Types of Religious Orders

[hamburglar]

I have seen so much terminology regarding types of religious orders, and I was wondering what some of these mean.

Clerical Religious Congregation
Order of Canons Regular
Order of Clerics Regular
Societies of Apostolic Life

 

[emily123]

Clerical Religious Congregations are religious orders in which men take vows. However, all the men in a clerical religious congregation are priests,too. So a clerical congregation consists of men who are priests and religious brothers at the same time. They may follow one of several religious rules.

Orders of Canons Regular are also priests and brothers at the same time.However, the Canons Regular always follow the Rule of St. Augustine and spend most of their time ministering to people in an actual church. They live at the church itself.

Orders of Clerks Regular contain men who are priests and brothers at the same time.There may be some brothers in the order who are not priests.They are very actively involved in the world. Many of them do missionary work. For example, there are the Jesuits and the Passionists. These came into being in the 1500’s in Italy.

Societies of Apostolic Life are groups of dedicated people, men and women, who sometimes live in community, but do not usually take vows. If they do take vows, they are only private, not public. They are not quite the same as brothers and sisters, because these people take public vows to the Church.People in Societies of Apostolic Life do not. The Daughters of Charity,Congregation of Mission, Paulists, and FSSP are examples. People in Societies of Apostolic Life are not required to wear a habit.

Secular Institutes are groups of people who take vows, but stay in the world and don’t wear a habit.Some are married, but most are single. People in Religious Institutes have a certain seperation from the world(or they are supposed to, anyway.) People in religious institutes usually are supposed to wear a habit(although, sadly, many don’t.)

 

[MPSchneiderLC]

The description was good but there are two minor clarifications:

Clerical Religious Congregations are religious orders in which men take vows. However, all the men in a clerical religious congregation are priests,too. So a clerical congregation consists of men who are priests and religious brothers at the same time. They may follow one of several religious rules.

A clerical religious congregation is one with clerics, not all need to be clerics. There can be clerics and non-clerics. All will at least have some who are seminarians (like I am), but some will have brothers who never become clerics too.

Secular Institutes are groups of people who take vows, but stay in the world and don’t wear a habit.Some are married, but most are single.

To enter a secular institute you take vows which, although they do not change your canonical status (like religious), are incompatible with marriage.

Many secular institutes, religious comunities and societies of apostolic life have 3rd orders, associates, affiliated movements or some other way by which lay people (married and single; often even diocesan priests) can participate in the charism without becomeing a full member.

 

[emily123]

Brother Matthew,
Married people may take vows of conjugal chastity,poverty,and obedience as part of a secular institute or lay movement.In fact, there are a number of new movements and institutes that encourage this. This is why I said most people in secular institutes are single, but some are married. I am a Lay Missionary of Charity and took my first vows last year. Because I am taking the vow of CONJUGAL chastity, it does not interfere with my marriage.I live the vows of poverty, obedience, and service to the poor as well, according to my married state. **There are three secular institutes that allow married people to be full ****members and live a normal married life: The Lay Missionaries of Charity, The Holy **]Family Institute, and Schoenstatt Famillies
The LMC’s have married and single members. The HFI allows married people and the widowed to join. Schoenstatt Famillies are exclusively made up of husbands and wives. All secular institutes, except for these three, are restricted to single people only. Some of these single-only secular institutes admit married people as associate members,much the same as religious institutes, as you pointed out! But they are not full members. There is also at least one Society of Apostolic Life that accepts married people as full members: The Oblates of the Precious Blood.
But again, the OPB’s are a rare exception to the norm of celibacy for these societies.

 

[MPSchneiderLC]

Brother Matthew,
Married people may take vows of conjugal chastity,poverty,and obedience as part of a secular institute or lay movement.In fact, there are a number of new movements and institutes that encourage this. This is why I said most people in secular institutes are single, but some are married. I am a Lay Missionary of Charity and took my first vows last year. Because I am taking the vow of CONJUGAL chastity, it does not interfere with my marriage.I live the vows of poverty, obedience, and service to the poor as well, according to my married state. **There are three secular institutes that allow married people to be full ****members and live a normal married life: The Lay Missionaries of Charity, The Holy **]Family Institute, and Schoenstatt Famillies

The LMC’s have married and single members. The HFI allows married people and the widowed to join. Schoenstatt Famillies are exclusively made up of husbands and wives. All secular institutes, except for these three, are restricted to single people only. Some of these single-only secular institutes admit married people as associate members,much the same as religious institutes, as you pointed out! But they are not full members. There is also at least one Society of Apostolic Life that accepts married people as full members: The Oblates of the Precious Blood.
But again, the OPB’s are a rare exception to the norm of celibacy for these societies.

