
discretion is to be observed and their procedures are to conform to the character and
purpose of the institute.

Art. 3
Temporal Goods and Their Administration

Can. 634 §1. As juridic persons by the law itself, institutes, provinces, and houses are
capable of acquiring, possessing, administering, and alienating temporal goods unless
this capacity is excluded or restricted in the constitutions.

§2. Nevertheless, they are to avoid any appearance of excess, immoderate wealth, and
accumulation of goods.
Can. 635 §1. Since the temporal goods of religious institutes are ecclesiastical, they are
governed by the prescripts of Book V, The Temporal Goods of the Church, unless other
provision is expressly made.

§2. Nevertheless, each institute is to establish suitable norms concerning the use and
administration of goods, by which the poverty proper to it is to be fostered, protected,
and expressed.

Can. 636 §1. In each institute and likewise in each province which is governed by a
major superior, there is to be a Finance officer, distinct from the major superior and
constituted according to the norm of proper law, who is to manage the administration
of goods under the direction of the respective superior. Insofar as possible, a Finance
officer distinct from the local superior is to be designated even in local communities.

§2. At the time and in the manner established by proper law, Finance officers and
other administrators are to render an account of their administration to the
competent authority.

Can. 637 The autonomous monasteries mentioned in ⇒ can. 615 must render an
account of their administration to the local ordinary once a year. Moreover, the local
ordinary has the right to be informed about the Financial reports of a religious house
of diocesan right.

Can. 638 §1. Within the scope of universal law, it belongs to proper law to determine
acts which exceed the limit and manner of ordinary administration and to establish
what is necessary to place an act of extraordinary administration validly.

§2. In addition to superiors, the officials who are designated for this in proper law also
validly incur expenses and perform juridic acts of ordinary administration within the
limits of their function.

§3. For the validity of alienation and of any other affair in which the patrimonial
condition of a juridic person can worsen, the written permission of the competent
superior with the consent of the council is required.

Nevertheless, if it concerns an affair which exceeds the amount defined by the Holy
See for each region, or things given to the Church by vow, or things precious for artistic
or historical reasons, the permission of the Holy See itself is also required.

§4. For the autonomous monasteries mentioned in ⇒ can. 615 and for institutes of
diocesan right, it is also necessary to have the written consent of the local ordinary.

Can. 639 §1. If a juridic person has contracted debts and obligations even with the
permission of the superiors, it is bound to answer for them.
§2. If a member has entered into a contract concerning his or her own goods with the
permission of the superior, the member must answer for it, but if the business of the
institute was conducted by mandate of the superior, the institute must answer.

§3. If a religious has entered into a contract without any permission of superiors, he or
she must answer, but not the juridic person.

§4. It is a fixed rule, however, that an action can always be brought against one who
has profited from the contract entered into.

§5. Religious superiors are to take care that they do not permit debts to be contracted
unless it is certain that the interest on the debt can be paid off from ordinary income
and that the capital sum can be paid off through legitimate amortization within a
period that is not too long.

Can. 640 Taking into account local conditions, institutes are to strive to give, as it were,
a collective witness of charity and poverty and are to contribute according to their
ability something from their own goods to provide for the needs of the Church and the
support of the poor.

CHAPTER III
THE ADMISSION OF CANDIDATES AND THE FORMATION OF MEMBERS

Art. 1
Admission to the Novitiate

Can. 641 The right to admit candidates to the novitiate belongs to major superiors
according to the norm of proper law.

Can. 642 With vigilant care, superiors are only to admit those who, besides the
required age, have the health, suitable character, and sufficient qualities of maturity to
embrace the proper life of the institute. This health, character, and maturity are to be
verified even by using experts, if necessary, without prejudice to the prescript of ⇒
can. 220.

Can. 643 §1. The following are admitted to the novitiate invalidly:

1/ one who has not yet completed seventeen years of age;

2/ a spouse, while the marriage continues to exist;

3/ one who is currently bound by a sacred bond to some institute of consecrated life or
is incorporated in some society of apostolic life, without prejudice to the prescript of
⇒ can. 684;
4/ one who enters the institute induced by force, grave fear, or malice, or the one
whom a superior, induced in the same way, has received;

5/ one who has concealed his or her incorporation in some institute of consecrated life
or in some society of apostolic life.

§2. Proper law can establish other impediments even for validity of admission or can
attach conditions.

Can. 644 Superiors are not to admit to the novitiate secular clerics without consulting
their proper ordinary nor those who, burdened by debts, cannot repay them.

Can. 645 §1. Before candidates are admitted to the novitiate, they must show proof of
baptism, confirmation, and free status.

§2. If it concerns the admission of clerics or those who had been admitted in another
institute of consecrated life, in a society of apostolic life, or in a seminary, there is
additionally required the testimony of, respectively, the local ordinary, the major
superior of the institute or society, or the rector of the seminary.

§3. Proper law can require other proof about the requisite suitability of candidates and
freedom from impediments.

§4. Superiors can also seek other information, even under secrecy, if it seems
necessary to them.

Art. 2
The Novitiate and Formation of Novices

Can. 646 The novitiate, through which life in an institute is begun, is arranged so that
the novices better understand their divine vocation, and indeed one which is proper to
the institute, experience the manner of living of the institute, and form their mind and
heart in its spirit, and so that their intention and suitability are tested.

