§ 1. Virgins have always possessed great majesty in the state, and an honored place even among the Gentiles. For at Rome the Vestals possessed an almost senatorial dignity, and among the Greeks also virginity was held in esteem—yet it was rare, and therefore virginity was precious. But those flowers, scarcely one of which entire kingdoms of the Gentiles beheld, occupied whole fields of the Church, especially the newly broken lands recently irrigated by the Lord’s blood. For after Paul, as though sowing seed, scattered these words in 1 Corinthians 7: “But I say to the unmarried and to widows: it is good for them if they remain so, as I also do. But if they do not contain themselves, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn. But to those who are joined in marriage I command—not I, but the Lord—that the wife not depart from her husband; but if she has departed, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband.”
What effect this produced is shown by Corinth, the famous cultivator of immodesty. For they soon began to veil virgins, and Tertullian says in On the Veiling of Virgins, chapter 2: “And the Corinthians today veil their virgins.” At the same time there was at Philippi a college of virgins which Ignatius salutes, Ignatius, epistle 8. And in the Epistle to the Smyrnaeans: “I salute also those who pass their lives in perpetual virginity, and the widows.” And in epistle 12 he admonishes Hero to care for the virgins as precious jewels of Christ. Clement, Jerome, Ambrose, and Augustine treat of them. Justin Martyr glories magnificently concerning them before Antoninus: “Very many indeed of both sexes, sixty and seventy years old, who from childhood have followed the discipline of Christ, continue incorrupt and celibate; and I glory that I can display such persons among every class of our people.” Saint Cyprian, in On the Dress of Virgins, testifies that their number was immense in the Church while it lived beneath the swords of persecutors. “Now the world is filled; the earth is filled with those who can receive continence, living after the manner of eunuchs, castrated for the kingdom of God.” The poet Naumachius also sang the praises of virginity:
Καλὸν μὲν δέμας ἁγνὸν ἔχειν, ἀδμῆτά τε μίμνειν
Παρθενικήν· καθαροῖσί τ’ ἀεὶ μελεδήμασι χαίρειν,
Μήτε βαρυτλήτων λαγόνων περὶ φόρτον ἄγουσαν,
Μήτε πόνον τρομέουσαν ἀγάστονον Εἰλειθυίης·
Ἀλλ’ ἧσθαι βασίλειαν ἀφαυρῶν θηλυτεράων,
Ψυχῆς ὄμμα φαεινὸν ὑπὲρ βιότοιο χέουσαν·
Ἔνθα γάμοι κεδνοὶ καὶ ἀληθέες, ἔνθα μιγεῖσα
Θεσπεσίοις ἐπέεσσι νοήματα φάεα τίκτει.
It is assuredly splendid to have a chaste body and to remain inviolate, a virgin; to rejoice always in pure hymns; not to carry a heavy burden about the loins; not to tremble at the labor and groaning of Lucina; but to sit as queen over weaker women, pouring the bright eye of the soul forth upon life. There are splendid and true nuptials; there, mingled with divine utterances, she begets luminous understandings.
But it is easy to praise virtue; it is difficult to implant, fence about, increase, and defend it—especially the virtue of women, who are fragile and changeable, and above all the virtue of chastity, which has an internal and powerful enemy, strong in flatteries. Therefore the monasteries and life of virgins must be discussed.
§ 2. There are some monasteries of virgins who have vowed chastity, but others are free communities, which I do not know whether they can be found outside Germany; in the free communities, however, the Abbess is bound by vows. I am not ignorant that those communities of virgins are disapproved by many, but they censure the morals of some, not the institute. For it appears plainly useful to me that there be a place in which virgins may be brought up uprightly and safely for piety and for labors necessary and suitable to their sex, and then, after becoming acquainted with the exercises of religious life, either embrace it or be given in marriage. Let it be, as it were, a seminary of virgins and matrons, provided that those things required by the uprightness of common life are present, corruptions are avoided, and whatever can obstruct a good reputation is shunned.
§ 3. We shall now treat the monasteries of professed virgins, or those bound by a vow. These are of two kinds: some virgins live by the labor of their hands alone; others have their own revenues. I approve most of all those whose annual revenue is moderate, so that there is sufficient time for sacred prayers and readings, and so that a part of their support is acquired from the revenue, but the rest by the labor of their hands.
Their labors can be various: everything that pertains to the making of clothing which they use; then weaving, embroidering with the needle, spinning, and cultivating a garden. For since studies and manifold readings are by no means suitable for women, and perpetual prayer or psalmody cannot be employed, these things must be interspersed not with idleness but with labor, of such a kind that it arouses the spirit and exercises the body healthfully without oppressing it. Let the Bishop inquire carefully into this matter when he visits.
But whatever can be established concerning the integrity, discipline, and preservation of monasteries in which virgins dwell was established, through the agency of Charles Borromeo, the most holy and prudent Archbishop of Milan, by the First and Fourth Councils of Milan. I have resolved to take their provisions from there, both so that among Bishops, Prelates, and the communities of virgins themselves they may possess the authority of so great a prelate and of the synods, and so that adversaries may see what the life of sacred virgins and the care of their salvation are, and cease to defame a most holy life which they are unwilling to imitate. I affirm at the same time that these constitutions contain a compendium of Apostolic doctrine, the sacred canons, and those things which the Fathers handed down concerning the care of virgins.
In the First Synod, therefore, the following things are established:
So that in monasteries of Regular women who have dedicated themselves to GOD in religion the ancient discipline may both be preserved entire and, if perhaps it has anywhere been corrupted, be restored; and so that they themselves, conforming themselves to it, may rest more freely in the contemplation of divine things: we command that these formulas for living piously and rightly—partly handed down in the decrees of the Council of Trent, partly established for the advantage of our province according to the circumstances of these times—be altogether observed by all nuns in this province, even those committed to the care of Regulars or, for any other reason whatsoever, not subject to the jurisdiction of Bishops, by the faculty given to us by the Supreme Pontiff Pius IV.
CONCERNING THE NUMBER OF NUNS
At the command of the Council of Trent, let the Superior establish for each monastery that number of nuns which can be suitably supported according to the measure and resources of the place and the customary alms, and let him strive to do this within a year. Nor shall it in any manner be lawful for that number to be increased unless an annual accession of revenues sufficient for it has been made to the monastery.
Let the Bishop diligently endeavor to transfer and unite with other monasteries of the same or another order those monasteries in which there are not twelve professed women who use the veil, and which cannot support that number from their own revenues or customary alms, having summoned for this purpose the Regular Superiors, provided that the matter concerns a monastery whose care pertains to them.
But if a union of this kind should appear in no way expedient, let him permit that number of nuns to die away in the course of time and be reduced to nothing, the faculty of receiving novices being altogether taken away from those nuns.
And let the monasteries of those nuns and the revenues of the monasteries even now be assigned to other monasteries or places to which they shall appear to be owed under the laws of that order.
CONCERNING THE SUPERIORS AND OTHER MINISTERS OF THE NUNS
Within two months after these constitutions have been published, let the Bishops admonish the Abbesses or any Superiors who profess that their office of Superior is perpetual—even by edict, if they judge it proper, with the penalty of deprivation proposed, which they shall incur by the fact itself—that within a further month they exhibit to the Bishops or their vicars, and at the same time to their Superiors if they are committed to the care of Regulars, those legal instruments granted to them by the Apostolic See. Thus it can be ascertained whether those instruments are in proper form and, if there is need, a report can be made concerning them to the Supreme Pontiff. But if they have not exhibited them within that prescribed time, let the Bishop declare them deprived of that rank of dignity, and let their Superior arrange for others to be duly substituted in their place.
No nun shall canvass for, or in any manner whatsoever seek for herself, whether directly or indirectly, by herself or through another, the honors or offices of her monastery of whatsoever kind. The established penalty is that both she herself and those who have favored her in that matter shall, for three Fridays in Chapter, kiss the ground at the feet of each nun and accuse her ambition; and she herself, moreover, if she has obtained that office, shall be deprived of it and of other duties at the discretion of the Superior.
Having laid aside their own will, prepared to obey, and setting before themselves there only the glory of God and the common utility of the monastery, they shall elect to honors and offices those whom, after every human affection has been removed, they judge by the impulse of the Holy Spirit to be more suitable for that duty.
