Superior general (Christianity)

History

The function of a superior general first emerged in the thirteenth century with the development of the centralized government of the Mendicant Orders. The Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) organized their members under a Minister General, and the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) elected a Master of the Order.

Due to restrictions on women religious, especially the obligation of cloister for nuns, congregations of women were not initially able to organize with their own superior general. In 1609, Mary Ward was the superior general of a religious institute that imitated that of the Society of Jesus, but the institute was not accepted by the Roman Curia. It was not until the nineteenth century that religious congregations of women were able to organize with a general superior, and the role is now very common. Mother Teresa, for example, was the superior general of the Missionaries of Charity, known by the honorific title "Mother". Following the Second Vatican Council, women religious formed the International Union of superiors general.