Chapter II. On Certain Other Duties

I. Exercises of devotion. 1. Superiors should take care that all religious: 1st, each year spend time in spiritual exercises; 2nd, if not legitimately impeded, daily be present at the Sacred Sacrifice, devote themselves to mental prayer, and diligently apply themselves to other offices of piety which are prescribed by the rules and constitutions; 3rd, approach the Sacrament of Penance at least once a week (can. 595, § 1).

2. Superiors should promote among their subjects frequent, even daily, reception of the Most Holy Body of Christ; moreover frequent, indeed even daily, access to the Most Holy Eucharist should be freely open to religious rightly disposed (can. 595, § 2). But if after his last sacramental confession a religious has been a grave scandal to the community or has perpetrated a grave and external fault, until he has again approached the sacrament of penance the Superior can prohibit him from approaching holy communion (can. 595, § 3). But if there are religions of either solemn or simple vows in whose rules or constitutions, or even calendars, communions are found fixed or commanded on certain days, these norms have merely directive force (can. 595, § 4).

II. Religious habit. All religious should wear the habit proper to their religion both inside and outside the house, unless a grave cause excuses, in the judgment of the major Superior or, in urgent necessity, even of the local Superior (can. 596).

III. Papal enclosure. Enclosure is distinguished as twofold: papal or major enclosure, and minor enclosure. Papal enclosure is that which must be observed in houses of regulars, both of men and of women; minor enclosure is that which must be observed in houses of religious congregations. Concerning papal enclosure, accept the following:

1. General matters. a) In canonically constituted houses of regulars, whether of men or of women, even not formed, papal enclosure must be observed (can. 597, § 1). Nevertheless, by force of an apostolic indult, houses of nuns which in fact do not emit solemn vows are exempt from papal enclosure.¹

b) By the law of papal enclosure there is affected the whole house which the regular community inhabits, with the gardens and grounds reserved to the access of religious; excepted, besides the public church with the adjoining sacristy, is also the lodging for visitors, if there is one, and the parlor, which, as far as can be done, should be established near the door of the house (can. 597, § 2).

c) The parts subject to the law of enclosure should be openly indicated; but it will belong to the major Superior or General Chapter according to the constitutions, or, if there is question of a monastery of nuns, to the Bishop, to prescribe accurately the limits of enclosure or to change them for legitimate causes (can. 597, § 3).

d) Enclosure is violated even if someone enters illicitly within the bounds of enclosure by only one step, provided he enters with his whole body (St. Alphonsus IV, 229).

2. Papal enclosure of men. a) Within the enclosure of male regulars women of whatever age, class, or condition are not to be admitted under any pretext (can. 598, § 1).

b) The wives, with their retinue, of those who actually hold the supreme rule of peoples are exempted from this law (can. 598, § 2).²

c) If a house of male regulars has attached to it a boarding school for internal students or another work proper to the religion, at least a separate part of the building, if it can be done, should be reserved for the habitation of religious, subject to the law of enclosure (can. 599, § 1).

d) Even into places outside the enclosure which are reserved for external or internal students or for works proper to the religion, persons of the other sex are not to be admitted except for an equitable cause and with the license of the Superior (can. 599, § 2).

e) Women violating the enclosure of male regulars, and Superiors and others, whoever they may be, introducing or admitting them of whatever age, are punished by an excommunication ipso facto simply reserved to the Apostolic See; and besides, religious introducing or admitting them are deprived of office, if they have one, and of active or passive voice (can. 2342, 2nd).

3. Papal enclosure of women. a) Within the enclosure of nuns no one, of whatever class, condition, sex, or age, is to be admitted without license of the Holy See, except the persons who follow:

alpha) It is licit for the local Ordinary or regular Superior, when visiting a monastery of nuns, or for other Visitors delegated by them, to enter the enclosure only for the cause of inspection, care being taken that at least one cleric or religious man of mature age accompany them (can. 600, 1st).

The discussion concerns a local visitation. A personal visitation ought to be made at the grilles; nor is entrance into the enclosure admitted on the occasion of examining the will, election, clothing, or profession.³

beta) The confessor, or one who acts in his place, can, with due precautions, enter the enclosure to administer the Sacraments to the sick or to assist the dying (can. 600, 2nd).

gamma) Those who actually hold the supreme rule of peoples and their wives with their retinue can enter the enclosure; likewise Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church (can. 600, 3rd).⁴

delta) It belongs to the Abbess, with due precautions used, to permit entrance to physicians, surgeons, and others whose work is necessary, after at least habitual approval has first been obtained from the local Ordinary;⁵ but if necessity is urgent and there is no time to ask approval, this is presumed by law (can. 600, 4th).

b) It is licit for no nun after profession to leave the monastery, even for a short time, under whatever pretext, without a special indult of the Holy See, except in the case of imminent danger of death or another most grave evil (can. 601, § 1).⁶ This danger, if there is time, must be recognized by the local Ordinary (can. 601, § 2). These things also regard novices and postulants (n. 1226; can. 540, § 3).⁷

c) Those violating the enclosure of nuns, of whatever class or condition or sex they may be, by entering their monasteries without legitimate license, and likewise those introducing or admitting them, are punished ipso facto by an excommunication simply reserved to the Apostolic See; but if they are clerics, besides this they are suspended for a time to be determined by the Ordinary according to the gravity of the fault (can. 2342, 1st). Likewise nuns unlawfully leaving enclosure contrary to the prescription of can. 601 incur ipso facto an excommunication simply reserved to the Apostolic See (can. 2342, 3rd); concerning can. 601, see what was said under b.

