Code of Canon Law 403
403 §1. When the pastoral needs of a diocese suggest it, one or more auxiliary bishops are to be appointed at the request of the diocesan bishop. An auxiliary bishop does not possess the right of succession.
§2. In more serious circumstances, even of a personal nature, an auxiliary bishop provided with special faculties can be given to a diocesan bishop.
§3. If it appears more opportune to the Holy See, it can appoint ex officio a coadjutor bishop who also has special faculties. A coadjutor bishop possesses the right of succession.
404 §1. A coadjutor bishop takes possession of his office when he, either personally or through a proxy, has shown the apostolic letter of appointment to the diocesan bishop and college of consultors in the presence of the chancellor of the curia, who records the event.
§2. An auxiliary bishop takes possession of his office when he has shown the apostolic letter of appointment to the diocesan bishop in the presence of the chancellor of the curia, who records the event.
§3. If the diocesan bishop is completely impeded, however, it suffices that both the coadjutor bishop and the auxiliary bishop show the apostolic letter of appointment to the college of consultors in the presence of the chancellor of the curia.
405 §1. A coadjutor bishop and an auxiliary bishop have the obligations and rights which are determined in the prescripts of the following canons and are defined in the letter of their appointment.
§2. A coadjutor bishop and the auxiliary bishop mentioned in CIC 403, §2 assist the diocesan bishop in the entire governance of the diocese and take his place if he is absent or impeded.
406 §1. The diocesan bishop is to appoint a coadjutor bishop and the auxiliary bishop mentioned in CIC 403, §2 as vicar general. Moreover, the diocesan bishop is to entrust to him before others those things which by law require a special mandate.
§2. Unless the apostolic letter has provided otherwise and without prejudice to the provision of §1, a diocesan bishop is to appoint his auxiliary or auxiliaries as vicars general or at least as episcopal vicars, dependent only on his authority or that of the coadjutor bishop or auxiliary bishop mentioned in CIC 403, §2.
407 §1. In order to foster the present and future good of the diocese as much as possible, a diocesan bishop, a coadjutor, and the auxiliary mentioned in CIC 403, §2 are to consult one another on matters of major importance.
§2. In considering cases of major importance, especially of a pastoral character, a diocesan bishop is to wish to consult the auxiliary bishops before others.
§3. Since a coadjutor bishop and an auxiliary bishop are called to share in the solicitude of the diocesan bishop, they are to exercise their duties in such a way that they proceed in harmony with him in effort and intention.
408 §1. A coadjutor bishop and an auxiliary bishop who are not prevented by a just impediment are obliged to perform pontificals and other functions to which the diocesan bishop is bound whenever the diocesan bishop requires it.
§2. A diocesan bishop is not to entrust habitually to another the episcopal rights and functions which a coadjutor or auxiliary bishop can exercise.
409 §1. When the episcopal see is vacant, the coadjutor bishop immediately becomes the bishop of the diocese for which he had been appointed provided that he has legitimately taken possession of it.
§2. When the episcopal see is vacant and unless competent authority has established otherwise, an auxiliary bishop preserves all and only those powers and faculties which he possessed as vicar general or episcopal vicar while the see was filled until a new bishop has taken possession of the see. If he has not been designated to the function of diocesan administrator, he is to exercise this same power, conferred by law, under the authority of the diocesan administrator who presides offer the governance of the diocese.
410 Like the diocesan bishop, a coadjutor bishop and an auxiliary bishop are obliged to reside in the diocese.
Except for a brief time, they are not to be absent from it other than to fulfill some duty outside the diocese or for vacation, which is not to exceed one month.
411 The prescripts of cann. CIC 401 and CIC 402, §2 on resignation from office apply to a coadjutor and auxiliary bishop.
412 An episcopal see is understood to be impeded if by reason of captivity, banishment, exile, or incapacity a diocesan bishop is clearly prevented from fulfilling his pastoral function in the diocese, so that he is not able to communicate with those in his diocese even by letter.
413 §1. When a see is impeded, the coadjutor bishop, if there is one, has governance of the diocese unless the Holy See has provided otherwise. If there is none or he is impeded, governance passes to an auxiliary bishop, the vicar general, an episcopal vicar, or another priest, following the order of persons established in the list which the diocesan bishop is to draw up as soon as possible after taking possession of the diocese. The list, which must be communicated to the metropolitan, is to be renewed at least every three years and preserved in secret by the chancellor.
