The Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism Secular Institutes
Type
Book
Authors
Category
Religious Orders
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Publication Year
1962
Publisher
Volume
87
Pages
124
Description
In Provida Mater Ecclesia, Pope Pius XII called attention to secular institutes as "societies, whether clerical or lay, whose members profess Christian perfection and . . . exercise a full apostolate." This book studies the secular institutes from an historical, theological, and juridical viewpoint. In so doing, the author clarifies the differences between the lay secular vocation and the religious life.
The secular institutes undertake those duties of charity which religious orders are unable to carry out. Their members usually do not live in common, but come together for the sacraments and spiritual conferences. Generally, the institutes are made up of laymen, who must take at least one vow (or promise), usually that of perpetual chastity.
Separate and distinct from Catholic action or the apostolate of the laity, they are as yet a juridical novelty. But historically and theologically, they are the culmination of a spiritual effort, many centuries old. In its beginnings, monasticism itself was a typically lay, rather than clerical, institution.
The clear and accurate information, which Father Gabriel Reidy presents here, should not merely increase the already rapid spread of the institutes, but be of lasting profit to the entire Church.
Father Reidy, the author, was born in Dublin and educated at London University, entering the Franciscan Order in 1924. He studied Theology and received a Doctor of Divinity degree from the Antonianum in Rome. From 1937 to 1939, he carried out research in history at Cambridge. He now teaches Theology and Ecclesiastical History at the Forest Gate and East Bergholt Friaries in England.
This is Volume 87 under section VIII: The Organization of the Church.
Taken from the inside flaps.
The secular institutes undertake those duties of charity which religious orders are unable to carry out. Their members usually do not live in common, but come together for the sacraments and spiritual conferences. Generally, the institutes are made up of laymen, who must take at least one vow (or promise), usually that of perpetual chastity.
Separate and distinct from Catholic action or the apostolate of the laity, they are as yet a juridical novelty. But historically and theologically, they are the culmination of a spiritual effort, many centuries old. In its beginnings, monasticism itself was a typically lay, rather than clerical, institution.
The clear and accurate information, which Father Gabriel Reidy presents here, should not merely increase the already rapid spread of the institutes, but be of lasting profit to the entire Church.
Father Reidy, the author, was born in Dublin and educated at London University, entering the Franciscan Order in 1924. He studied Theology and received a Doctor of Divinity degree from the Antonianum in Rome. From 1937 to 1939, he carried out research in history at Cambridge. He now teaches Theology and Ecclesiastical History at the Forest Gate and East Bergholt Friaries in England.
This is Volume 87 under section VIII: The Organization of the Church.
Taken from the inside flaps.
Number of Copies
1
