DECANO. – A title borrowed from the last division of the Roman legion (decanus was the name given to the commander of 10 soldiers) and subsequently from the monastic rules, especially the Rule
of s. Benedetto (chap. 21), from the middle of the 9th century onward it was given in many Chapters to a dignity, often identical with that of the archpriest (decanus capituli). It is also the name attributed to the head of a grouping of rural parishes, today called a vicario foraneo, a kind of intermediary body between the parish priests and the bishop, and from the end of the 9th century between the parish priests and the archdeacon (decanus i. e. archipresbyter parochiarum).
The former was entrusted with the care of the Chapter in matters concerning internal affairs and divine worship; the latter had a certain jurisdiction over the clergy and churches of his own territory (v. ARCIPRETE; CAPITOLO; VICARIO FORANEO).
In the Chapters, the d. or archpriest in the 11th–12th centuries existed in almost all dioceses; he was raised to the priesthood for the care of souls entrusted to him (c. 7, § 2, X, de elect. I, 6; c. 1 ff. D. 60), but ex iure communi was subject to the archdeacon (c. 7, §§ 2, 3, X, de off. arch., I, 23; c. 1, X, de off. archipresb. I 24). At times the d. was identical with the archpriest; in some Chapters it was a distinct dignity, and in others it also became the first dignity, while in still others it was the name given to the oldest of the canons, without constituting a true dignity. This situation has also been preserved in current law, where in unoquque capitulo secundum sua cuiusque statuta different cases may be found: in Spain, for example, the d. is the first dignity, in Bavaria the second; in many Chapters it does not exist as a separate dignity, but is the canon senior by appointment.
In parish districts, the institution of the d., which had become widespread in the 11th–12th centuries, underwent various developments. At present, the vicario foraneo is called d. (sometimes d. rurale) when its district ex iure particulari has retained the name of decanatus (cf. can. 217, § 1).
Moreover, in the CIC d., in the generic sense, is the person who, among those belonging to the same degree of the hierarchy of jurisdiction, in any college or moral body, is the first promotus ad gradum, and, when the degree is equal, senior ordinatione, and finally, when the date of ordination is equal, senior aetate.
To this person, in his capacity as d., no power of jurisdiction belongs in itself (cann. 237 § 1, 1598 § 1), except when ex iuris praescripto he succeeds others in the exercise of power (cann. 309 § 4, 432 § 1, 434 § 3) or has particular duties assigned to him (cf. can. 429 § 5); he has only the right of precedence (can. 106, n. 3), to which, often in the absence of other authorities, there is added the right to preside (can. 284, n. 2) or to convoke the college, determining, when necessary, the place of assembly (cann. 284, 289 § 1, 397 n. 4).
Two colleges, moreover, have in the CIC a genuine office of d., with particular obligations and privileges: the college of cardinals (v. CARDINALE e CIC, cann. 237, 239 § 2; const. Vacante Sede Apost., c. II, n. 8, III, nn. 50, 51, 52, 54, VII 100, 106), in which the d. is the longest-serving among the cardinal bishops and, as such, has the title of bishop of Ostia; and the college of the Auditors of the S. Romana Rota (v. ROTA), in which the d. is the senior in munere auditoris (can. 1598 § 1). In both colleges the d. becomes such ipso iure by seniority and is primus inter pares.
In the pontifical chapel and household (v.), besides the d. di sala, colleges are frequent and are presided over by a d. (the college of the participating protonotaries de numero, of the prelate clerics of the Rev. Camera Apostolica, of the voting prelates of the Segnatura apostolica, of the advocates of the S. Concistoro, of the procurators of the Sacred Apostolic Palaces, of the clerics of the pontifical chapel, of the master ushers of Virgo Rubea, of the mace-bearers and of the apostolic cursors).
The office of d. also exists in ecclesiastical universities; it is one of the academic authorities, the dean of a faculty (const. Apost. Deus scientiorum Dominus of Pius XI, tit. II, artt. 15, 17), whose responsibilities are determined by the Ordinationes of the S. Congregazione dei Seminari e delle Università degli studi of 12 June 1931 (art. 7). Unlike other colleges or moral bodies, here the deanship is generally an elective office with a certain power of jurisdiction.
#### DECANO DI SALA: V. FAMIGLIA PONTIFICIA.