How is a religious community structured or put together?
Most international religious communities function on three levels: international, regional, and local. The international level would represent the whole Order. At this level, authority rests with the Prior General, the supreme head of the Order, together with his council. The regional level would represent a regional division known as a province. At this level, authority rests with the Prior Provincial together with his council. The local level would represent the individual community (“house”). At this level, authority rests with the local Prior and his council. The community’s laws, usually known as Constitutions, govern relations between these various divisions within the Order as well as the obligations and rights of the individual religious. The Vatican must approve the Constitutions of all international Orders. The Augustinian Recollects are an international Order and as such would exist on all of the levels mentioned above. This system of government renders the religious “exempt
