Starting your own Religious Order

[Cloisters]

It’s known as the personal prayer rule, and all laity are encouraged to develop one for themselves. They are even permitted to develop their own distinctive garb, which in this case could be all brown with sandals and Franciscan cross or pin. No robes outside of the house.

There’s a lot of misinformation out there regarding the foundation of new charisms. They start as private lay associations, and they can be comprised of one person. This one person living the charism can develop into a diocesan hermit. A hermit’s parish is their community, and they will participate in parish life. Hermits are also responsible for their remunerative work and health insurance.

If adherents are desired, setting up the “third order” is a way of vetting potential vocations. This will also fall into the category of private lay association. Then the founder and the adherents will form a distinctly different preparatory association, and begin living the life which is to firm up the constitutions.

I am a married Lay Dominican, and I have what’s called a preparatory association of hermits in the works right now. When the group is recognized by the bishop and receives a letter from him, I will be wearing the full habit in appropriate places–mainly Mass because the habit will upset my husband who has fallen away from the church.

So, don’t listen to the critics. Develop your personal prayer rule, and retain a spiritual director. What you’re doing is between you and God. To listen to the critics–who know nothing about this prosess–is akin to idolatry, and stifling the Spirit. It’s your soul, not theirs.

Blessings,
Cloisters

 

[iloveangels]

It’s known as the personal prayer rule, and all laity are encouraged to develop one for themselves. They are even permitted to develop their own distinctive garb, which in this case could be all brown with sandals and Franciscan cross or pin. No robes outside of the house.

There’s a lot of misinformation out there regarding the foundation of new charisms. They start as private lay associations, and they can be comprised of one person. This one person living the charism can develop into a diocesan hermit. A hermit’s parish is their community, and they will participate in parish life. Hermits are also responsible for their remunerative work and health insurance.

If adherents are desired, setting up the “third order” is a way of vetting potential vocations. This will also fall into the category of private lay association. Then the founder and the adherents will form a distinctly different preparatory association, and begin living the life which is to firm up the constitutions.

I am a married Lay Dominican, and I have what’s called a preparatory association of hermits in the works right now. When the group is recognized by the bishop and receives a letter from him, I will be wearing the full habit in appropriate places–mainly Mass because the habit will upset my husband who has fallen away from the church.

So, don’t listen to the critics. Develop your personal prayer rule, and retain a spiritual director. What you’re doing is between you and God. To listen to the critics–who know nothing about this prosess–is akin to idolatry, and stifling the Spirit. It’s your soul, not theirs.

Blessings,
Cloisters

Are you currently working with the local diocese on this?

 

[Cloisters]

Are you currently working with the local diocese on this?

He has all of our information. There is nothing he can do except pray for us and support us as c605 says to do–as a nurturing father.

If a bishop founds a community, the group’s status goes straight to public association.

Everyone thinks the bishop is to be “involved” but the group has to live the life and only they can do it. There is no “getting a bishop’s permission” to start a community.

Blessings,
Cloisters

 

[iloveangels]

He has all of our information. There is nothing he can do except pray for us and support us as c605 says to do–as a nurturing father.

If a bishop founds a community, the group’s status goes straight to public association.

Everyone thinks the bishop is to be “involved” but the group has to live the life and only they can do it. There is no “getting a bishop’s permission” to start a community.

Blessings,
Cloisters

Not exactly. Many groups start out informally, and they are encouraged to grow if they can. This is how most of them start out. However, a few do start with initial (name removed by moderator)ut from the diocesan offices. I believe that the Sisters of Life in New York started this way and also there was a Carmelite group in Michigan that started this way too. Other groups are offshoots, so to speak, and may have diocesan help along to the way to become established. The CFR in Brooklyn is an example of this type of group formation.

A group doesn’t really become approved until their constitutions and paperwork are gone over canonically and formally approved by the diocese they’re in. Dioceses have specialists to help with this process because it’s a fairly complicated process in canon law so it requires canonical lawyers and specialists to help. It can take quite a while, sometimes many years, for that to happen, depending on a large number of factors. And then if everything is in order, finally they might become approved as public associations of the faithful of diocesan right. Until then, they can’t really say they have formal canonical diocesan approval.

Getting direct (name removed by moderator)ut from the diocese, as you say, is a distinct advantage for a group if they can get it. However, yes, many groups do not have this, particularly if they are founded by laypeople or if the diocesan office for religious is not in on the original formation of the group.

