| Vultum Dei quaerere Latin for 'Seeking the Face of God' Apostolic constitution of Pope Francis | |
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| Signature date | 29 June 2016 |
| Subject | Women's contemplative life |
Vultum Dei quaerere (Latin for Seeking the Face of God) is an apostolic constitution issued by Pope Francis on 29 June 2016, regarding women's contemplative life. [1]
Francis devotes a chapter to praise of the vocation to the contemplative life. He reflects on 12 aspects of the contemplative life which may help contemplative women achieve the goals of their vocation, namely: "formation, prayer, the word of God, the sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation, fraternal life in community, federations, the cloister, work, silence, the communications media and asceticism." He notes in conclusion that nuns are needed by the "world and the Church" as "beacons of light for the journey of the men and women of our time". [1]
The constitution establishes new rules governing women's contemplative life, emphasizing the importance of the God-centered nature of monastic life. [1] It also establishes new provisions for federation of contemplative communities. [2] Those portions of canon law which are in conflict with Vultum Dei quaerare were partially repealed by the constitution; in particular, Francis cited portions of Pope Pius XII's apostolic constitution Sponsa Christi as well as portions of the instructions Inter Praeclara, published in 1950, and Verbi Sponsa, published in 1999. [1]
Particular attention was given to ongoing, recommending that monasteries cooperate and share resources, and to this end encouraged federation with other communities. [3]
During the Vatican press briefing during which Vultum Dei quaerere was presented to the public, Archbishop José Rodríguez Carballo, O.F.M., secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, remarked that
in outlining the essential elements [of the contemplative life] there is no lack of explicit references to contemplative women, to whom there is presented the icon of Mary as summa contemplatrix [i.e. the greatest contemplator], "Mary, Virgin, Bride and Mother, who welcomes and treasures the Word in order to give it back to the world ... to help to bring Christ to birth and increase in the hearts of men and women". [1]
The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life published the document Cor Orans in 2018 to implement Vultum Dei quaerere. [4] [5]
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 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.
A postulant was originally one who makes a request or demand; hence, a candidate. The use of the term is now generally restricted to those asking for admission into a Christian monastery or a religious order for the period of time preceding their admission into the novitiate.
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."
The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, formerly called Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, is the dicastery of the Roman Curia with competency over everything which concerns institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life, regarding their government, discipline, studies, goods, rights, and privileges.
In the Catholic Church, a consecrated virgin is a virgin woman who has been consecrated by the church as a bride of Christ. Consecrated virgins are consecrated by the diocesan bishop according to the approved liturgical rite, are required to maintain perpetual virginity because they are espoused to Christ, and are dedicated to the service of the Church.
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.
Vocational discernment is the process by which men and women in the Catholic Church discern, or recognize, their vocation in the church and the world. The vocations are the life of a layperson in the world, either married or single, the ordained life of bishops, priests, and deacons, and consecrated religious life.
The Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR) is one of two associations of the leaders of congregations of Catholic women religious in the United States. As of December 2020, CMSWR includes the leaders of 112 religious congregations which have a total membership of approximately 5,700 women religious in the United States.
Sponsa Christi is an Apostolic Constitution issued by Pope Pius XII on the Feast of the Presentation, November 21, 1950. It addresses the vocation of nuns to a life of virginity.
The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) is one of two associations of the leaders of congregations of Catholic women religious in the United States. LCWR includes over 1300 members, who are members of 302 religious congregations that include 33,431 women religious in the United States as of 2018.
In the liturgical traditions of the Catholic Church, the term ordination refers to the means by which a person is included in one of the holy orders of bishops, priests or deacons. The teaching of the Catholic Church on ordination, as expressed in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the apostolic letter Ordinatio sacerdotalis, is that only a Catholic male validly receives ordination, and "that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful." In other words, the male priesthood is not considered by the church a matter of policy but an unalterable requirement of God. As with priests and bishops, the church ordains only men as deacons.
A Religious Brother is a lay member of a religious institute or religious order who commits himself to following Christ in consecrated life of the Church, usually by the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Equivalent to a Religious Sister, he usually lives in a religious community and works in a ministry appropriate to his capabilities.
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."
In the canon law of the Catholic Church, exclaustration is the official authorization for a member of a religious order bound by perpetual vows to live for a limited time outside their religious institute, usually with a view to discerning whether to depart definitively.
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.
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