The Discalced Carmelites were established as a separate province of the Carmelite Order by the decree "Pia consideratione" of Pope Gregory XIII on 22 June 1580. By this decree the Discalced Carmelites were still subject to the Prior General of the Carmelite Order in Rome, but were otherwise distinct from the Carmelites in that they could elect their own superiors and author their own constitutions for their common life. The following Discalced Carmelite Chapter at Alcala de Henares, Spain in March 1581 established the constitutions of the Discalced Carmelites and elected the first provincial of the Discalced Carmelites, Fr. Jerome Gratian, OCD. This office was later translated into that of Superior General of the Discalced Carmelites.