List of defunct Catholic religious institutes

For current Catholic institutes, see List of religious institutes.

This is a list of religious institutes of the Catholic Church that are now defunct.

This page lists religious institutes of the Catholic Church that are now defunct. This includes institutes that have merged, been suppressed, disbanded or died out:

• Merged refers to institutes who have either formed a new institute with another group, or joined another institute altogether.
• Suppressed refers to institutes who have been forcibly disbanded by an ecclesiastical or secular authority, usually for political or religious reasons.
• Disbanded refers to institutes who have decided to break up by the institute's own choice or authority, usually due to lack of numbers or a drastic change in circumstances or resources.
• Died out refers to institutes which ceased to exist upon the death of their last living member.

The list includes not only pontifical right but also diocesan right institutes (institutes established within a diocese, under the authority of a bishop). It also includes associations formed with a view to becoming religious institutes but were never canonically erected even on the diocesan level. The list does not distinguish between institutes that would have historically been classified as religious orders, whose members make solemn vows, and religious congregations, whose members make simple vows. Since the 1983 Code of Canon Law, only the term religious institute is used, ^[1] while the distinction between solemn and simple vows is still maintained. ^[2]

List

Name	Initials	Founded	Defunct	Family	Reason	Notes
Sisters of Mercy of Papua New Guinea	R.S.M.	1956	2011	Sisters of Mercy	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea [3]
Benedictine Congregation of Portugal and Brazil	O.S.B.	1597	1889	Benedictine	Suppressed
Brethren of the Common Life	F.V.C.	1370s	Early 1600s		Died out	One Lutheran house survived until 1841
Brothers of Our Lady of the Fields		1902	1931		Merged	Joined with the Clerics of Saint Viator [4]
Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre		1113	1830	Augustinians	Supressed
Catechist Missionary Sisters of St. John Bosco		1938			Died out
Celestine Order	O.S.B. Cel.	1254	18th century	Benedictine	Died out
Congregation of St. Mary	O.P.	1860	2009	Dominican	Merged	Merged into the Dominican Sisters of Peace [5] [6]
Congregation of St. Rose of Lima	O.P.	1950	2009	Dominican	Merged	Merged into the Dominican Sisters of Peace [5] [7]
Daughters of Mary, Health of the Sick	F.M.S.I.	1935	1976		Disbanded
Dominicans of St. Catharine	O.P.	1822	2009	Dominican	Merged	Merged into the Dominican Sisters of Peace [5] [8]
Dominican Sisters of Great Bend, Kansas	O.P.	1902	2009	Dominican	Merged	Merged into the Dominican Sisters of Peace [5] [9]
Dominican Sisters of Newburgh	O.P.	1883	1995	Dominican	Merged	Merged into the Dominican Sisters of Hope
Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs	O.P.	1830	2009	Dominican	Merged	Merged into the Dominican Sisters of Peace [5] [10]
Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine de' Ricci	O.P.	1880	2009	Dominican	Merged	Merged into the Dominican Sisters of Peace [5] [11]
Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena (Fall River)	O.P.	1891	1995	Dominican	Merged	Merged to form the Dominican Sisters of Hope
Dominican Sisters of the Sick Poor	O.P.	1910	1995	Dominican	Merged	Merged into the Dominican Sisters of Hope
Eucharistic Missionaries of St. Dominic	O.P.	1927	2009	Dominican	Merged	Merged into the Dominican Sisters of Peace [5] [12]
Fontevrist Order		1099	1792		Suppressed	Disbanded during the French Revolution
Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Divine Child	F.M.D.C.	1927	2003	Franciscan	Merged	Merged with the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities
Franciscan Sisters of Baltimore	O.S.F.	1881	2001	Franciscan	Merged	Merged with the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi
Gilbertine Order	GSmp	1130	1539	Gilbertine	Suppressed	Disbanded during the Dissolution of the monasteries in England. Later revived in the 20th century
Haudriettes		Early 14th century	c. 1789		Suppressed	Disbanded during the French Revolution
Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony	C.R.S. Ant.	1095	1803		Suppressed
Humiliati	O. Hum.	1140	1571		Suppressed
Jesuati	C.S.H.	1360	1668	Augustinians	Supressed	Abolished by Pope Clement IX, perhaps due to abuses [13]
Little Brothers of St. Francis	L.B.S.F.	1970	2012	Franciscan	Disbanded
Livonian Order		1237	1561	Teutonic Order	Disbanded
Order of Reformed Friars Minor	O.F.M. Ref.	1532	1897	Franciscan	Merged
Order of Saint-Ruf		1039	1774	Augustinian	Supressed
Order of Solomon's Temple	O.T.S.	1119	1312		Suppressed
Priestly Fraternity of Familia Christi	F.S.F.C.	2014	2019		Suppressed
Sisters of the Child Jesus of Aurillac	R.E.J.	1804	1952	Sisters of the Child Jesus	Merged
Sisters of the Child Jesus of Versailles	R.E.J.	1680	1949	Sisters of the Child Jesus	Merged
Sisters of Mary	S.S.M.	1874	1985	Franciscan	Merged	Merged into the Franciscan Sisters of Mary
Sisters of Mercy of Adelaide	R.S.M.	1880	2011	Sisters of Mercy	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea [3]
Sisters of Mercy of Auckland	R.S.M.	1850	2005	Sisters of Mercy	Merged
Sisters of Mercy of Ballarat East	R.S.M.	1881	2011	Sisters of Mercy	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea [3]
Sisters of Mercy of Bathurst	R.S.M.	1866	2011	Sisters of Mercy	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea [3]
Sisters of Mercy of Bermondsey, London	R.S.M.	1839	1994	Sisters of Mercy	Merged
Sisters of Mercy of Birmingham	R.S.M.	1841	1994	Sisters of Mercy	Merged
Sisters of Mercy of Birr	R.S.M.	1840	1994	Sisters of Mercy	Merged
Sisters of Mercy of Cairns	R.S.M.	1888	2011	Sisters of Mercy	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea [3]