§2. If there is no coadjutor bishop or he is impeded and the list mentioned in §1 is not available, it is for the college of consultors to select a priest to govern the diocese.
§3. The one who has assumed the governance of a diocese according to the norm of §§1 or 2 is to advise the Holy See as soon as possible of the impeded see and the function he has assumed.
414 Whoever has been called according to the norm of CIC 413 to exercise the pastoral care of a diocese temporarily and only for the period in which the see is impeded is bound by the obligations and possesses the power in the exercise of the pastoral care of the diocese which a diocesan administrator has by law.
415 If an ecclesiastical penalty prevents a diocesan bishop from exercising his function, the metropolitan or, if there is none or it concerns him, the suffragan senior in promotion, is to have recourse immediately to the Holy See so that it will make provision.
416 An episcopal see is vacant upon the death of a diocesan bishop, resignation accepted by the Roman Pontiff, transfer, or privation made known to the bishop.
417 Everything that a vicar general or episcopal vicar does has force until they have received certain notice of the death of the diocesan bishop. Likewise, everything that a diocesan bishop, a vicar general, or an episcopal vicar does has force until they have received certain notice of the above-mentioned pontifical acts.
418 §1. Upon certain notice of transfer, a bishop must claim the diocese to which he has been transferred (ad quam) and take canonical possession of it within two months. On the day that he takes possession of the new diocese, however, the diocese from which he has been transferred (a qua) is vacant.
§2. Upon certain notice of transfer until the canonical possession of the new diocese, a transferred bishop in the diocese from which he has been transferred:
1/ obtains the power of a diocesan administrator and is bound by the obligations of the same; all power of the vicar general and episcopal vicar ceases, without prejudice to CIC 409, §2;
2/ receives the entire remuneration proper to this office.
419 When a see is vacant and until the designation of a diocesan administrator, the governance of a diocese devolves upon the auxiliary bishop or, if there are several, upon the one who is senior in promotion. If there is no auxiliary bishop, however, it devolves upon the college of consultors unless the Holy See has provided otherwise.
The one who so assumes governance of the diocese is to convoke without delay the college competent to designate a diocesan administrator.
420 When the see is vacant in an apostolic vicariate or prefecture, the governance is assumed by the pro-vicar or pro-prefect, appointed only for this purpose by the vicar or prefect immediately after the vicar or prefect has taken possession of the vicariate or prefecture, unless the Holy See has established otherwise.
421 §1. The college of consultors must elect a diocesan administrator, namely the one who is to govern the diocese temporarily, within eight days from receiving notice of the vacancy of an episcopal see and without prejudice to the prescript of CIC 502, §3.
§2. If a diocesan administrator has not been elected legitimately within the prescribed time for whatever cause, his designation devolves upon the metropolitan, and if the metropolitan church itself is vacant or both the metropolitan and the suffragan churches are vacant, it devolves upon the suffragan bishop senior in promotion.
422 An auxiliary bishop or, if there is none, the college of consultors is to inform the Apostolic See of the death of a bishop as soon as possible. The one elected as diocesan administrator is to do the same concerning his own election.
423 §1. One diocesan administrator is to be designated; any contrary custom is reprobated. Otherwise, the election is invalid.
§2. A diocesan administrator is not to be the finance officer at the same time. Therefore, if the Finance officer of the diocese has been elected as administrator, the Finance council is to elect a temporary Finance officer.
424 A diocesan administrator is to be elected according to the norm of CIC 165-178.
425 §1. Only a priest who has completed thirty-Five years of age and has not already been elected, appointed, or presented for the same vacant see can be designated validly to the function of diocesan administrator.
§2. A priest who is outstanding in doctrine and prudence is to be elected as diocesan administrator.
§3. If the conditions previously mentioned in §1 have been neglected, the metropolitan or, if the metropolitan church itself is vacant, the suffragan bishop senior in promotion, after he has ascertained the truth of the matter, is to designate an administrator in his place. The acts of the one who was elected contrary to the prescripts of §1, however, are null by the law itself.
