In canon law, commenda (or in commendam) was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice in trust to the custody of a patron. The phrase in commendam was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastical benefice, which was temporarily without an actual occupant, in contrast to the conferral of a title, in titulum, which was applied to the regular and unconditional occupation of a benefice.[1]
The word commendam is the accusative singular of the Latin noun commenda, "trust", or "custody", which is derived from the verb commendare ("to entrust").[1]
Granting a benefice in commendam became most common with monasteries, and the commendatory abbot drew a portion of the revenue of the monastery but without fulfilling the duties of the abbot or even residing at the monastery.
- ^ a b Ott, Michael. "In Commendam". The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 25 July 2015