Religious Orders of the Catholic Church

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One area of our Faith that I am still learning on is that of the inception of certain religious orders. I understand some religious orders were born through the word of the Blessed Virgin or of our Lord Himself. What process(es) does one take to have an order established and recognized by the Catholic Church? Any help and direction in this would be appreciated for a better understanding and gratitude 🙂
 
Theosis said:
One area of our Faith that I am still learning on is that of the inception of certain religious orders. I understand some religious orders were born through the word of the Blessed Virgin or of our Lord Himself. What process(es) does one take to have an order established and recognized by the Catholic Church? Any help and direction in this would be appreciated for a better understanding and gratitude 🙂
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I see that @njlisa has already posted an explanation of Orders, etc. I have had a work-in-progress for years called “At Heaven’s Request” regarding the religious congregations founded as a result of revelations to the founders. (Hopefully, once we get moved, I can get back to that).

There’s no real blueprint for founding a new community. There is groundwork which needs to be done, though. I advise those being attracted to foundation to see if there is any way they can practice seclusion for a year, to hear what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell them. I also advise them to read the lives of the founders, particularly congregations founded after 1983, who were founded under the current Code of Canon Law.

There are, however, common threads, like the Rule; Constitutions (how the group lives out the Rule); Formation Program; Horarium; Remunerative work; stable source of habit parts; and at least three persevering members.

The main Rules are those of Sts Augustine, Benedict, Basil the Great, and Albert of Jerusalem. An easy way to remember them is ABBA.

Eremitical rules are those of St Columba; and those of the Carthusians and the Camaldolese Benedictines. The Albertine Rule previously mentioned is also eremitical, and is drawn from the Basilian Rule.

Before this, though, one needs statutes for the sake of non-profit organization status. The statutes are like a pre-constitutions. The group’s lay associates can also follow these statutes to a certain extent.

New congregations help the local bishop fulfill his pastoral plan (diocesan needs assessment). Some congregations are founded by the bishop, others present themselves, and he accepts them in his diocese to do his work. (Well, the Lord’s work, under obedience to him).

I’m trying to simplify the explanation. When the group has lived their plan/form of life for a number of years, and they have three (or more) members who are ready to go forward, then they have a recognition ceremony, where the bishop gives them a letter outlining what they have submitted as their form of life.

Then they hopefully attract vocations. Once they’ve been in existence for 10 years, they can receive recognition known as Diocesan Right. Then they can expand to other dioceses. After 25 years of growth, they can apply for Pontifical Right. Then they answer directly to the pope.

Here’s another CAF thread discussing the two Rights:
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Pontifical vs. Diocesan Rite Vocations
What is the difference between a religious community of pontifical rite and one of diocesan rite?
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Thank you!

I also thank you, njlisa, for the above link.

Please pray for me!
 
Cloisters said:
The main Rules are those of Sts Augustine, Benedict, Basil the Great, and Albert of Jerusalem. An easy way to remember them is ABBA.
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With all the different Franciscan orders/congregations, why isn’t the Rule of St Francis be considered a main rule?
 
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Probably because they’re ultimately under the umbrella of the Franciscans, while those other rules are used by multiple different Orders.
 
Well, the Franciscans are also in reality a great mixture of Orders and Congregations besides the original OFMs. They seem to work more closely than other Orders with the same Rule, though (except for the Benedictine branches, they may even share Monastery).
 
phil19034 said:
With all the different Franciscan orders/congregations, why isn’t the Rule of St Francis be considered a main rule?
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I’m not sure. I would have included it in the list. BUT…it’s not really an easy inclusion because there are multiple Franciscan rules…
  • Rule of the Friars Minor - followed by the OFM, OFM Cap, & OFM Conv…the difference between the orders lies in the constitutions, and traditions. There are also a couple offshoot communities that follow this rule as well.
  • Rule for Hermits/hermitages - mostly meant for Friars Minor who want to live as hermits temporarily.
  • Rule of Third Order - followed by (almost) every community that is not First Order/ Friars Minor or a Poor Clare. (Eg TOR, Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, Felician Sisters, etc). This rule was the last written by Saint Francis, but probably has the most communities following it.
  • Rule of Saint Clare - followed by Poor Clare nuns.
  • Secular Franciscan Rule - they used to follow the Third Order rule, but since the 1970’s have had their own rule.
 
phil19034 said:
With all the different Franciscan orders/congregations, why isn’t the Rule of St Francis be considered a main rule?
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This is because St. Francis refused to write a rule in this context. He believed that the ultimate focus of his way of life could be observed in any age, in any context. He did not want to say that “This specific way of life is the only way which you can follow my lead in following Jesus”.

