Legal Definitions - exeat

Exeat refers to formal permission granted to an individual to leave a specific place or jurisdiction where they are typically expected to remain.

While the term can apply broadly in various contexts, it is most commonly encountered in specific institutional or ecclesiastical settings.

• General Application: In a general sense, an exeat is an official authorization to depart from a defined area or institution. This might apply to individuals under some form of supervision or within a restricted environment.

  Example 1: A boarding school student who wishes to spend a weekend at home with their family would need to obtain an exeat from the school administration. This formal permission acknowledges their temporary departure from the campus, which is their primary residence during term time, and ensures the school is aware of their absence and has approved it.

  Explanation 1: This illustrates exeat as a formal permission to leave a specific, defined place (the boarding school campus) where the individual (the student) is expected to remain, granted by the authority overseeing that place (the school administration).

• Ecclesiastical Application: More specifically, in canon law (the internal law governing the Catholic Church and some other Christian churches), an exeat is a formal document issued by a bishop. This document grants a priest permission to leave their current diocese and be released from their obligations there, typically so they can be incardinated (officially accepted) into another diocese under a different bishop.

  Example 2: Father David, currently serving in the Diocese of Boston, feels called to ministry in a mission territory in South America. To make this move permanent and serve under the bishop of the new diocese, he would first need to obtain an exeat from the Bishop of Boston. This official document releases him from his canonical ties and duties to the Boston diocese, allowing him to be formally accepted into the new jurisdiction.

  Explanation 2: This example demonstrates the ecclesiastical use of exeat, where a bishop grants a priest formal permission to depart from his current ecclesiastical jurisdiction (diocese) to serve elsewhere, thereby releasing him from his previous obligations and allowing for a transfer of allegiance.