Question about Catholic religious orders

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Tommy999

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Can someone briefly explain the role and purpose of the various Catholic religious orders such as the Franciscans, Dominicans, Bendictines, Jesuits, and Carmelites and how they may differ from those clergy who serve in Catholic parishes and the local diocese?

Follow up theoretical question:
Which one would you have been drawn to if you had chosen to be in a religious order?

As a protestant, I have no clue as to what the different religious orders do but I know they must play an important role in Catholicism because I hear them referred to from time to time and I’d like to better understand them better. Thanks.
 
Well as I am on here right now, Tommy, I can explain some things.

First and foremost, the highest ranking person in the diocese (local church) is the bishop. He has the same presence and power of the apostles…but as we are all human beings and times vary…we also know there have been bad bishops who did not live up to their calling, and the pontificate of Pope Benedict was removing a bishop a month. P. Francis is continuing to clean up things, not that JPII didn’t. But he was very sick his last years, but still serving, but more in his public teaching. I have been out of touch with his last writings, but they were prolific.

So the bishop is the head of the diocese, and the cathedral is in essence his church where he heads and says Mass…there are rectors/pastors of the cathedrals as well. The bishop oversees all souls in his jurisdiction, based on geographical boundaries. Every diocese defines its boundaries. The bishop overseas all souls, including non-Catholics. So know that the Catholic bishop you have prays for you and is concern for your faith as your own pastor.

The next rank are the diocesan priests. They make only one vow: they vow obedience to the bishop.

You then have the religious orders. The religious orders have a special mission or charism to give to the churches that are somewhat beyond the scope of diocesan priests who serve the majority of people. Many times laypeople love going to the religious parishes and drawing on their charisms within the diocese.

The Benedictines are among the oldest, going back to the 600’s. Some are priests, many others are monks. Their charism is work. They supported the indigenous populations teaching them agriculture, irrigation, animal husbandry among some things.

There are the Augustinians.

There are others…but I will fast forward to the 1200s.

The Franciscans were started by St. Francis of Assisi who was a brother and never became a priest. He had fellow friars. They branched out…the conventionals, the Capuchins were the last…there is a second group of Franciscans, both having priests and brothers. Francis’ charism was to embrace holy poverty and to build the Church by living the purity of the Gospel as literally as he could in the spirit of great joy and thanksgiving. There are the ‘Flowers of St. Francis’, that are such good reading, but most of them are true…but capture the joy and simplicity of Francis and his followers. The Franciscans follow the Augustinian rule.

Along with Francis, came St. Dominic of Spain. He and the Dominicans are the intellect of religious orders, their motto, ‘Truth’. Many are priests who become theologians, St. Thomas Aquinas is one of them. Most of the time, this order was established among universities. It is said that St. Dominic was able to raise people from the dead. He met St. Francis of Assisi.

At the same time again, are the Carmelites who fled the Saracens in the Holy Land. A group of former Crusaders came to the Wadi El Sidah…to meditate and live near the Fountain of Elija. They called themselves the Brothers of Mary. They wore the white and blue of Palestine. They are the great contemplatives. When they fled the Holy Land an came to Europe, they got flack for wearing their type of habits and later changed to the brown. Most famous are the Carmelite nuns…nuns being those in cloister, sister the name for those in active, public religious life. There is the Ancient Order of Carmel that is more into active ministry, and then there are the Discalced, meaning without shoes, the ones St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross had joined and wanted to reform, and ended up forming the Discalced. The Carmelites have priests, brothers and sisters, both active and contemplative. There is an active contemplative order of nuns in Alhambra, California who do active work within the Discalced tradition.

Another…The Servants of Mary, or the Servites, founded in Italy…7 laymen had simultaneous encounter with the Virgin Mary…not identical in experience, but to each she came as the Sorrowful Mother, and they each had something they had learned to contribute to their gathering. They all were financially able to provide for their families, and then start their own religious order. They have brothers and sisters. They work in the foreign missions and promote devotion to Mary Mother of Sorrows.

The Benedictines, Dominicans, Franciscans, and Carmelites have lay institutes, where lay people can make promises, but not vows, and live the charism of a particular order within the lay life, within the married life. The Servites likewise have lay people part of their institutes.

