Custos (Catholic Encyclopedia article)
Gregory Cleary · 1913
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Description
This entry explains custos, a word with several senses in Franciscan law. It can mean an under-sacristan, or a superior or official in the Franciscan order. The three branches, Friars Minor, Conventuals, and Capuchins, do not all use it alike today. Saint Francis sometimes applied it to any superior, even the general.
More strictly it meant an official over a group of convents in a large province, with limited powers under his provincial. Such officials joined provincials in electing and deposing the minister general. Their district was called a custodia. To save expense, Gregory IX ruled in 1230 that only one custos per province should attend the general chapter. That chosen custos was called Custos custodum, and later forms of the office are also traced.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Gregory Cleary |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 1913 |
| COLLECTION | REFERENCE |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 3 KB |
| LICENSE | PUBLIC_DOMAIN |
| RIGHTS | PUBLIC DOMAIN |
| SOURCE | New Advent — Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) |