A lot of groups that start out with the best of intentions never make it to having formal canonical approval for one reason or another.

 

[iloveangels]

Cloisters, you are right about the fact that the Church allows its members to associate freely and it is certainly possible and even laudable to form “de facto” groups of faithful for the purpose of serving the Church and growing in holiness, particularly those that dioceses know exist.

 

[mymamamary]

Thank you all for the wonderful advice! I was merely asking out of curiosity, and well, its quenched my curisioity. However, I dont really think that I am called to start another order, as I cant, however starting a lay association, a third order with habits and the evangelical counsels would be nice. I think I will settle for whats out there as there are alot of fantastic communites to join from the respective orders.

 

[Cloisters]

Thank you all for the wonderful advice! I was merely asking out of curiosity, and well, its quenched my curisioity. However, I dont really think that I am called to start another order, as I cant, however starting a lay association, a third order with habits and the evangelical counsels would be nice. I think I will settle for whats out there as there are alot of fantastic communites to join from the respective orders.

Your desire to start a community may also be the Holy Ghost inspiring you to seek out an emerging charism. You’ve stated Franciscan, and I see references to the Sacred Heart. Perhaps the Brothers of St Francis of the Sacred Heart of Jesus are worth looking into?

brothersofstfrancisofthesacredheart.org/

If that doesn’t work, they should show up on the Fullerton Society page on our main website: cloisters.tripod.com/

Blessings,
Cloisters

 

[Cloisters]

Not exactly. Many groups start out informally, and they are encouraged to grow if they can. This is how most of them start out. However, a few do start with initial (name removed by moderator)ut from the diocesan offices. I believe that the Sisters of Life in New York started this way and also there was a Carmelite group in Michigan that started this way too. Other groups are offshoots, so to speak, and may have diocesan help along to the way to become established. The CFR in Brooklyn is an example of this type of group formation.

A group doesn’t really become approved until their constitutions and paperwork are gone over canonically and formally approved by the diocese they’re in. Dioceses have specialists to help with this process because it’s a fairly complicated process in canon law so it requires canonical lawyers and specialists to help. It can take quite a while, sometimes many years, for that to happen, depending on a large number of factors. And then if everything is in order, finally they might become approved as public associations of the faithful of diocesan right. Until then, they can’t really say they have formal canonical diocesan approval.

Getting direct (name removed by moderator)ut from the diocese, as you say, is a distinct advantage for a group if they can get it. However, yes, many groups do not have this, particularly if they are founded by laypeople or if the diocesan office for religious is not in on the original formation of the group.

A lot of groups that start out with the best of intentions never make it to having formal canonical approval for one reason or another.

And that’s the reason for the Fullerton Society–support for the founders, and making sure everyone has a chance to get everything together before making petition to the bishop.

Lay associations have statutes; religious communities have constitutions. Both are usually based on a specific spirituality, or even a combination of such. Canon law is wide open where that is concerned. The CCL has outlined the common threads, then gives a wide berth for the inspirations. New names for God are even encouraged.

The formation program is put together by the founders, and they make a founder’s novitiate with an established monastery or convent. The Queenship of Mary community just finished their founder’s novitiate and were constituted Private Association this year.

Fr Gambari says there is no blueprint, but there are certainly common threads.

You and I are saying basically the same thing.

Blessings,
Cloisters

 

[Bebekoualy]

Well to found something, there need to be at least two of you. I don’t think founding all alone is a good thing. I know about 3 girls who founded Dominican nuns that would have a direct form of apostolate: in the streets, with Catechism, with a traditional liturgy. They did well in France and are trying to get more vocations in order to get a new statute.
notredamedesprecheurs.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12&Itemid=2
They only started in 2006!

 

[SerraSemper]

Just to be clear here… being a diocesan hermit (canon 603) means that the man/woman has discerned with his/her bishop to live a SOLITARY life for LIFE. Diocesan eremitical life is NOT a stepping stone to founding a community of any kind whatsoever. It is a distinct vocation in its own right. Those who wish to found congregations (religious in the consecrated state) or secular institutes/societies of apostolic life (groups in the lay state or clerical state if members are clerics) do so without becoming hermits!!! To take vows in the hands of the bishop as a hermit while intending to found a community of one kind or another most probably invalidates the vows as it is fraud/simulation.