Sisters of Mercy of Carlow	R.S.M.	1837	1994	Sisters of Mercy	Merged
Sisters of Mercy of Charleville	R.S.M.	1836	1994	Sisters of Mercy	Merged
Sisters of Mercy of Christchurch	R.S.M.	1878	2005	Sisters of Mercy	Merged
Sisters of Mercy of Cork	R.S.M.	1837	1994	Sisters of Mercy	Merged
Sisters of Mercy of Dunedin	R.S.M.	1897	2005	Sisters of Mercy	Merged
Sisters of Mercy of Galway	R.S.M.	1840	1994	Sisters of Mercy	Merged
Sisters of Mercy of Goulburn	R.S.M.	1859	2011	Sisters of Mercy	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea [3]
Sisters of Mercy of Grafton	R.S.M.	1883	2011	Sisters of Mercy	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea [3]
Sisters of Mercy of Gunnedah	R.S.M.	1879	2011	Sisters of Mercy	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea [3]
Sisters of Mercy of Johannesburg	R.S.M.	1898	1994	Sisters of Mercy	Merged
Sisters of Mercy of Melbourne	R.S.M.	1857	2011	Sisters of Mercy	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea [3]
Sisters of Mercy of New Jersey	R.S.M.	1873	1991	Sisters of Mercy	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Sisters of Mercy of Perth	R.S.M.	1846	2011	Sisters of Mercy	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea [3]
Sisters of Mercy of Rockhampton	R.S.M.	1873	2011	Sisters of Mercy	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea [3]
Sisters of Mercy of Singleton	R.S.M.	1875	2011	Sisters of Mercy	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea [3]
Sisters of Mercy of Townsville	R.S.M.	1878	2011	Sisters of Mercy	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea [3]
Sisters of Mercy of Tullamore	R.S.M.	1836	1994	Sisters of Mercy	Merged
Sisters of Mercy of Wellington	R.S.M.	1861	2005	Sisters of Mercy	Merged
Sisters of Mercy of West Perth	R.S.M.	1896	2011	Sisters of Mercy	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea [3]
Sisters of Mercy of Wilcannia-Forbes	R.S.M.	1890	2011	Sisters of Mercy	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea [3]
Sisters of Providence of Rodez	S.P.		1856	Sisters of Providence	Merged
Sisters of Reparation of the Congregation of Mary	S.R.C.M.	1903	2020		Died out	Also known as the Sisters of St. Zita
Sisters of St. Dominic of the Immaculate Heart of Mary	O.P.	1929	2009	Dominican	Merged	Merged into the Dominican Sisters of Peace [5] [14]
Sisters of St. Francis of Maryville	S.S.M.	1894	1985	Franciscan	Merged	Merged into the Franciscan Sisters of Mary
Sisters of St. Francis of Millvale	O.S.F.	1868	2007	Franciscan	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities
Sisters of St. Francis of the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin	O.S.F.	1895	2004	Franciscan	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities
Sisters of St. Francis, Third Order Regular of Buffalo (Williamsville Franciscans)	O.S.F.	1863	2004	Franciscan	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities
Sisters of St. Joseph of Bourg	S.S.J.	1819	1996	Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged
Sisters of St. Joseph of Cleveland	C.S.J.	1872	2007	Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged	Merged into the Congregation of St. Joseph
Sisters of St. Joseph of Kyoto	C.S.J.	1950	2007	Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged
Sisters of St. Joseph of Fall River, Massachusetts	C.S.J.	1902	1974	Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged
Sisters of St. Joseph of Hamilton, Ontario	C.S.J.	1851	2012	Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged
Sisters of St. Joseph of La Grange, Illinois	C.S.J.	1899	2007	Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged	Merged into the Congregation of St. Joseph
Sisters of St. Joseph of London, Ontario	C.S.J.	1868	2012	Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged
Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille	C.S.J.	1854	2007	Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged	Merged into the Congregation of St. Joseph
Sisters of St. Joseph of Nazareth, Michigan	C.S.J.	1889	2007	Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged	Merged into the Congregation of St. Joseph
Sisters of St. Joseph of Novara	C.S.J.		2006	Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged
Sisters of St. Joseph of Pembroke, Ontario	C.S.J.	1921	2012	Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged
Sisters of St. Joseph of Peterborough, Ontario	C.S.J.	1890	2012	Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged
Sisters of St. Joseph of Superior, Michigan	C.S.J.			Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged
Sisters of St. Joseph of Rhode Island	C.S.J.		1974	Sisters of St. Joseph
Sisters of St. Joseph of Rutland, Vermont	C.S.J.	1873	2001	Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged
Sisters of Saint Joseph of Susa	C.S.J.		2006	Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged
Sisters of St. Joseph of Tipton, Indiana	C.S.J.	1888	2007	Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged	Merged into the Congregation of St. Joseph
Sisters of St. Joseph of Turin	C.S.J.		2006	Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged
Sisters of St. Joseph of Wheeling, West Virginia	C.S.J.	1853	2007	Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged	Merged into the Congregation of St. Joseph
Sisters of St. Joseph of Wichita, Kansas	C.S.J.	1883	2007	Sisters of St. Joseph	Merged	Merged into the Congregation of St. Joseph
Sisters of St. Mary	S.S.M.	1872	1985	Franciscan	Merged
Sisters of St. Therese		1950	1968		Merged
Sisters of the Third Franciscan Order	O.S.F.	1860	2004	Franciscan	Merged
Society of Christ Our King		1931	Early 1970s		Disbanded
Ursuline Sisters of Pittsburgh			1958	Ursuline	Merged
Vincentian Sisters of Charity	V.S.C.	1902	2008	Vincentian-Setonian	Merged	Merged into the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth [15]

