At the 2024 Congress of Abbots, Abbot Primate Jeremias Schröder OSB presented a workshop titled Brothers as Superiors: Implementation of the Papal Rescript, offering an overview of the long and often halting journey that led to the 2022 decree allowing non-ordained monks to be elected or appointed to major offices within the Benedictine Confederation.

The issue has been quietly present since at least 1966, when the Congress of Abbots resolved that monastic life should not be strictly defined in clerical or lay terms—a view grounded in the Benedictine tradition itself. Despite this early recognition, progress remained elusive. Although Vita Consecrata (1996) promised a study on the rights of non-ordained religious, no tangible results emerged. A vote at the 2000 Congress of Abbots supported wider access to leadership roles for brothers, but the subsequent petition led nowhere.

The question resurfaced through the efforts of the Union of Superiors General (USG) between 2016 and 2020, largely driven by the Franciscan families. These attempts crystallised into a new strategy: requesting a papal privilege. In 2021, Abbot Primate Gregory Polan OSB and Richard Yeo OSB developed and submitted a formal petition to Pope Francis, alongside other major religious families. The request emphasised the original monastic charism, the increasing clericalisation of leadership, and growing difficulties in finding ordained candidates suitable for abbatial office.

On 18 May 2022, a rescript from Pope Francis authorised the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (DIVCSA) to grant case-by-case dispensations from the requirement of priestly ordination for major superiors. While the decree does not grant general permission, it opens the door: communities may now request confirmation of elections or appointments of brothers to leadership roles.

The practicalities, however, are still developing. The workshop highlighted two recent examples. At El Rosal, a monastery of the Ottilien Congregation in Colombia, Brother Santiago was postulated and confirmed following a swift and clear process with the Holy See. In contrast, the experience at Saint Anselm’s in Manchester, New Hampshire, was more complex: postulation was followed by a 45-day wait for permission, during which the election process was paused. After receiving approval, the community completed the chapter, and Brother Isaac accepted his election as abbot.

Such cases raise ongoing questions, especially concerning sacramental functions reserved to clerics. In response, the Ottilien Congregation has issued a decree outlining how these responsibilities are to be delegated—typically to the prior or subprior, or, if needed, to the abbot president.

The workshop concluded with open discussion. Questions remain about the ritual and symbols associated with non-ordained abbots—particularly the use of ring, staff and mitre—and how to craft a suitable blessing rite. Whether to adapt the existing rite for abbesses or develop something new is still undecided.

Still, this rescript marks a turning point. While it does not resolve every detail, it signals a renewed attentiveness to the original spirit of monastic life. In the words of Abbot Primate Jeremias, the journey continues—but now on firmer ground.