When referring toRoman Catholic religious orders, the termsecond order refers to those communities of contemplativecloisterednuns which are a part of the religious orders that developed in theMiddle Ages.
In early thirteenth century, St.Dominic Guzman was acanon regular at theCathedral of Osma in Spain. He accompanied hisbishop on a trip toDenmark to arrange a marriage between the son of theKing of Castile and a member of theDanish royal family. On the return trip, Dominic encountered the followers of theDuke ofAlbi in southern France. The Duke was a leadingCathar, which embraced agnostic form of Christianity. Dominic undertook a preaching campaign to them, in order to bring them back to anorthodox understanding of the faith. Several women who responded to his preaching sought a completely new direction in their lives. In response to this, Dominic established a house for them in Prouille in 1206,[1] where they could lead lives of prayer andpenance.
In 1880, four nuns of the Dominican Sisters of Perpetual Adoration from the Monastery of the Blessed Sacrament in Oullins, France arrived in the Diocese of Newark, at the invitation of BishopMichael Corrigan. By 1884, the Monastery of St. Dominic had been constructed based on Old World designs with an arched cloister, the traditional well, the vault resting-place of the departed, and the double grills separating them from the outer world. By 1889, Corrigan had become Archbishop of New York, and seven nuns from Newark re-located temporarily to establish Corpus Christi Monastery in Hunt's Point in the Bronx.[2]
Today the Second Order of St. Dominic "...consists of cloistered nuns who take solemn vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and dedicate themselves to a life of silence, prayer, and penance."[3] They support themselves through intellectual, manual, and artistic work.
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St.Francis of Assisi began his life of preaching and penance in theTuscan region ofItaly around this same time. His preaching drew a youngnoblewoman of the city, the LadyClare to be inspired to follow his way of life. Determined to take this step, Clare snuck out of her family's palace to join Francis and his brothers on the night ofPalm Sunday 1211. After receiving her commitment and giving her the Franciscanhabit, Francis then entrusted Clare to the care of a nearby community ofBenedictine nuns for her training in monastic life. The Order that emerged from her commitment, originally called the "Poor Ladies of Assisi" and now known as thePoor Clares, took a form ofmonastic life committed to a strict life of poverty. The order includes many different monasteries of cloistered nuns professing the Rule of St. Clare.[4]
Benedictine nuns follow theRule of Saint Benedict. The Second Order of St. Augustine was founded in 1264 and remained strictly cloistered until 1401.[5]
While almost all Second Orders are those of cloistered, contemplative nuns, not all cloistered, contemplative communities are Second Orders. A number of such congregations were founded independent of any earlier congregation for men. These would include communities such as theSisters Adorers of the Precious Blood and theVisitandines.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