I stand corrected. When I read canon law for class (I am studying theology to become a priest right now), I had understood that any married memebers were some kind of third order or associate.

I knew some lay movements have married couples who are essentially consecrated. The highest degree of married participation in the Regnum Christi (affiliated with the Legion) is similar to being consecrated - but one is not consecrated. Such forms are something that Canon law still needs to catch up regarding because they have expanded in the las 30 years since the last edition.

 

[Hopemercy]

May I ask please re private associations? eg are they allowed to wear a full habit and take religious names? And do they have to be listed and registered with Rome and supervised? If so, is there a register to be accessed, please?

 

[Cloisters]

May I ask please re private associations? eg are they allowed to wear a full habit and take religious names? And do they have to be listed and registered with Rome and supervised? If so, is there a register to be accessed, please?

Lay associations are governed by statutes, and can wear a distinctive garb at all times, and can even share living quarters. If the members choose to do so, I believe they are permitted to take religious names.

Emerging religious communities are considered lay associations, and can wear a “uniform” outside of their living quarters. The habit is worn indoors because they are in a period of experimentation, and they have to know what works for them.

There is a pdf online–google ‘lay associations’–and it will explain that Catholics are social creatures and have a right to associate for specific purposes. There is a canon near it which states that if a group of people have to associate to promote justice, JUST DO IT.

(Essentially, “if you see a situation that needs to be corrected, and you have to form an association to carry this out, just do it” – my quotes).

Our affiliate founder of the Holy Innocents sisterhood, her canonist/chancellor, and I have been getting our money’s worth on bandwith discussing this very subject of disctinctive garb for lay associations. We sent him pix, and he said what would pass. We are very careful with clarifications so that we do not jinx the project by doing the wrong thing.

If a group is going to wear distinctive garb, they should notify the chancery by sending a copy of their statutes. The bishop does maintain the right to check in with the group. Cloister Outreach is a private lay association with a verbal nihil obstat from the first bishop of Knoxville, TN. That status is respected no matter what diocese I live in. It will be that way until I suppress the group, since our statutes leave that option to me.

The registry you’re talking about is maintained by Rome, but a group does not get put on it until they have been in existence for about 25 years, and they have international members with referrals from bishops.

HTH

Blessings,
Cloisters

 

[Hopemercy]

Would be grateful for a simple, clear canon law response to my query please. Thank you

 

[Cloisters]

Would be grateful for a simple, clear canon law response to my query please. Thank you

In that case, you’d be better off making a query at the local chancery, and ask for a referral to a canonist. Local canonists usually offer pro-bono services.

Blessings,
Cloisters

 

[MPSchneiderLC]

Would be grateful for a simple, clear canon law response to my query please. Thank you

To you and also to emily123,

As far as marriage, I checked Canon law.

710-730 govern secular institutes and 721.1.3 says that if you are married, you cannot enter.

731-746 govwern societies of apostolic life and 735.2 refers you to the numbers regarding religious for entry requirements (no married people).

Therefore, unless your group has permission from the Holy See, you can’t enter a secular institute while married.

As far as lay associations (technically associations of the faithful) they are governed by completely different canons. As it stands now, any grouping in the Church that does fall in any other category falls here. Some associations have some form of consecration involved (Madonna house for example) and nothing in Canon law says that one can’t take a religious name or wear a uniform (habit).

This is probably what you are joining Emily123, and I think it was just a confusion of vocabulary where I was using strict canonical terms and I think you were using a more general terminology.

As far as vows (with juridical / canonical effect), they are only in religious and secular institutes. Societies of apostolic life and associations have promises but not vows. (Spiritually there is little difference but vows but have no canonical effect.)

 

[Cloisters]

To you and also to emily123,

As far as marriage, I checked Canon law.

710-730 govern secular institutes and 721.1.3 says that if you are married, you cannot enter.

