Question by Jerome Mawuli Kwaku:
My Lord, I need your help in answering the following questions:
- Have there been religious congregations from time immemorial in the Catholic church?
- What accounted for their formation?
- Why should a religious congregation see itself as the ideal one among others, even though they all aim at achieving the same goals?
- Are there any rivalries among these congregations?
Answer by Bishop Joseph Osei-Bonsu:
We will begin by distinguishing the types of religious institutes that there are and give an overview of how they came into existence. In the process, we shall also clarify some basic distinctions.
Types of Religious Institutes
A religious institute is a society in the Church of men or women who profess public vows (perpetual or temporary) of poverty, chastity, and obedience and who share a common life and worship of the Lord. The canonical term, “Religious Institute”, was used in the documents of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) to describe any religious order, society, or congregation taking public vows.
Usually three kinds of religious institutes are distinguished: (1) religious orders; (2) religious congregations; and (3) secular institutes. In religious orders, e.g., the Norbertines, members take solemn vows and live a common life. In religious congregations, e.g., the Redemptorists, members take simple vows and live a common life. In secular institutes, e.g., the Ladies of Nazareth, members pledge to observe the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience but do not necessarily live a common life. Besides these three categories, there are societies of common life, e.g., the Sulpicians, in which members live together but do not necessarily take sacred vows. It is worth noting that the new Code of Canon Law (1983) does not distinguish between simple and solemn vows.
There is also a distinction between apostolic and monastic institutes. Apostolic institutes, e.g., the Redemptorists, assume various ministries for the Church, e.g., extraordinary preaching, and are not restricted by obligations of stability or cloister. Monastic institutes, e.g., the Benedictines, dedicate themselves to the praise and worship of God. Members of monastic institutes usually belong to one monastery and pray the Liturgy of the Hours in common, while also engaging in certain apostolates, e.g., education.
Religious institutes are either diocesan or of pontifical right. Diocesan institutes are subject to the local diocesan authority. Institutes of pontifical right relate to the Holy See, especially to the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
A common feature of all religious institutes is the permanent commitment of members to a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Each institute has its own rule or constitutions. They spell out the particular charism of the institute that derives in some measure from the original vision of the founder or foundress. Thus, these rules or constitutions elaborate the way in which members will lead their life and carry out their mission in the Church. Many of the distinctions have historical origins and no longer point to radical differences between religious institutes.
Brief History of Religious Institutes
A brief historical survey shows that different forms of religious life have predominated at various times in the history of the church. Religious orders originated in the groups which formed around the men and women anchorites of the third and fourth centuries. Who is an anchorite? An anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress)is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. While anchorites are frequently considered to be a type of religious hermit, unlike hermits they were required to take a vow of stability of place, opting for permanent enclosure in cells often attached to churches. Also unlike hermits, anchorites were subject to a religious rite of consecration that closely resembled the funeral rite, following which they would be considered dead to the world, a type of living saint. Anchorites had a certain autonomy, as they did not answer to any ecclesiastical authority other than the bishop.
Members of these groups separated themselves from the world, lived in common, and followed a rule of life. Monastic orders flourished and reached their most complete expression in the monasticism of St. Benedict (sixth century) with its emphasis on stability and the creation of a society independent from the world. The monastic form of religious life became the most important one in the church and remained so throughout much of the Middle Ages. All women religious in the west were under the Benedictine rule from the eighth until the twelfth centuries.
The early thirteenth century saw the establishment of the Mendicant Orders (Franciscans and Dominicans). Literally, this means congregations of religious who beg. The Franciscans and Dominicans are the best known. In fact, they were founded as begging friars, but in the course of time the emphasis was on poverty and frugality as a personal way of life and on the refusal of fixed revenues for the communities. From the beginnings in the twelfth century, the mendicant friars were distinguished in other ways from the older, monastic communities. Though they took vows and formed permanent communities, they did not follow a prescribed horarium (daily schedule) and were not bound to a particular place. They were intended to be itinerant preachers, able to follow apostolic needs wherever they arose. The establishment of the mendicant orders marked a significant new development in religious life. Members belonged to the whole order rather than to a specific monastery, and were thus more free to move about. The Dominican vision was without doubt apostolic in nature, and stressed the preaching of the gospel. Other orders that were established followed the model of the Franciscans and Dominicans, and religious life began to move back into the world in order to serve both the gospel and the people. These orders, however, retained the rule of conventual Mass and Divine Office and maintained strict enclosure for the women’s convents.
