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Acommendatory abbot (Latin:abbas commendatarius) is anecclesiastic, or sometimes alayman, who holds anabbeyin commendam, drawing its revenues but not exercising any authority over its inner monastic discipline. If a commendatoryabbot is an ecclesiastic, however, he may have limited jurisdiction.
Originally only vacant abbeys, or those that were temporarily without an actual superior, were givenin commendam, in the latter case only until an actual superior was elected or appointed. An abbey is heldin commendam, i.e. provisorily, in distinction to one heldin titulum, which is a permanentbenefice.[1]
Originally only vacant abbeys, or such as were temporarily without an actual superior, were given in commendam, in the latter case only until an actual superior was elected or appointed.[2]Pope Gregory the Great (590–604) on various occasions gave vacant abbeysin commendam to bishops who had been driven from their episcopal sees by invading barbarians or whose own churches were too poor to furnish them a decent livelihood.[1]
The practice began to be seriously abused in the eighth century when the Anglo-Saxon and Frankish kings assumed the right to set commendatory abbots over monasteries that were occupied by religious communities. Often these commendatory abbots were laymen, vassals of the kings, or others who were authorized to draw the revenues and manage the temporal affairs of the monasteries in reward for military services. The practice was especially widespread during the reigns ofHenry IV, Holy Roman Emperor,Philip I of France,William the Conqueror,William Rufus,Henry I andHenry II of England.[2] Such a system often proved disastrous for monastic discipline, as the commendatory “abbot” of the community was rarely a monk, nor was he often even present in the monastery.
Such a system divided the revenues of the monastery between themensa abbatialis (the “abbot’s table”) and themensa conventualis (the “monk’s table”) The commendatory abbot would take his portion, thereby reducing the resources of the monks. It was a common arrangement that the commendatory abbot would retain two thirds of the revenue for his own use and leave the remaining third for the support of the abbey. The commendatory bishop was bound to defray the expenses of the community, to keep the buildings in repair, to furnish the ornaments for divine service, and to give suitable alms.[3] Nonetheless, many did not and buildings fell into disrepair and new members could even be turned away on account of a simple lack of funds.
After the eighth century various attempts were made by popes and councils to regulate the appointment of commendatory abbots. At theConcordat of Worms in 1122, when theInvestiture Controversy was settled in favour of the church, the appointment of laymen as commendatory abbots was abolished. The practice again increased during theAvignon Papacy (1309–1377) and especially during thePapal Schism (1378–1417), when the papal claimants gave numerous abbeysin commendam in order to increase the number of their adherents.[2]
Boniface VIII (1294–1303) decreed that a benefice with thecure of souls attached should be grantedin commendam only in great necessity or when evident advantage would accrue to the Church, but never for more than six months.Clement V (1305–1314) revoked benefices which had been granted by himin commendam earlier. TheCouncil of Trent determined that vacant monasteries should be bestowed only on pious and virtuous regulars, and that themotherhouse of an order, and the abbeys and priories founded immediately from it, should no longer be grantedin commendam. The succeeding bull "Superna" ofGregory XIII and the constitution "Pastoralis" ofInnocent X greatly checkedin commendam appointments but did not abolish them entirely. In spite of various efforts to reform such a system, it continued to plague the monastic orders throughout the centuries.[4]
Especially in France, they continued to flourish to the detriment of the monasteries; for exampleCluny Abbey. On the eve of the French Revolution of 1789, of the two-hundred-thirty-seven Cistercian institutions in France, only thirty-five were governed by regular Cistercian abbots.[4]
Finally theFrench Revolution and the general secularization of monasteries in the beginning of the eighteenth century reduced the significance of commendatory abbots along with the significance of monasteries in general. Since that time commendatory abbots have become very rare, and the former abuses have been abolished by careful regulations. There are still a few commendatory abbots among the cardinals;Pope Pius X himself was Commendatory Abbot of the Benedictine monastery atSubiaco near Rome.
If the monastery is occupied by a religious community where there is a separatemensa abbatialis, i.e. where the abbot and the convent have each a separate income, the commendatory abbot, who must then be an ecclesiastic, has jurisdictionin foro externo over the members of the community and enjoys all the rights and privileges of an actual abbot.
Under the title of Claustral Prior a regular superior was appointed to supervise the internal discipline of the house.[3] If there is no separatemensa abbatialis, the power of the commendatory abbot extends only over the temporal affairs of the monastery. In case of vacant monasteries the commendatory abbot generally has all the rights and privileges of an actual abbot.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Commendatory Abbot".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.