Everything about Prelate totally explained
A
prelate is a high-ranking member of the
clergy who either is an
ordinary or ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from
Latin prælatus, the past participle of
præferre, literally, "carry before," or "to be set above, or over," or "to prefer," hence a prelate is one set over others.
Related terminology
A
prelature is the office of a prelate or the entire juridical entity which the prelate governs.
Prelacy is the body of prelates as a whole, or a system of government, administration, or ministry by prelates.
The archetypal prelate is a
bishop, whose prelature is his
particular church. All other prelates, including the
regular prelates such as
abbots and major superiors, are based upon this original model of prelacy.
Sometimes the
clergy of a
state church with a formal
hierarchy are called prelates without having ordinary jurisdiction, which etymologically suggests that the prelate enjoys legal privileges and power as a result of clerical status.
Territorial prelatures
A
territorial prelature is a quasi-diocesean jurisdiction over a defined area. Territorial prelates have some or most of the authority of a bishop, and are subject only to the authority of the
Holy See.
As of 2006, there are 49 territorial prelatures, all in the
Latin Church.
A territorial prelate is, in Catholic usage, a prelate whose geographic jurisdiction, called territorial prelature, doesn't belong to any diocese. A territorial prelate is sometimes called a prelate nullius, from the Latin
nullius diœceseos, prelate "of no diocese," meaning the territory falls directly under the jurisdiction of the pope and isn't a diocese under a residing bishop.
The term is also used in a generic sense, and may then equally refer to an apostolic prefecture, and apostolic vicariate or a territorial abbacy (see there).
Personal prelatures
In the
Roman Catholic Church, the
personal prelature was conceived during the sessions of the
Second Vatican Council in no. 10 of the decree
Presbyterorum ordinis and was later enacted into law by
Paul VI in his
motu proprio Ecclesiae sanctae. The institution was later reaffirmed in the
1983 Code of Canon Law. Such a prelature is an institution having clergy and (possibly) lay members which would carry out specific pastoral activities. The adjective
personal refers to the fact that, in contrast with previous
canonical use for ecclesiastical institutions, the
jurisdiction of the prelate isn't linked to a territory but over persons wherever they be. The establishment of personal prelatures is an exercise of the
theologically inherent power of self-organization which the Church has to pursue its mission, though a personal prelature isn't a
particular church as
dioceses and
military ordinariates are.
Personal prelatures are fundamentally secular organizations operating
in the world (members take no vows and live normal, everyday lives), whereas religious orders are religious organizations operating
out of the world (members take vows and lead lives in accordance with their specific organization).
The first (and
as of 2007, only) personal prelature is
Opus Dei, which was elevated to a personal prelature by
Pope John Paul II in 1982 through the
Apostolic constitution Ut sit. In the case of Opus Dei, the prelate is elected by members of the prelature and confirmed by the Pope, the laity and clergy of the prelature are still under the governance of the particular church where they live, and the laity associated with the prelature (both men and women) are organically united under the jurisdiction of the prelate.
Further Information
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