According to the decree of the Council of Trent, let no Superior, by whatsoever name she is called, be elected who is less than forty years of age or who has lived uprightly for fewer than eight years after she was professed. But if a woman of this kind is not found in the same monastery, one may be chosen from another monastery of the same order. If, however, this also should appear inconvenient to the Superior who presides over the election, then, with the consent of the Bishop or another Superior, let one be elected from those in the same monastery who are more than thirty years old and who have lived uprightly for at least five years after profession. In the remaining matters, let the constitutions of the individual orders of monasteries be observed.
A Superior of this kind and her Vicaress, and also the Discreets—who by another name are called Mothers of Council—where they are accustomed to be elected by the Chapter, shall be elected by secret ballots in the presence of the Superior or his minister, who shall stand outside the monastery at the grating or grille, according to the decree of the Council of Trent.
They cannot, however, be elected to these offices unless the Superior has carried two of three parts of the ballots, whether by the votes or by accession. But the Vicaress and Discreets shall be created by votes of more than half.
In monasteries in which there are several sisters by blood, if one of them is placed over the monastery, the remaining sisters cannot become Vicaresses, Discreets, or doorkeepers, nor can they perform the office of scribe or cellarer.
The decrees of the Fourth Synod are these:
We establish that the provisions prescribed below are to be added to the other decrees which we established concerning nuns in the preceding Councils.
A monastery shall have two doors by which access is opened into its enclosure, and no others besides them. Of these two doors, one shall serve for leading beasts of burden, carts, and vehicles, and the other for other necessary uses and conveniences. But in a monastery in which one alone shall appear sufficient for every action and use, let there be that one only.
Each door shall consist of double planking, and that strong, and shall likewise be without any opening, even the smallest crack. It shall have a threshold of marble or solid stone which closely adjoins the gate itself.
To the door for carts or beasts of burden there shall be joined, within the monastery itself, another made of strong planks in the form of a grille, which shall stand a little distance from the first door and shall have the form demonstrated in the instructions for ecclesiastical construction.
At the other door, accommodated to other uses, to which shall be attached the revolving box which they call a turn, two nuns shall always be present who shall be appointed doorkeepers.
Each of these two doors shall be locked with two keys, fashioned by the smith so as to differ from one another. Even during the day, the Superior of the monastery shall perpetually keep one key in her possession and the nun senior in profession the other.
All revolving boxes shall be removed and obstructed, and henceforth shall be perpetually forbidden, except the one attached to the common door; another constructed in the place called the parlor; a third which is in the cell of confessions; and a fourth in the Church, fitted for passing out of the monastery the sacred vestments and ornaments necessary for the sacred rite of the Mass.
Food for every lodging of the monastery, even that of the confessor, shall be passed out through the common revolving box.
On the inner side of the monastery a hook shall be firmly fixed in each revolving box so that they cannot be turned at pleasure from outside.
But if there are several places called parlors, there shall be a revolving box in only one, or at most in a second, at the judgment of the Superiors.
The revolving box which faces the Church shall be fitted with two wooden shutters: inner shutters, whose key shall be held by the Superior; and outer shutters, whose key shall be held by the chaplain or by another who shall appear suitable to the Superior.
The height of the revolving boxes shall not be greater than one cubit and eight inches, and their width shall be one cubit.
The revolving box for confessions shall be smaller on every side by half the prescribed measurement.
No window, except those expressly prescribed in the First Provincial Council, shall face from the monastery into the Church or the exterior sacristy; and in it there shall not even be a crack, much less any opening, through which sight or conversation may be possible.
The window through which the elevation of the most holy Eucharist is viewed shall not be open to a height of more than two cubits and twelve inches, but in width it shall be equal to the width of the altar.
Two iron grilles, at a distance of one palm from one another, shall be firmly fastened into that window.
The individual iron bars of which the grilles are constructed shall be distant from one another by no more than three inches.
They shall be inserted into one another in such a way that they cannot be moved from their place.
The windows shall be closed on the inner side with strong shutters, with a lock and key which shall be kept by the Superior.
But wherever that window is at the side of the altar or Church, or in another place, even an upper one, from which the nuns can behold those who are in the exterior Church, let the Bishop bring it about as soon as possible that a window be constructed above the altar from which the nuns view the sacrifice of the Mass, according to the prescribed instruction; and let that lateral or other window, whatsoever it may be, be completely obstructed.
The small window facing toward the Church through which the nuns receive the sacred Eucharist shall be constructed at such a height and in such a suitable manner that the priest may stand conveniently, not bend his knees, while ministering it. On the outside of this small window, in addition to those which now exist, little wooden shutters shall be fitted flush with the wall, and their key shall remain perpetually with the confessor.
The most holy Sacrament shall be reserved nowhere except upon the high altar; a lamp shall always shine before it in the interior Church, and in the exterior Church when its doors are open.
Sacred relics shall be stored in a small aperture which, built into the wall of the interior Church according to the prescription of our instructions, can be opened only from the side facing the exterior Church. This aperture shall be closed with three keys made with different workmanship, one of which shall be with the Bishop, another with the confessor, and the third with the Superior of the monastery.
The small window for confessions shall open to a height of sixteen inches and a width of twelve, and no more. It shall be enclosed by strong iron grilles according to the prescribed form, and also by a thoroughly solid iron plate most firmly fastened to the wall and filled with holes as small as chickpeas, covered with black linen cloth. That cloth shall be fastened with little wooden boards in such a manner that it cannot readily be removed.
The interior places for conversation, commonly called parlors, which shall be constructed hereafter, shall be contained within one and the same circumscription of space with no intervening wall, and, where this can be done without great inconvenience, shall be accommodated to the pattern according to which very many have already been built, so that all conversations can be overheard by the same listeners.
The window of the iron plate shall never be opened, as was provided in the First Provincial Council, except very rarely and for a reason which the Bishop has judged urgent.
In the places constructed for lodging, which are called guesthouses, where food is sometimes taken or sleep obtained because of urgent necessity, there shall be no windows, not even small ones, which face into the monastery.
Care shall altogether be taken that the roofs of the guesthouse and of houses of every other kind be completely separate and very far removed from the roofs of the monastery.
In those monasteries in which provision cannot be made for removing the overlooking view of neighbors, especially religious, as was commanded in the First Provincial Council, the windows shall be obstructed if light can be received from elsewhere. If not, let them be protected from that visual exposure by the form of construction demonstrated in our instructions, which shall likewise be employed in protecting from the same exposure the galleries which they call loggias.
Gardens which extend too widely in monasteries of nuns and require the daily labor and cultivation of men shall, where it can be done, be confined within narrower bounds.
In no monastery of nuns of any order, even one subject to the law or care of Regulars, shall any window, door, or other opening of that kind, from which there is a view outside the enclosure of the monastery, be uncovered or opened without the permission of the Bishop, to whom the enclosure of all monasteries is entrusted. Nor shall he permit or grant this unless he has diligently inspected the place and judged it necessary to be done. And then, to impede or obstruct that view—
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—that very precaution prescribed immediately above shall be employed.
Only those nuns whom the Superior has selected shall give orders to servants who, for a necessary cause, are sometimes given the faculty of entering the enclosure of the nuns; no others besides them shall either command anything of the servants or speak to them.
When the nuns attend a discourse or sermon in a place where they can be seen by others who are outside—even by the preacher or by a Superior—let all have their faces covered and concealed by a veil drawn down to the mouth.
Let those who come forward to meet, receive, or conduct anyone entering the enclosure of the monastery—even a physician or Superior—do the same.
Let several physicians be approved by the Bishop who, with the permission also of the Superiors of the monastery, may lawfully be employed within its enclosure whenever the gravity of an illness requires others besides the ordinary physician.
In every monastery let the Bishops introduce the use of ovens in which bread may be baked, so that entrance into the monastery may be altogether forbidden to bakers and their servants.
Nor shall any man be brought in to clean or light the oven, or to perform anything else that can be done or carried out by the nuns.
We decree that what was sanctioned in the First Provincial Council concerning written permission to approach monasteries of nuns shall be inviolably observed both by men and by women, however distinguished they may be in rank, dignity, or birth, even if they are the father, mother, brothers, or sisters of the nun whom they come to visit. Let the Bishop take care that this is altogether performed everywhere.
Let the necessary causes on account of which it is lawful to enter within the enclosure of a monastery—either explained in this Provincial Synod from the decree of the First Council or rejected as in no way necessary—be published in the final part of this Council, printed, proclaimed, and announced in each monastery of nuns, even those subject to the care of Regulars. It shall not be lawful to depart from them in any manner, for any reason, or under any pretext.
Vessels of fruit or flowers shall in no way be kept in monasteries for the purpose of selling either the fruit or the flowers.
It shall not be lawful for a nun or monastery to make little confections and other things of this kind, not only for the purpose of giving them away, as was forbidden in the First Council, but also for selling them.
Let a nun abstain from giving gifts.
It is altogether forbidden to give alms through the turn or gate of a monastery, since it is most certainly known that no slight dangers—or rather, injuries—arise from this. But those monasteries which, according to their means, shall have been permitted by the Bishop or another Superior to give alms shall give money, grain, or another such thing to certain pious men, especially to the administrators of pious places, who shall distribute it to the poor somewhere other than at the monasteries.
Medicines which the Bishop or another Superior has permitted to be sold or given outside shall be given only by the senior apothecary and by no other. They shall be sold or given not in a private capacity, but in the name of the monastery.
A nun shall not be permitted to prepare or furnish medicines for those outside the cloister, to apply her hand for the purpose of healing, to prescribe remedies, or to practice anything else pertaining to medicine.
If a fireplace has been constructed in private cells, it shall be permanently obstructed in such a way that a fire can by no means be kindled in it.
When a window, door, or fireplace is obstructed, its hinges shall be torn out in such a way that the work has been done not temporarily, but permanently.
The same shall be observed in windows, doors, and fireplaces already obstructed.
That common place for the care of the sick which they call the infirmary, wherever it has not yet been built or constructed, shall be established, constructed, or built as quickly as possible. A sick nun shall not lie outside the bounds of that place; but, when health has been recovered, she shall not remain there any longer for the sake of comforts.
Where it can conveniently be done, the ancient and approved use of common sleeping places shall be restored and recalled to its former custom.
Within the enclosure of the monastery a place of burial shall be given or established for no one except the nuns.
Nor shall the bodies of nuns be carried outside the enclosure for burial.
No person of any status or condition, neither lay nor ecclesiastical, shall be permitted in any monastery of nuns to be received in those lodgings which they call guesthouses, or to lodge in them, whether in the city or in the diocese, except the priest-confessor, to whom this is sometimes conceded because of urgent necessity.
In the diocese, however, this may also be conceded to the visitor of the monastery and to its administrators or procurators where the Bishop has judged that it must sometimes necessarily be granted.
We decree that what was sanctioned by us in the First Provincial Council concerning figured chant, every musical instrument, and musicians not to be employed on the feast day of a nuns’ Church in the exterior Church is forbidden to them also on every other day and at every other time.
Nor shall anything besides the Mass be sung by others in their exterior Church, since the offices of Vespers and the remaining canonical hours can be sung by the nuns themselves.
In every monastery where there is neither a common place for clothing nor another place in which the nuns occupy themselves in completing works, both shall be established or constructed as soon as possible.
No nun, except the doorkeepers, shall embroider with a needle or perform any other manual work anywhere except in the place established for completing works.
The Mistress of Labors or Works shall possess a definite book in which she shall record so distinctly whatever profit or advantage is received from those labors that it can readily be seen whether anything is lacking in that matter.
No nun except the Mistress of Labors shall interpose herself in receiving or returning works. When necessary, she may sometimes employ with herself another nun more experienced in the practice of completing a particular work.
Furthermore, so far as this can be done, care must be taken that there are not manifold and diverse kinds of manual works or workshops in the monastery.
In this common place of labors, not only shall a reading concerning the spiritual life be employed according to the prescription of the First Council, but every idle word shall also be avoided.
Garments of every kind and all clothing shall be preserved in the wardrobe. Nothing shall be stored or kept privately in cells or another place which is not necessary at that very time.
A nun shall not keep even a small amount of money in her possession under any title, not even with the consent of the Superior, unless the nature of the office she holds demands otherwise.
Otherwise she shall be punished as guilty of property ownership. The Superior who has permitted it in any manner or under any pretext shall undergo the same penalty, as shall also a nun who has discovered it and has not reported it to the Superior within two days, or, if the Superior is at fault, to the higher Superior as soon as she could.
Care shall altogether be taken that that exact and religious manner and practice of common life be diligently introduced into the monastery, and that the nuns diligently pursue the discipline and studies of the spiritual life and holy instruction.
Every year, as was commanded in the First Council, accounts of the expenditures made for food and other uses of the monastery shall be required from the Superior by those whose concern it is. The Bishop himself shall prescribe accurately how much wheat, wine, provisions, and other things he judges sufficient for each monastery’s support for the year. If the Superior has shown herself negligent in that prescribed distribution or administration, she shall be suspended from the duty of her office.
A debt exceeding the sum of fifty gold coins shall not be contracted in any monastery without the permission or consent of its administrators, who shall consult the Bishop in matters of great importance.
Let the nuns not involve themselves in secular business. And so that many frauds and losses may at the same time be prevented, let the Bishop diligently take care that their estates are leased, and that this is done under the spear at public auction, unless at some time he judges that another course is expedient.
For maintaining enclosure this precaution also shall be employed: neither wheat, nor other crops, nor provisions shall be stored in any monastery except for the use and necessity of the monastery.
Definite rules shall be prescribed by the Bishop to the administrators, procurators, patrons, and defenders of each monastery, from which they may know every part of their office. Such administrators and ministers of this kind shall be appointed by the Bishop for each monastery subject to his care which does not possess them, yet in such a way that each and every one can always be removed from the charge of that duty at the discretion of the same Bishop.
Within six months an inventory, drawn up in an approved form, of all goods and rights pertaining to any monastery—even one subject to Regulars—shall be carried to the episcopal archive by those whose concern it is, lest fraud be committed in any manner, once the number of nuns has been fixed by the Bishop.
Therefore, if any alienations of those goods and rights should afterward occur, the Bishop shall be informed of them.
When a girl asks to enter a monastery in order to inspect the place where she is considering making profession, it shall first be diligently and carefully ascertained whether this is truly her purpose or whether she is attempting it from curiosity; nor shall she for that reason be permitted to wander through several monasteries.
Girls shall be received both for other purposes and for profession by the secret ballots of the nuns. According to the decree of the First Provincial Council—which, by the authority of the letters of Pius V, has force even in monasteries subject to the law of those Regulars—this same rule shall be fully observed even in monasteries subject to the law and care of Regulars.
Where in these times that religious and ancient custom of solemnly veiling nuns has become obsolete, it shall be recalled to its former use according to the ancient institute and rite, provided that it is done within the monastery.
It shall not be lawful for a nun of any order to put on albs, vestments, or other garments dedicated to the use of the sacrifice of the Mass.
Confessors and chaplains, likewise the priests and other ministers of the nuns whom the Bishop has placed over their care, whoever they may be, shall not take or accept any gift, not even the smallest, nor any food or drink from them under any title, either publicly or privately, under a penalty to be imposed at the discretion of the same Bishop.
Nor, moreover, shall they take anything given as a gift under the appearance or pretext that things of this kind serve ecclesiastical use, such as corporals, purificators, clerical garments, sacred images, and other things of that kind.
Nor shall they accept from them anything else elaborated by manual work or skillfully fashioned, nor even the labor or work bestowed upon cleaning, mending, or repairing garments.
Let the priests who serve the chapel likewise take care not to receive from any nun privately, but only from the Superior of the monastery or from the nun placed over the sacristy, a commission to celebrate Masses. They shall converse only with that Superior or sacristan, and not with other nuns, and then only about matters which pertain solely to their office.
The same shall be observed by the nuns concerning this whole class of matters, a penalty being proposed both for them and for the chaplains at the Bishop’s discretion.
But wherever it shall appear proper, with the Bishop’s permission, to give some annual stipend to confessors, chaplains, or priests for the support of life, it shall altogether be given as a definite sum of money, unless the Bishop should sometimes concede otherwise—namely, that wheat, wine, or something of this kind be given in place of money.
Let the Bishop choose several pious and likewise diligent men who, especially on feast days, shall approach monasteries of nuns, even those subject to the law or care of Regulars, and inspect them everywhere from outside, to see whether anything is done or carried on contrary to what has been prescribed concerning them, and whether anyone converses with them without having obtained permission.
Whenever a new monastery of nuns is constructed, particular care shall be taken that no window or lookout faces anywhere except inward upon the enclosure of the monastery.
That enclosure shall be closed not by a simple wall, but by the cloisters and porticoes themselves.
In the middle of its enclosure, however, a garden may be established over a great part of it.
Let it be the Bishop’s care that monasteries already built be accommodated or refashioned according to the pattern of this form, so far as it can be done.
