Priest Faculties
This page contains information related to the new pagella of faculties that took force on April 2, 2023, and is being provided as a reference for priests who may questions about the pagella. If you are an incoming extern priest seeking faculties, please click here for information on the process of granting faculties.
On February 8, 2023, Archbishop Vigneron issued a decree ordering the promulgation of a new edition of Archdiocese of Detroit Priest Faculties containing faculties 1-25 with italicized gloss and bearing effective date 2 April 2023, which integrally reordered any and all previously issued pagellae thereby making all and all previously issued pagellae issued for the Archdiocese of Detroit lose all force of law on 2 April 2023, without prejudice to anything contrary to universal and particular law that has force or may be issued or amended from time to time. Priests who minister in the Archdiocese will receive the pagella, issued personally to the priest named in the document and signed by the Archbishop or his successor(s).
The resources below are intended to help priests acclimate to this new pagella of faculties.
Pagella Podcast
This short podcast series is meant to be an aid in understanding and implementing the new priest faculties.
Father Salvatore Palazzolo and Father Tim Wezner, two canonists who were a part of the committee that worked on the project, explain the meaning of each faculty and try to anticipate questions that priests may have when reviewing thgese news faculties. Besides the priest’s own study of the faculty sheet, these episodes hope to familiarize priests with the additions and changes to the previous faculties. The hope is that the audio recordings give the convenience of listening wherever and whenever one likes and the ability to go back and listen again if needed. New episodes will be added weekly.
Text of the April 2023 Pagella
This file is for reference only. To exercise these faculties, a priest must possess a valid pagella signed by the Archbishop of Detroit.
Canonical References
The attached file lists the canons for each faculty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pagella is a Latin term that means “little page.” It is used to refer to the sheet of paper that lists the faculties granted to a priest by a bishop.
The previous pagella had not been revised since the 1980s, so a general review and update was overdue. However, two factors necessitated that this review be undertaken sooner rather than later.
- First, the old pagella granted provincial faculties for the Province of Michigan (which includes all dioceses in the state). In the past, all dioceses in this province shared a common set of priest faculties, with the idea being that a priest in one diocese could go to another diocese and minister there knowing exactly what faculties he would have. However, when the Dallas Charter was published in 2002, priests were now required to have a letter of suitability in order to minister in any diocese besides their own, essentially putting an end to the option of granting provincial faculties.
- Second, as the Archdiocese of Detroit transitioned into Families of Parishes, certain clarifications were needed on some of the faculties. The new pagella will help to alleviate some confusion in this regard.
All priests who currently have an active pagella will receive the new pagella, provided that they continue to have permission to minister in the Archdiocese of Detroit. Furthermore, any priest who is granted faculties after April 2 will receive the new pagella.
The faculties will go into effect on Palm Sunday (April 2) of 2023.
It is our hope that all packets will go into the mail by Friday, March 24 and that local priests should receive the packets by Wednesday, March 29.
If you are local and have not received a packet by Wednesday, March 29, please contact the Clergy Office (313-596-7102).
Yes. The pagella has only those things which are over and above what the universal law provides to priests. The faculties on the pagella are granted to us by the Archbishop, but there are still those fundamental faculties which the law gives to us as priests and which are not listed on the pagella.
No. A key change in the new pagella is that certain faculties apply only to priests who are assigned to a parish. Each faculty will be preceded by one of the following phrases:
- “For all priests” means that the faculty applies to any priest who has received a signed and notarized pagella.
- “For priests assigned to a parish” means that the faculty applies only to those priests assigned to a parish (see the next questions for more information).
- “For priests incardinated in the Archdiocese of Detroit” means the item applies only to priests incardinated here but does not apply to religious or diocesan extern priests.
In the new pagella, a priest is considered “assigned to a parish” if he has been formally assigned to a parish or a Family of Parishes by the Archbishop of Detroit. This assignment must be documented in an assignment letter from the archbishop.
Unless otherwise noted, the faculties granted to priests with parish assignments can be exercised at any parish throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit. The main exception is faculty number 16, which is limited to the jurisdiction granted by virtue of the priest’s assignment.
Any restrictions in place prior to the issuing of this new pagella will remain in place, unless a priest has been notified otherwise by Msgr. Bugarin. Questions about restrictions should be directed to Msgr. Bugarin’s office.
There is no set expiration date on the new pagella. However, the “Loss of Faculties” section of the document identifies the conditions which will result in a priest losing these faculties. In some cases, priests will not be granted a pagella but will be granted one or two specific faculties. This will be documented in a letter from the Vicar for Clergy, and in these cases, the faculties that are granted will likely have an expiration date.
If your previous pagella had an expiration date and you receive the new pagella, the expiration date will no longer apply.
Please review the “Loss of Faculties” section of the new pagella. But essentially, two conditions must be met in order for a priest who is not incardinated in the Archdiocese of Detroit to lose these faculties:
- the priest must no longer have an assignment in the Archdiocese of Detroit (assignment means any official ministry given by the Archbishop of Detroit or the priest’s legitimate superior); and
- in the case of diocesan externs, he must no longer reside in the Archdiocese of Detroit; in the case of religious externs, he must be assigned to a religious house outside the Archdiocese of Detroit.
Both conditions must be met in order for faculties to be lost.
No. The previous version of the pagella will become null and void when the new pagella goes into effect on April 2, 2023. If you have the older form of the pagella and do not receive the new one, you will no longer be able to exercise any of the faculties that had been granted to you.
Please email your question to FacultiesFAQ@aod.org.
