 | This articlerelies excessively onreferences toprimary sources. Please improve this article by addingsecondary or tertiary sources. Find sources: "Institute of consecrated life" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Aninstitute of consecrated life is an association of faithful in theCatholic Church canonically erected by competent church authorities to enable men or women who publicly profess theevangelical counsels byreligious vows or other sacred bonds "through the charity to which these counsels lead to be joined to the Church and its mystery in a special way."[1] They are defined in the1983 Code of Canon Law under canons 573–730. TheCongregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life has ecclesiastical oversight of institutes of consecrated life.[2]
The more numerous form of these arereligious institutes, which are characterized by the publicprofession of vows, life in common as brothers or sisters, and a degree of separation from the world.[3] They are defined in the 1983 Code of Canon Law under canons 607–709. The other form is that ofsecular institutes, in which the members live in the world, and work for the sanctification of the world from within.[4]
Apart from being a member of an institute,consecrated life may also be lived individually; the Catholic Church recognises, as forms of individual consecrated life that ofhermits (Canon 603) andconsecrated virgins (Canon 604).[2]
There are two categories of institutes of consecrated life identified in the Code of Canon Law: religious institutes, and secular institutes. In addition, there are Societies of Apostolic Life that resemble institutes of consecrated life, but their members do not take religious vows.
Consecrated persons are lay persons or clerics who assume the evangelical counsels by means of a sacred bond, and become members of an institute of consecrated life.[2] They are clerical if, with recognition from the Church, their founder intended the order or institute to be directed by clerics and exercise sacred orders, and they are lay if recognized by the Church as having a proper function defined by the founder or by legitimate tradition, which does not include the exercise of sacred orders (Canon 588).
For instance, theSociety of Jesus (Jesuits) is a clerical institute of consecrated life as their members areclerics, whereas theSisters of Charity are a lay institute of religious sisters.
Areligious institute is an institute of consecrated life whose members take public vows and lead a fraternal life in common (Canon 607.2). They are broadly termed asreligious and includemonastic orders,mendicant orders,canons regular, andclerics regular. Some religious institutes engage in a particular ministry such as education, healthcare, or social work; while others have as their primary apostolate contemplative prayer.[5]
The 1983 version of theCode of Canon Law has not maintained the distinction, found in the 1917 version, betweenorders (religious institutes in which the members tooksolemn vows) andcongregations (those in whichsimple vows were taken).[6]
Asecular institute is an institute of consecrated life whose members live in the world, strive for the perfection of charity and seek to help to sanctify the world, especially from within (Canon 710).[7] They work in a variety of occupations and may live alone or with their family; others live in a common house with other institute members. Each institute has a particular spirituality shaped by its founders and leaders.[8] Some religious institutes have an affiliated Secular Third Order, which are not secular institutes but are associations of the lay faithful.
Asociety of apostolic life is a group of men or women within the Catholic Church who have come together for a specific purpose and live fraternally. Members of apostolic societies do not make religious vows. This type of organization is defined in the1983 Code of Canon Law under canons 731–746. TheDaughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul are a Society of Apostolic Life.
TheAnnuario Pontificio lists for both men and women the institutes of consecrated life that are of pontifical right (those that the Holy See has erected or approved by formal decree).[9] For the men, it gives what it now calls the Historical-Juridical List of Precedence.[10] The arrangement of the institutes for men of theLatin Church in this list dates back many decades. It is found, for instance, in the 1964 edition of theAnnuario Pontificio, pp. 807–870, where the heading is "States of Perfection (of pontifical right for men)." In the 1969 edition the heading has become "Religious and Secular Institutes of Pontifical Right for Men", a form it kept until 1975 inclusive. Since 1976, when work was already advanced on revising the Code of Canon Law, the list has been qualified as "historical-juridical" and still distinguishes "orders" from "congregations" in the case of Latin Church men, while not separating out "orders" and "congregations" in the case of theEastern Catholic Churches and Latin Church women.
It arranges the institutes for men as follows:
The institutes for women are arranged alphabetically in the following categories:
These lists are followed by a list of 6 institutes under the heading "Other Institutes of Consecrated Life", a reference to new forms of consecrated life established in accordance withCanons 604 §2 and 605 of the Code of Canon Law. Some of these have both male and female members, and one is open to married couples.
Institutes of consecrated life need the written approval of abishop to operate within his diocese.[11] Effective 10 November 2020,Pope Francis modified the 1983 Code of Canon Law to require a bishop to acquire the Apostolic See's approval in writing and reserved to the Apostolic See the final determination over the erection of an institute of consecrated life.[12][13]
List of some religious institutes (Catholic) provides a dynamic list of a selection of Catholicreligious institutes. Catholicsecular institutes are less numerous.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