Can. 647 §1. The erection, transfer, and suppression of a novitiate house are to be
done through written decree of the supreme moderator of the institute with the
consent of the council.

§2. To be valid, a novitiate must be made in a house properly designated for this
purpose. In particular cases and as an exception, by grant of the supreme moderator
with the consent of the council, a candidate can make the novitiate in another house
of the institute under the direction of some approved religious who acts in the place of
the director of novices.
§3. A major superior can permit a group of novices to reside for a certain period of
time in another house of the institute designated by the superior.

Can. 648 §1. To be valid, a novitiate must include twelve months spent in the
community itself of the novitiate, without prejudice to the prescript of ⇒ can. 647, §3.

§2. To complete the formation of novices, in addition to the period mentioned in §1,
the constitutions can establish one or more periods of apostolic exercises to be spent
outside the community of the novitiate.

§3. The novitiate is not to last longer than two years.

Can. 649 §1. Without prejudice to the prescripts of ⇒ can. 647, §3 and ⇒ can. 648, §2,
an absence from the novitiate house which lasts more than three months, either
continuous or interrupted, renders the novitiate invalid. An absence which lasts more
than fifteen days must be made up.

§2. With the permission of the competent major superior, first profession can be
anticipated, but not by more than fifteen days.

Can. 650 §1. The scope of the novitiate demands that novices be formed under the
guidance of a director according to the program of formation defined in proper law.

§2. Governance of the novices is reserved to one director under the authority of the
major superiors.

Can. 651 §1. The director of novices is to be a member of the institute who has
professed perpetual vows and has been legitimately designated.

§2. If necessary, the director can be given assistants who are subject to the director in
regard to the supervision of the novices and the program of formation.

§3. Members who are carefully prepared and who, not impeded by other duties, can
carry out this function fruitfully and in a stable manner are to be placed in charge of
the formation of novices.

Can. 652 §1. It is for the director and assistants to discern and test the vocation of the
novices and to form them gradually to lead correctly the life of perfection proper to
the institute.

§2. Novices are to be led to cultivate human and Christian virtues; through prayer and
self-denial they are to be introduced to a fuller way of perfection; they are to be
taught to contemplate the mystery of salvation and to read and meditate on the
sacred scriptures; they are to be prepared to cultivate the worship of God in the sacred
liturgy; they are to learn a manner of leading a life consecrated to God and humanity in
Christ through the evangelical counsels; they are to be instructed regarding the
character and spirit, the purpose and discipline, the history and life of the institute;
and they are to be imbued with love for the Church and its sacred pastors.

§3. Conscious of their own responsibility, the novices are to collaborate actively with
their director in such a way that they faithfully respond to the grace of a divine
vocation.

§4. Members of the institute are to take care that they cooperate for their part in the
work of formation of the novices through example of life and prayer.

§5. The time of the novitiate mentioned in ⇒ can. 648, §1 is to be devoted solely to
the task of formation and consequently novices are not to be occupied with studies
and functions which do not directly serve this formation.

Can. 653 §1. A novice can freely leave an institute; moreover, the competent authority
of the institute can dismiss a novice.

§2. At the end of the novitiate, if judged suitable, a novice is to be admitted to

temporary profession; otherwise the novice is to be dismissed. If there is doubt about
the suitability of a novice, the major superior can extend the time of probation
according to the norm of proper law, but not beyond six months.

Art. 3
Religious Profession

Can. 654 By religious profession, members assume the observance of the three
evangelical counsels by public vow, are consecrated to God through the ministry of the
Church, and are incorporated into the institute with the rights and duties defined by
law.

Can. 655 Temporary profession is to be made for a period defined in proper law; it is
not to be less than three years nor longer than six.

Can. 656 For the validity of temporary profession it is required that:

1/ the person who is to make it has completed at least eighteen years of age;

2/ the novitiate has been validly completed;

3/ admission has been given freely by the competent superior with the vote of the
council according to the norm of law;
4/ the profession is expressed and made without force, grave fear, or malice;

5/ the profession is received by a legitimate superior personally or through another.

Can. 657 §1. When the period for which profession was made has elapsed, a religious
who freely petitions and is judged suitable is to be admitted to renewal of profession
or to perpetual profession; otherwise, the religious is to depart.

§2. If it seems opportune, however, the competent superior can extend the period of
temporary profession according to proper law, but in such a way that the total period
in which the member is bound by temporary vows does not exceed nine years.

§3. Perpetual profession can be anticipated for a just cause, but not by more than
three months.

Can. 658 In addition to the conditions mentioned in ⇒ can. 656, nn. 3, 4, and 5 and
others imposed by proper law, the following are required for the validity of perpetual
profession:

1/ the completion of at least twenty-one years of age;

2/ previous temporary profession of at least three years, without prejudice to the

prescript of ⇒ can. 657, §3.

Art. 4
The Formation of Religious

Can. 659 §1. In individual institutes the formation of all the members is to be
continued after first profession so that they lead the proper life of the institute more
fully and carry out its mission more suitably.

§2. Therefore, proper law must define the program of this formation and its duration,
attentive to the needs of the Church and the conditions of people and times, insofar as
the purpose and character of the institute require it.

§3. Universal law and the program of studies proper to the institute govern the
formation of members who are preparing to receive holy orders.

