Consecrated Virgins Meet up in Rome

[DameAgnes]

http://aleteia.org/2016/02/11/the-oldest-form-of-consecrated-life-is-also-the-newest-and-its-growing/

[Sr Mary Catharine OP]

Well written and concise on the vocation of the consecrated virgin. Glad she wrote it because it seems that the Year of Consecrated Life at any gathering would soon just focus on religious and not different forms of consecrated life. When watching the Holy Hour and Mass at St. Peter's it was nice to see the consecrated women and others in other forms of consecrated life. 

I would point out that women's monasticism was growing up alongside consecrated virgins. No monastic, man or woman, made vows for several centuries. It was a "work in progress". We know that St. Anthony sent his sister to a monastery and it seems to have been an established fact and nothing new. 
 

 

[DominicanHeart]

I want to go 

[Sponsa-Christi]

2 hours ago, DominicanHeart said:

I want to go 

Well, as I mentioned in the article, we're hoping that there might be another gathering of CVs in Rome in 2020!

On 2/11/2016, 10:49:42, Sr Mary Catharine OP said:

Well written and concise on the vocation of the consecrated virgin. Glad she wrote it because it seems that the Year of Consecrated Life at any gathering would soon just focus on religious and not different forms of consecrated life. When watching the Holy Hour and Mass at St. Peter's it was nice to see the consecrated women and others in other forms of consecrated life. 

I would point out that women's monasticism was growing up alongside consecrated virgins. No monastic, man or woman, made vows for several centuries. It was a "work in progress". We know that St. Anthony sent his sister to a monastery and it seems to have been an established fact and nothing new. 
 

Thanks, Sr. MC! 

In addition to religious and consecrated virgins, at the Holy Hour and Mass there were also secular institute members present, as well as representatives from "new forms of consecrated life" (not sure exactly what those are, but it sounds interesting!) 

Some translations of the Life of Anthony say that he left his sister with a community of "holy virgins"---so presumably, those were consecrated virgins who were living some kind of proto-monastic life. There is a lot of historical overlap between the Ordo Virginum and women's monasticism. However, I unfortunately didn't have the space to get into all of that in what was meant to be a short popular article.