Clerical religious institutes, which St. Augustine started in the fourth century, received new impetus after the Council of Trent (1545-1563). Known as the Canons Regular, they wore no distinctive garb, did not pray the office in common, and devoted themselves to priestly ministry. The largest, the Jesuits, broadened the apostolic focus to include the whole world as arena for their mission.
While monastic and contemplative orders continued and introduced significant reforms at crucial moments in their history, apostolic congregations have flourished in the past few centuries, particularly among women. The vision of groups joined together in common commitment whose members engaged in some form of active ministry appeared several times in history. The realization of this vision was often hindered by a limited understanding of religious life on the part of church authorities. Eventually, however, active apostolic congregations became a reality for women as well as men. These congregations, uninhibited by strict enclosure, have devoted themselves to various types of service such as education, health care, care for the abandoned and the homeless.
In the nineteenth century, there was a remarkable growth in apostolic religious congregations which were characterized by dedication to ministry. Most of these groups focused upon particular works such as education or health care and eventually became identified with them. Great men and women saw needs among the people they served and established communities dedicated to bettering these needs. Others were inspired with a strong sense of mission and founded communities to preach the gospel among those who did not know of it. Many religious congregations went to the Americas and other places in this way, and many others were founded to continue the mission of the church in the new lands.
The most recent development in forms of religious life is that of the secular institute. Secular institutes arose to meet situations in which the restrictions on vowed religious would interfere with the work or life to which a band of devout people have dedicated themselves. Secular institutes are societies whose members, lay or clerical, dedicate themselves to lives of apostolic work and the observance of the evangelical counsels while living in the world. Unlike members of religious institutes, they do not make public vows or wear distinctive habits. Their ancient precursors were those ascetics and virgins who did not withdraw from the world but lived consecrated lives in their own homes. Although a few societies and sodalities of this kind were formed during the late 18th through the 19th centuries as a new form of religious life, secular institutes as such did not receive pontifical approval until 1947 with the issuance of the apostolic constitution Provida Mater Ecclesia by Pope Pius XII.
In general, members of secular institutes do not live in common but support themselves in the pursuit of the profession to which they are called. They commit themselves to lives of Christian perfection by embracing the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience to the best of their ability in what would otherwise seem to be an ordinary secular life.
Persons do not change their canonical condition when becoming members of a secular institute, that is, priests remain clerics and laypersons remain laypersons. The growing number of secular institutes, in all their rich diversity, attests to the creative inspiration of the Spirit in the lives of those Christians who are seeking a life of service to others “which is both in the world and, in a sense, of the world” (Perfectae caritatis 11).
All types of religious institutes exist today, and all continue to be a great gift to the church. The Second Vatican Council, with its call for the renewal of religious life, has led religious orders to rediscover their original charisms and to recommit themselves to the service of the gospel. Orders which in the past remained somewhat self-sufficient now collaborate in service; communities that were previously exclusively devoted to one particular ministry have reached out to serve new needs as these needs have arisen.
Finally, the universal call to holiness which echoed from the Second Vatican Council has also affected religious institutes in profound ways. One of the most significant ways has been that of the rediscovery of the importance of the ministry of the laity. Ministry in the church is no longer seen as the exclusive prerogative of priests and religious, but is rather the call to all persons. Accordingly, many who would have previously joined religious institutes in order to serve the church now do so as lay persons. As the numbers of men and women religious have declined, the church has witnessed a rise in the richness of lay ministries among its people.
In the foregoing, Questions One and Two have been answered, as we have distinguished the different types of religious institutes that exist and, in broad terms, have indicated what led to their formation. Question 3 is about why a religious congregation should see itself as the ideal one among others, even though all religious congregations aim at achieving the same goals. I think that it is a misunderstanding of the religious life if one congregation should see itself as the ideal one. Certainly, some institutes can take pride in their old age and their achievements. It is hoped that younger institutes may one day attain such heights as well. In any case, no institute should see itself as the ideal one. The ideal institute does not exist! The important thing for any institute is to strive to work hard to promote gospel values and to improve the spiritual and material welfare of the people among whom they carry out their apostolate without comparing themselves to others. Religious institutes are not in competition, as they are all trying, as best they can, to fulfil their mission. If that is the case, Question 4 does not arise, i.e., there should be no rivalries between different religious institutes! I do not know if there are such rivalries. If there are, then it is most unfortunate, and those responsible for them should forthwith stop, and bury their heads in shame!
| For further explanations or enquiries, you may contact the author, Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, Catholic Bishop of Konongo-Mampong, on this number: 0244488904, or on WhatsApp (with the same number). |