Decline in Female Religious Orders before Vatican II

[David_B]

I’ve often heard that female religious orders were in decline before Vatican II, teaching orders in particular were facing “temporary” shortages by the 1950s. Has anyone made a connection to the decline in female religious and the eventual decline in priestly vocations in the 1960s?

 

[anode]

I can’t speak specifically to your question, but can report an anecdote, which will reveal my age.

In the 1950’s I did volunteer work at a children’s home run by what was then a small order of sisters, which has since merged with one of its parent or sister orders with the same name. They wore a full habit, somewhat simplified with less starch than the usual. One of the sisters said to me that they were very worried about the small entering postulants’ class of “only” nine postulants. I am quite sure that this was about 1956, certainly no later than 1960.

if there are fewer teaching sisters, which was what most sisters did then, there are going to be fewer sisters in the schools, and fewer sisters telling little boys that maybe they should think about becoming priests one day. The current NRVC-CARA study just published reinforces the impression that meeting religious and being encouraged by religious remains one of the driving forces for people to enter religious life.

 

[Hidden_One]

I’ve come across that connection having been made.

I believe that it was a conversation between Abp. Dolan and Fr. Benedict Groschel that I first explicitly encountered the idea of a connection between the lack of presence of good sisters and a lack of priestly vocations.

 

[anode]

I can’t speak specifically to your question, but can report an anecdote, which will reveal my age.

In the 1950’s I did volunteer work at a children’s home run by what was then a small order of sisters, which has since merged with one of its parent or sister orders with the same name. They wore a full habit, somewhat simplified with less starch than the usual. One of the sisters said to me that they were very worried about the small entering postulants’ class of “only” nine postulants. I am quite sure that this was about 1956, certainly no later than 1960.

if there are fewer teaching sisters, which was what most sisters did then, there are going to be fewer sisters in the schools, and fewer sisters telling little boys that maybe they should think about becoming priests one day. The current NRVC-CARA study just published reinforces the impression that meeting religious and being encouraged by religious remains one of the driving forces for people to enter religious life.

ACT-ually the contact with religious is THE driving force behind these religious vocations, those, almost 3000, reporting in this survey. Now diocesan priests candidates weren’t included in this survey, which was restricted to religious life, but the inference is clear.

As an aside, this puts religious who work, say, exclusively with the poor and disadvantaged, --at a disadvantage. This includes both men and women. Many women’s orders have elected to work with the poor exclusively, which was their original charism established by their foundresses. Whereas those that teach, such as the Nashville and Ann Arbor Dominicans, would be at an advantage.

 

[Hidden_One]

Thus, the vocations rate of the Missionaries of Chairty post-Mother Teresa…

 

[anode]

Thus, the vocations rate of the Missionaries of Chairty post-Mother Teresa…

I don’t know how many are entering from the US. Aside from one page in the CMSWR website, they don’t have a website. The most recent Guides to Religious Ministries, 29th ed. lists them at 4000 world wide, in 33 places in the US and literally hundreds of countries, which sounds as if they’re spread pretty thin. Even the Daughters of Charity, DC, at 25,000 in their heyday, weren’t everywhere. Also, I don’t know if the Missionaries are continuing to grow at the same rate.

 

[Hidden_One]

From what I’ve heard, since Bl. Mother Teresa’s death, their vocations have virtually disappeared.

 

[anode]

From what I’ve heard, since Bl. Mother Teresa’s death, their vocations have virtually disappeared.

This is very surprising. Do you have this on good authority? I don’t want to sound skeptical, but I would not have predicted this. Decline, perhaps. The one page on the CMSWR website says that the age cut-off is 35 and you must be willing to accept any work in any place. I think that this would be hard for American young women.

 

[Hidden_One]

I have it from a reasonable source (actually, two, I think, now that I remember back), but not a sufficient one for me to say it with authority - hence, “From what I’ve heard”.

 

[Sister_Rose]

I’m not from a teaching community but I do know that right round 1960 our Sisters built a new novitiate with almost 60 rooms because the number of girls entering was beyond the capacity of the old novitiate. We were not one of the big orders but we were already well established by that point. We are primarily in healthcare.

There was a big boom in religious vocations following WWII. I think that teaching orders accepted more girls at a younger age in their aspirancy programs. It could be that the boom was coming to the end and they were the first to feel it.