![AnnMargaretOHara](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/AnnMargaretOHara.jpg)
A religious sister (abbreviated ''Sr.'' or Sist.) in the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
is a woman who has taken public vows in a
religious institute
A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrate ...
dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from 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 ...
who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to prayer. Both nuns and sisters use the term "sister" as a form of address.
The ''HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism'' (1995) defines as "congregations of sisters institutes of women who profess the simple vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, live a common life, and are engaged in ministering to the needs of society."
As William Saunders writes: "When bound by simple vows, a woman is a sister, not a nun, and thereby called 'sister'. Nuns recite the Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office in common ...
ndlive a contemplative, cloistered life in a monastery ... behind the 'papal enclosure'. Nuns are permitted to leave the cloister only under special circumstances and with the proper permission."
History
Until the 16th century, religious orders in the
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania. made vows that were perpetual and
solemn. In 1521,
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521.
Born into the prominent political an ...
allowed
tertiaries of religious orders to take
simple vows
A solemn vow is a certain vow ("a deliberate and free promise made to God about a possible and better good") taken by an individual during or after novitiate in a Catholic religious institute. It is solemn insofar as the Church recognizes it a ...
and live a more active life dedicated to charitable works.
This provision was rejected by
Pope Pius V
Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...
in 1566 and 1568. Early efforts by women such as
Angela Merici
Angela Merici or Angela de Merici ( , ; 21 March 1474 – 27 January 1540) was an Italian religious educator, who is honored as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. She founded the Company of St. Ursula in 1535 in Brescia, in which women dedica ...
, founder of the
Ursulines
The Ursulines, also known as the Order of Saint Ursula (post-nominals: OSU), is an enclosed religious order of consecrated women that branched off from the Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula, in 1572. Like the Angelines, they t ...
(1535), and
Jane Frances de Chantal
Jane Frances de Chantal, VHM (born Jeanne-Françoise Frémyot, Baronness of Chantal; 28 January 1572 – 13 December 1641) was a French Catholic noble widow and nun who was beatified in 1751 and canonized in 1767. She founded the Order of the Visi ...
, founder with
Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales (french: François de Sales; it, Francesco di Sales; 21 August 156728 December 1622) was a Bishop of Geneva and is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to ...
of the
Visitation Sisters
, image = Salesas-escut.gif
, size = 175px
, abbreviation = V.S.M.
, nickname = Visitandines
, motto =
, formation =
, founder = Saint Bishop Francis de ...
(1610), were halted as the cloister was imposed by Church authorities.
Into the 17th century, Church custom did not allow women to leave 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 ...
if they had taken religious vows. Female members of the mendicant orders (
Dominican,
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to:
*Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine
*Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs
*Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo
* Canons Regular of Sain ...
,
Carmelite
, image =
, caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites
, abbreviation = OCarm
, formation = Late 12th century
, founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel
, founding_location = Mount Car ...
, and
Poor Clares
The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare ( la, Ordo sanctae Clarae) – originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and later the Clarisses, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Order, and the Second Order of Saint Francis ...
) continued to observe the same
enclosed life as members of the
monastic orders
Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role ...
. The work of religious women was confined to what could be carried on within the walls of 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 ...
, either teaching boarding students within the cloister or nursing the sick in hospitals attached to the monastery.
[Giles, Elizabeth]
"Mary Ward
. ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912.
Mary Ward Mary Ward may refer to:
Scientists and academics
* Mary Ward (nurse) (1884–1972) English nurse to the boat people on the waterways
* Mary Ward (scientist) (née King, 1827–1869) Irish amateur scientist, was killed by an experimental steam car ...
was an early proponent of women with religious vows living an active life outside the cloister, based on the apostolic life of 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 ...
. There was to be no
enclosure
Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...
, no common recitation of the
Liturgy of the Hours
The Liturgy of the Hours (Latin: ''Liturgia Horarum'') or Divine Office (Latin: ''Officium Divinum'') or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the ...
, and no
religious habit
A religious habit is a distinctive set of religious clothing worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anchoritic life, ...
. In 1609 she established a religious community at
Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France.
It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...
and opened schools for girls. Her efforts led to the founding of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary or
Sisters of Loreto
The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose members are commonly known as the Loreto Sisters, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to education founded in Saint-Omer by an Englishwoman, Mary Ward, in 1609. The congr ...
(IBVM). Her congregation was suppressed in 1630, but continued to exist in some countries in various forms.
Other women's congregations with simple vows continued to be founded, at times with the approval of local bishops.
Vincent de Paul
Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was a Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor.
In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys. Afte ...
insisted that the
Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul
The Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul ( la, Societas Filiarum Caritatis a Sancto Vincentio de Paulo), commonly called the Daughters of Charity or Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent De Paul, is a Society of Apostoli ...
, which he founded, would have no convent but the hospital, no chapel but the parish church, and no cloister but the streets.
They renew their vows annually. The 19th century saw the proliferation of women's congregations engaged in education, religious instruction, and medical and social works, along with missionary work in Africa and Asia.
After nearly three centuries, in 1900
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
by his constitution ''Conditae a Christo'' gave his approval to these congregations with simple vows.
20th century
![Sisters and priest working at orphanage](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Sisters_and_priest_working_at_orphanage.jpg)
The
1917 Code of Canon Law
The 1917 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1917 CIC, from its Latin title ), also referred to as the Pio-Benedictine Code,Dr. Edward Peters accessed June-9-2013 was the first official comprehensive codification of Latin canon law.
Ordered ...
reserved the term "
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 ...
" (Latin: ''monialis'') for women religious who took solemn vows or who, while being allowed in some places to take simple vows, belonged to institutes whose vows were normally solemn. They lived under cloister, "papal enclosure", and recited the Liturgy of the Hours in common.
The Code used the word "sister" (Latin: ''soror'') for members of institutes for women that it classified as "
congregations"; and for "nuns" and "sisters" jointly it used the Latin word ''religiosae'' (women religious).
The bishops at Vatican II, in their document ''
Perfectae Caritatis'' on the religious life, asked all religious to examine their
charism
A spiritual gift or charism (plural: charisms or charismata; in Greek singular: χάρισμα
''charisma'', plural: χαρίσματα ''charismata'') is an extraordinary power given by the Holy Spirit."Spiritual gifts". ''A Dictionary of the ...
as defined by their rule and founder, in light of the needs of the modern world.
Some religious who had led a more contemplative life responded to modern needs of the apostolate outside the monastic walls. Throughout the post-
Vatican II
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and 1 ...
document ''
Ecclesiae Sanctae
''Ecclesiae Sanctae – ''"(Governing) of the Holy Church" – is an apostolic letter or ''motu proprio'' issued by Pope Paul VI on August 6, 1966. Paul wrote this letter on how to implement the Vatican Council, especially as regards the concilia ...
'' (1967),
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...
used the word "nun" to refer to women with solemn vows. The
1983 Code of Canon Law
The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the second and current comp ...
uses the expression "monastery of nuns".
[E.g., 609 §2, 614, 616 §4, 630 §3, 667 §3,4] The new code did not force traditional orders that were taking on works outside the monastery into uniformity. In response to Vatican II there has been "vigorous discussion among monastics as regards what kinds of work and life-styles are genuinely compatible with monastic life".
See also
*
Catholic sisters and nuns in the United States
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
References
* This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). ''Catholic Encyclopedia''. New York: Robert Appleton.
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