Administrator (of ecclesiastical property)

In the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, an administrator of ecclesiastical property is anyone charged with the care of church property.

The supreme administrator and steward of to all ecclesiastical temporalities is the Pope, in virtue of his primacy of governance.

The pope's power in this connection is solely administrative, as he cannot be said properly to be the owner of goods belonging either to the Church or to particular churches. Papal administrative authority is exercised principally through the Congregations of the Roman Curia and similar bodies

The ordinary is to exercise vigilance over the administration of the property of the diocese, religious institute or other juridical bodies subject to him.

What follows is taken from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia. With the coming into force of the Code of Canon Law in 1917 and its revision in 1983, the provisions of canon law have in some points been changed. What is here needs therefore to be rewritten either by an expert in canon law or by someone who has at his or her disposal the time required to extract the necessary information from canons 1273-1289 of the Code of Canon Law and sources such as this commentary on the Code of Canon Law

In each diocese the administration of property belongs primarily to the bishop, subject to the superior authority of the Holy See. From the beginning of the Church, this power has been a part of the episcopal office (can. 37, Can. Apost., Lib. II, cap. xxv, xxvii, xxxv. Const. Apost.). On him all inferior administrators depend, unless they have secured an exemption by law, as in the case of religious orders.

Therefore, if an arrangement exists by which the administration of certain diocesan or parish property is entrusted to some members of the clergy or to laymen, the discipline of the Church, nevertheless, maintains the bishop in supreme control with the right to direct and modify, if need be, the action taken by subordinate administrators.

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