426 When a see is vacant, the person who is to govern the diocese before the designation of a diocesan administrator possesses the power which the law grants to a vicar general.
427 §1. A diocesan administrator is bound by the obligations and possesses the power of a diocesan bishop, excluding those matters which are excepted by their nature or by the law itself.
§2. When he has accepted election, the diocesan administrator obtains power and no other confirmation is required, without prejudice to the obligation mentioned in CIC 833, n. 4.
428 §1. When a see is vacant, nothing is to be altered.
§2. Those who temporarily care for the governance of the diocese are forbidden to do anything which can be prejudicial in some way to the diocese or episcopal rights. They, and consequently all others, are specifically prohibited, whether personally or through another, from removing or destroying any documents of the diocesan curia or from changing anything in them.
429 A diocesan administrator is obliged to reside in the diocese and to apply Mass for the people according to the norm of CIC 388.
430 §1. The function of a diocesan administrator ceases when the new bishop has taken possession of the diocese.
§2. The removal of a diocesan administrator is reserved to the Holy See. If an administrator resigns, the resignation must be presented in authentic form to the college competent to elect, but it does not need acceptance.
If a diocesan administrator has been removed, resigns, or dies, another diocesan administrator is to be elected according to the norm of CIC 421.
431 §1. To promote the common pastoral action of different neighboring dioceses according to the circumstances of persons and places and to foster more suitably the relations of the diocesan bishops among themselves, neighboring particular churches are to be brought together into ecclesiastical provinces limited to a certain territory.
§2. As a rule, exempt dioceses are no longer to exist. Therefore, individual dioceses and other particular churches within the territory of some ecclesiastical province must be joined to this ecclesiastical province.
§3. It is only for the supreme authority of the Church to establish, suppress, or alter ecclesiastical provinces after having heard the bishops involved.
432 §1. The provincial council and the metropolitan possess authority in an ecclesiastical province according to the norm of law.
§2. An ecclesiastical province possesses juridic personality by the law itself.
433 §1. If it seems advantageous, especially in nations where particular churches are more numerous, the Holy See can unite neighboring ecclesiastical provinces into ecclesiastical regions at the request of the conference of bishops.
§2. An ecclesiastical region can be erected as a juridic person.
434 It belongs to a meeting of the bishops of an ecclesiastical region to foster cooperation and common pastoral action in the region. Nevertheless, such a meeting does not have the powers attributed to a conference of bishops in the canons of this Code unless the Holy See has specifically granted it certain powers.
435 A metropolitan, who is the archbishop of his diocese, presides offer an ecclesiastical province. The office of metropolitan is joined with an episcopal see determined or approved by the Roman Pontiff.
436 §1. In the suffragan dioceses, a metropolitan is competent:
1/ to exercise vigilance so that the faith and ecclesiastical discipline are observed carefully and to inform the Roman Pontiff of abuses, if there are any;
2/ to conduct a canonical visitation for a cause previously approved by the Apostolic See if a suffragan has neglected it;
3/ to designate a diocesan administrator according to the norm of cann. CIC 421, §2, and CIC 425, §3.
§2. Where circumstances demand it, the Apostolic See can endow a metropolitan with special functions and power to be determined in particular law.
§3. The metropolitan has no other power of governance in the suffragan dioceses. He can perform sacred functions, however, as if he were a bishop in his own diocese in all churches, but he is first to inform the diocesan bishop if the church is the cathedral.
437 §1. Within three months from the reception of episcopal consecration or if he has already been consecrated, from the canonical provision, a metropolitan is obliged to request the pallium from the Roman Pontiff either personally or through a proxy. The pallium signifies the power which the metropolitan, in communion with the Roman Church, has by law in his own province.
§2. A metropolitan can use the pallium according to the norm of liturgical laws within any church of the ecclesiastical province offer which he presides, but not outside it, even if the diocesan bishop gives his assent.
§3. A metropolitan needs a new pallium if he is transferred to another metropolitan see.
438 The titles of patriarch and primate entail no power of governance in the Latin Church apart from a prerogative of honor unless in some matters the contrary is clear from apostolic privilege or approved custom.
439 §1. A plenary council, that is, one for all the particular churches of the same conference of bishops, is to be celebrated whenever it seems necessary or useful to the conference of bishops, with the approval of the Apostolic See.
