Priests, brothers, monks?

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This may seem like a silly question for you in the know, but are all ordained religious men (including brothers & monks) considered priests? Do they have the same capacity to say mass, perform the sacraments? Are there differences in capacity depending on the order one joins? Can they serve as “parish priests?”

As a related question, does anyone know whether these religious communities are suffering the same shortages in new members as the general priesthood? Why or why not?
 
well, ordination generally means being ‘priested’. but not all religious are ordained.

deacons, brothers, alot of monks - are not ordained. they are religious - they live by a rule, take vows. but they’re not priests - cannot say mass, hear confessions, etc.

for instance, my brother is a jesuit. he’s a scholastic, which means that he’s studying to be a priest. he might NOT, however, be ordained (he probably will, but you see my meaning). in which case, he would be a jesuit brother. he wouldn’t be a priest, couldn’t say mass, but he’d live by his vows for life.

yes, they are experiencing a shortage of vocations (or at least RESPONSE to vocations) right now, too.

does that answer your q? (not sure i understood you completely. but i think so.)
 
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jeffreedy789:
deacons, brothers, alot of monks - are not ordained. they are religious - they live by a rule, take vows. but they’re not priests - cannot say mass, hear confessions, etc.
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Deacons are ordained.

Brothers and monks are religious, as are friars.

A monk or a friar maybe ordained a deacon or a priest.

Brothers are lay members of religious orders who may or may not have ordained members.
 
that’s right. thanks for the correction. i meant that they’re not ordained as PRIESTS. not that they’re not ordained at all.

i mistyped. 🙂 thanks again.
 
Cosmasite said:
What about an Abbot? Can an Abbot say Mass?
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Dead thread revival:

The abbot usually is a priest (in our Benedictine congregation, it’s required as part of the constitutions to be elected abbot; but St-Benedict was not ordained and some congregations may not require it though I believe most if not all now do). If he is a priest, of course he may say Mass. In fact for Benedictines, the Abbot is mitered and is the “ordinary” of his community that is, he is the equivalent of a bishop but just for his community.

Obviously an abbess cannot be ordained so cannot say Mass. Women’s monasteries have a chaplain (priest) to celebrate the Mass.
 
OraLabora said:
Dead thread revival:

The abbot usually is a priest (in our Benedictine congregation, it’s required as part of the constitutions to be elected abbot; but St-Benedict was not ordained and some congregations may not require it though I believe most if not all now do). If he is a priest, of course he may say Mass. In fact for Benedictines, the Abbot is mitered and is the “ordinary” of his community that is, he is the equivalent of a bishop but just for his community.

Obviously an abbess cannot be ordained so cannot say Mass. Women’s monasteries have a chaplain (priest) to celebrate the Mass.
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Correct me if I’m wrong. Not all monasteries have abbots, only those monasteries which reach a status with Rome. Otherwise a monastery will have a superior.

Same goes for nuns in a priory, which will have a Prioress, not an Abbess.

Is this right ?

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Correct me if I’m wrong. Not all monasteries have abbots, only those monasteries which reach a status with Rome. Otherwise a monastery will have a superior.

Same goes for nuns in a priory, which will have a Prioress, not an Abbess.

Is this right ?

Jim
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Speaking for the Benedictine tradition, all monks live under the rule of an Abbot. However when a new monastery is founded somewhere, it usually starts life as a priory dependent on the mother abbey that founded it. So the abbot will be the abbot of the mother abbey as well as the priory, but a prior will also be appointed or elected to run the daughter monastery locally as usually the foundation was some distance (or continent!) away from the abbey that founded it; the prior however is answerable to the distant abbot (as are the monks led by the prior… ultimately the abbot rules).

The monastery I am associated with started life that way in 1912. From 1912 to 1952 it was a priory and the abbot was the abbot of St Wandrille monastery in France. In 1952 it was raised to the status of an abbey and its first abbot was elected.

The same applies to women, Cistercians, etc. Some orders like the Carthusians don’t appoint abbots; only priors.
 
OraLabora said:
Speaking for the Benedictine tradition, all monks live under the rule of an Abbot. However when a new monastery is founded somewhere, it usually starts life as a priory dependent on the mother abbey that founded it. So the abbot will be the abbot of the mother abbey as well as the priory, but a prior will also be appointed or elected to run the daughter monastery locally as usually the foundation was some distance (or continent!) away from the abbey that founded it; the prior however is answerable to the distant abbot (as are the monks led by the prior… ultimately the abbot rules).

The monastery I am associated with started life that way in 1912. From 1912 to 1952 it was a priory and the abbot was the abbot of St Wandrille monastery in France. In 1952 it was raised to the status of an abbey and its first abbot was elected.

The same applies to women, Cistercians, etc. Some orders like the Carthusians don’t appoint abbots; only priors.
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OK, that explains the Benedictine Monastery/Priory that I have visited often.

The priory is where the nuns life and they have a prioress. The monastery of monks has a superior. Both are from the Abbey in England, Liverpool I think.

The priory and monastery connect to the Church. The nuns sit on one side and the monks on the opposite side. Both are cloistered.

stmarysmonastery.org/

stscholasticapriory.org/

Jim
 
OraLabora said:
Speaking for the Benedictine tradition, all monks live under the rule of an Abbot. However when a new monastery is founded somewhere, it usually starts life as a priory dependent on the mother abbey that founded it. So the abbot will be the abbot of the mother abbey as well as the priory, but a prior will also be appointed or elected to run the daughter monastery locally as usually the foundation was some distance (or continent!) away from the abbey that founded it; the prior however is answerable to the distant abbot (as are the monks led by the prior… ultimately the abbot rules).

The monastery I am associated with started life that way in 1912. From 1912 to 1952 it was a priory and the abbot was the abbot of St Wandrille monastery in France. In 1952 it was raised to the status of an abbey and its first abbot was elected.

The same applies to women, Cistercians, etc. Some orders like the Carthusians don’t appoint abbots; only priors.
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Amico mio,

I know of a case where the abbot died, and his “replacement” is “only” a prior. Any idea why?
 
Luigi_Daniele said:
Amico mio,

I know of a case where the abbot died, and his “replacement” is “only” a prior. Any idea why?
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Possibly because the election results were unclear or nobody was willing to become abbot. It can also happen that an administrator is appointed.
 
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