Postulación de los prelados / Postulation of prelates (DCH)

No. 2026-09

English Abstract:

How were ecclesiastical benefices filled in Hispanic America and the Philippines during the early modern period? How did an ordinary priest become a prelate? Postulation and election by collegiate bodies were the typical methods of filling prelates’ posts, according to the Corpus iuris canonici. However, in territories under Spanish royal patronage, the prelate was not elected by a chapter, but appointed by the monarch. This article closely examines the intriguing interplay between ius commune and ius proprium regarding the provision of prelacies (particularly bishoprics) and other benefices in the Indies. The article begins by describing the main characteristics of postulation and election, including the canonical requirements for electing and being elected. It then sets out in detail the process of episcopal election and confirmation under the ius commune, comparing it with that of the local superiors of male and female religious orders. In the context of Hispanic America and the Philippines, it is observed that the provision of bishoprics under royal patronage was carried out through an act of the monarch, the presentation, followed by the institution of the candidate, at the behest of the pontiff, and his consecration. A similar logic applied to the appointment of cathedral canons and parish priests. In the latter case, a widely debated issue was the access of mestizos and indigenous people to benefices involving the cure of souls. Consideration is also given to institution as free collation, an exceptional method of appointment to benefices in the Indies. Finally, the article outlines the investiture ceremony, through which the beneficiary took possession of the benefice to which he had been presented and instituted. The article concludes with a historiographical assessment.