The lay people generally are asked to pray the morning and evening office…about 10 minutes each in am and pm, of the Liturgy of the Hours, comprised mainly of psalms and prayers for the universal church. Priests are obligated to pray the entire office daily.

I am sure those others from CAF can elucidite on the orders I mentioned to you as well as others…Trappists, Carthusians…there are many religious orders in the world now…that have branched out from the ones I told you about.
 
Thanks as usual for the good information, KathleenGee. Thank you very much for the links to additional info, Isaiah45_9. I will look at those a bit later.

It sounds like each order has its own personality and area of service to God and mankind.
I would probably be most drawn to the ones who are lead to teach in schools. Would that be the Dominicans?

I realize it was just a movie, but do you know what order Maria might have belonged to in the ‘Sound of Music’? I really loved that and watch it almost every time it is on TV.
 
Tommy999 said:
Thanks as usual for the good information, KathleenGee. Thank you very much for the links to additional info, Isaiah45_9. I will look at those a bit later.

It sounds like each order has its own personality and area of service to God and mankind.
I would probably be most drawn to the ones who are lead to teach in schools. Would that be the Dominicans?

I realize it was just a movie, but do you know what order Maria might have belonged to in the ‘Sound of Music’? I really loved that and watch it almost every time it is on TV.
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It depends, a lot of them teach: Dominicans (Thomas Aquinas), Augustinians (Luther belonged to this order and taught in College), Jesuits (Pope Francis), Marist Brothers, and others I can’t recall. There are also many Nun orders that are teachers. (For example, most of my teachers in school were from the order of the Immaculate Conception and our School and Parish Director was Franciscan.
 
Isaiah45_9 said:
It depends, a lot of them teach: Dominicans (Thomas Aquinas), Augustinians (Luther belonged to this order and taught in College), Jesuits (Pope Francis), Marist Brothers, and others I can’t recall. There are also many Nun orders that are teachers. (For example, most of my teachers in school were from the order of the Immaculate Conception and our School and Parish Director was Franciscan.
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Thanks for clarifying that, 45_9. Sounds like many orders participate in teaching.
 
In answer to your theoretical question: I am very much drawn to the Franciscans. We have a shrine around here that he friars maintain and also give spiritual direction, say Mass, hear confessions, teach, etc. and I like their down-to-earth attitude. What you see is what you get. They live in poverty and depend on donations to keep things going. They are very hospitable, and have a wise and homey down to earth, simple spirituality. There is a convent of Franciscan Sisters not too far away that I sometimes support, and they are just remarkable for their joy in the Lord. They work with the poor and have these plain, homely gray habits, and their faces just shine. I went to a retreat with them once and my impression was they were the happiest people on earth. Their order is growing tremendously. Just for your interest, here is their website. You can see how happy they are. :

franciscansisterstor.org

Anyway, though I love them all, I am drawn to the Franciscans,
 
Tommy999 said:
Thanks as usual for the good information, KathleenGee. Thank you very much for the links to additional info, Isaiah45_9. I will look at those a bit later.

It sounds like each order has its own personality and area of service to God and mankind.
I would probably be most drawn to the ones who are lead to teach in schools. Would that be the Dominicans?

I realize it was just a movie, but do you know what order Maria might have belonged to in the ‘Sound of Music’? I really loved that and watch it almost every time it is on TV.
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The Sound of Music is based on a real family. Maria von Trapp was apparently hoping to enter the Benedictines, but God had other plans for her. 😉
 
Some Benedictines have also and continue to run schools, though that’s not the major charism of the order; primarily they are a contemplative (cloistered) order.

One other characteristic of the Benedictines is the great independence each Benedictine community enjoys. Each house has considerable latitude in selecting its liturgy (Divine Office), structuring its internal affairs, etc. Also it is an order of “Pontifical Right”, and not “Diocesan Right”, which means each house is answerable to the Pope and not the local bishop. In practical reality there are some layers between the Pope and each community. Communities are mostly (but entirely) arranged in congregations. For instance I am oblate of an abbey of the Solesmes Congregation. The head of that congregation is the abbey of Solesmes in France, so the head of that abbey has some say in the structuring of the common affairs of the congregation. Similarly there is a primatial abbey in Rome (Sant’Anselmo) where the Abbot Primate resides; he is elected, generally from the abbots president of a congregation. The current abbot primate is German from St. Ottilien abbey.

