Ministerial Public Juridic Persons: The Newest Twist on Sponsorship of Apostolic Institutions Founded by Religious Institutes

Once settled in the United States, religious institutes founded apostolates that they themselves owned and operated. In the 1960s and 1970s, due to declining numbers of members, the pursuit of new ministries, and increased costs and liabilities, it became necessary for religious institutes to acts as sponsors of their original apostolates, which were then operated and financially managed by a lay board of trustees or directors. Now, the governance of these apostolates is increasingly being entrusted to a canonically erected ministerial public juridic person, which safeguards the ongoing Catholic identity of these apostolates on behalf of the religious institute. This progression and the current praxis in regard to ministerial public juridic persons is exemplified and illustrated in the case of Duluth Benedictine Ministries, initiated by St. Scholastica Monastery in Duluth, Minnesota.