Posted on 07/28/2023 9:46:56 AM PDT by ebb tide
» Continue to this story on USCCB
CWN Editor's Note: Supplementing data made public earlier this week, the National Religious Retirement Office of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has published a statistical report.
Page 4 presents a detailed age distribution of numbers of men and women religious in the US as of December 31, 2022. There are 380 women’s institutes with 24,965 members, and 126 men’s institutes with 7,270 members. Over half of women religious—13,621 out of 24,965—are 80 or over.
There are 1,788 religious under the age of 40: 944 women and 844 men. There are more religious sisters who are 95 or over (1,052) than there are under the age of 40 (944).The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
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So there are more women around who entered during the 1930’s and 1940’s than have entered since 2010 and possibly since 2000.
The living legacy of Pius XI, XII, and John XXIII remains larger than the legacy of Benedict and Francis.
When the Pope opened the windows and modernized convents, many real Nuns fled.
The fruits of Vatican II.
Far fewer younger Catholic women are becoming nuns nowadays, so as time goes on, there are fewer nuns, and the nuns tend to be older. It seems that is what has happened.
Are sisters and nuns the same thing?
The men listed are they priests and above?
Thanks.
“Are sisters and nuns the same thing?”
Catholic women religious fall into two basic groups — active (teaching, nursing, out in the world stuff) and cloistered/contemplative (enclosed, life devoted primarily prayer). Active women religious are called “sisters.” Contemplative/cloistered women religious are called “nuns.”
And a side note — there are quite a few communities for women religious that are absolutely flourishing. They are the ones that have retained the habit and avoided all things “woke” like “social justice.” The orders that went woke (post Vatican II) are now, thankfully, dying.
Sisters of Life: https://sistersoflife.org
Dominican Sisters of St Cecelia: https://www.nashvilledominican.org
Handmaids of the Precious Blood: https://nunsforpriests.org
Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist: https://www.sistersofmary.org/
Fairfield Discalced Carmelites: https://www.fairfieldcarmelites.org
Catholic women religious fall into two basic groups
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Your post is well and truly said. Very informative. As I recall, around the time of the Satan Council (Vatican, 1962-1965) women religious orders were inviting some hotshot psychologist to conferences where he proceeded to indoctrinate the members concerning what he contended were psychologically damaging aspects of religious order living conditions. Result: Many religious orders soon experienced an exodus of consecrated members and a decline in new vocations.
You forgot the Benedictines of Mary. Their order is flourishing and their music is widely known.
https://benedictinesofmary.org
“You forgot the Benedictines of Mary. Their order is flourishing and their music is widely known.”
What a beautiful community! I did not even know about them, thank you!
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