Sant’Anselmo is also a college and is unusual in that most of the monks there won’t be there permanently, they are generally younger monks sent over to study (and presumably older teachers).

The abbot of an abbey is considered a mitered abbot in that he wears the miter and carries the crozier and enjoys almost the same authority as a bishop, but only within his community. The exception being that he cannot ordain and relies on the local bishop to ordain any monk selected and trained to be a priest of the monastery.

Besides a life of prayer and work (“Ora et Labora”), Benedictines (as well as Trappists and Cistercians who also follow the Rule of Saint Benedict) are famous for their hospitality. Any person entering the abbey is greeted as if Christ himself walked through the door, regardless of religious beliefs (or lack of belief). They provide spiritual counseling to anybody who asks. Many a life has been put back onto the path of salvation through their gentle counsel. Not just heavenly salvation, but earthly as well; many an addict has started the road to recovery at a Benedictine abbey (as well as Cistercians, and Trappists).

Incidentally technically Trappists are Cistercians of the Strict Observance as opposed to Cistercians of the Common Observance (or just Cistercians for short).

I could go on forever on this subject, but those are just some tidbits about Benedictines, founded around 529 A.D. by Saint Benedict.
 
CB_Catholic said:
In answer to your theoretical question: I am very much drawn to the Franciscans. We have a shrine around here that he friars maintain and also give spiritual direction, say Mass, hear confessions, teach, etc. and I like their down-to-earth attitude. What you see is what you get. They live in poverty and depend on donations to keep things going. They are very hospitable, and have a wise and homey down to earth, simple spirituality. There is a convent of Franciscan Sisters not too far away that I sometimes support, and they are just remarkable for their joy in the Lord. They work with the poor and have these plain, homely gray habits, and their faces just shine. I went to a retreat with them once and my impression was they were the happiest people on earth. Their order is growing tremendously. Just for your interest, here is their website. You can see how happy they are. :

franciscansisterstor.org

Anyway, though I love them all, I am drawn to the Franciscans,
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Thanks, CB Catholic. I saw their picture on the link you provided and they definitely look happy and contented people in their service to the Lord. The way to you describe them, I would be drawn to that, too. I like down-to-earth and simple spirituality, also.
 
Thank you very much for the detailed info on the Benedictines, OraLabora. They sound like very hospitable people who treat their guests nicely. I wouldn’t mind visiting such a group. Also, thanks for explaining who they report to. I had assumed it was someone locally but it sounds like that is not the case, or at least isn’t always the case.

These answers are helping a lot. Thank you to all. 🙂
 
Not too far away from us is St. Joseph’s Abbey, which is “a cloistered Roman Catholic monastery of monks of the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, popularly known as Trappists.”

They have a very large area of land that they farm. They are very famous throughout New England for their preserves, jams and jellies. They also produce Church vestments. Here’s a bit of info from their website:
"What We Do

This sometimes hard and redeeming work provides for our own livelihood and for our care of the poor. Here at Saint Joseph’s Abbey we have two major industries in which most all of the monks participate.

At Trappist Preserves we produce and package a selection of jams, jellies, marmalades and conserves. At The Holy Rood Guild we design and create liturgical vesture, in collaboration with gifted local tailors and crafters. To view our product lines or to make purchases, please go to the following websites: www.monasterygreetings.com (for Trappist Preserves) and www.holyroodguild.com (for The Holy Rood Guild).

Trappist Preserves

In the autumn of 1954 the monks who worked in the Abbey herb garden decided to make a batch of mint jelly. The mint had been abundant that year, and they wanted to put it to good use. Their homemade jelly was sent down the hill to be sold at the Porter’s Lodge. The response was enthusiastic. Soon the brothers experimented with other varieties of fruit and wine jellies, jams and preserves. And there were great hopes that jelly-making might prove to be a successful and compatible monastic industry. From these humble beginnings Trappist Preserves grew into a profitable business which continues to contribute to the monks’ livelihood. At present Trappist Preserves is the top-selling specialty preserves in New England and is found in most major supermarkets."