Can. 660 §1. Formation is to be systematic, adapted to the capacity of the members,
spiritual and apostolic, doctrinal and at the same time practical. Suitable degrees, both
ecclesiastical and civil, are also to be obtained when appropriate.

§2. During the time of this formation, offices and tasks which may impede it are not to
be entrusted to the members.
Can. 661 Through their entire life, religious are to continue diligently their spiritual,
doctrinal, and practical formation. Superiors, moreover, are to provide them with the
resources and time for this.

CHAPTER IV
THE OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS OF INSTITUTES AND THEIR MEMBERS

Can. 662 Religious are to have as the supreme rule of life the following of Christ
proposed in the gospel and expressed in the constitutions of their own institute.

Can. 663 §1. The first and foremost duty of all religious is to be the contemplation of
divine things and assiduous union with God in prayer.

§2. Members are to make every effort to participate in the eucharistic sacrifice daily, to
receive the most sacred Body of Christ, and to adore the Lord himself present in the
sacrament.

§3. They are to devote themselves to the reading of sacred scripture and mental
prayer, to celebrate worthily the liturgy of the hours according to the prescripts of
proper law, without prejudice to the obligation for clerics mentioned in ⇒ can. 276,
§2, n. 3, and to perform other exercises of piety.

§4. With special veneration, they are to honor the Virgin Mother of God, the example
and protector of all consecrated life, also through the marian rosary.

§5. They are to observe faithfully an annual period of sacred retreat.

Can. 664 Religious are to strive after conversion of the soul toward God, to examine
their conscience, even daily, and to approach the sacrament of penance frequently.

Can. 665 §1. Observing common life, religious are to live in their own religious house
and are not to be absent from it except with the permission of their superior. If it
concerns a lengthy absence from the house, however, the major superior, with the
consent of the council and for a just cause, can permit a member to live outside a
house of the institute, but not for more than a year, except for the purpose of caring
for ill health, of studies, or of exercising an apostolate in the name of the institute.

§2. A member who is absent from a religious house illegitimately with the intention of
withdrawing from the power of the superiors is to be sought out solicitously by them
and is to be helped to return to and persevere in his or her vocation.
Can. 666 In the use of means of social communication, necessary discretion is to be
observed and those things are to be avoided which are harmful to one’s vocation and
dangerous to the chastity of a consecrated person.

Can. 667 §1. In all houses, cloister adapted to the character and mission of the institute
is to be observed according to the determinations of proper law, with some part of a
religious house always reserved to the members alone.

§2. A stricter discipline of cloister must be observed in monasteries ordered to

contemplative life.

§3. Monasteries of nuns which are ordered entirely to contemplative life must observe
papal cloister, that is, cloister according to the norms given by the Apostolic See. Other
monasteries of nuns are to observe a cloister adapted to their proper character and
defined in the constitutions.

§4. For a just cause, a diocesan bishop has the faculty of entering the cloister of
monasteries of nuns which are in his diocese and, for a grave cause and with the
consent of the superior, of permitting others to be admitted to the cloister and the
nuns to leave it for a truly necessary period of time.

Can. 668 §1. Before first profession, members are to cede the administration of their
goods to whomever they prefer and, unless the constitutions state otherwise, are to
make disposition freely for their use and revenue. Moreover, at least before perpetual
profession, they are to make a will which is to be valid also in civil law.

§2. To change these dispositions for a just cause and to place any act regarding
temporal goods, they need the permission of the superior competent according to the
norm of proper law.

§3. Whatever a religious acquires through personal effort or by reason of the institute,
the religious acquires for the institute. Whatever accrues to a religious in any way by
reason of pension, subsidy, or insurance is acquired for the institute unless proper law
states otherwise.

§4. A person who must renounce fully his or her goods due to the nature of the
institute is to make that renunciation before perpetual profession in a form valid, as far
as possible, even in civil law; it is to take effect from the day of profession. A
perpetually professed religious who wishes to renounce his or her goods either
partially or totally according to the norm of proper law and with the permission of the
supreme moderator is to do the same.

§5. A professed religious who has renounced his or her goods fully due to the nature of
the institute loses the capacity of acquiring and possessing and therefore invalidly
places acts contrary to the vow of poverty. Moreover, whatever accrues to the
professed after renunciation belongs to the institute according to the norm of proper
law.

Can. 669 §1. Religious are to wear the habit of the institute, made according to the
norm of proper law, as a sign of their consecration and as a witness of poverty.

§2. Clerical religious of an institute which does not have a proper habit are to wear
clerical dress according to the norm of ⇒ can. 284.

Can. 670 An institute must supply the members with all those things which are
necessary to achieve the purpose of their vocation, according to the norm of the
constitutions.

Can. 671 A religious is not to accept functions and offices outside the institute without
the permission of a legitimate superior.

Can. 672 Religious are bound by the prescripts of cann. ⇒ 277, ⇒ 285, ⇒ 286, ⇒ 287,
and ⇒ 289, and religious clerics additionally by the prescripts of ⇒ can. 279, §2; in lay
institutes of pontifical right, the proper major superior can grant the permission
mentioned in ⇒ can. 255, §4.

CHAPTER V
THE APOSTOLATE OF INSTITUTES

Can. 673 The apostolate of all religious consists first of all in the witness of their
consecrated life, which they are bound to foster by prayer and penance.

