The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict, are a mainly contemplative monastic religious order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. The male religious are also sometimes called the Black Monks, in reference to the colour of their religious habits, in contrast to other Benedictine orders such as the Olivetans, who wear white. They were founded in 529 by Benedict of Nursia, a 6th-century Italian monk who laid the foundations of Benedictine monasticism through the formulation of his Rule. Benedict's sister, Scholastica, possibly his twin, also became a religious from an early age, but chose to live as a hermit. They retained a close relationship until her death.
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent. The term is often used interchangeably with religious sisters who do take simple vows but live an active vocation of prayer and charitable work.
The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Catholic religious order of cloistered monastics that branched off from the Cistercians. They follow the Rule of Saint Benedict and have communities of both monks and nuns that are known as Trappists and Trappistines, respectively. They are named after La Trappe Abbey, the monastery from which the movement and religious order originated. The movement first began with the reforms that Abbot Armand Jean le Bouthillier de Rancé introduced in 1664, later leading to the creation of Trappist congregations, and eventually the formal constitution as a separate religious order in 1892.
The Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona, commonly called Camaldolese, is a monastic order of Pontifical Right for men founded by Saint Romuald. Its name is derived from the Holy Hermitage of Camaldoli, high in the mountains of central Italy, near the city of Arezzo. Its members add the nominal letters E.C.M.C. after their names to indicate their membership in the congregation. Apart from the Roman Catholic monasteries, in recent times ecumenical Christian hermitages with a Camaldolese spirituality have arisen as well.
The Bridgettines, or Birgittines, formally known as the Order of the Most Holy Savior, is a monastic religious order of the Catholic Church founded by Saint Birgitta in 1344 and approved by Pope Urban V in 1370. They follow the Rule of Saint Augustine. There are today several different branches of Bridgettines.
In Christianity, an oblate is a person who is specifically dedicated to God and to God's service.
The English Benedictine Congregation (EBC) unites autonomous Roman Catholic Benedictine communities of monks and nuns and is technically the oldest of the nineteen congregations that are affiliated in the Benedictine Confederation.
"Hello Mary Lou" is a song written by American singer Gene Pitney first recorded by Johnny Duncan in 1960 and by Ricky Nelson at United Western Recorders Studios on March 22, 1961.
There are a number of Benedictine Anglican religious orders, some of them using the name Order of St. Benedict (OSB). Just like their Roman Catholic counterparts, each abbey/priory/convent is independent of each other. The vows are not made to an order, but to a local incarnation of the order, hence each individual order is free to develop its own character and charism, yet each under a common rule of life after the precepts of St. Benedict. Most of the communities include a confraternity of oblates. The order consists of a number of independent communities.
Stanbrook Abbey is a Catholic contemplative Benedictine Monastery with the status of an abbey, located at Wass, North Yorkshire, England.
The Oblates of St. Frances of Rome are a monastic community in Rome of women oblates founded by St. Frances of Rome in 1433 to provide for a life of prayer and service among the wealthier women of the city. The group quickly developed a life in common, without monastic vows, committed to prayer and service to the poor of the city. They still continue today in this way of life here at their one and only monastery.
The Community of the Holy Cross (CHC) is an Anglican religious order founded in 1857 by Elizabeth Neale, at the invitation of Father Charles Fuge Lowder, to work with the poor around St Peter's London Docks in Wapping. The Community moved to a large convent in Haywards Heath.
The Subiaco Cassinese Congregation is an international union of Benedictine houses within the Benedictine Confederation. It developed from the Subiaco Congregation, which was formed in 1867 through the initiative of Dom Pietro Casaretto, O.S.B., as a reform of the way of life of monasteries of the Cassinese Congregation, formed in 1408, toward a stricter contemplative observance, and received final approval in 1872 by Pope Pius IX. After discussions between the two congregations at the start of the 21st century, approval was given by Pope Benedict XVI in 2013 for the incorporation of the Cassinese Congregation into its offshoot, the Subiaco Congregation. The expanded congregation was given this new name.
St Cecilia's Abbey, Ryde is an abbey of Benedictine nuns in the Isle of Wight, England.
Ismael Fernández de la Cuesta is a Spanish vocalist and musicologist specialising in Gregorian chant.
The Mater Ecclesiae Monastery is a monastery in Vatican City. It was founded around 1990 by Pope John Paul II as a monastery for cloistered nuns who pray specifically for the health of the pope. Various cloistered orders are invited to take up residence for a time. From his resignation in 2013 until his death in 2022, it served instead as the residence of Pope Benedict XVI. In 2023, Pope Francis returned it to its monastic purpose with an invitation to Benedictine nuns of the Abbey of St. Scholastica in Victoria, Argentina.
St Augustine's Abbey or Chilworth Abbey, formerly Chilworth Friary, is a Roman Catholic Benedictine abbey in Chilworth, Surrey. The building, which is Grade II listed, was designed by Frederick Walters and was built in 1892. It was formerly a Franciscan friary and a novitiate for the order. The abbey church is open to the public 365 days a year.
De Montfort Music is an American record label specializing in sacred music, primarily that of the Catholic Church. Formerly an independent label, since 2021 it has been a subsidiary of Sophia Institute Press.
Mary Wilhelmina Lancaster, OSB, was an African-American nun from rural Missouri who founded the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles.
