In the first place, the candidates eligible to these orders must be Catholic. An additional prerequisite, reminiscent of the original objective of the orders, is that candidates must evidence that neither Moors nor Jews are found among their forebears. The reception of the “habit” is accompanied by a rather elaborate Church ceremonial according to the ritual of each particular order. This investiture constitutes the candidates novices of the order. Most of them remain novices throughout their life, but a number of them take the religious vows—in the sense explained above (_votum castitatis conjugalis_). These professed knights have also the obligation of reciting some prayers daily, originally the equivalent of the Divine Office. Before the pontificate of Pius XI the professed knights were bound daily to say one hundred Paters, Aves and Glorias. Since then, however, this obligation has been reduced to one Pater, Ave and Gloria. Another important link with the Church is the “Priory of the Military Orders” which actually is a bishopric comprising more than half a million Catholics. The establishment of the priory was intended to compensate somewhat for the loss of property which the Military Orders had suffered in consequence of the so-called _desamortización_ laws of the prime minister, Juan Alvarez de Mendizabal. By a decree of Oct. 11, 1835, the latter suppressed most religious orders in Spain and confiscated their properties. These laws also affected the military orders, which had jurisdiction over a large number of abbeys, parishes, monasteries and churches throughout Spain and enjoyed the revenues of these properties. This infringement upon the rights of the Church was rectified by a substitute compromise in the Concordat of 1851. The Spanish province of Ciudad Real (19,741 square kilometers) is set apart as a “coto redondo,” literally a rounded-off territory, known as the Priory of the Military Orders. This priory is a “prelatura nullius,” immediately dependent on the Holy See. The prior is titular bishop of Dora, his official title being “Obispo Prior de los Ordenes Militares.” This dignitary is appointed prior by the Spanish King in his capacity of grand master, but the papal authority is required to elevate the appointee to the episcopal dignity. The former jurisdictional rights of the military orders are, so to say, grouped together in this diocese and vested in the prior. The emoluments of the ecclesiastical properties in the priory go to the diocese and the salaries of the bishop, canons, pastors and other parish priests are paid by the Spanish government, in the name of the grand master. The priests of the diocese of Ciudad Real must belong to one of the four military orders—an arrangement which reinstates the old division of the members of the orders into the classes of knights and priests.