Can. 674 Institutes which are entirely ordered to contemplation always hold a
distinguished place in the mystical Body of Christ: for they offer an extraordinary
sacrifice of praise to God, illumine the people of God with the richest fruits of holiness,
move it by their example, and extend it with hidden apostolic fruitfulness. For this
reason, members of these institutes cannot be summoned to furnish assistance in the
various pastoral ministries however much the need of the active apostolate urges it.

Can. 675 §1. Apostolic action belongs to the very nature of institutes dedicated to
works of the apostolate.

Accordingly, the whole life of the members is to be imbued with an apostolic spirit;
indeed the whole apostolic action is to be informed by a religious spirit.

§2. Apostolic action is to proceed always from an intimate union with God and is to
confirm and foster this union.
§3. Apostolic action, to be exercised in the name and by the mandate of the Church, is
to be carried out in the communion of the Church.

Can. 676 Lay institutes, whether of men or of women, participate in the pastoral
function of the Church through spiritual and corporal works of mercy and offer the
most diverse services to people. Therefore, they are to persevere faithfully in the grace
of their vocation.

Can. 677 §1. Superiors and members are to retain faithfully the mission and works
proper to the institute.

Nevertheless, attentive to the necessities of times and places, they are to

accommodate them prudently, even employing new and opportune means.

§2. Moreover, if they have associations of the Christian faithful joined to them,
institutes are to assist them with special care so that they are imbued with the genuine
spirit of their family.

Can. 678 §1. Religious are subject to the power of bishops whom they are bound to
follow with devoted submission and reverence in those matters which regard the care
of souls, the public exercise of divine worship, and other works of the apostolate.

§2. In exercising an external apostolate, religious are also subject to their proper
superiors and must remain faithful to the discipline of the institute. The bishops
themselves are not to fail to urge this obligation if the case warrants it.

§3. In organizing the works of the apostolate of religious, diocesan bishops and
religious superiors must proceed through mutual consultation.

Can. 679 When a most grave cause demands it, a diocesan bishop can prohibit a
member of a religious institute from residing in the diocese if his or her major superior,
after having been informed, has neglected to make provision; moreover, the matter is
to be referred immediately to the Holy See.

Can. 680 Among the various institutes and also between them and the secular clergy,
there is to be fostered an ordered cooperation and a coordination under the direction
of the diocesan bishop of all the works and apostolic activities, without prejudice to
the character and purpose of individual institutes and the laws of the foundation.

Can. 681 §1. Works which a diocesan bishop entrusts to religious are subject to the
authority and direction of the same bishop, without prejudice to the right of religious
superiors according to the norm of ⇒ can. 678, §§2 and 3.

§2. In these cases, the diocesan bishop and the competent superior of the institute are
to draw up a written agreement which, among other things, is to define expressly and
accurately those things which pertain to the work to be accomplished, the members to
be devoted to it, and economic matters.

Can. 682 §1. If it concerns conferring an ecclesiastical office in a diocese upon some
religious, the diocesan bishop appoints the religious, with the competent superior
making the presentation, or at least assenting to the appointment.

§2. A religious can be removed from the of-Fie entrusted to him or her at the
discretion either of the entrusting authority after having informed the religious
superior or of the superior after having informed the one entrusting; neither requires
the consent of the other.

Can. 683 §1. At the time of pastoral visitation and also in the case of necessity, the
diocesan bishop, either personally or through another, can visit churches and oratories
which the Christian faithful habitually attend, schools, and other works of religion or
charity, whether spiritual or temporal, entrusted to religious, but not schools which are
open exclusively to the institute’s own students.

§2. If by chance he has discovered abuses and the religious superior has been warned
in vain, he himself can make provision on his own authority.

CHAPTER VI
SEPARATION OF MEMBERS FROM THE INSTITUTE

Art. 1
Transfer to Another Institute

Can. 684 §1. A member in perpetual vows cannot transfer from one religious institute
to another except by a grant of the supreme moderator of each institute and with the
consent of their respective councils.

§2. After completing a probation which is to last at least three years, the member can
be admitted to perpetual profession in the new institute. If the member refuses to
make this profession or is not admitted to make it by competent superiors, however,
the member is to return to the original institute unless an indult of secularization has
been obtained.

§3. For a religious to transfer from an autonomous monastery to another of the same
institute or federation or confederation, the consent of the major superior of each
monastery and of the chapter of the receiving monastery is required and is sufficient,
without prejudice to other requirements established by proper law; a new profession
is not required.
§4. Proper law is to determine the time and manner of the probation which must
precede the profession of a member in the new institute.

§5. For a transfer to be made to a secular institute or a society of apostolic life or from
them to a religious institute, permission of the Holy See is required, whose mandates
must be observed.

Can. 685 §1. Until a person makes profession in the new institute, the rights and
obligations which the member had in the former institute are suspended although the
vows remain. Nevertheless, from the beginning of probation, the member is bound to
the observance of the proper law of the new institute.

§2. Through profession in the new institute, the member is incorporated into it while
the preceding vows, rights, and obligations cease.

Art. 2
Departure from an Institute

Can. 686 §1. With the consent of the council, the supreme moderator for a grave cause
can grant an indult of exclaustration to a member professed by perpetual vows, but
not for more than three years, and if it concerns a cleric, with the prior consent of the
ordinary of the place in which he must reside. To extend an indult or to grant it for
more than three years is reserved to the Holy See, or to the diocesan bishop if it
concerns institutes of diocesan right.

