Society of Jesus
After a period of service as a priest, members of the Society of Jesus—referred to as Jesuits—can be allowed to take a fourth vow of obedience to the pope with regard to the missions.
The text of the vow is "... I further promise a special obedience to the sovereign pontiff in regard to the missions, according to the same Apostolic Letters and the Constitutions". [2] The same text is being used today, just as it was in the days of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.
The vow is an expression of the strong attachment the Jesuits have for the Church, and their willingness to accept whatever service the Church asks (through the pope) if it is of a great apostolic need. In part VII of the Constitutions , discussing the 'distribution of the members in the Vineyard of the lord' the founding fathers explain the purpose of the fourth vow: "Those who first united to form the Society were from different provinces and realms and did not know into which regions they were to go, whether among the faithful or the unbelievers; and therefore to avoid erring in the path of the Lord, they made that promise or vow in order that His Holiness might distribute them for greater glory to God" [3]
This vow is limited to the priests of the Society. Only those who have been accepted by the Society to take this vow may serve as major superiors in the Society of Jesus.
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.
A religious order is a subgroup within a larger confessional community with a distinctive high-religiosity lifestyle and clear membership. Religious orders often trace their lineage from revered teachers, venerate their founders, and have a document describing their lifestyle called a rule of life. Such orders exist in many of the world's religions.
The Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ is a Roman Catholic clerical religious order made up of priests and candidates for the priesthood established by Fr. Marcial Maciel, LC in Mexico in 1941. Maciel was also Director General of the congregation for over 60 years until forced to step down in January 2005 as a result of grave sexual scandals against seminarians and children.
In the Catholic Church, a religious order is a community of consecrated life with members that profess solemn vows. They are classed as a type of religious institute.
Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views.
Regnum Christi, officially the Regnum Christi Federation is an international Catholic Federation. It is made up of lay Catholics, as well as the religious congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, and the Societies of Apostolic Life of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, and the Lay Consecrated Men of Regnum Christi. The statutes of the Regnum Christi Federation were approved by the Holy See on May 31, 2019, after an extensive investigation and discernment on the part of the Holy See who led Regnum Christi and all of its federated institutions through a deep reformation and renewal process that began in 2009. Regnum Christi is dedicated to promoting the Catholic faith and evangelization. Their motto is "Thy Kingdom Come."
A canoness is a member of a religious community of women, historically a stable community dedicated to the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours in a particular church. The name corresponds to a canon, the male equivalent, and both roles share a common historical origin. As with the canons, there are two types: canonesses regular, who follow the Rule of St Augustine, and secular canonesses, who follow no monastic rule of life.
A religious is, in the terminology of many Western Christian denominations, such as the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, and Anglican Communion, what in common language one would call a "monk" or "nun".
The Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George is a Roman Catholic Congregation of consecrated women whose spirituality is derived from St. Francis of Assisi. Mother M. Anselma Bopp and Father John Gerard Dall founded the Order in Thuine, Germany, in 1869. The Order expanded to the U.S. in 1923 with the founding of a Provincialate and Novitiate in Alton, Illinois, which continues to be the location of the Provincial House. They are also located in other areas of Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, New Jersey, Ohio, Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin, as well as on missions in Brazil and Cuba.
Consecrated life is a state of life in the Catholic Church lived by those faithful who are called to follow Jesus Christ in a more exacting way. It includes those in institutes of consecrated life, societies of apostolic life, as well as those living as hermits or consecrated virgins.
A society 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. It is regarded as a form of consecrated life.
A religious congregation is a type of religious institute in the Catholic Church. They are legally distinguished from religious orders – the other major type of religious institute – in that members take simple vows, whereas members of religious orders take solemn vows.
Anglican religious orders are communities of men or women in the Anglican Communion who live under a common rule of life. The members of religious orders take vows which often include the traditional monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, or the ancient vow of stability, or sometimes a modern interpretation of some or all of these vows. Members may be laity or clergy, but most commonly include a mixture of both. They lead a common life of work and prayer, sometimes on a single site, sometimes spread over multiple locations. Though many Anglicans are members of religious orders recognized by the Anglican Communion, others may be members of ecumenical Protestant or Old Catholic religious orders while maintaining their Anglican identity and parochial membership in Anglican churches.
The Third Order of Saint Francis is a third order in the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi.
The vow of enclosure is a religious vow made by some branches of the Poor Clares in addition to the three vows of obedience, poverty and chastity.
Emerging since the 19th century, there are several Protestant adherent and groups, sometimes organised as religious orders, which strive to adhere to the teachings and spiritual disciplines of Saint Francis of Assisi.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines.
In the Catholic Church, a religious institute is "a society in which members, according to proper law, pronounce public vows, either perpetual or temporary which are to be renewed, however, when the period of time has elapsed, and lead a life of brothers or sisters in common."
Jesuit formation, or the training of Jesuits, is the process by which candidates are prepared for ordination or brotherly service in the Society of Jesus, the world's largest male Catholic religious order. The process is based on the Constitution of the Society of Jesus written by Ignatius of Loyola and approved in 1550. There are various stages, from a novice, to studying, to full-time work and a return to studies before ordination as a priest or final profession as a brother. They are formed spiritually, academically and practically for the ministries they offer the Church and world.
A religious sister in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to prayer and labor, or a canoness regular, who provides a service to the world, either teaching or nursing, within the confines of the monastery. Nuns, religious sisters and canonesses all use the term "Sister" as a form of address.