§2. The norm established in §1 is valid also for the celebration of a provincial council in an ecclesiastical province whose boundaries coincide with the territory of a nation.
440 §1. A provincial council for the different particular churches of the same ecclesiastical province is to be celebrated whenever it seems opportune in the judgment of the majority of the diocesan bishops of the province, without prejudice to CIC 439, §2.
§2. When a metropolitan see is vacant, a provincial council is not to be convoked.
441 It is for the conference of bishops:
1/ to convoke a plenary council;
2/ to select the place to celebrate the council within the territory of the conference of bishops;
3/ to select from among the diocesan bishops a president of the plenary council whom the Apostolic See must approve;
4/ to determine the agenda and questions to be treated, set the opening and duration of a plenary council, transfer, extend, and dissolve it.
442 §1. It is for the metropolitan with the consent of the majority of the suffragan bishops:
1/ to convoke a provincial council;
2/ to select the place to celebrate the provincial council within the territory of the province;
3/ to determine the agenda and questions to be treated, set the opening and duration of the provincial council, transfer, extend, and dissolve it.
§2. It is for the metropolitan or, if he is legitimately impeded, a suffragan bishop elected by the other sufuffagan bishops to preside offer a provincial council.
443 §1. The following must be called to particular councils and have the right of a deliberative vote in them:
1/ diocesan bishops;
2/ coadjutor and auxiliary bishops;
3/ other titular bishops who perform in the territory a special function committed to them by the Apostolic See or the conference of bishops.
§2. Other titular bishops, even retired ones, living in the territory can be called to particular councils; they also have the right of a deliberative vote.
§3. The following must be called to particular councils but with only a consultative vote:
1/ the vicars general and episcopal vicars of all the particular churches in the territory;
2/ major superiors of religious institutes and societies of apostolic life in a number for both men and women which the conference of bishops or the bishops of the province are to determine; these superiors are to be elected respectively by all the major superiors of the institutes and societies which have a seat in the territory;
3/ rectors of ecclesiastical and Catholic universities and deans of faculties of theology and of canon law, which have a seat in the territory;
4/ some rectors of major seminaries elected by the rectors of the seminaries which are located in the territory, in a number to be determined as in n. 2.
§4. Presbyters and other members of the Christian faithful can also be called to particular councils, but with only a consultative vote and in such a way that their number does not exceed half the number of those mentioned in §§1-3.
§5. Moreover, cathedral chapters and the presbyteral council and pastoral council of each particular church are to be invited to provincial councils in such a way that each of them sends two of their members designated collegially by them; however, they have only a consultative vote.
§6. Others can also be invited as guests to particular councils, if it is expedient in the judgment of the conference of bishops for a plenary council, or of the metropolitan together with the suffragan bishops for a provincial council.
444 §1. All who are called to particular councils must attend them unless they are prevented by a just impediment, about which they are bound to inform the president of the council.
§2. Those who are called to particular councils and have a deliberative vote in them can send a proxy if they are prevented by a just impediment; the proxy has only a consultative vote.
445 A particular council, for its own territory, takes care that provision is made for the pastoral needs of the people of God and possesses the power of governance, especially legislative power, so that, always without prejudice to the universal law of the Church, it is able to decide what seems opportune for the increase of the faith, the organization of common pastoral action, and the regulation of morals and of the common ecclesiastical discipline which is to be observed, promoted, and protected.
446 When a particular council has ended, the president is to take care that all the acts of the council are sent to the Apostolic See. Decrees issued by a council are not to be promulgated until the Apostolic See has reviewed them. It is for the council itself to define the manner of promulgation of the decrees and the time when the promulgated decrees begin to oblige.
447 A conference of bishops, a permanent institution, is a group of bishops of some nation or certain territory who jointly exercise certain pastoral functions for the Christian faithful of their territory in order to promote the greater good which the Church offers to humanity, especially through forms and programs of the apostolate fittingly adapted to the circumstances of time and place, according to the norm of law.
448 §1. As a general rule, a conference of bishops includes those who preside offer all the particular churches of the same nation, according to the norm of CIC 450.