I can attest to the fact that their Preserves are very YUMMY! 😃
 
Telstar said:
Not too far away from us is St. Joseph’s Abbey, which is “a cloistered Roman Catholic monastery of monks of the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, popularly known as Trappists.”

They have a very large area of land that they farm. They are very famous throughout New England for their preserves, jams and jellies. They also produce Church vestments. Here’s a bit of info from their website:
"What We Do

This sometimes hard and redeeming work provides for our own livelihood and for our care of the poor. Here at Saint Joseph’s Abbey we have two major industries in which most all of the monks participate.

At Trappist Preserves we produce and package a selection of jams, jellies, marmalades and conserves. At The Holy Rood Guild we design and create liturgical vesture, in collaboration with gifted local tailors and crafters. To view our product lines or to make purchases, please go to the following websites: www.monasterygreetings.com (for Trappist Preserves) and www.holyroodguild.com (for The Holy Rood Guild).

Trappist Preserves

In the autumn of 1954 the monks who worked in the Abbey herb garden decided to make a batch of mint jelly. The mint had been abundant that year, and they wanted to put it to good use. Their homemade jelly was sent down the hill to be sold at the Porter’s Lodge. The response was enthusiastic. Soon the brothers experimented with other varieties of fruit and wine jellies, jams and preserves. And there were great hopes that jelly-making might prove to be a successful and compatible monastic industry. From these humble beginnings Trappist Preserves grew into a profitable business which continues to contribute to the monks’ livelihood. At present Trappist Preserves is the top-selling specialty preserves in New England and is found in most major supermarkets."

I can attest to the fact that their Preserves are very YUMMY! 😃
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And they also now brew the first Trappist beer in the US!

spencerbrewery.com/
 
Tommy999 said:
Ah, so it was the Benedictines. Thanks for that movie trivia answer 👍. I had been wondering about that.
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You’re very welcome, as usual. 👍

A lot of people don’t realize that the movie is based on the family’s real life. It’s fairly well known in the New England area because some of them moved here, many years ago.
 
Telstar said:
Not too far away from us is St. Joseph’s Abbey, which is “a cloistered Roman Catholic monastery of monks of the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, popularly known as Trappists.”
Click to expand...
Speaking of the Trappists…

The Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance - OCSO - commonly known as the Trappists, are a cloistered, contemplative religious order, an offshoot of the Benedictines. The three pillars of the Cistercian life are prayer, lectio divina (prayerful meditative reading of scripture) and work. These they try to balance. Divine praise is their purpose in life. They are lovers of silence and lovers of the land. Their vows are obedience to the abbot, ongoing conversion to God, and stability in life - they vow to stay put.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) is probably the best known Cistercian. He is often referred to as the last of the Church Fathers. He is known for his sermons on the Song of Songs and was an adviser to Pope’s and kings.

I have a special love for the Brothers at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia and try to get there as often as I can.

timhollingworth.blogspot.com/2010/10/a-weekend-of-peace.html

-Tim-
 
Good posts…I love the Brigittines…foundress, St. Brigitta of Sweden. I especially love them because of their fudge…

Some of the Trappists make really good fruit cake.

Now there is talk about monasteries making beer. Last weekend I had a bottle of beer made from apple vinegar.

I will try to find you this link, Tommy, that show the religious orders. Yes, they report to the Holy Father, some have some kind of relationship to the local bishop. I know one that has a special work to do for the diocese, as well as function as a parish.

Teaching orders?..yes Dominicans, Marists, some Benedictines, I think of the Franciscan university at Steubenville, and those Franciscans who are on EWTN, but do not derive from the order of St. Francis. They instead derive from Francis’ charism, history, but have different slants…there are the Greyfriars…
 
Hi Tommy, here is a link that lists religious orders as well as provide history.

Actually, it is St. Martin of Tours who was among the first to start a religious order, and he is the one who greatly inspired St. Francis of Assisi so much that Francis, in writing his rule, wanted people to honor his feastday in November, and begin their fast to prepare for Christmas.

The link is: www.translationdirectory.com/articles/article2296.php

There are others. But it shows the scope. Some say religious orders are mini churches in themselves.

You are going to be an expert on teaching Catholicism 100…like a precursor to 101. LOL.
 
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