References

1. "Code of Canon Law, canons 607-709". www.vatican.va. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
2. Caparros, E.; Thériault, M.; Thorne, J., eds. (1993). Code of Canon Law Annotated. Montréal: Wilson & Lafleur. p. 745. ISBN   2-891272-32-3.
3. "Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea RSM IMAPNG". Diocese of Parramatta. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
4. "Biography – BROUSSEAU, JOSEPH-ONÉSIME – Volume XIV (1911–1920) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography" . Retrieved 8 August 2017.
5. "New Congregation of Dominican Sisters Founded," Catholic Times (Diocese of Columbus, Ohio), Vol. 58, April 26, 2009, p. 3. The new Congregation is listed as Dominican Sisters of Peace in the Official Catholic Directory (Berkeley Heights, NJ: P. J. Kenedy & Sons, 2011), p. 336, and #1115, p. 1691.
6. Dawes, Dorothy, OP. "Sister Mary Dominic O'Brien (1846-1900): Cabra's Gift to New Orleans," in Religious Pioneers: Building the Faith in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Dorothy Dawes and Charles Nolan, Eds, Archdiocese of New Orleans, 2004: 163-178.
7. Culbertson, Diana, OP. Ed. A Journey of Faith: The Story of the Dominican Sisters of Oxford, Michigan. (Based on congregational chronicles, letters and annals). Dominican Sisters of Oxford, MI, 2010.
8. Noonan, Paschala, OP. Signadou: History of the Kentucky Dominican Sisters. Manhasset, NY: Brookville Books, 1997.
9. Hartman, Sister Irene, OP. The Dominican Women of the Sunflower State: A History of the Great Bend, Kansas Dominicans 1902-1989. Dominican Sisters Great Bend, Kansas, 1997.
10. Mullay, Camilla, OP. A Place of Springs: A History of the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs 1830-1970. Ed Ruth Caspar, OP. Columbus, Ohio: Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs, 2005.
11. McGreal, Mary Nona, OP. "Dominicans (O.P.)", in Encyclopedia of American Catholic History, Michael Glazier and Thomas J. Shelley, Eds. Collegeville, Minn: Liturgical Press, 1997: 443.
12. Richard, Sister Paula, OP. "Eucharistic Missionaries of St. Dominic," in Religious Pioneers: Building the Faith in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Dorothy Dawes and Charles Nolan, Eds, Archdiocese of New Orleans, 2004: 335-46.
13. Kennedy, Thomas (1910). "Blessed John Colombini"  . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia . Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
14. Paulus, Rosalia, OP. History of the Sisters of Saint Dominic of Akron, Ohio: 1923-1979. MS, Archives, Our Lady of the Elms Motherhouse, Akron, Ohio
15. "Becoming ONE: The SCN family grows", SCN Family News, March 25, 2009

• Former Religious Orders, GCatholic.org