§2. If, however, in the judgment of the Apostolic See, having heard the diocesan bishops concerned, the circumstances of persons or things suggest it, a conference of bishops can be erected for a territory of lesser or greater area, so that it only includes either bishops of some particular churches constituted in a certain territory or those who preside offer particular churches in different nations. It is for the Apostolic See to establish special norms for each of them.
449 §1. It is only for the supreme authority of the Church to erect, suppress, or alter conferences of bishops, after having heard the bishops concerned.
§2. A legitimately erected conference of bishops possesses juridic personality by the law itself.
450 §1. To a conference of bishops belong by the law itself all diocesan bishops in the territory, those equivalent to them in law, coadjutor bishops, auxiliary bishops, and other titular bishops who perform in the same territory a special function entrusted to them by the Apostolic See or conference of bishops. Ordinaries of another rite can also be invited though in such a way that they have only a consultative vote unless the statutes of the conference of bishops decree otherwise.
§2. Other titular bishops and the legate of the Roman Pontiff are not by law members of a conference of bishops.
451 Each conference of bishops is to prepare its own statutes which must be reviewed by the Apostolic See and which are to organize, among other things, the plenary meetings of the conference which are to be held and to provide for a permanent council of bishops, a general secretariat of the conference, and also other offices and commissions which, in the judgment of the conference, more effectively help it to achieve its purpose.
452 §1. Each conference of bishops is to elect a president for itself, is to determine who is to perform the function of pro-president when the president is legitimately impeded, and is to designate a general secretary, according to the norm of the statutes.
§2. The president of a conference, and, when he is legitimately impeded, the pro-president, presides not only offer the general meetings of the conference of bishops but also offer the permanent council.
453 Plenary meetings of a conference of bishops are to be held at least once each year and, in addition, whenever particular circumstances require it, according to the prescripts of the statutes.
454 §1. By the law itself, diocesan bishops, those who are equivalent to them in law, and coadjutor bishops have a deliberative vote in plenary meetings of a conference of bishops.
§2. Auxiliary bishops and other titular bishops who belong to a conference of bishops have a deliberative or consultative vote according to the prescripts of the statutes of the conference. Nonetheless, only those mentioned in §1 have a deliberative vote in drawing up or changing the statutes.
455 §1. A conference of bishops can only issue general decrees in cases where universal law has prescribed it or a special mandate of the Apostolic See has established it either motu proprio or at the request of the conference itself.
§2. The decrees mentioned in §1, in order to be enacted validly in a plenary meeting, must be passed by at least a two thirds vote of the prelates who belong to the conference and possess a deliberative vote. They do not obtain binding force unless they have been legitimately promulgated after having been reviewed by the Apostolic See.
§3. The conference of bishops itself determines the manner of promulgation and the time when the decrees take effect.
§4. In cases in which neither universal law nor a special mandate of the Apostolic See has granted the power mentioned in §1 to a conference of bishops, the competence of each diocesan bishop remains intact, nor is a conference or its president able to act in the name of all the bishops unless each and every bishop has given consent.
456 When a plenary meeting of a conference of bishops has ended, the president is to send a report of the acts of the conference and its decrees to the Apostolic See so that the acts are brought to its notice and it can review the decrees if there are any.
457 It is for the permanent council of bishops to take care that the agenda for a plenary session of a conference is prepared and that decisions made in plenary session are properly executed. It is also for the council to take care of other affairs which are entrusted to it according to the norm of the statutes.
458 It is for the general secretariat:
1/ to prepare a report of the acts and decrees of a plenary meeting of a conference and the acts of the permanent council of bishops, to communicate the same to all the members of the conference, and to draw up other acts whose preparation the president of the conference or the permanent council entrusts to the general secretary;
2/ to communicate to neighboring conferences of bishops the acts and documents which the conference in plenary meeting or the permanent council of bishops decides to send to them.
459 §1. Relations between conferences of bishops, especially neighboring ones, are to be fostered in order to promote and protect the greater good.
§2. Whenever conferences enter into actions or programs having an international character, however, the Apostolic See must be heard.
460 A diocesan synod is a group of selected priests and other members of the Christian faithful of a particular church who offer assistance to the diocesan bishop for the good of the whole diocesan community according to the norm of the following canons.
461 §1. A diocesan synod is to be celebrated in individual particular churches when circumstances suggest it in the judgment of the diocesan bishop after he has heard the presbyteral council.