§2. It is only for the Apostolic See to grant an indult of exclaustration for nuns.

§3. At the petition of the supreme moderator with the consent of the council,
exclaustration can be imposed by the Holy See on a member of an institute of
pontifical right, or by a diocesan bishop on a member of an institute of diocesan right,
for grave causes, with equity and charity observed.

Can. 687 An exclaustrated member is considered freed from the obligations which
cannot be reconciled with the new condition of his or her life, yet remains dependent
upon and under the care of superiors and also of the local ordinary, especially if the
member is a cleric. The member can wear the habit of the institute unless the indult
determines otherwise. Nevertheless, the member lacks active and passive voice.

Can. 688 §1. A person who wishes to leave an institute can depart from it when the
time of profession has been completed.

§2. During the time of temporary profession, a person who asks to leave the institute
for a grave cause can obtain an indult of departure from the supreme moderator with
the consent of the council in an institute of pontifical right. In institutes of diocesan
right and in the monasteries mentioned in ⇒ can. 615, however, the bishop of the
house of assignment must confirm the indult for it to be valid.

Can. 689 §1. If there are just causes, the competent major superior, after having heard
the council, can exclude a member from making a subsequent profession when the
period of temporary profession has been completed.

§2. Physical or psychic illness, even contracted after profession, which in the judgment
of experts renders the member mentioned in §1 unsuited to lead the life of the
institute constitutes a cause for not admitting the member to renew profession or to
make perpetual profession, unless the illness had been contracted through the
negligence of the institute or through work performed in the institute.

§3. If, however, a religious becomes insane during the period of temporary vows, even
though unable to make a new profession, the religious cannot be dismissed from the
institute.

Can. 690 §1. The supreme moderator with the consent of the council can readmit
without the burden of repeating the novitiate one who had legitimately left the
institute after completing the novitiate or after profession. Moreover, it will be for the
same moderator to determine an appropriate probation prior to temporary profession
and the time of vows to precede perpetual profession, according to the norm of cann.
⇒ 655 and ⇒ 657.

§2. The superior of an autonomous monastery with the consent of the council
possesses the same faculty.

Can. 691 §1. A perpetually professed religious is not to request an indult of departure
from an institute except for the gravest of causes considered before the Lord. The
religious is to present a petition to the supreme moderator of the institute who is to
transmit it along with a personal opinion and the opinion of the council to the
competent authority.

§2. In institutes of pontifical right, an indult of this type is reserved to the Apostolic
See. In institutes of diocesan right, however, the bishop of the diocese in which the
house of assignment is situated can also grant it.

Can. 692 Unless it has been rejected by the member in the act of notification, an indult
of departure granted legitimately and made known to the member entails by the law
itself dispensation from the vows and from all the obligations arising from profession.

Can. 693 If a member is a cleric, an indult is not granted before he finds a bishop who
incardinates him in the diocese or at least receives him experimentally. If he is received
experimentally, he is incardinated into the diocese by the law itself after five years
have passed, unless the bishop has refused him.
 Art. 3
Dismissal of Members

Can. 694 §1. A member must be held as ipso facto dismissed from an institute who:

1/ has defected notoriously from the Catholic faith;

2/ has contracted marriage or attempted it, even only civilly.

§2. In these cases, after the proofs have been collected, the major superior with the
council is to issue without any delay a declaration of fact so that the dismissal is
established juridically.

Can. 695 §1. A member must be dismissed for the delicts mentioned in cann. ⇒ 1397,
⇒ 1398, and ⇒ 1395, unless in the delicts mentioned in ⇒ can. 1395, §2, the superior
decides that dismissal is not completely necessary and that correction of the member,
restitution of justice, and reparation of scandal can be resolved sufficiently in another
way.

§2. In these cases, after the proofs regarding the facts and imputability have been
collected, the major superior is to make known the accusation and proofs to the
member to be dismissed, giving the member the opportunity for self-defense. All the
acts, signed by the major superior and a notary, together with the responses of the
member, put in writing and signed by that member, are to be transmitted to the
supreme moderator.

Can. 696 §1. A member can also be dismissed for other causes provided that they are
grave, external, imputable, and juridically proven such as: habitual neglect of the
obligations of consecrated life; repeated violations of the sacred bonds; stubborn
disobedience to the legitimate prescripts of superiors in a grave matter; grave scandal
arising from the culpable behavior of the member; stubborn upholding or diffusion of
doctrines condemned by the magisterium of the Church; public adherence to
ideologies infected by materialism or atheism; the illegitimate absence mentioned in
⇒ can. 665, §2, lasting six months; other causes of similar gravity which the proper law
of the institute may determine.

§2. For the dismissal of a member in temporary vows, even causes of lesser gravity
established in proper law are sufficient.

Can. 697 In the cases mentioned in ⇒ can. 696, if the major superior, after having
heard the council, has decided that a process of dismissal must be begun:

1/ the major superior is to collect or complete the proofs;

2/ the major superior is to warn the member in writing or before two witnesses with
an explicit threat of subsequent dismissal unless the member reforms, with the cause
for dismissal clearly indicated and full opportunity for self-defense given to the
member; if the warning occurs in vain, however, the superior is to proceed to another
warning after an intervening space of at least fifteen days;

3/ if this warning also occurs in vain and the major superior with the council decides
that incorrigibility is sufficiently evident and that the defenses of the member are
insufficient, after fifteen days have elapsed from the last warning without effect, the
major superior is to transmit to the supreme moderator all the acts, signed personally
and by a notary, along with the signed responses of the member.

