PRELATURA NULLIUS. – A P. nullius (i.e., nullius dioecesis) in the generic sense indicates a church which is withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the bishop. In the specific sense it is a territorial portion, within which there are at least three parishes, detached from the diocese and independent of the bishop’s jurisdiction.
It is governed by a prelate who is a true Ordinary with full legislative, executive, and judicial jurisdiction (can. 323) and is directly subject to the Roman Pontiff. The prelate is not necessarily invested with the episcopal character. The rights and obligations of this juridical institution are equivalent to those of an abbazia nullius (cf. cann. 319-28; 215, 2; V. Abate; VESCOVO).
BIBL.: besides those of the cited entries: E. V. Kienitz, Die Rechtstellung der gefreiten Abte und Pralaten, in Theol. und Glaube, 25 (1933), pp. 590-604. Giuseppe Damizia.