The conditions for canonical erection of a monastery, in the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

, are laid down in canon law

Canon law

Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...

. A religious house (monastery

Monastery

Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

 or convent

Convent

A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...

) is a fixed residence of religious persons. It supposes, therefore, continuous habitation of a community strictly so called, governed by a superior and following the rule prescribed by the respective religious order

Religious order

A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...

.

Detailed conditions

Such a religious house is to be distinguished from a grange or farm, from a villa or place of recreation, and from a hospice

Hospice

Hospice is a type of care and a philosophy of care which focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's symptoms.In the United States and Canada:*Gentiva Health Services, national provider of hospice and home health services...

 or place for the reception of travelling religious. The conditions for the legitimate erection of a monastery are:

• the permission of the Holy See
  Holy See
  The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
  
  . This is certain for countries subject to the Decree Romanos Pontifices (i.e. the United States, England, etc.); it is also required for Italy. Outside of Italy and missionary countries generally, the question is much disputed by canonists;
• the assent of the ordinary
  Ordinary
  In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...
  
  . This condition was approved by the Council of Chalcedon
  Council of Chalcedon
  The Council of Chalcedon was a church council held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD, at Chalcedon , on the Asian side of the Bosporus. The council marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates that led to the separation of the church of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th...
  
   in 451, and was in force as late as the twelfth century. In the thirteenth, the privileges of the mendicant orders caused frequent derogation
  Derogation
  Derogation is the partial revocation of a law, as opposed to abrogation or the total abolition of a law. The term is used in both civil law and common law. It is sometimes used, loosely, to mean abrogation, as in the legal maxim: Lex posterior derogat priori, i.e...
  
  s from the law, but the ancient discipline was restored by the Council of Trent
  Council of Trent
  The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
  
   (Sess. XXV, de Reg., cap. iii). This permission cannot be given by the vicar-general nor by the vicar-capitular. Before the bishop gives his assent, he should make himself acquainted with the opinions of those to whom such a monastery might prove a detriment, as the superiors of other religious orders already established there, or the people of the place. The parish priest cannot object, unless it is intended to confer parochial rights on the new religious house;
• there must be a proper provision for the sustenance of twelve religious, otherwise they must live under the jurisdiction of the ordinary. This last condition does not, however, apply to countries where the Romanos Pontifices is in force.

For the transfer of a monastery from one site to another in the same locality, no permission of the Holy See is required, as this is translation, not erection. There was an ancient law that a new monastery could not be erected within a certain distance from an older one, but it has gone into desuetude.

As regards convents of religious women, the assent of the ordinary is required, but not that of the Holy See. The same holds for the erection of houses of pious congregations and institutes.

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia article