Cloistered and Semi-Cloistered Religious Communities

Cloistered and Semi-Cloistered Religious Communities 

A Hidden Light. A Joyful Life. All for Christ.

This list is not exhaustive and is not guaranteed to contain all of the cloistered communities within the Catholic Church. Please conduct further research and consult with your spiritual director and priest for more information.

• Benedictine (O.S.B.)

• Brigittines, Order of the Most Holy Saviour (O.SS.S.) 

• Carmelites (O.C.D., O. Carm)

• Carthusians (O. Cart.)

• Cistercians/Trappistines (OCist) (O.C.S.O.)

• Dominicans (O.P.) 

• Handmaids of the Precious Blood (H.P.B.)

• Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters (SSpSAP)

• Norbertine Canonesses (O. Praem.)

• Passionists (CP)

• Poor Clares (O.S.C.)

• Sisters Adorers of the Precious Blood (A.P.B.)

• Sisters of Mary Morning Star 

• Visitandines (V.H.M.)

Papal Cloister

Papal cloister is the strictest form of enclosure, in which a nun does not leave the boundaries of the monastery except for serious reasons. The norms defining papal enclosure are given by Rome. The most recent instruction on papal cloister is the 2018 document Cor Orans, which implements what Pope Francis outlined in his 2016 Apostolic Constitution Vultum Dei Quaerere. Cor Orans states: “The law of papal cloister extends to the dwelling and to all the interior and exterior spaces of the monastery reserved exclusively for the nuns in which the presence of strangers can be admitted only in case of necessity. It must be a space of silence and recollection, facilitated by the absence of external works, where the permanent search for the face of God can develop more easily, according to the Institute’s charism.”

Some Papal Cloisters include: 

• Carmelites

• Dominicans

• Handmaids of the Precious Blood

• Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters

• Poor Clares 

• Visitandines 

Constitutional Cloister

Constitutional cloister is a form of cloister defined by the norms in the Rule and Constitutions of the individual order. It is generally less strict than papal cloister. This type of cloister is practiced if the community’s charism joins to their life of contemplation some kind of apostolic or charitable work. They are still cloistered nuns, but they may have an apostolate attached to the monastery–such as a retreat house–which would be impossible to carry out if they practiced papal enclosure. Cor Orans says of constitutional cloister: “It must be a space of silence and recollection, where the permanent search for the face of God can develop, according to the charism of the Institute, in consideration of the works of apostolate or charity exercised by the nuns” (n. 205).

Some Constitutional Cloisters include: 

• Passionists

• Sisters Adorers of the Precious Blood 

• Norbertine Canonesses 

Monastic Cloister

Monastic Cloister is “a special expression of the constitutional cloister” (Cor Orans n. 211), one of the most ancient forms of contemplative life. Monastic cloister refers to forms of contemplative life which have always had a charism of hospitality, such as those stemming from the Benedictine tradition. This means guests may be invited to stay at the monastery, and the nuns interact with them much more freely than nuns who practice papal cloister. “For monasteries of contemplative nuns, the monastic cloister, while retaining the character of a more rigorous discipline than the common one, makes it possible to associate the primary function of divine worship with wider forms of reception and hospitality” (Cor Orans n. 210).

Some Monastic Cloisters include: 

• Benedictines

• Carthusians 

• Cistercian/Trappistines

• Sisters of Mary Morning Star 

Sources 

Cloisteredlife.com 

Google.com