¹ Pontifical Commission, 1 March 1921, under III (Acta Apostolicae Sedis 1921, p. 178).

² Therefore not only queens, but also wives of a president of a republic and wives of a prince actually reigning, provided that either they themselves or their husband actually hold the rule of peoples (Fanfani, n. 234).

³ Instruction on the enclosure of nuns of solemn vows, 6 February 1924, under III, 2nd (Acta Apostolicae Sedis 1924, p. 96).

⁴ Cf. note 1.

⁵ Habitual approval is usefully sought once a year.

⁶ Cf. the cited Instruction, under III, 1st.

⁷ Cf. Sacred Congregation of Religious, 7 November 1916.

IV. Minor enclosure. 1. Also in houses of religious Congregations, whether of pontifical or diocesan right, enclosure is to be observed, into which no one of the other sex is to be admitted except those of whom in can. 598, § 2 and can. 600,¹ and others whom the Superiors have judged can be admitted for just and reasonable causes (can. 604, § 1).

2. The prescription of can. 599 is also to be applied to houses of religious Congregations, whether of men or of women (can. 604, § 2).

3. In peculiar circumstances, and when grave causes intervene, the Bishop can fortify this enclosure with censures, unless there is question of an exempt clerical religion; he should always take care that it is rightly observed and that whatever vice creeps into it is corrected (can. 604, § 3).

¹ Cf. n. 1262.

V. Communication with outsiders. 1. All those to whom the custody of enclosure belongs should watch diligently lest, when outsiders visit, discipline be disturbed by useless conversation and the religious spirit suffer detriment (can. 605).

2. Religious Superiors should take care that those things which are prescribed in their own constitutions, either concerning the going out of subjects from the cloisters or concerning outsiders to be received or approached, are accurately observed (can. 606, § 1).

3. Without prejudice to the prescriptions in can. 621-624, it is not permitted to Superiors to allow subjects to live outside a house of their own religion, except for a grave and just cause and for as brief a time as can be done according to the constitutions; but for an absence which exceeds six months, unless the cause of studies intervenes, permission of the Apostolic See is always required (can. 606, § 2).

4. Abbesses and local Ordinaries should watch seriously lest religious women, outside the case of necessity, go outside the house alone (can. 607).

VI. Obligation of choir and Mass. 1. In religions, whether of men or of women, which have the obligation of choir,¹ in individual houses where there are at least four religious bound to choir and actually not legitimately impeded, and even fewer if the constitutions so provide, the divine office must be performed in common daily according to the norm of the constitutions (can. 610, § 1).

2. Likewise Mass corresponding to the office of the day must be celebrated daily according to the rubrics in religions of men and also, as far as can be done, in religions of women (can. 610, § 2).²

3. In the same religions, whether of men or of women, the solemnly professed who have been absent from choir, except lay brothers, must recite the canonical hours privately (can. 610, § 3).

¹ A canonical obligation is understood, which is not had unless solemn vows are in fact emitted.

² A conventual Mass must also be celebrated in houses of religious women having simple vows, who by constitutions approved by the Holy See have the obligation of choir (Pontifical Commission, 20 May 1923).

VII. Communication of letters. All religious, whether men or women, can freely send letters, subject to inspection by no one, to the Holy See and its Legate in the nation, to the Cardinal Protector, to their own major Superiors, to the Superior of the house who is perhaps absent, to the local Ordinary to whom they are subject, and, if there is question of nuns who are under the jurisdiction of regulars, also to the major Superiors of the Order; and from all these the aforesaid religious, men or women, can likewise receive letters to be inspected by no one (can. 611).

VIII. Observance of ecclesiastical decrees. 1. Every Superior must promote among his subjects knowledge and execution of decrees of the Holy See which regard religious (can. 509, § 1).

2. Local Superiors should take care that, at least once a year, on fixed days, the decrees which the Holy See prescribes to be read publicly are publicly read (can. 509, § 2, 1st).

IX. Help to be furnished to Ordinaries and the secular clergy. 1. Superiors should take care that religious subjects designated by them, especially in the diocese in which they live, when their ministry is required by local Ordinaries or parish priests for providing for the people's necessity, willingly furnish it both within and outside their own churches or public oratories, with religious discipline preserved (can. 608, § 1).

2. In turn, local Ordinaries and parish priests should willingly use the work of religious, especially of those living in the diocese, in the sacred ministry and especially in administering the sacrament of penance (can. 608, § 2).

3. Besides the prescription of can. 1345,¹ if the local Ordinary for a public cause indicates the ringing of bells, certain prayers, or sacred solemnities, all religious, even exempt ones, must obey, with the constitutions and privileges of each religion preserved (can. 612).

¹ The cited canon states: It is desirable that in Masses which, with the faithful present, are celebrated on feast days of precept in all churches or public oratories, a brief explanation of the Gospel or of some part of Christian doctrine be made; but if the local Ordinary has prescribed it, having given opportune instructions, not only priests of the secular clergy are held by this law, but also religious, even exempt ones, in their own churches.