Modification of the Regulations on Personal Prelatures under Pope Francis

Abstract

Personal prelatures are Church institutions, focused on specific pastoral ministries, established by the Holy See. Their creation was made possible by the Second Vatican Council and the 1983 Code of Canon Law, and only one prelature has been established so far – Opus Dei. Pope Francis, in his Motu Proprio of 8 August 2023, modified the dispositions of the Canons 295-296 concerning the personnel of prelatures. This article consider the consequences of these changes: the gradual clarification of the positions of the personal prelature in canon law and in the structure of the Church.