Until the 19th century, religious communities were divided into two groups: regular orders with solemn vows and congregations of simple vows. In 1215, in the
Fourth Lateran Council,
Pope Innocent III decreed that no regular orders could be founded without papal approval. The bishops, however, retained the right to form communities whose members lived the religious life without taking formal vows. These groups later took the name of "congregations of simple vows". In 1854, Giuseppe Andrea Bizzarri, the Secretary of the
Sacred Congregation for Consultations About Regulars, created on behalf of Pope
Pius IX a procedure for the approval of congregations of simple vows. This was communicated to the bishops in 1861. With this new procedure, the distinction was formally made for the creation of an institute, operated by a bishop, and its approval by the Holy See. After its foundation, the institute (i.e., congregation) would have the status "of diocesan right". Under this status, the institute would remain under the protection of the bishops of the diocese where it was founded. If the Holy See grants the institute the
decretum laudis [decree of approval], the institute would be placed under its direct protection. The institute would thus acquire the status "of pontifical right". The distinction between the legal status of an institute of diocesan right and an institute of pontifical right was permanently drawn on 8 December 1900 by
Conditae a Christo Ecclesiae {Latin: "Founded by the Church of Christ"), the
apostolic constitution of Pope
Leo XIII. The
Second Vatican Council's
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church ruled that Canon 591 of the Code of Canon Law reflects this ruling: ==References==