Religious order

A religious order is an organized community whose members follow a shared rule or set of vows. Orders structure communal religious life through commitments such as prayer, service, poverty, or celibacy.

Monasticism: A religious way of life centered on disciplined practice, often in a community set apart from ordinary society. Religious orders are one institutional form of monastic life.
Abbot: The superior who governs a monastery or abbey. An abbot interprets the rule and directs communal life in many monastic houses.
Benedict of Nursia: A sixth-century Christian monk traditionally credited with writing the Rule of Saint Benedict. His rule became the foundation for Benedictine communal life.
Benedictines: Members of monastic communities following the Rule of Saint Benedict. Benedictine life centers on stability, communal prayer, and work.
Religious congregation: A Catholic community of religious men or women whose members make vows and live by a common constitution. Catholic law distinguishes congregations from orders partly by the form of their vows.
Rule of life: A framework of practices and obligations that organizes an individual’s or community’s spiritual life. An order’s rule sets its shared pattern of prayer, work, and conduct.
Prior: A religious superior who leads a priory or serves as deputy to an abbot. The office illustrates how leadership is organized within some orders.
Rule of Saint Benedict: A sixth-century guide to communal monastic life emphasizing prayer, obedience, and moderation. It is among the most influential written rules adopted by religious orders.
Carthusians: Members of a Catholic monastic order combining solitary and communal life. Their distinctive arrangement serves a vocation of contemplative withdrawal.
Secular institute: A Catholic association whose members pursue consecrated life while remaining within ordinary social conditions. Unlike most religious orders, its members do not necessarily live in a common religious house.

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