The lesser offices—such as those placed over the door, the turn, conversations, or the instruction of novices; those placed over the sacristy; those who preside over the nuns who occupy themselves by the industry of their hands; and those who perform the office of scribe or accountant and who minister to the sick—shall be bestowed, by the person who presides over the election together with the confessor, Superior, Vicaress, and Discreets, upon those whom in the judgment of their consciences they deem suitable. By this decree no derogation shall be made from those monasteries in which nuns are customarily elected to offices of this kind by the votes of the Chapter.
The offices of those who have been elected shall be for two years, or, in monasteries where that is the custom, for three at most. When they have completed them, let them remain free from offices for at least an equal length of time. Nor can they be confirmed in the same offices by the nuns unless a grave cause exists, approved by the judgment of the Superior, who can also remove them from office before the appointed time if they administer it badly.
Those who have been elected shall undertake their offices as their obedience demands and shall humbly execute their duties without refusal. Those who act otherwise without a just cause approved by the Superior shall, at his discretion, be deprived of the right of voting, so that they can neither elect others nor be elected by others.
The Superior of the monastery, as the common mother of all the nuns, shall most diligently take counsel for the welfare of both their bodies and their souls. She shall diligently admonish them to be pure of heart, preserve integrity of life, and strive toward the perfection of all virtues. For those who have undertaken religious life, unless they endeavor according to their strength to attain that highest degree, assuredly accomplish less than they ought according to the institute of their life and order—
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—which they profess. Let her remember, however, that she must render to the most just Judge an account of all the faults which the nuns have committed through her negligence or fault.
Above all, let her take care that the peace and concord of the sisters be preserved, with all causes of dissension and discord removed so far as she can accomplish it, so that, as they ought, they may be bound together as one body and one spirit in their Spouse Jesus Christ by the perfect bond of charity.
Let her also strive that each rightly perform her own duty and that no one occupy the office of another except for the sake of assistance and at her own command; that everything be performed in order; and especially that silence be observed at the prescribed hours and places. But if anyone’s importunity, in deed or word, has disturbed the sisters’ peace and violated charity, let her be most sharply punished by the Superior herself and, if need arises, by the higher Superior of the nuns also, and let the pride of her spirit be subdued.
All the nuns shall render complete obedience and observance to this Superior or to her Vicaress, who in her absence possesses her authority and place, as their vow demands.
But any nun who has neglected her commands and has been unwilling to undergo the penance imposed upon her, or has answered proudly and injuriously without regard for her dignity, or by contumacious defense or excuse has impeded her from rebuking or chastising those who have committed some offense, shall be accused before the higher Superior by those whom we called Discreets, so that she may pay grave penalties for her contumacy and insolence. If the Discreets do not do this, they shall be compelled on one occasion to apply scourges to themselves under the name of discipline and to take their food upon the ground.
Every week the Superior shall also hold an assembly or Chapter of the nuns, for the purpose of correcting the nuns for the faults which they have committed publicly or in the duty of their offices. They shall spontaneously and humbly seek pardon for them before everyone; the Superior shall impose penance upon them and employ the other measures handed down in their institutes for keeping the pious in humility and contempt of self and for making them diligently pursue all virtues.
Let the nuns take care not stubbornly to refuse a penance imposed by the Superior, nor with a malicious spirit to reproach one another with offenses from an earlier time.
The penalty for one who has committed this shall be that she immediately kiss the ground at the feet of each nun and apply scourges to herself as a discipline.
In matters of somewhat greater gravity, the Superiors shall decide nothing unless the greater part of the Discreets, or Mothers of Council, know and consent.
But in matters which require greater deliberation, the Superiors shall summon the whole Chapter of nuns, and what has pleased the greater part of the nuns shall be ratified by them.
In all secret ballots, however, let the nuns take care not to hand the voting balls or counters into one another’s hands. The penalty for those who commit this shall be that, deprived of participation in Chapter, they can neither elect nor be elected by vote, at the discretion of the Superior.
None shall be admitted to cast votes concerning any matter referred to them except those who have dwelt in the monastery for three years after making profession.
The Discreets shall excel the other nuns in uprightness and prudence.
They shall not be fewer than four where the nuns are no more than forty; but if there are more, at least six shall be created.
Nuns of mature age and proven uprightness shall be placed over the hearing of the conversations of the others. They shall perform their office diligently and faithfully, and shall stand by the other nuns who are speaking in such a manner that they themselves hear and diligently notice whatever has been said or done, both inside and outside. They shall not permit anything to be uttered so secretly that it escapes their notice, nor anything unworthy of the handmaids of God to be said or done. If anything contrary to this is committed through their fault or negligence, they shall be punished with the gravest penalty at the discretion of their Superior.
The appointed Mistress of Novices alone, and no one else, shall have the care of the novices in a place separated from the other nuns.
She shall instruct the novices in the fear and worship of God and in the observance of religious life. By the example of a life offering no occasion for rebuke and by continual admonitions, she shall endeavor so to instruct them in the manner of a spiritual and holy life that, advancing with God’s assistance, they may become His perfect handmaids.
But any nun who has rashly assumed the task of instructing one of the novices shall be deprived of the right of voting, so that she can neither elect nor be elected for as long as shall please the Superior.
During the day the doors of the monastery enclosure shall be locked with at least one key, which shall be kept by the senior doorkeeper so that they can be opened when necessary. They shall by no means be opened unless both doorkeepers are present. At night they shall be locked with two different keys, one of which shall be kept by the Superior and the other by the same senior doorkeeper.
When the doors are opened for some necessary cause, the nuns shall not dare to approach them in order to look at anything outside or to converse with anyone at all, whether man or woman. A nun who dares to do this shall be confined in a cell and remain there as long as shall seem good to the Superior. The woman placed over the door shall be punished by the same penalty if she either permitted it or did not immediately report petulance of this kind to the Superior.
At the time when offices are changed, one or two mature and prudent nuns shall be placed over the labors of the nuns.
At the turn they shall receive the things to be worked upon and distribute them to those fit to perform that work. When the works have been completed, they shall return them through the same turn to their owners after receiving the payment, always in the presence of the nun placed over the turn.
No other nun shall accept anything to be worked upon, not even from kindred or relations by marriage. A nun who acts contrary to this shall on every occasion apply scourges to herself under the name of discipline in the place where the nuns occupy themselves in completing works.
If any nun, not impeded by illness or another just cause, has abstained from labors of this kind through laziness, idleness, or a certain stubbornness, she shall be deprived of side dishes for the whole time during which she has not applied herself to labor.
In the place where the nuns occupy themselves in labors, a reading shall likewise be employed every day. When it has been completed, they shall discuss among themselves what they have heard and, vying to cast out vices, exhort one another to attain the virtues.
Let the Mistress of Labors take care that secular conversation or songs, or anything abhorrent from the condition and institute of nuns, are not introduced.
The Superiors, even if their office is perpetual, the scribes, and all the others who administer the goods of the monastery in any manner shall keep the prescribed account of them faithfully and accurately.
Every three months they shall present to the Chapter a summary account of receipts and expenditures, so that all may be able to understand the state of the monastery’s affairs. But every year they shall render separately an account of all the things which they have administered to the higher Superior or his Vicar and, if there are any, to the appointed administrators of the monastery. Those who have claimed the monastery’s goods for themselves or wrongfully lost them shall be punished most sharply at the discretion of the Superior.
So that no occasion of fraud may remain, in each monastery a chest shall be established for this use, that the common money be placed in it. It shall be locked with two keys different from one another, one of which shall be kept by the Superior of the monastery and the other by the senior Discreet. The chest shall not be opened, money placed in it, or money taken from it unless the Superior, the senior Discreet, and the nun-scribe who enters its account are present.
The doors of the granary and of the place where flour is kept shall likewise be locked with two different keys, each of which shall be kept by one of the Mothers placed over that duty. She shall always be present when wheat or flour is brought in or carried out.
The Superior and nuns shall in no way be able to alienate, exchange, lease, or contract concerning the goods of the monastery unless the higher Superior of the property or his Vicar knows, consents, and is present, and the other requirements of law are likewise observed. Otherwise the contract shall be invalid and null.
Likewise, they shall not build unless the higher Superior and the citizens who are administrators of the monastery consent. These shall take care that it be done conveniently and becomingly at the least possible expense.
Those placed over the care of the sick shall show themselves pious and merciful toward them, with the greatest patience and diligence they can, and shall show themselves toward them as they would wish others to be if they themselves were sick.
Food and suitable medicines shall be provided to the sick by the Superior and the ministers elected for this purpose, as the resources of the monastery permit.
