Asuperiorgeneral orgeneralsuperior is the leader or head of an 'order' of religious persons (nuns, priests, friars, etc) or, in other words, of a 'religious institute' in theCatholic Church, and in some otherChristian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme 'executive' authority in the religious community, subject only to the Pope in the case of Catholic orders, while thegeneral chapter has 'legislative' authority.[1] Many Catholic superiors general are elected (directly or indirectly) by their order's membership, and are based in Rome, and thus facilitate their order's engagement with other elements of church leadership (thePope; theRoman Curia; other orders' leadership).
The figure of superior general first emerged in the thirteenth century with the development of thecentralized government of theMendicant Orders. The Friars Minor (Franciscans) organized their members under aMinister General, and the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) elected aMaster of the Order.[2]
Due to restrictions on women religious, especially the obligation of cloister fornuns, congregations of women were not initially able to organize with their own superior general. In 1609,Mary Ward was the superior general of a religious institute that imitated theJesuit model, but the institute was not accepted by theRoman Curia. It was not until the nineteenth century that religious congregations of women were able to organize with a general superior, and the role is now very common.Mother Teresa, for example, was the superior general of theMissionaries of Charity, known by the honorific title ofMother.[3][4] Following theSecond Vatican Council, women religious formed theInternational Union of superiors general.[1]
Incanon law, the generic termsupreme moderator is used instead of superior general. Many orders and congregations use their own title for the person who holds this position. Some examples, in addition to those named above, are:
In many cases there is an intermediate level between the superior general and the superior of the individual monasteries or of equivalent local communities, often named theprovincial superior.[5]
{{cite news}}:|last1= has generic name (help)Seven years ago, Mother Teresa tried hard to step down as superior general of her Missionaries of Charity, obtaining the Vatican's permission to retire ...
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Vermeersch, Arthur (1911a). "Nuns". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company. This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Vermeersch, Arthur (1911b). "Provincial". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