Can. 698 In all the cases mentioned in cann. ⇒ 695 and ⇒ 696, the right of the
member to communicate with and to offer defenses directly to the supreme
moderator always remains intact.

Can. 699 §1. The supreme moderator with the council, which must consist of at least
four members for validity, is to proceed collegially to the accurate consideration of the
proofs, arguments, and defenses; if it has been decided through secret ballot, the
supreme moderator is to issue a decree of dismissal with the reasons in law and in fact
expressed at least summarily for validity.

§2. In the autonomous monasteries mentioned in ⇒ can. 615, it belongs to the

diocesan bishop, to whom the superior is to submit the acts examined by the council,
to decide on dismissal.

Can. 700 A decree of dismissal does not have effect unless it has been confirmed by
the Holy See, to which the decree and all the acts must be transmitted; if it concerns
an institute of diocesan right, confirmation belongs to the bishop of the diocese where
the house to which the religious has been attached is situated. To be valid, however,
the decree must indicate the right which the dismissed possesses to make recourse to
the competent authority within ten days from receiving notification. The recourse has
suspensive effect.

Can. 701 By legitimate dismissal, vows as well as the rights and obligations deriving
from profession cease ipso facto.

Nevertheless, if the member is a cleric, he cannot exercise sacred orders until he finds
a bishop who receives him into the diocese after an appropriate probation according
to the norm of ⇒ can. 693 or at least permits him to exercise sacred orders.

Can. 702 §1. Those who depart from a religious institute legitimately or have been
dismissed from it legitimately can request nothing from the institute for any work done
in it.
§2. Nevertheless, the institute is to observe equity and the charity of the gospel
toward a member who is separated from it.

Can. 703 In the case of grave external scandal or of most grave imminent harm to the
institute, a member can be expelled immediately from a religious house by the major
superior or, if there is danger in delay, by the local superior with the consent of the
council. If it is necessary, the major superior is to take care to begin a process of
dismissal according to the norm of law or is to refer the matter to the Apostolic See.

Can. 704 In the report referred to in ⇒ can. 592, §1, which is to be sent to the
Apostolic See, mention is to be made of members who have been separated from the
institute in any way.

CHAPTER VII
RELIGIOUS RAISED TO THE EPISCOPATE

Can. 705 A religious raised to the episcopate remains a member of his institute but is
subject only to the Roman Pontiff by virtue of the vow of obedience and is not bound
by obligations which he himself prudently judges cannot be reconciled with his
condition.

Can. 706 The religious mentioned above:

1/ if he has lost the right of ownership of goods through profession, has the use,
revenue, and administration of goods which accrue to him; a diocesan bishop and the
others mentioned in ⇒ can. 381, §2, however, acquire property on behalf of the
particular church; others, on behalf of the institute or the Holy See insofar as the
institute is capable or not of possession;

2/ if he has not lost the right of ownership of goods through profession, recovers the
use, revenue, and administration of the goods which he had; those things which accrue
to him afterwards he fully acquires for himself;

3/ in either case, however, must dispose of goods according to the intention of the
donors when they do not accrue to him personally.

Can. 707 §1. A retired religious bishop can choose a place of residence even outside
the houses of his institute, unless the Apostolic See has provided otherwise.

§2. If he has served some diocese, ⇒ can. 402, §2 is to be observed with respect to his
appropriate and worthy support, unless his own institute wishes to provide such
support; otherwise the Apostolic See is to provide in another manner.
 CHAPTER VIII
CONFERENCES OF MAJOR SUPERIORS

Can. 708 Major superiors can be associated usefully in conferences or councils so that
by common efforts they work to achieve more fully the purpose of the individual
institutes, always without prejudice to their autonomy, character, and proper spirit, or
to transact common affairs, or to establish appropriate coordination and cooperation
with the conferences of bishops and also with individual bishops.

Can. 709 Conferences of major superiors are to have their own statutes approved by
the Holy See, by which alone they can be erected even as a juridic person and under
whose supreme direction they remain.

TITLE III
Secular Institutes (Cann. 710 - 730)

Can. 710 A secular institute is an institute of consecrated life in which the Christian
faithful, living in the world, strive for the perfection of charity and seek to contribute to
the sanctification of the world, especially from within.

Can. 711 The consecration of a member of a secular institute does not change the
member’s proper canonical condition among the people of God, whether lay or
clerical, with due regard for the prescripts of the law which refer to institutes of
consecrated life.

Can. 712 Without prejudice to the prescripts of ⇒ cann. 598-601, the constitutions are
to establish the sacred bonds by which the evangelical counsels are assumed in the
institute and are to define the obligations which these same bonds bring about; the
proper secularity of the institute, however, is always to be preserved in its way of life.

Can. 713 §1. Members of these institutes express and exercise their own consecration
in apostolic activity, and like leaven they strive to imbue all things with the spirit of the
gospel for the strengthening and growth of the Body of Christ.