The Superior, however, shall visit them every day for the sake of charity, both to be a consolation to them and to learn better from them and provide what they need.
But if one dies, the confessor, together with a companion whom the higher Superior has approved, shall enter the enclosure of the monastery when her body is to be given burial, and shall piously and swiftly perform the office which must be discharged at that time.
CONCERNING GIRLS TO BE ADMITTED TO RELIGIOUS LIFE
As soon as girls are offered to receive the sacred habit, the Superior of the nuns shall admonish their parents, or those to whose care they are entrusted, of the excommunication proposed by the holy Council of Trent for those who compel their own or another’s girls against their will to receive or profess religious life. The same shall be done by their higher Superior when his consent is required.
In monasteries in which there are fewer than fifty nuns, only two sisters by blood, or three who are of one stock and family, may be received.
But where there are more than fifty nuns, only three sisters, or four women of the same family, may be received, if it shall so appear to the Chapter of nuns.
The Superior and nuns shall not dare to promise anything concerning a girl to be admitted to religious life by their votes, or to convene the Chapter, before the girl has been secretly examined and approved in a free place by the Bishop or by the person to whom he has delegated this duty, has obtained in writing the faculty of receiving religious life in that monastery, and the higher Superior of that monastery has also consented.
All of them shall first inquire diligently concerning the girl’s morals, life, age—which must be more than twelve years—and free and pious will.
At least one year before she is examined and proposed to the Chapter of nuns for admission, she shall have disclosed to the Bishop, the nuns, and their higher Superior her purpose of receiving religious life in that monastery, so that an inquiry of this kind can meanwhile be made maturely.
During that same time she shall confess her sins once each month to the confessor of that monastery, or to the person to whom the Bishop has committed the duty of hearing these girls; she shall receive the most holy Eucharist and speak very frequently with the nuns in the places for conversation, so that she may both be examined more accurately by them and be better admonished concerning everything that she will have to do and endure for the sake of religious life within the monastery enclosure, lest at any time she be able to complain and plead ignorance as an excuse.
Secret ballots shall be cast concerning a girl to be admitted to religious life, and afterward likewise concerning a novice to be admitted to profession, so that the individual nuns, impeded by no affection, may freely satisfy their consciences.
A girl of this kind shall not be received into religious life, nor a novice to profession, unless she has obtained two-thirds of the votes.
The admission of a girl to religious life made otherwise than prescribed shall be invalid and null.
The Superior through whose fault or negligence it was done shall be understood to be removed from the administration of her office or even deprived of it for six months by the fact itself.
The Superior shall immediately inform the higher Superior of the outcome of the votes, so that the name of the woman received may be entered by him in the book instituted for this use.
As soon as any girl has been received by the votes of the Chapter, she shall immediately put aside all luxury in dress and empty ornament. She shall be clothed in black, dark-brown, or white clothing, but not silk, with such modesty and submissiveness that all may understand that she has renounced the world in order to serve God religiously. She shall always use this clothing until she enters the monastery and shall meanwhile abstain from dances and empty spectacles.
A girl received in the manner stated shall not be clothed with the garments of the nuns in the monastery until six months after she has been received, and this with the permission of the Bishop and the higher Superior of the nuns. They shall be free either to lengthen or shorten that period of six months as shall appear expedient to them.
To avoid tumult, she shall be conducted to the monastery in the morning by her closest female relatives, with no pomp and no invitation of others, and shall be introduced alone into the interior Church of the monastery. After hearing Mass, receiving Communion, and employing the other solemn ceremonies, she shall be clothed before the other nuns by the higher Superior or the confessor of the monastery, who shall accompany so grave and sacred an action with an appropriate discourse. The same shall also be observed at profession.
The higher Superior or confessor shall employ this precaution: he shall not impose upon the novice girl the name of Gentile women, but that of holy women celebrated by the Church.
After a girl has received the clothing of the nuns, she shall no longer be able to depart from the enclosure of the monastery, unless perhaps before profession she repents of having entered the monastery. But if she has once departed, no faculty of returning shall thereafter be granted to her.
On account of a novice, before profession, nothing shall be given to the monastery according to the decree of the Council of Trent except what is necessary for her food and clothing during the time she is in the novitiate. We will that the whole of this be paid before the girl enters the monastery.
§ 3, continued.
CONCERNING NOVICES TO BE RECEIVED TO PROFESSION
Since, by the decree of the Council of Trent, a profession made before the completion of the sixteenth year and before the completion of the period of probation after receiving the habit is null and produces no obligation, let the Bishops take care that no novice be admitted to profession before that age and time.
Thirty days beforehand the Superior shall inform the Bishop of the time at which a novice is to make profession, so that either he himself or, if he is absent or impeded, another to whom he has given that task may ascertain the novice’s will; may examine whether she is of the condition which the rule of that monastery and order requires, and whether the monastery itself is suitable; and, finally, may demonstrate how grave that matter is and how many things the three vows of religion require, so that before she is received to profession she may understand the force of the bond by which she wishes to bind herself.
If the Superior neglects to do this, she shall by the decree of the same Council of Trent be removed from her office for as long as shall seem good to the Bishop.
The novice shall not be examined within the monastery enclosure, but outside it in the public Church of that monastery, so that she may freely and confidently explain her will.
That which, after profession has been made, is given to the monastery as alms for the support of the professed woman shall, at the time when the girl receives the religious habit, be deposited with a man approved by the nuns and their higher Superior, so that it may be available to the nuns at that time without any impediment.
No renunciation of property shall be made by a novice except, as was commanded by the Council of Trent, with permission granted by the Bishop or his Vicar, within the two months immediately preceding profession.
And since nuns who, after making profession, have received the veil ought to recite the divine office of their religious order every day, no one shall be admitted to profession who does not know how to read competently and learn the office. The person whose duty it is to examine them must test this, and shall order her to read in his presence.
The profession, and the day and year on which it was made, shall be preserved in memory in a book made for that use by the hand of the nun who performs the office of scribe, with the signature of the woman professed, provided that she knows how to write, and of the higher Superior who admitted her.
On the day when a girl makes profession or puts on the monastic habit, banquets shall not be held nor sweetmeats given by her relatives and friends in the guesthouses or buildings of the nuns.
CONCERNING THE DIVINE OFFICES, PRAYERS, AND READING OF THE NUNS
Since it especially pertains to consecrated women continually to praise God, the Creator, Preserver, and Redeemer of the world; to give thanks to Him; and to beseech Him to impart His mercy to all men for salvation, all the nuns shall therefore frequent the choir by day and night and be present at the sacred offices celebrated by themselves distinctly and attentively, both with the voice and with a pious affection of the mind. Only those whose excuse of a just impediment the Superior has accepted are excepted.
Each shall be present at the beginning of the divine offices, clothed in the suitable dress of her order and in her own proper place, and shall remain until the end, not departing before the Superior, or another in her place, has given the signal for departure, unless necessity demands otherwise and the same Superior permits it.
Sounds and songs which are not upright and spiritual, conversations, laughter, and whatever else is unworthy of the house of God and of His divine Majesty, with whom we converse in prayer, shall be altogether removed.
Any nun who acts contrary to these commands shall be sharply punished at the Superior’s discretion according to the measure of the fault.
And because the prayer of the mind excels that which is expressed only by the mouth by as much as the soul is more excellent than the body; brings incredible consolation and fruit to the pious; and daily heaps new gifts upon them, converting them in a certain manner to God: therefore, in addition to the canonical hours and the other prayers which they are bound by office to have, all the nuns, affiliated women, and converse sisters shall assemble in choir every day, unless necessarily impeded, and employ mental prayer for at least one hour—namely, half an hour after Matins and likewise after None or Compline. With their minds lifted to God, they shall contemplate pious and salutary matters, and especially meditate diligently upon the life and doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ and His holy mysteries: namely, His Passion, death, Resurrection, Ascension into Heaven, final coming for judgment, the glory of the blessed, the punishments of the damned, and other matters of this kind which pertain to the glory of God and their own salvation and that of their neighbors.
But since the holy Synod of Trent forbids the most holy Body of Christ to be preserved in the choir or the monastery enclosure, rather than in the public Church, let the Superiors bring it about that this decree is obeyed everywhere.
On feast days, so that idleness, from which all evils arise, may be avoided, the nuns shall consume the time remaining to them after the divine offices and customary prayers in sacred and other reading which leads them to a knowledge of God and of themselves and shows the way of perfection and eternal life. They shall do this either separately or together, since reading of this kind is a sweet and fruitful delight of souls, restrains vices, and inflames toward virtues; but, on the contrary, the reading of empty books corrupts minds.