§2. If a bishop has the care of several dioceses or has the care of one as the proper bishop but of another as administrator, he can convoke one diocesan synod for all the dioceses entrusted to him.
462 §1. The diocesan bishop alone convokes a diocesan synod, but not one who temporarily presides offer a diocese.
§2. The diocesan bishop presides offer a diocesan synod. He can, however, delegate a vicar general or episcopal vicar to fulfill this responsibility for individual sessions of the synod.
463 §1. The following must be called to a diocesan synod as members of the synod and are obliged to participate in it:
1/ a coadjutor bishop and auxiliary bishops;
2/ vicars general, episcopal vicars, and the judicial vicar;
3/ canons of the cathedral church;
4/ members of the presbyteral council;
5/ lay members of the Christian faithful, even members of institutes of consecrated life, chosen by the pastoral council in a manner and number to be determined by the diocesan bishop or, where this council does not exist, in a manner determined by the diocesan bishop;
6/ the rector of the diocesan major seminary;
7/ vicars forane;
8/ at least one presbyter from each vicariate forane, chosen by all those who have the care of souls there; also another presbyter must be chosen who, if the first is impeded, is to take his place;
9/ some superiors of religious institutes and of societies of apostolic life which have a house in the diocese, chosen in a number and manner determined by the diocesan bishop.
§2. The diocesan bishop can also call others to a diocesan synod as members of the synod; they can be clerics, members of institutes of consecrated life, or lay members of the Christian faithful.
§3. If the diocesan bishop has judged it opportune, he can invite as observers to the diocesan synod other ministers or members of Churches or ecclesial communities which are not in full communion with the Catholic Church.
464 If a member of the synod is prevented by a legitimate impediment, the member cannot send a proxy to attend it in his or her name. The member, however, is to inform the diocesan bishop of this impediment.
465 All proposed questions are subject to the free discussion of the members during sessions of the synod.
466 The only legislator in a diocesan synod is the diocesan bishop; the other members of the synod possess only a consultative vote. Only he signs the synodal declarations and decrees, which can be published by his authority alone.
467 The diocesan bishop is to communicate the texts of the synodal declarations and decrees to the metropolitan and the conference of bishops.
468 §1. The diocesan bishop is competent to suspend or dissolve a diocesan synod according to his prudent judgment.
§2. When an episcopal see is vacant or impeded, a diocesan synod is interrupted by the law itself until the succeeding diocesan bishop has decided that it is to be continued or has declared it terminated.
469 The diocesan curia consists of those institutions and persons which assist the bishop in the governance of the whole diocese, especially in guiding pastoral action, in caring for the administration of the diocese, and in exercising judicial power.
470 The appointment of those who exercise offices in the diocesan curia pertains to the diocesan bishop.
471 All those who are admitted to offices in the curia must:
1/ promise to fulfill their function faithfully according to the manner determined by law or by the bishop;
2/ observe secrecy within the limits and according to the manner determined by law or by the bishop.
472 The prescripts of Book VII, Processes, are to be observed regarding cases and persons which belong to the exercise of judicial power in the curia. The prescripts of the following canons, however, are to be observed regarding those things which pertain to the administration of the diocese.
473 §1. A diocesan bishop must take care that all the affairs which belong to the administration of the whole diocese are duly coordinated and are ordered to attain more suitably the good of the portion of the people of God entrusted to him.
§2. It is for the diocesan bishop himself to coordinate the pastoral action of the vicars general or episcopal vicars. Where it is expedient, a moderator of the curia can be appointed who must be a priest and who, under the authority of the bishop, is to coordinate those things which pertain to the treatment of administrative affairs and to take care that the other members of the curia properly fulfill the office entrusted to them.
§3. Unless in the judgment of the bishop local circumstances suggest otherwise, the vicar general or if there are several, one of the vicars general, is to be appointed moderator of the curia.
§4. Where the bishop has judged it expedient, he can establish an episcopal council, consisting of the vicars general and episcopal vicars, to foster pastoral action more suitably.
474 For validity, acts of the curia which are to have juridic effect must be signed by the ordinary from whom they emanate; they must also be signed by the chancellor of the curia or a notary. The chancellor, moreover, is bound to inform the moderator of the curia concerning such acts.
Code of Canon Law 403