QUESTUA. — Etymologically, it is the act of seeking; in a general sense, it means the action of one who goes begging: *stipem quotannis emendicare a populo* (Suetonius); in a proper sense, it denotes the action of one who travels about for the purpose of collecting alms for oneself or for others, especially for pious ends. In canon law, it refers to the right or privilege enjoyed by certain religious orders to be able to go about asking for alms for the support of the religious or for the activities of the convent. As a faculty—or right—it is granted by special concession of the Holy See (by privilege), but to be exercised it requires the license of the local Ordinary of the place where the questua is to be conducted.
The Council of Trent (sess. XXI, cap. 9) sought to abolish abuses that arose from the questua practiced by religious, attempting to abolish both the name and the practice of questua. However, even under the pontificate of Pius V, considering especially that such a prohibition would cause no small harm to the mendicant orders, it was not desired to deny them the exercise of the right of questua (cf. the constitution of Pius V, *Etsi mendicantes*); and the same thing was reaffirmed in the constitution *Exponi nobis* of Clement VIII. Under Urban VIII, the constitution *Cum sint* granted the Conventual Franciscans the faculty to exercise questua at least in places where they had convents. Subsequently, there were no lack of decrees and decisions of the Holy See on this matter. The Sacred Congregation of the Council and that of Bishops and Regulars regulated the matter concerning questua with several decrees. The last important legislation issued before the Code dates to Pius X. On 11 November 1908, in fact, the Sacred Congregation of Religious, by special mandate of the Pope, published a general decree of the Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regulars, issued on 8 May of the same year, containing certain norms to be observed by religious who engage in questua. Before this decree, on 27 March 1896, the decree *Singulari* had been issued for religious women who engage in questua.
The current legislation, contained in the Code of Canon Law, substantially reproduces, in terms of the manner and discipline of questua, the norms established in the two aforementioned decrees. By common law, the privilege or right of questua is enjoyed by regular religious who, in name and in fact, are mendicants—that is, those who cannot possess, even as a community, immovable goods, nor have fixed income (cf. Pontifical Commission for the Authentic Interpretation of the Code of Canon Law, 16 October 1919, in *AAS*, 11 [1919], p. 476). The exercise of such a right is, however, subject, for the diocesan territory where no religious house exists, to the permission of the Ordinary, who shall grant in writing the license for questua in his diocese; whereas, for the territory where at least one religious house exists, the mere license of the religious Superior suffices (can. 621 § 1), it being already assumed that the license of the diocesan Ordinary has been given with the permission to erect the house (Pontifical Commission for the Authentic Interpretation of the Code of Canon Law, loc. cit.). The diocesan Ordinaries are exhorted by the Code not to deny or revoke the license, especially when it concerns religious who, receiving scant alms in the diocese where their religious house is located, are compelled to engage in questua in the territories of neighboring dioceses, unless, the Code adds, the Ordinaries are driven to refusal by urgent and grave causes (can. 621 § 2). Non-mendicant religious (*allii omnes religiosi*) cannot engage in questua unless they have obtained this right by special privilege directly from the Holy See, if they are religious of pontifical-right congregations, and the written license of the Ordinary of the place where they intend to engage in questua, unless they have been exempted from seeking it by apostolic privilege (can. 622 § 1); if, instead, they are religious of diocesan-right congregations, only the written license of the Ordinary of the place where they have their religious house and of that where they intend to engage in questua is required (can. 622 § 2).
The diocesan Ordinaries are, however, warned by the Code not to grant the license for questua in their territories to non-mendicant religious if there are already houses of mendicant religious in their dioceses, unless provision can otherwise be made for their support (can. 622 § 3). Without a recent and authentic rescript from the Sacred Congregation for the Eastern Church, the Ordinaries of the Latin Church must never grant permission for questua in their territories to Eastern religious of any order or dignity, nor may they permit their own subjects to engage in questua in the territories of the Eastern Church (can. 622 § 4). This prohibition predates the Code: Alexander III had already introduced it with the constitution *Alias emanavit*, and shortly before the Code of Canon Law the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide had recalled it (cf. *AAS*, 4 [1911], p. 532). The Code, with can. 623, to prevent abuses already deplored by the Council of Trent, reminds religious Superiors that they must send only professed religious and those mature in age and spiritual formation to engage in questua; this norm, the Code specifies, must be especially observed for religious women who engage in questua. The same canon explicitly forbids questua to religious who are still students.
Regarding the discipline and manner of conduct during questua, the Code establishes that the instructions already given by the Holy See on the matter must be followed (can. 624), namely the decree *Singulari* of 27 March 1896, issued by the Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regulars (cf. *Acta Sanctae Sedis*, 28 [1896], p. 555), and the decree *De elemosinis* of 21 November 1908 of the Sacred Congregation of Religious (*AAS*, 1 [1908], p. 153), which may be summarized as follows: 1) religious must not go about questua separately, but at least in pairs (*bini pro regula questuantes incédant*); 2) they must not linger too long at or near religious houses or canons’ residences; 3) they must not neglect, on the days of questua, the exercises of piety and especially the reception of the Sacraments; 4) they must not remain absent from their own religious house for more than one month if questua is conducted within the diocesan territory where their house is located, and not more than two months if outside it; 5) they must cultivate virtues even during the period of questua and be an example, keeping themselves far from spiritual dangers.
The Ordinaries must keep watch over religious who engage in questua, and if they notice shortcomings, they must take steps to remove them, either directly or through the superiors of the religious themselves.