§2. In the world and from the world, lay members participate in the evangelizing
function of the Church whether through the witness of a Christian life and of fidelity
toward their own consecration, or through the assistance they offer to order temporal
things according to God and to inform the world by the power of the gospel.

They also cooperate in the service of the ecclesial community according to their own
secular way of life.
§3. Through the witness of consecrated life especially in the presbyterium, clerical
members help their brothers by a particular apostolic charity, and by their sacred
ministry among the people of God they bring about the sanctification of the world.

Can. 714 Members are to lead their lives in the ordinary conditions of the world
according to the norm of the constitutions, whether alone, or in their own families, or
in a group living as brothers or sisters.

Can. 715 §1. Clerical members incardinated in a diocese are subject to the diocesan
bishop, without prejudice to those things which regard consecrated life in their own
institute.

§2. Those who are incardinated in an institute according to the norm of ⇒ can. 266,
§3, however, are subject to the bishop like religious if they are appointed to the proper
works of the institute or to the governance of the institute.

Can. 716 §1. All members are to participate actively in the life of the institute
according to proper law.

§2. Members of the same institute are to preserve communion among themselves,
caring solicitously for a spirit of unity and a genuine relationship as brothers or sisters.

Can. 717 §1. The constitutions are to prescribe the proper manner of governance; they
are to define the time during which the moderators hold their office and the manner
by which they are designated.

§2. No one is to be designated as supreme moderator who is not incorporated

definitively.

§3. Those who have been placed in charge of the governance of an institute are to take
care that its unity of spirit is preserved and that the active participation of the
members is promoted.

Can. 718 The administration of the goods of an institute, which must express and
foster evangelical poverty, is governed by the norms of Book V, The Temporal Goods of
the Church, and by the proper law of the institute.

Likewise, proper law is to define the obligations of the institute, especially Financial
ones, towards members who carry on work for it.

Can. 719 §1. For members to respond faithfully to their vocation and for their apostolic
action to proceed from their union with Christ, they are to devote themselves
diligently to prayer, to give themselves in a Fitting way to the reading of sacred
scripture, to observe an annual period of spiritual retreat, and to perform other
spiritual exercises according to proper law.

§2. The celebration of the Eucharist, daily if possible, is to be the source and strength
of their whole consecrated life.

§3. They are to approach freely the sacrament of penance which they are to receive
frequently.

§4. They are to obtain freely necessary direction of conscience and to seek counsel of
this kind even from the moderators, if they wish.

Can. 720 The right of admission into the institute, either for probation or for the
assumption of sacred bonds, whether temporary or perpetual or definitive, belongs to
the major moderators with their council, according to the norm of the constitutions.

Can. 721 §1. A person is admitted to initial probation invalidly:

1/ who has not yet attained the age of majority;

2/ who is bound currently by a sacred bond in some institute of consecrated life or is

incorporated in a society of apostolic life;

3/ a spouse, while the marriage continues to exist.

§2. The constitutions can establish other impediments to admission even for validity or
can attach conditions.

§3. Moreover, to be received, the person must have the maturity necessary to lead
rightly the proper life of the institute.

Can. 722 §1. Initial probation is to be ordered in a way that the candidates understand
more fittingly their own divine vocation, and indeed, the one proper to the institute,
and that they are trained in the spirit and way of life of the institute.

§2. Candidates are properly to be formed to lead a life according to the evangelical
counsels and are to be taught to transform their whole life into the apostolate,
employing those forms of evangelization which better respond to the purpose, spirit,
and character of the institute.

§3. The constitutions are to define the manner and length of this probation before first
taking on sacred bonds in the institute; the length is not to be less than two years.
Can. 723 §1. When the period of initial probation has elapsed, a candidate who is
judged suitable is to assume the three evangelical counsels strengthened by a sacred
bond or is to depart from the institute.

§2. This first incorporation is to be temporary according to the norm of the

constitutions; it is not to be less than five years.

§3. When the period of this incorporation has elapsed, the member who is judged
suitable is to be admitted to perpetual incorporation or to definitive incorporation,
that is, with temporary bonds that are always to be renewed.

§4. Definitive incorporation is equivalent to perpetual incorporation with regard to the

specific juridic effects established in the constitutions.

Can. 724 §1. Formation after the first assumption of sacred bonds is to be continued
without interruption according to the constitutions.

§2. Members are to be formed in divine and human things at the same time;
moreover, moderators of the institute are to have a serious concern for the continued
spiritual formation of the members.

Can. 725 An institute can associate to itself by some bond determined in the
constitutions other members of the Christian faithful who are to strive for evangelical
perfection according to the spirit of the institute and are to participate in its mission.

Can. 726 §1. When the period of temporary incorporation has elapsed, a member is
able to leave the institute freely or the major moderator, after having heard the
council, can exclude a member for a just cause from the renewal of the sacred bonds.

§2. For a grave cause, a temporarily incorporated member who freely petitions it is
able to obtain an indult of departure from the supreme moderator with the consent of
the council.

Can. 727 §1. After having considered the matter seriously before the Lord, a
perpetually incorporated member who wishes to leave the institute is to seek an indult
of departure from the Apostolic See through the supreme moderator if the institute is
of pontifical right; otherwise the member may also seek it from the diocesan bishop, as
it is defined in the constitutions.

§2. If it concerns a cleric incardinated in the institute, the prescript of ⇒ can. 693 is to
be observed.