For years, the various sects who considered St. Francis a spiritual father argued amongst themselves as to who had the ‘correct’ way to follow Francis. Some even have continued this argument until today. For the longest time, St. Francis outright refused to write a rule. He wanted those who followed his example to discern their own path with the Lord. In the end, St. Francis’s rule was more of a mission statement rather than a specific ‘rule’ in the sense of the other major rules. In the rule, St. Francis made sure that all followers of his way of life were protected and encouraged to flourish.
 
PapyrusDouay said:
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phil19034:
With all the different Franciscan orders/congregations, why isn’t the Rule of St Francis be considered a main rule?
Click to expand...
I’m not sure. I would have included it in the list. BUT…it’s not really an easy inclusion because there are multiple Franciscan rules…
  • Rule of the Friars Minor - followed by the OFM, OFM Cap, & OFM Conv…the difference between the orders lies in the constitutions, and traditions. There are also a couple offshoot communities that follow this rule as well.
  • Rule for Hermits/hermitages - mostly meant for Friars Minor who want to live as hermits temporarily.
  • Rule of Third Order - followed by (almost) every community that is not First Order/ Friars Minor or a Poor Clare. (Eg TOR, Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, Felician Sisters, etc). This rule was the last written by Saint Francis, but probably has the most communities following it.
  • Rule of Saint Clare - followed by Poor Clare nuns.
  • Secular Franciscan Rule - they used to follow the Third Order rule, but since the 1970’s have had their own rule.
Click to expand...
ahhhhhh… this makes a lot of sense. I didn’t realize that all the Franciscans were not following the same rule.
 
CRM_Brother said:
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phil19034:
With all the different Franciscan orders/congregations, why isn’t the Rule of St Francis be considered a main rule?
Click to expand...
This is because St. Francis refused to write a rule in this context. He believed that the ultimate focus of his way of life could be observed in any age, in any context. He did not want to say that “This specific way of life is the only way which you can follow my lead in following Jesus”.

For years, the various sects who considered St. Francis a spiritual father argued amongst themselves as to who had the ‘correct’ way to follow Francis. Some even have continued this argument until today. For the longest time, St. Francis outright refused to write a rule. He wanted those who followed his example to discern their own path with the Lord. In the end, St. Francis’s rule was more of a mission statement rather than a specific ‘rule’ in the sense of the other major rules. In the rule, St. Francis made sure that all followers of his way of life were protected and encouraged to flourish.
Click to expand...
Thank you Brother!
 
@Theosis: I deleted my original post because it was inaccurate. For instance, the Discalced Carmelite nuns are left out. That’s a huge oversight.

I can’t find a better article to help. 😞
 
There’s nothing glaringly wrong with the article. It includes the Discalced Carmelites. Note that it doesn’t break out the various branches of each family, but it does list the orders, so it’s not incorrect, per se. For example, it simply lists Benedictines - but there are both monks and sisters. I think the article is share-worthy.
 
Forgot to mention that the emerging community is permitted to wear and experiment with the habit indoors only. When they receive their letter during the recognition ceremony, they will receive the habit, as well.

The habit is based on the rule being followed. Augustinian is usually white, with black veil for the women. Black is worn during the winter. Basilian and Benedictine is black. Albertine is brown. Canon 603 eremites can design their own habit. The Eremitical orders usually wear all white. The black veil for the women indicates solemn vows.

And, if I remember correctly, St Francis mandated the cord, but didn’t stipulate any particular color.
 
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Habits, of course, are not intrinsic or mandatory for religious life. Far more important are charism (not to be confused with ministry) and constitutions.

One reason that there are so many Franciscan congregations is that the Franciscan Rule is the most flexible of the recognized rules (as opposed to congregation-specific constitutions). That, for instance, is why so many of the communities that formed in the US during the 19th century adopted it. This is acknowledged in quite a number of the published histories. So it was instrumental, more than charismic. In the years after Vatican II, many of these communities worked actively to discern what it actually means to be “Franciscan.” Very interesting, actually.

A book (now out of print) that discusses the evolution of Franciscan identity is Theophile Desbonnets, From Intuition to Institution: The Franciscans (1988).
 
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