Lest this occur, the higher Superior or confessor shall inspect and review all the books of the monastery, compelling each nun by virtue of obedience to produce her own.
CONCERNING THE PRACTICE OF COMMON LIFE AND THE ABOLITION OF PROPERTY
In all monasteries, as regards food, drink, sleep, and other things, let all live in common, as was decreed by the holy Council of Trent. Let nothing differ among them; let no one be preferred or postponed to another, as the vow of poverty demands, so that “yours” and “mine,” and every private possession of things, may be entirely removed in deed and word, as also every superfluous and empty use of things.
Let there be no one who possesses or employs anything as her own, even if it has been granted for a necessity.
Therefore, all the revenues of the monastery, of whatsoever kind they may be, including alms and gains from labors, books also, legacies, and movable and immovable goods which they have received by testament, donation, or any other cause, shall be contributed by the individual nuns for the common utility of the monastery. The Superior, according to her prudence and humanity, shall from these goods make provision especially for the need of the very nun to whom they would have pertained had the vow of poverty not stood in the way.
And so that every occasion of private ownership may be removed from monasteries, confessors and Superiors, for the sake of observing the vow of poverty more exactly, shall endeavor to persuade the nuns to arrange that all linen, woolen, fur, or other garments of any kind be kept in a common place; and that, at the time offices are changed, two of the nuns be placed over shaking out, cleaning, and mending them. These women shall distribute them to the sisters each week according to the season and as use demands, and no one shall keep any garments in her possession except those necessary for daily use. The garments of sick women suspected of contagion shall be kept separately or left with the sick women themselves.
Gifts sent to individual nuns shall be brought to the Superior, and no one shall be able to receive or use one unless the Superior knows and consents. She ought to devote herself entirely to rooting out from the monastery the vice of property ownership as a cause of many evils, nor shall she permit anyone to keep money in her possession.
Three times each year, the Superior, together with the Discreets, shall diligently examine and search the cells and furnishings of the individual nuns, lest anyone possess anything as her own or more than has been granted for her use.
If anyone has been discovered or convicted of retaining private property, she shall for two years be deprived of active and passive voting rights, according to the decree of the Council of Trent, and shall also be punished according to the constitutions of her rule and order; much more shall one be punished who has secretly claimed for herself something from the common property or from that which was assigned for another’s use.
If, moreover, a mirror, little dog, ointments, perfumes, or anything of this kind of empty things is found in anyone’s possession, the higher Superior shall immediately take care that it is removed from the monastery and that the woman with whom it was found is sharply punished.
No nun, whether a veiled nun or a lay sister, can give as alms, bestow, or sell food, clothes, or goods of any kind, even if they have been assigned for her use, nor can she bequeath them at all. One who acts otherwise shall have her veil taken away for a month and shall be compelled three times to afflict herself with blows as a discipline.
In this matter, however, the Superior shall retain the full power to grant permission to anyone to whom she judges it ought to be granted to bestow something for devotion and religion, or some other small thing, upon relatives and those who have deserved well.
At the sound of the smaller bell, all shall assemble for the blessing of the table, which shall be given by the Superior or Vicaress, or, in their absence, by the senior Discreet.
Then, reclining in their place and order, they shall not depart before thanks have been given to God. One who has not obeyed shall be deprived of side dishes for one day and compelled to sit in the last place at table.
Morning and evening, at the first and second table, some spiritual book which kindles religious devotion shall be read every day, while all who recline listen with silence and attention, so that the soul may be refreshed together with the body.
All the nuns shall, if possible, sleep in one place, very securely locked by the Superior or the Vicaress, whose keys shall be kept by the Superior herself.
Each shall sleep altogether in a separate bed, and also in a separate cell if there is such an abundance of cells that they can contain everyone. But the cells shall be open by day and night so that the Superior may inspect them at every hour. When the signal for going to bed has been given and the sleeping place has been locked, the Superior, her Vicaress, or one of the Discreets shall visit all the cells to observe whether all are sleeping in their own places.
CONCERNING ENCLOSURE AND MATTERS WHICH IN ANY WAY PERTAIN TO MAINTAINING IT
No diligence ought to appear excessive to nuns for guarding that treasure on whose account, renouncing kindred, family property, and all earthly things and cares, they have enclosed themselves within the monastery enclosure.
Therefore, so that their holy purpose may be fortified on that side which lies most open to the devil’s snares, let the Bishops take care that two iron grilles or gratings are established at every small window where conversation is held, at least one palm apart from one another.
Between the iron bars of which each grille is constructed there shall be altogether no more than one inch. The bars shall be so solid that they can neither readily be broken nor bent.
To the innermost grille, which the nuns approach for conversation, there shall be affixed an iron plate which cannot be moved and is perforated with small holes for the convenience of hearing only. A black linen cloth, affixed to wooden tablets in the manner of a window which can be opened when conversation is to be held, shall be placed upon it.
In that plate a square little window of only nine inches may be made. Its key shall be kept by the Superior, and it shall not be lawful to open that little window except when conversation is to be held with the Bishop or the Superiors of the order, with the parents or siblings of the nuns, with others joined by a close degree of kinship, when some legal instrument must be drawn up, or when a sacred discourse must be heard.
As regards the concession of this small window, those monasteries are excepted whose nuns, by law or custom, are never accustomed to be seen by persons outside.
The doors of the places assigned solely to conversation, both inside and outside, shall always be locked. Their keys shall be with the most senior of the nuns placed over hearing conversations, and they shall be opened only when there is need of a longer conversation. Otherwise, through the little grilled window of the door, while the door remains closed, the doorkeeper shall answer those who knock; the sister at the turn shall answer from the turn.
But the places assigned to conversation inside and outside shall always lie open while persons are speaking there, so that it can be seen who they are.
Within one month, the doors through which access lies from the monastery enclosure into the exterior Church shall be obstructed by a wall. If anything contrary to this is committed through the fault or negligence of the Superior, she shall be deprived of both her office and her veil at the discretion of the higher Superior.
All windows and gratings, and every place through which the nuns can look into the exterior Church, shall be walled up, except the window in which the turn is placed, the little window established solely for the reception of the most holy Eucharist, and the window through which they may behold the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ elevated by the celebrating priest.
That window shall be perpetually covered with a linen cloth, which shall be removed only when the most holy Eucharist is elevated. The arrangement of the window shall be such that the priest cannot behold the nuns from the altar.
Let the Bishops and other Superiors take care that monasteries cannot be looked into from the neighboring buildings, whoever their occupants may be, and especially if the buildings of brothers of any order or of presbyters overlook them. In that case they shall command that the walls be raised higher and new ones built at the expense of those whose Bishops—
[The sentence continues in source chunk B6-082.]
§ 3, continued.
—and those who are the administrators of the monasteries shall judge to be concerned, every appeal being removed.
For this reason they shall also implore the assistance of secular Princes, so that the nuns, free from the sight and hearing of persons outside, may securely walk through the monastery.
Henceforth Regular men shall not migrate to those places, nor buy plots adjoining monasteries of nuns for the purpose of building, from which a view of the nuns may be obtained. We forbid the nuns hereafter to build monasteries neighboring the buildings of Regular men or places from which they themselves can be seen by them.
Buildings next to monasteries of consecrated women shall not be leased to women of ill repute.
Nor shall spectacles, songs, dances, games, and profane and empty things of this kind be practiced there, which could call them away from sacred duty or furnish them with a cause of offense.
As was sanctioned by the holy Council of Trent, it shall under no circumstances be lawful for a professed nun to depart from the monastery enclosure except for a legitimate cause approved by the Bishop.
But permission to depart of this kind shall by no means be granted unless a most grave matter and supreme necessity demand it; nor shall it be granted to those nuns for whom departure is unlawful except by concession of the Supreme Pontiff. Apostates, fugitives, and those expelled from monasteries on account of an offense, who wander with or without the sacred dress, not without scandal to religious life, shall be compelled by the Bishops and their other Superiors, with the aid also of secular Princes being sought, to return to their monasteries, so that there they may pay fitting penalties for their crimes. But if it appears to the Superiors that they ought by no means to be restored to the monasteries, let them be enrolled, together with the goods which they brought to the monastery, among those women whom they call converse. When those women have died, the goods shall be restored to the former monastery. If any nun has introduced into the monastery enclosure a male or female of any age or condition, even her mother or sisters, she shall be confined in prison for three months; on every Friday while she fasts, nothing but bread and water shall be furnished to her for food and drink; and her veil shall be taken away for a year. Those placed over the turn and the door shall undergo the same penalty, as shall also the Superiors and any others by whose consent it was committed.