Can. 728 When an indult of departure has been granted legitimately, all the bonds as
well as the rights and obligations deriving from incorporation cease.
Can. 729 A member is dismissed from an institute according to the norm of cann. ⇒
694 and ⇒ 695; moreover, the constitutions are to determine other causes for
dismissal provided that they are proportionately grave, external, imputable, and
juridically proven, and the method of proceeding established in cann. 697-700 is to be
observed. The prescript of ⇒ can. 701 applies to one dismissed.

Can. 730 In order for a member of a secular institute to transfer to another secular
institute, the prescripts of cann. ⇒ 684, §§1, 2, 4, and ⇒ 685 are to be observed;
moreover, for transfer to be made to a religious institute or to a society of apostolic
life or from them to a secular institute, the permission of the Apostolic See is required,
whose mandates must be observed.

SECTION II
SOCIETIES OF APOSTOLIC LIFE

Can. 731 §1. Societies of apostolic life resemble institutes of consecrated life; their
members, without religious vows, pursue the apostolic purpose proper to the society
and, leading a life in common as brothers or sisters according to their proper manner
of life, strive for the perfection of charity through the observance of the constitutions.

§2. Among these are societies in which members assume the evangelical counsels by
some bond defined in the constitutions.

Can. 732 Those things which are established in cann. ⇒ 578-597 and ⇒ 606 apply to
societies of apostolic life, without prejudice, however, to the nature of each society;
moreover, ⇒ cann. 598-602 apply to the societies mentioned in ⇒ can. 731, §2.

Can. 733 §1. The competent authority of the society erects a house and establishes a
local community with the previous written consent of the diocesan bishop, who must
also be consulted concerning its suppression.

§2. Consent to erect a house entails the right to have at least an oratory in which the
Most Holy Eucharist is to be celebrated and reserved.

Can. 734 The constitutions determine the governance of a society, with ⇒ cann. 617-
633 observed according to the nature of each society.

Can. 735 §1. The proper law of each society determines the admission, probation,
incorporation, and formation of members.

§2. In what pertains to admission into a society, the conditions established in ⇒ cann.
642- 645 are to be observed.
§3. Proper law must determine the manner of probation and formation, especially
doctrinal, spiritual, and apostolic, adapted to the purpose and character of the society,
in such a way that the members, recognizing their divine vocation, are suitably
prepared for the mission and life of the society.

Can. 736 §1. In clerical societies, clerics are incardinated in the society itself unless the
constitutions establish otherwise.

§2. In those things which belong to the program of studies and to the reception of
orders, the norms for secular clerics are to be observed, without prejudice to §1.

Can. 737 Incorporation entails on the part of the members the obligations and rights
defined in the constitutions and on the part of the society concern for leading the
members to the purpose of their proper vocation according to the constitutions.

Can. 738 §1. All members are subject to their proper moderators according to the
norm of the constitutions in those matters which regard the internal life and discipline
of the society.

§2. They are also subject to the diocesan bishop in those matters which regard public
worship, the care of souls, and other works of the apostolate, with attention to ⇒
cann. 679-683.

§3. The constitutions or particular agreements define the relations of a member

incardinated in a diocese with his own bishop.

Can. 739 In addition to the obligations to which members as members are subject
according to the constitutions, they are bound by the common obligations of clerics
unless it is otherwise evident from the nature of the thing or the context.

Can. 740 Members must live in a house or in a legitimately established community and
must observe common life according to the norm of proper law, which also governs
absences from the house or community.

Can. 741 §1. Societies and, unless the constitutions determine otherwise, their parts
and houses are juridic persons and, as such, capable of acquiring, possessing,
administering, and alienating temporal goods according to the norm of the prescripts
of Book V, The Temporal Goods of the Church, of cann. ⇒ 636, ⇒ 638, and ⇒ 639,
and of proper law.

§2. According to the norm of proper law, members are also capable of acquiring,
possessing, administering, and disposing of temporal goods, but whatever comes to
them on behalf of the society is acquired by the society.
Can. 742 The constitutions of each society govern the departure and dismissal of a
member not yet definitively incorporated.

Can. 743 Without prejudice to the prescript of ⇒ can. 693, a definitively incorporated
member can obtain an indult of departure from the society from the supreme
moderator with the consent of the council, unless it is reserved to the Holy See
according to the constitutions; with the indult, the rights and obligations deriving from
incorporation cease.

Can. 744 §1. It is equally reserved to the supreme moderator with the consent of the
council to grant permission for a definitively incorporated member to transfer to
another society of apostolic life; the rights and obligations proper to the society are
suspended in the meantime, without prejudice to the right of returning before
definitive incorporation in the new society.

§2. Transfer to an institute of consecrated life or from one to a society of apostolic life
requires the permission of the Holy See, whose mandates must be observed.

Can. 745 The supreme moderator with the consent of the council can grant an indult
to live outside the society to a definitively incorporated member, but not for more
than three years; the rights and obligations which cannot be reconciled with the new
condition of the member are suspended, but the member remains under the care of
the moderators. If it concerns a cleric, moreover, the consent of the ordinary of the
place in which he must reside is required, under whose care and dependence he also
remains.

Can. 746 For the dismissal of a definitively incorporated member, ⇒ cann. 694-704 are
to be observed with appropriate adaptations.