Consecrated Widows and Widowers?

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Does anyone know if there are consecrated widows and widowers starting communities?
 
There are no consecrated widows or widowers in the Latin Rite starting communities for the simple reason that there are no consecrated widows/widowers in the Latin Rite. Privately dedicated widows/widowers may be starting communities with the hope of gaining church approval as a religious community.
 
SerraSemper said:
There are no consecrated widows or widowers in the Latin Rite starting communities for the simple reason that there are no consecrated widows/widowers in the Latin Rite. Privately dedicated widows/widowers may be starting communities with the hope of gaining church approval as a religious community.
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Thank you for your response. I note that it says your location is Rome? Are you in Rome??? What are you doing there and how did you get there? Oh, just call me silly but I’ve been feeling like a one way ticket to Rome lol
 
I was in Rome until a couple of weeks ago. I’m a canon lawyer with a specialization in consecrated life law. Now I’m back in the States.
 
SerraSemper said:
I was in Rome until a couple of weeks ago. I’m a canon lawyer with a specialization in consecrated life law. Now I’m back in the States.
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Excellent. I was given the ok by a bishop to take a one year private vow as a consecrated widow to be determined after that if it is my call…based on the priest whom the bishop named to decide that. Well, a long story short…the bishop retired and there is a new bishop…I was asked by his secretary when I might be available for the new bishop to make the consecration himself. But, he is so very busy so I have not not bothered him with “when”.

I know that Archbishop Burke is/was overseeing the renewal of the Rite to come back…and I am within the boundaries of that Archdiocese. I know Cardinal Arinze has the ultimate say.

Now, it would appear that our dear Archbishop Burke has been assigned to Rome full time.

kathie
 
I am praying that this site will connect me with any interested Catholic (women) widows who are interested in consecrated widowhood. Starting with conversation and perhaps then meeting and if spiritually discerned eventually to form a group of some sort. I am 55 yrs. old, widowed for 18 years with 3 adult sons and 3 grandchildren. For 11 years until this summer (2011) I lived as a Catholic Sister in 2 “new” private associations of the faithful and finally decided to return to live near family in Steubenville, Ohio, USA. As I have already given my life to God (in private consecration) and to Mary (St. Louis DeMontfort) and as an Secular Franciscan, I still desire to live my current life situation as a consecrated Catholic widow. Some Bishops in the Catholic Church (Latin Rite) do allow a private consecration ceremony which I am discerning, however the Church does not have a Canonical Public Consecration for Widows at this time. This has been in focus and discussion for a number of years however with the Vatican due in large part by the public discussion by Dr. Ronda Chervin (Cromwell, CT), the Widows of Prayer (Appleton, WI) and other widows in the USA. Cardinal Burke and Cardinal Arinze are involved with this discussion. One noted website with a continual discussion is, Do I Have a Vocation.com. Please open discussion with me on this website, or email me at: kathleenmarshall777@yahoo.com or see the new Facebook page that I will start for Consecrated Catholic Widows. God Bless You!
 
Kathleen777 said:
I am praying that this site will connect me with any interested Catholic (women) widows who are interested in consecrated widowhood. Starting with conversation and perhaps then meeting and if spiritually discerned eventually to form a group of some sort. I am 55 yrs. old, widowed for 18 years with 3 adult sons and 3 grandchildren. For 11 years until this summer (2011) I lived as a Catholic Sister in 2 “new” private associations of the faithful and finally decided to return to live near family in Steubenville, Ohio, USA. As I have already given my life to God (in private consecration) and to Mary (St. Louis DeMontfort) and as an Secular Franciscan, I still desire to live my current life situation as a consecrated Catholic widow. Some Bishops in the Catholic Church (Latin Rite) do allow a private consecration ceremony which I am discerning, however the Church does not have a Canonical Public Consecration for Widows at this time. This has been in focus and discussion for a number of years however with the Vatican due in large part by the public discussion by Dr. Ronda Chervin (Cromwell, CT), the Widows of Prayer (Appleton, WI) and other widows in the USA. Cardinal Burke and Cardinal Arinze are involved with this discussion. One noted website with a continual discussion is, Do I Have a Vocation.com. Please open discussion with me on this website, or email me at: kathleenmarshall777@yahoo.com or see the new Facebook page that I will start for Consecrated Catholic Widows. God Bless You!
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Hi Kathleen,

Can you help me understand what the difference is between someone who decides to not remarry and a consecrated widow?

