Canonical Age of Resignation

What is the canonical age of resignation? Is it mandatory? Or vice versa?.. i.e. He can only resign once he reached that age.

Response

The Canonical Age is something seen in the Canon Law. The Law is suggesting to the various eccelsiastical persons to retire or resign from the office once they have reached a certain age. As the question is general I find difficult to give a proper answser. There is no common age for all ecclesiastical persons. Pope, Patriarchs and Major Archbishops, Bishops of the dioceses or Archdioceses, parish priests, processors of the seminaries, and other offices of the churches have to follow the age prescribed by the Law according to the Law applicable to them. As we know, the Pope, Patriarch and Major Archbishops have no canonical age to retire. For the bishops it is 75 years.

More about resignation

Canon 44 §2. If it should happen that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office (munus), it is required for validity that he makes the resignation freely and that it be duly manifested, but not that it be accepted by anyone.
Canon 126 - §1. The patriarchal see becomes vacant at the death or resignation of the patriarch.
Canon 126 - §2. The synod of bishops of the patriarchal Church is competent to accept the resignation of the patriarch, having consulted with the Roman Pontiff, unless the patriarch approaches the Roman Pontiff directly.
Canon 210 - §1. An eparchial bishop who has completed his seventy-fifth year of age or who, due to ill health or to another serious reason, has become less able to fulfill his office, is requested to present his resignation from office.
Canon 297 - §2. When a pastor (parish priest) has completed his seventy-fifth year of age he is asked to submit his resignation from office to the eparchial bishop, who, after considering all the circumstances of person and place, is to decide whether to accept or defer the resignation.
Canon 444 - §3. Superiors (of a monastery sui iuris) who have completed the seventy-fifth year of age, or who have become less capable of fulfilling the duties of their office because of failing health or some other grave cause, shall submit a resignation from office to the synaxis, which is to accept it.The above said are the canons from the CCEO. But there are also canons in Particular Law and the statutes of the institutes. E.g. about the professors in the seminaries, it is having their statutes. So it depends on what to do you want to know.

About Retirement:

It is possible at any time. The higher authority can demand for retirement for serious reasons. Or for serious reasons, any one can apporach the higher authority for retirement. Only thing is, the resignation should be accepted by the authority.