But whatever cleric, whether secular or Regular of any order, or layman of whatsoever status, dignity, rank, or condition, has dared to enter the enclosure of the nuns by day or night shall, besides the penalty of excommunication which he incurs by the law itself under the decree of the Council of Trent, also be punished with other most grave penalties, account being taken of the person and crime. If he is an ecclesiastic or possesses benefices, he shall at the will of the Ordinary also be prohibited from the ministry of his orders and deprived of all his benefices. From this decree we except those to whom the Superior, on account of labor and skill necessary to the monastery, has granted in writing a faculty of entering the enclosure, to be renewed every year. But he shall remember that the Council of Trent has taken away from him the right of granting faculties of this kind except in necessary cases. He shall therefore take care that persons outside are not introduced into monastery enclosures to perform duties which the nuns within can discharge. And so that one and the same rule for discerning this necessity may be observed everywhere, and that ready practice of granting permission may be restrained, the Bishop, having called into counsel all the Superiors of monasteries, even Regulars, shall establish and prescribe what works require the necessary entrance of persons outside into monasteries. Whatever rule he prescribes in this matter shall be inviolably observed by all, even Regulars.
Within the enclosure of a monastery, males and females of every kind, even if they serve the nuns themselves or are advanced in age, shall for no reason pass the night. The penalty of excommunication latae sententiae is proposed, which both the person who passes the night and the Superior who permits it shall undergo; other penalties shall be added at the discretion of the higher Superior. Nor shall they keep within the same enclosure oxen, horses, or beasts of burden of any kind.
If the contrary is done, the Superior shall be removed from the duty of her office for three months.
The nuns shall converse with no person outside at all unless that person brings permission written and sealed by the Superior of the monastery or by the person whom he has substituted in his name, and copied without charge in the episcopal chancery. A nun who acts contrary to this shall for three months be deprived of the faculty of speaking with any person outside of either sex, even relatives, and shall be compelled on each Friday during that time publicly to apply scourges to herself under the name of discipline and to pray with the Psalm “Have mercy on me, O God.”
Written permissions shall be received by those placed over the turn and carried to the Superior before the nuns named in the writing are summoned. When the Superior has read the writing and recognized the hand and seal of the person whose office it is to grant permission for conversation, after giving her blessing she shall permit those named in the writing to speak only with the persons expressly described, and this at the common little window for conversation, not at the door, in the Church, or elsewhere, with the nuns appointed to that duty always present as witnesses. Those who approach for conversation shall bring their speaking to an end briefly and shall take care not to consume in empty or useless conversation time, than which nothing is more precious.
It must not be tolerated that nuns, especially on sacred days, wander from prayer and other pious exercises and consume time in conversations which are by no means necessary.
Therefore, on days when the most holy Eucharist is received, whenever feast days of obligation are celebrated by the Church, during Advent and Lent, on vigils of obligation, and finally whenever divine offices are being performed, the nuns shall converse with no person outside at all, unless necessity so demands.
Neither the nuns placed over hearing conversations nor those who will speak shall communicate to anyone at all what they have received from persons outside, lest the monastery be filled with absurd and empty rumors, except to the Superior if it appears expedient to them that some things be reported to her.
Let the Superior and those placed over hearing conversations be vigilant that no one approach to converse with the nuns under the feigned name of the person named in the written permission. If anyone has committed this, he shall be punished by the Bishop; the nun who conversed with him, and those who knowingly permitted it, shall be punished by their Superior with a grave penalty at their discretion according to the prescription of these constitutions.
Whatever cleric, whether secular or Regular of any order, or layman of whatsoever status, dignity, rank, and condition, has approached a monastery of nuns and held a conversation with one of them without obtaining the faculty of speaking as prescribed shall be gravely punished.
By this edict, however, we do not will fathers or brothers to be bound. Without obtaining that faculty of speaking, but with the other rules enacted concerning this very matter observed, they shall be permitted to speak only with their daughters and sisters, but never to enter the enclosure.
No one at all, sacred or profane, male or female, shall be permitted to approach monasteries of nuns for the purpose of teaching the chant which they call figured.
In those monasteries, however, in which the organ is played not by secular persons in the exterior Church but by the nuns inside, the Superior may permit a man approved by the Bishop in morals and age to teach only the nun-organist the art of playing outside at the nuns’ little window for conversation, if it is necessary for her to make greater progress in that kind of study.
While learning, she shall remain inside at the small window itself; two of those placed over hearing conversations shall always stand beside her.
Anyone who acts contrary to this, whether the Superior or another, shall be deprived of the veil and afflicted with other penalties at the discretion of the higher Superior.
Henceforth an organ shall not be installed unless the place in which it may fittingly be placed has first been approved by the judgment of the Superior.
The nuns themselves are also forbidden, whether inside or through others outside, to play musical instruments apart from the organ and the harpsichord by which the art of playing the organ is learned.
It shall not be lawful for nuns, for the sake of deposit or safekeeping, to hold in the monastery the money, jewels, garments, or any things of that kind belonging to any person, not even vessels of flowers or plants.
But if they have any at present, they shall return them within three months to those to whom they belong, so that every cause of inconvenience may be removed.
For the contumacious or negligent the penalty shall be deprivation of office for the Superiors and deprivation of the veil for the others.
The nuns shall not use secular male or female clothing even for the sake of relaxing the mind, since it is unbecoming for the handmaids of God to put on garments alien to their profession. But, with decorum always observed and with the Superior’s permission, it shall be lawful to relax the mind in a manner upright for every time and action and becoming to virgins consecrated to God.
We also forbid the nuns to make little confections or other things of this kind for the purpose of giving them away, because of the loss of time and the expense bestowed upon them. One who commits or permits anything contrary to the decree shall be punished at the discretion of the higher Superior; but action shall be taken especially against the Superior.
No nun shall be permitted secretly to write letters to anyone except the higher Superior and Bishop, if he must be admonished concerning some grave matter.
Nor shall she open and read letters sent to her unless the Superior has first read them in the presence of the Vicaress or has ordered them to be read in her own presence.
A nun who, contrary to this law, has written or received letters shall not set foot out of her cell for two months, and shall be compelled on every Friday to fast in such a manner that she eats only bread and water. And if those letters contain some suspicion of a crime, the person to whom they were written shall, besides the aforesaid penalty, for six months be deprived both of the faculty of speaking at the nuns’ little window for conversation and of her veil.
But so that the Superior cannot be deceived by fabricated letters shown to her which differ from those received and those through which a reply was made, those placed over the turn shall receive all letters which reach the monastery and shall immediately bring them to the Superior. From her they shall also receive letters written by the nuns, closed and sealed in her presence, and afterward hand them to messengers outside.
CONCERNING THE CONVERSE SISTERS
Converse sisters at least forty years of age and approved by the higher Superior shall have the faculty of departing from the monastery enclosure for business necessary to the monastery, yet with the Superior’s permission whenever they must depart.
The Superior shall also be free, if it shall so appear, always to retain them within the enclosure; we vehemently exhort her to do this, provided that she can.
They shall not go forth to funerals except those who belong to mendicant orders.
When going out, they shall go forth in pairs, and shall not depart farther from one another than permits them mutually to see and hear each other.
If it should happen that they leave the city, they shall always sleep in the same bed. They shall take care not to enter the house of any person of ill repute, even if that person has deserved well of the monastery.
Nor shall they pass the night in dwellings where no other upright women reside, nor secretly carry letters or instructions.
Nor shall they report to the nuns anything empty which they have seen or heard outside.
For those who offend, the penalty shall be prison, or even a graver penalty, at the discretion of the higher Superior.
CONCERNING SECULAR GIRLS WHO ARE EDUCATED IN MONASTERIES
Secular girls of every birth, condition, and age who now reside within the monastery enclosure for education or another cause shall be compelled to leave the monastery after one year, unless, endowed with all the qualifications required for receiving religious life by the institutes of the monastery and the decrees of the Council of Trent and of these constitutions, they wish to assume monastic clothing. The Bishops are nevertheless permitted the faculty, for a probable cause, of extending the time at their discretion, with the consent of the Regular Superior in those monasteries subject to him.
Hereafter girls shall not be received into monasteries for education without permission granted in writing by the Bishop and by the Regular Superior if the monastery is subject to him, to which the written consent of the Metropolitan shall also first have been added.