What would official status bring?

Thanks.
 
Take a look at Wikipedia under Consecrated Catholic Life for a full explanation. As a widow we would privately and some day perhaps publicly with the permission of our local Bishop vow to live our life in poverty, chastity and obedience. This is different than a Sister who lives in community under a particular rule of life (Franciscan, Dominican, etc.), or in an Society of Apostolic Life which has a particular work to do that has been canonically approved by the Church. See also the website of Dr. Ronda Chervin and look under the heading of “Dedicated Widows”.
 
Your last question was, “What would official status bring?” Answer: Something HUGE! a new way of Consecrated life in the Catholic Church! A form that would fill the needs of the Church as well as that of the spiritual needs of the Catholic widow.
 
Kathleen777 said:
Take a look at Wikipedia under Consecrated Catholic Life for a full explanation. As a widow we would privately and some day perhaps publicly with the permission of our local Bishop vow to live our life in poverty, chastity and obedience. This is different than a Sister who lives in community under a particular rule of life (Franciscan, Dominican, etc.), or in an Society of Apostolic Life which has a particular work to do that has been canonically approved by the Church. See also the website of Dr. Ronda Chervin and look under the heading of “Dedicated Widows”.
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Kathleen, you’re not good with links are you? 😛 Kidding.

Anyway, now I understand. I didn’t realize there were vows to live in poverty and obedience as well.

Sounds awesome.

But would all the Orders have consecrated widow groups? I would think there might be Franciscan consecrated widows and Dominican consecrated widows, etc.
 
The Orders in the Catholic Church do not have consecrated widows. There are some individual women who have been given permission by their Bishops to make private vows as consecrated widows, but no permission has been canonically approved by the church for public consecrated vows for widows. Why? you ask, that is the question being discussed since Blessed John Paul II did mention Conscrated Widows in his writing, Vita Consecrata.
 
I started a new Facebook page, Catholic Consecrated Widows, today if you want to write and see discussions on that or you can personally email me at a new email address: Consecrated.Widow@yahoo.com
 
I would like to keep this thread active if possible. Catholic women who are widows, please keep discerning consecrated widowhood. Older vocations are possible too with the new communities that are being formed that would include widows who no longer have to stay at home and care for their children. Some widows want/have to make private vows with their priest, some want/have made vows with SOLT, the Holy Family Insitute or the Widows of Prayer in the United States. Some, want to make canonical vows to their Bishop as Consecrated Widows. Let us join together for discussion, association and encouragement. Perhaps this and the Order of Widows will come back if we work with the Holy Spirit and Holy Mother Church.
Kathleen Marshall, ofs
Steubenville, OH
Tel 740-275-6168
email: consecrated.widow@yahoo.com
Face Book page: Catholic Consecrated Widows
 
From what I have read, SOLT (Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity) has consecrated widows. I think it might depend on the Bishop of an area as to whether or not this consecration is available because like Consecrated Hermits, the consecration is made via the Bishop and not the religious community, but SOLT must have some arrangement with their Bishop just as the Hermits of Bethlehem have an arrangement with their Bishop to consecrate their hermits.

Link here SOLT
Consecrated Widows

“All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer,
together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus” (Acts 1:4 NAB).

There have been many ways of witnessing discipleship of the Lord Jesus since the beginning of the Church, among these was the witness of consecrated widowhood. The very Mother of the Lord, Mary Immaculate, after the Ascension of her Son, far from laying asside her spiritual motherhood, actually increased in her maternal care for the mystical Body of Christ, the Church. Consecrated Widows witness the maternity of Our Lady and her intercession for the Church.
 
nunsense said:
From what I have read, SOLT (Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity) has consecrated widows. I think it might depend on the Bishop of an area as to whether or not this consecration is available because like Consecrated Hermits, the consecration is made via the Bishop and not the religious community, but SOLT must have some arrangement with their Bishop just as the Hermits of Bethlehem have an arrangement with their Bishop to consecrate their hermits.

Link here SOLT
Consecrated Widows

“All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer,
together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus” (Acts 1:4 NAB).

