Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life

Part of a series on the
Roman Curia
of the Catholic Church
Catholicism portal

The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (Latin: Congregatio pro Institutis Vitae Consecratae et Societatibus Vitae Apostolicae) is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for everything which concerns Institutes of Consecrated Life (orders and religious congregations, both of men and of women, as well as secular institutes) and Societies of Apostolic Life, regarding their government, discipline, studies, goods, rights, and privileges.

Description

On May 27, 1586, Pope Sixtus V founded the Sacred Congregation for Consultations about Regulars. In 1908 Pope Pius X changed its name to the Congregation for Religious. In 1967 Pope Paul VI changed its name to the Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes. Pope John Paul II gave the Congregation its current name.[1]

The Congregation is responsible for everything which concerns religious orders and congregations, and societies of apostolic life regarding their government, discipline, studies, etc. It is competent also for matters regarding hermits, consecrated virgins, and new forms of consecrated life. It has no territorial limits, although certain questions may be remanded to other Vatican Congregations. The Congregation also handles matters concerning associations of the faithful formed with the intention of becoming institutes of consecrated life or societies of apostolic life, and for Third Orders Seculars.[1]

In 1994, the Congregation noted,

"In some places it seems that religious community has lost its relevance in the eyes of women and men religious and is perhaps no longer an ideal to be pursued. ...In many countries, increased state programs in areas in which religious have traditionally been active—such as social service, education and health—together with the decrease in vocations, have resulted in a diminished presence of religious in works which used to be typically those of apostolic institutes. ...it is necessary to have religious communities with a clear charismatic identity, assimilated and lived, capable of transmitting them to others and disposed to share them, religious communities with an intense spirituality and missionary enthusiasm for communicating the same spirit and the same evangelizing thrust; religious communities who know how to animate and encourage lay people to share the charism of their institute, according to their secular character and according to their different style of life, inviting them to discover new ways of making the same charism and mission operative."[2]

Pope Francis addressed the Congregation in January 2017 on the theme of "Fidelity and perseverance" saying, "it is clear that one must first let oneself be evangelised in order to engage in evangelisation."[3][4]

Institute of consecrated life

Institutes of consecrated life are canonically erected institutes in the Roman Catholic Church whose members profess the evangelical counsels by vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience.[5] There are two types:

Religious institutes

Religious institutes are characterized by the public profession of vows, communal life, and a degree of separation from the world.[6]

Orders

Some Institutes are called Orders. These are Institutes in which, for historical reasons or because of their character or nature, solemn vows are made by at least some of the members. All members of these orders are called regulars (because they are governed by a Rule (i.e. regula)), and if they are women they are called nuns ("moniales"). The orders are older than the congregations.

Congregations

Other religious institutes are called congregations. Their members make simple vows; women are called sisters.

Secular institutes

Secular Institutes is an organization of consecrated individuals who, unlike members of a religious institute who live in community, live in the world, and work for the sanctification of the world from within.[7]

Institutes may also be classified as a "clerical" or "lay institute" depending on whether the members exercise Holy Orders.(can. 588.2, and (can. 588.3).

Society of apostolic life

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.

Both Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life need the written approval of a bishop to operate within his diocese, although a diocesan bishop can establish an institute of consecrated life or society in his own territory, after consulting the Apostolic See.[8]

Administration

The current Prefect is Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, former Bishop of Ponta Grossa, Archbishop of Maringá and Archbishop of Brasília. The current Secretary is Archbishop José Rodríguez Carballo, O.F.M., who was previously Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor. There are two Undersecretaries of the Congregation, Father Sebastiano Paciolla, O.Cist., and Sister Nicoletta Vittoria Spezzati, A.S.C.

Cardinal Prefects since 1908

Secretaries since 1908

See also

References

  1. 1 2 The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
  2. ↑ "Fraternal Life in Community", Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, February 19, 1994
  3. ↑ "Pope Francis’ Address to Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life", Zenit, January 30, 2017
  4. ↑ "Pope Francis greets Plenary of Congregation for Consecrated Life", Vatican Radio, January 28, 2017
  5. ↑ Code of Canon Law, canon 573
  6. ↑ Code of Canon Law, canon 709
  7. ↑ Code of Canon Law, canon 710
  8. ↑ Code of Canon Law, canons 312, 609–612, 679, 715
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.