Passionist Rule and Constitutions.pdf - The Passionists of Holy ...

136. Each General Consultor is held to be canonically elected when he receives an absolute
majority of votes cast in a ballot. If there is no absolute majority in the fifth ballot, however, the
election will take place between the candidates who obtained the two highest numbers of votes in
the fifth ballot. In the sixth ballot, the candidate who obtains an absolute majority of votes shall
be considered elected. If there is a tie he shall be considered elected who is senior by profession,
or in the event of parity of profession, senior by age.
All Consultors hold office for six years, and may be immediately re-elected only once.
137. The Superior General and General Consultors assume office by the very fact that they have
been elected and have accepted election.
After the designated number of Consultors has been chosen, the Chapter proceeds to elect
one of them as first Consultor, following the same norms as for the election of a Consultor.
Whenever for any reason the Superior General may be absent, the first Consultor acts in his
stead.
When the office of Superior General becomes vacant, the first Consultor assumes this office
until the next General Chapter, which must begin within one year.
138. The Superior General with the consent of his Council will appoint the Procurator General,
the Secretary General, the General Econome, the Secretary General of the Missions, and the
Postulator General.
The Superior General with the consent of his Council will also appoint local Superiors in
those houses over which he exercises immediate jurisdiction.
139. If a General Consultor leaves office, his place will be filled until the next General Chapter
by another religious elected by the Superior General, the General Consultors, and the Procurator
General acting collegially.
140. The General Regulations shall determine how many members form the quorum required to
act validly in the General Council. The same Regulations shall further specify which officials of
the Curia should substitute for the absent Consultors, when this becomes necessary to achieve
the required quorum.
141. As part of his pastoral service to the Congregation, the Superior General shall personally
conduct canonical visitations at least once during his term of office. Nevertheless, he may
delegate this task to a General Consultor or someone else, who will submit to the Superior
General and his Council an accurate, written report of the visitation he has made.
142. The chief duty of the Superior General is to ensure that the universal law of the Church, and
the Constitutions and the directives of the General Chapter are being carried out by our religious,
in a spirit of faithfulness to our Passionist charism and in response to requests from Church
Authority.
He should foster and safeguard by suitable measures the spiritual, doctrinal, and cultural
growth of the Congregation.
Attentive to the more urgent problems of our times, he should coordinate the various
apostolic activities of our Congregation, and encourage continual renewal, not only of our
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