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 Religious Life

Religious Orders

Religious orders are communities of men or women in the Church who have consecrated themselves to God through vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Each religious order has a code of discipline, known as the 'rule', outlining the basic regulations governing the community, and all religious orders come under the jurisdiction of the Vatican's Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

Male members of religious orders are known as monks or friars (or brothers if they have not received the Sacrament of Holy Orders), and female members are known as nuns or sisters. The word monk comes from a Greek word meaning 'alone', and the word nun from a Latin word meaning 'monk'. Both groups are sometimes generally referred to by the word 'Religious', used as a noun.

The word monk is more often used of those in contemplative orders, that is, those Religious who live lives of deep prayer and sacrifice in closed communities. We sometimes describe these as 'cloistered' communities, meaning members venture infrequently into the outside world, and people on the outside have restricted access to those inside the community. Other religious groups, on the other hand, become involved in pastoral activity in the outside world and are known as 'active' orders. Such groups will have a special ministry or 'apostolate', such as nursing or teaching or working with the poor. Many orders are a mix of the active and contemplative life. One group of nuns here in our Diocese, the Daughters of St. Mary of Leuca, are what is known as 'semi-contemplative' ; that is, they combine a very strong life of prayer with their active apostolate, which mainly involves working with young children in child care centres owned and operated by the order.

The desire to separate from the world and devote oneself exclusively to the service of Christ has roots in the early Church. Many in the early Church admired asceticism; that is, using self-imposed penance--isolation, fasting, celibacy, and so on--as an aid to Christian perfection. There were a number of women, for example, who consecrated their virginity to God, sometimes in the presence of a bishop, and who were given a special place of honour at religious services. At first such women remained in their own homes, but gradually a number of them moved into community houses. One of the first convents is thought to have been built near the end of the 3rd century by the Egyptian monk St. Pachomius for a group of consecrated virgins which included his sister.

This movement whereby men and women withdrew from society into separate faith communities is known as 'monasticism', and St. Pachomius, and especially St. Anthony of Egypt, are regarded as its founders. Following the example of St. Anthony, who himself was inspired by the words of Christ-- "If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." ( Matthew 19: 21-22) --a number of men moved into the desert area south of Alexandria in Egypt, and eventually congregated round Anthony in a loosely organized monastery following a rule which the saint formulated. Eventually monasteries became centres of faith throughout the world, and being generally located away from the larger urban areas, played a large part in the spread of Christianity from the cities into the countryside.

Over the centuries, many different religious orders were founded. From a Western point of view, one of the most important was the order founded in 529 by St. Benedict (the Benedictines), whose rule became the model for many religious orders in the centuries that followed. Generally speaking, new orders were founded to meet the particular needs of the Church, or of the society, at the time. The Benedictines, for example, played a major role in spreading faith and learning throughout Europe in the aftermath of the collapse of the Roman Empire. The order founded by St. Francis of Assisi in 1209 (the Franciscans), through the saint's exemplary love of the poor, the sick, and the outcast, helped bring the Church and society of the time back to the purity of the Gospel message from which they had strayed. And following the Protestant Reformation, the order founded by St. Ignatius Loyola in 1540 (the Jesuits), played a large part in the Church's renewal movement, called the 'Counter Reformation'.

There are many ways to learn more about religious orders. Many of the better known orders will have a website you can visit. You might try looking for information on the Internet on orders such as the Benedictines, the Franciscans (including the Poor Clare nuns), the Dominicans, the Carmelites, and the Augustinians. Almost all Catholic newspapers carry advertisements for religious orders, and at certain times of the year may also publish a vocations supplement several pages in length and full of information on religious orders. When you find some orders that catch your interest, write to the Vocations Director of those orders, who will be more than happy to forward you information.