There have been many ways of witnessing discipleship of the Lord Jesus since the beginning of the Church, among these was the witness of consecrated widowhood. The very Mother of the Lord, Mary Immaculate, after the Ascension of her Son, far from laying asside her spiritual motherhood, actually increased in her maternal care for the mystical Body of Christ, the Church. Consecrated Widows witness the maternity of Our Lady and her intercession for the Church.
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It may be helpful to refer to the SOLT widows as dedicated widows as they are not in the consecrated state insofar as I can make out. The consecrated widows referred to in Vita Consecrata and the Catechism and in the Eastern Catholic Chuches are of the Order of Widows (currently not present in the USA) and they they profess a public vow of chastity before their bishop, who enrolls them into the Order of Widows and the consecrated state. If three vows are made before a bishop in the USA, the chances are extremely high that these are private vows and that the widow/er remains a lay dedicated person. The Order of Widows requires a vow of chastity and for the bishop to have the authorization to admit a widow to it. This is granted in canon law to the Eastern Catholic bishops for their subjects but not to Roman Catholics. Thus, canonically speaking, most Roman Catholic widows are dedicated widows if they have made a vow/promise of perpetual chastity whether it was with SOLT or in front of their bishop or cardinal because it is not a canonical status given at this time in the Roman Catholic Church. I personally would think twice about asking a widow to vow/promise poverty. Vowed poverty doesn’t make sense for an individual person who is not a member of a religious community, and obedience would be to the bishop and he would normally refuse to be a canonical superior with that kind of responsibility when the vocation of its nature does not require him to be a canonical superior.
 
SerraSemper said:
It may be helpful to refer to the SOLT widows as dedicated widows as they are not in the consecrated state insofar as I can make out. The consecrated widows referred to in Vita Consecrata and the Catechism and in the Eastern Catholic Chuches are of the Order of Widows (currently not present in the USA) and they they profess a public vow of chastity before their bishop, who enrolls them into the Order of Widows and the consecrated state. If three vows are made before a bishop in the USA, the chances are extremely high that these are private vows and that the widow/er remains a lay dedicated person. The Order of Widows requires a vow of chastity and for the bishop to have the authorization to admit a widow to it. This is granted in canon law to the Eastern Catholic bishops for their subjects but not to Roman Catholics. Thus, canonically speaking, most Roman Catholic widows are dedicated widows if they have made a vow/promise of perpetual chastity whether it was with SOLT or in front of their bishop or cardinal because it is not a canonical status given at this time in the Roman Catholic Church. I personally would think twice about asking a widow to vow/promise poverty. Vowed poverty doesn’t make sense for an individual person who is not a member of a religious community, and obedience would be to the bishop and he would normally refuse to be a canonical superior with that kind of responsibility when the vocation of its nature does not require him to be a canonical superior.
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I am sure you are right Therese. I just copied what was on their webpage.
 
SerraSemper said:
…edit… Vowed poverty doesn’t make sense for an individual person who is not a member of a religious community…edit…
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I am curious why a promise or vow of poverty would not make sense for an individual who is not a member of a religious community?
 
TiggerS said:
I am curious why a promise or vow of poverty would not make sense for an individual who is not a member of a religious community?
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Because it is mostly an “institutional” vow. How does a normal single person not own anything, or why would they burden someone else with administering their own property? People forget in their eagerness to imitate religious who live in community, that the foundation of consecrated life is chastity for the sake of the kingdom. Obedience only makes sense when there is a lawful superior to whom obedience is vowed or promised and who has the right in the Church to accept this and to have jurisdiction over this individual. There is no such thing as a lawful superior for a widow (or single Catholic). Ditto for poverty. You don’t just vow poverty. You vow to live poorly in accordance with a set of rules. Again, the set of rules is very well and good for religious who have relinquished ownership and/or control of their own goods because there are members of the community who are the community’s stewards. But, it absolutely doesn’t make sense for a regular person. Why would a widow in her right senses renounce her goods? Why don’t we require it for diocesan priests or consecrated virgins? The reason is that the vow/promise of poverty is not an essential part of the vocation to any other Church vocation outside of certain forms of consecrated life. Baptismal vows are sufficient for holiness, and chastity is the only vow of the three that makes sense for a person to make outside of a religious institute or diocesan hermit structure if they feel so called.
 
Lot’s of info added in 2012 to my Facebook page “Catholic Consecrated Widows.” Have a look!

Kathleen, ofs
 
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