This permission shall not be granted to girls who have persons by whom they can suitably be governed and educated, or to those who have not completed their tenth year, or who are older than fifteen years.
Those who once depart from a monastery shall no longer be admitted either into it or into any other, unless they wish to become nuns. Girls of this kind shall use only black, dark-brown, or elsewhere other-colored clothing, not silk. They shall use no added kind of ornament; they shall not be adorned, nor possess earrings, necklaces, or luxuries of that kind.
They shall not converse with relatives or other persons outside unless the same requirements decreed above concerning nuns in this matter are observed.
They shall sleep, take food, and remain in a place separated from the nuns, except for those placed over governing and instructing them; and they shall have no association with any nun except in the Church when Mass or the divine offices are celebrated.
For the food and education of the girls, no less than thirty gold coins shall be paid to the monastery each year, half of which money shall be paid every six months. But if that money has not been paid during those six months, the girl shall be sent back to her family, whom the magistrates shall compel to satisfy the monastery entirely.
Any one of these girls who wishes to become a nun shall be sent to her relatives or those who have care of her, with whom she shall remain for at least one month before she is examined by the Bishop or his ministers, so that her free will can be inquired into and examined more readily and better.
It shall not be lawful for the nuns to teach either letters or any art at all to girls living outside in their own homes, not even at the little windows or other places for conversation. If the Superior of the nuns has permitted this in any manner, she shall be deprived of the office of administration for six months.
CONCERNING PREACHERS, CONFESSORS, VISITORS, AND CHAPLAINS
Those who preside over monasteries shall employ learned, prudent, and pious preachers, who at least twice each month shall preach the word of God at the grilles for the nuns’ conversation or the small windows of the Church and instruct them in everything pertaining to the worship of God and the attainment of eternal salvation.
Preachers shall not be permitted to converse separately with the nuns unless permission is granted to them by the Superior of the monastery.
Confessors advanced in age, prudent, and fearing God shall also be placed over the nuns. At least once each month they shall hear the sins of the nuns and administer the most holy Eucharist to them, as the holy Council of Trent judged ought to be done.
No Regular shall be able to hear the sins of the nuns unless he has first been approved by the general Chapter, the General of his order, or, in his absence, by his Vicar General. He shall furnish proof of this to the Bishop of the place where the monastery is situated or to his Vicar. All confessors of nuns, both secular and Regular, shall be changed after two years, or three at most, unless some just or necessary cause shall appear to the Bishop, or to the General of the order if the monastery is subject to Regulars, to demand that their term be extended.
They shall not be able to enter the monastery enclosure unless this has been conceded to them by the Superior for some cause, except in the case of administering the Sacraments to sick nuns when they labor under a grave and dangerous illness.
While they remain within the enclosure, two or three nuns who excel the others in age shall accompany them. The same nuns shall accompany all persons who enter the monastery enclosure, even Superiors and visitors, after the nuns have first been given the signal to withdraw by the sound of the smaller bell. Unless the Superior observes this custom, she shall be removed from office at the discretion of the higher Superior.
Confessors shall not remain for the purpose of taking food in those places of the monasteries called guesthouses except during the time of confessions.
Even then they shall not sleep there at night unless death threatens one of the nuns, so that they can be at hand to administer the Sacraments and perform the remaining offices of piety, or unless they have no dwelling near the monastery, as occurs in many monasteries situated in the diocese.
No secular or Regular confessor shall be permitted to dwell continually in the guesthouses and buildings of the nuns or to live there at their expense. If persons sleep in places adjoining the monastery, there shall be no windows or turn; and if there are, they shall immediately be covered with a wall, so that nothing done or said in that place can be seen or heard by the nuns.
The grille, plate, and linen cloth of the small window of the place where the nuns confess shall adhere together in such a way that they cannot be removed and that from there persons can only be heard and can by no means be seen.
Confessors who offend in these matters shall immediately be deprived of office, and at the discretion of the higher Superior the faculty both of approaching that monastery and of administering divine things to them shall be taken away.
All Regulars and other clerics of every kind shall undergo the same penalty if they take food or sleep in the places for conversation or guesthouses of the nuns, or give gifts to or receive them from any nun who is not joined to them in the second or a closer degree of kinship.
Higher Superiors, however, may at their discretion converse with them and eat and sleep in the guesthouses while they visit the monasteries, provided that houses of the brethren of their order are not there. If there are such houses, they ought to lodge with them and not be burdensome to the nuns.
The same Superiors shall not receive money, gifts, or rewards from the nuns, so that the nuns may understand clearly that in a visitation of this kind they take counsel only for the glory of God and the salvation of the nuns.
But it shall be lawful for those Superiors who are oppressed by want to live at the expense of the nuns when they visit them or approach for another cause which concerns the nuns’ utility.
Regulars who are brothers of nuns shall, with the permission of the Superiors as stated above, be permitted once each year to converse with their sisters who are nuns, and with them alone, in the presence of those placed over conversation. But if they bring any persons with them, those persons shall not converse with the nuns at all, under the penalty established above for those who converse without permission.
The companions of Regular confessors shall be advanced in age and approved by their Superior. They shall not be able to converse with any nun except the Superior and the women placed over the turn and guesthouse, if the confessors need anything while they are hearing sins, under danger of the same penalty.
Furthermore, by the decree of the holy Council of Trent, the Superiors shall every year provide a suitable extraordinary confessor for the nuns subject to them, to whom they shall take care that all make confession. Thus those who need a remedy of this kind on account of some hidden malady of the mind, and who themselves would never dare to ask for it or receive it from their customary confessor, may more freely heal their maladies and escape the snares of the devil by confessing their sins to the new confessor together with the others.
Priests who are to perform divine service in the public Churches of the nuns shall be of good repute and good morals, and shall also be approved by the person who presides over the monastery.
Those among them who are hired for payment by the nuns shall be chosen not by them, but by the higher Superior or, at his command, by the confessor of the nuns.
Unless they have been granted permission in writing, they shall not converse with the nuns except with those who preside over the sacristy. With these they shall speak at the Church turn as briefly as possible and only concerning those matters necessary for the sacrifice of the Mass.
When the feast day of the nuns’ Church is celebrated, the preparations shall not be magnificent and costly, but pious and modest, and shall exhibit religion rather than some empty show.
Musicians employing figured chant or any musical instrument shall not be admitted to it.
The Superior of the nuns shall admit no one to the service and administration of the monastery whose age and morals have not been approved by their higher Superior.
The same higher Superior shall also approve those who now serve the nuns. In this number shall be understood physicians,
barbers, those placed over the oven or bakery, and all others who must enter the nuns’ enclosure. Those who administer the monastery’s affairs shall every year render an account of their administration to those whom we have mentioned; and within two months they shall provide good sureties to the episcopal chancellors that they will faithfully render an account of their administration. If they neglect to do this, they shall be considered deprived of office.
In parish Churches annexed to monasteries of nuns, perpetual Vicars shall be appointed by the Bishops according to the form prescribed by the Council of Trent.
CONCERNING THE PROPER RULE AND THE CONSTANT READING OF THESE CONSTITUTIONS
Since professed nuns ought to observe not only the precepts of God and Holy Church, but also their own rule and the laws and institutes of their order, it will be worthwhile to renew in their memory as often as possible the duty owed to their vocation and profession.
Therefore, by virtue of holy obedience, we command that in each monastery at least one chapter of the constitutions of the rule or order to which they are bound be read every day by one nun while the other professed nuns listen.
This reading shall begin with the first chapter and proceed thus to the last, and afterward return to the first, so that, with the same order and progression preserved, the practice of this sacred exercise may never be interrupted. We command, moreover, that these constitutions also be read frequently, so that from the frequent recollection of salutary precepts the nuns may become more diligent in discharging their duty. In this matter we admonish the Superior to invite the others to the highest observance of the laws no less by her example than she compels them by her authority.
Finally, all confessors of nuns are commanded once to read and explain all these decrees to all of them. We shall take care that these, translated into the vernacular, are published at the earliest opportunity for the common utility of the province; and the confessors shall vehemently exhort them to observe the decrees altogether as they ought.
It is not our intention that those nuns who live bound by stricter bonds of constitutions and rule should depart from the institutes of life they have undertaken; rather, we command that they observe these decrees also together with them.
I wished to adduce these things from the institution of that most holy and prudent prelate so that Prelates might have a form according to which they may reform monasteries. Since, however, the same things do not suit all places and times, they may omit some and add others according as, with prudent and mature zeal, they judge it fitting for the eternal glory of the divine Majesty, the salvation of souls, and the piety of the people.