731-746 govwern societies of apostolic life and 735.2 refers you to the numbers regarding religious for entry requirements (no married people).

Therefore, unless your group has permission from the Holy See, you can’t enter a secular institute while married.

As far as lay associations (technically associations of the faithful) they are governed by completely different canons. As it stands now, any grouping in the Church that does fall in any other category falls here. Some associations have some form of consecration involved (Madonna house for example) and nothing in Canon law says that one can’t take a religious name or wear a uniform (habit).

This is probably what you are joining Emily123, and I think it was just a confusion of vocabulary where I was using strict canonical terms and I think you were using a more general terminology.

As far as vows (with juridical / canonical effect), they are only in religious and secular institutes. Societies of apostolic life and associations have promises but not vows. (Spiritually there is little difference but vows but have no canonical effect.)

Emerging charisms are called “Private Preparatory Association of Christ’s Faithful with the Intention of Becoming an Institute of Religious Life.” Those last several words, plus the word, “preparatory”, make the difference in how the group is to conduct itself. Uniforms outside the house; evolving habit indoors. My SD is the former prez of the defunct Fellowship of Emerging Religious Communities, and the aforementioned is what he told me. Cloister Outreach has created the Fullerton Society to replace the FERC.

groups.yahoo.com/group/fullerton_society/

Blessings,
Cloisters

 

[MPSchneiderLC]

Emerging charisms are called “Private Preparatory Association of Christ’s Faithful with the Intention of Becoming an Institute of Religious Life.” Those last several words, plus the word, “preparatory”, make the difference in how the group is to conduct itself. Uniforms outside the house; evolving habit indoors. My SD is the former prez of the defunct Fellowship of Emerging Religious Communities, and the aforementioned is what he told me. Cloister Outreach has created the Fullerton Society to replace the FERC.

groups.yahoo.com/group/fullerton_society/

Blessings,
Cloisters

Thanks. Canonically they would be a Association of the faithful who has the intent to become some form of canonically recognized consecrated life. I was unawae of a special set of norms for such groups. I can see the wisdom of mother Church here.

My point was that nothing in canon law about an assosication of the faithful excludes these groups. They have the three characteristics of such associations: they involve 3 or more people; they work to some end of holiness, spreading the Gospel, or charity in line with the Church; and they have some statutes / norms aproved by a compotent authority. While certain universal norms (that could only be dispensed by the Holy See) prohibit such groups from being secular institutes or societies of apostolic life.

 

[Cloisters]

Thanks. Canonically they would be a Association of the faithful who has the intent to become some form of canonically recognized consecrated life. I was unawae of a special set of norms for such groups. I can see the wisdom of mother Church here.

My point was that nothing in canon law about an assosication of the faithful excludes these groups. They have the three characteristics of such associations: they involve 3 or more people; they work to some end of holiness, spreading the Gospel, or charity in line with the Church; and they have some statutes / norms aproved by a compotent authority. While certain universal norms (that could only be dispensed by the Holy See) prohibit such groups from being secular institutes or societies of apostolic life.

Your point is thoroughly understood.

catholiccanonlaw.com/Associations.pdf

This document will be linked on the actual Fullerton Society website, which is under construction. I don’t like publishing a website when it’s half finished.

I am founder of an eremetical charism–a private preparatory association–and a number of lay associations from which other charisms will emerge. The laity base is crucial to the survival of these new communities. While Fr. Gambari, who used to work for the Congregation for Religious (now known under another name) in Rome said “there is no blueprint” for starting a community, there are common threads, and that’s what we’re attempting to gather into one place. Emergence from a married founder (like myself) is different than emergence from a professed religious sister or a priest, or a single person. Anyone can found an organization which will become a religious community.

There are other articles on the net about private associations. There have to be distinctions because a group of girls can meet on a particular day; wear a distinctive set of clothing; go do charitable work; and be considered a private lay association. If they want statutes, they can adapt them. If they want to send them in to the bishop with a cover letter, they have that option, but they don’t have to. Congeniality would usually dictate some kind of contact with the Chancery, just so the bishop knows what’s going on in his diocese.

If they evolve into a religious community, so be it. Then their status changes slightly, with the designation I put forth above.

But, yes, I do understand where you’re coming from.

Blessings,
Cloisters