In a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

, the porter is the

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

(or portress for a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

) appointed to be the one who interacts with the public. It is considered an important office, as the porter is the representative of the community to the outside world. The '' Rule of Saint Benedict'', in chapter 66, gives specific advice as to the qualifications of the person chosen to serve in this post. In keeping with this advice, the porter is usually given private quarters right at the entrance to the monastery, which can lie some distance from the

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

, thus the need for a very responsible person to fill this position. Among

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

communities, a large portion of the

lay brothers Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choir, ...

who have achieved

sainthood In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...

had spent their lives in the office of porter of the community, such as

Paschal Baylon Paschal is used as a name. Paschal, a variant of Pascal, from Latin ''Paschalis'', is an adjective describing either the Easter or Passover holidays. People known as Paschal include: Popes and religious figures * Antipope Paschal (687), a riv ...

Didacus of Alcalá Didacus of Alcalá ( es, Diego de Alcalá), also known as Diego de San Nicolás, was a Spanish Franciscan lay brother who served as among the first group of missionaries to the newly conquered Canary Islands. He died at Alcalá de Henares on 12 ...

, and

Felix of Cantalice Felix of Cantalice, O.F.M. Cap. ( it, Felice da Cantalice; 18 May 1515 – 18 May 1587) was an Italian people, Italian Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, Capuchin friar of the 16th century. Canonized by Pope Clement XI in 1712, he was the first Capu ...

. There is also an American candidate for

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

Solanus Casey Solanus Casey, OFM Cap. (November 25, 1870 – July 31, 1957), born Bernard Francis Casey, was a priest of the Catholic Church in the United States and was a professed member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. He was known during his lifetim ...

, who was a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

, but, due to the limitations of his academic capabilities, served as a porter in both

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

for over 30 years. The

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

have their own holy porters in the persons of

Alphonsus Rodriguez Alphonsus Rodríguez, SJ ( es, Alfonso) (25 July 1532 – 31 October 1617) was a Spanish Jesuit who served as a religious brother and is now venerated as a saint. He was a native of Segovia. Though his life was punctuated with personal tr ...

and

Francisco Gárate Aranguren Francisco Gárate Aranguren, SJ (3 February 1857 - 9 September 1929) was a Spanish Catholic professed religious of the Jesuit order. Aranguren served as an nurse after receiving his qualification in 1877 and became noted for his encouragement and ...

, as do the

Congregation of Holy Cross , image = Congregation of Holy Cross.svg , image_size = 150px , abbreviation = CSC , formation = , founder = Blessed Fr. Basile-Antoine Marie Moreau, C.S.C. , founding_location = ...

André Bessette André Bessette, C.S.C. (9 August 1845 – 6 January 1937), more commonly known as Brother André (french: Frère André), and since his canonization as Saint André of Montreal, was a lay brother of the Congregation of Holy Cross and a signifi ...

(''Frère André'') of Montreal.

References

* Christian monasticism {{Christianity-stub