Primacy
Ecclesiastical provinces under the same temporal sovereign power are grouped together in a primacy and placed under the authority of a primate when there are at least two of them and they together comprise at least four dioceses.
A primacy is governed by an Episcopal Assembly consisting of at least the metropolitan archbishops under its jurisdiction, and has the power to appoint and dismiss bishops within its territory.
Each primacy has its own statutes, approved by the Curia.
Language areas that are not eligible for primacy status are established as vice-primacy, attached to an existing primacy or headed by a plenipotentiary prelate appointed by the Curia.
The Curia may also temporarily attach a religious province to a nearby primacy, or temporarily unite several religious provinces into a single primacy.
The Curia may divide a primacy into several vice-primacy to facilitate its functioning. These vice-primacy then function exactly like primacies.
