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What is a lay sister or lay nun?
Question from Nicole …
Sister – Could you please explain to me what it means to be a lay nun? I’m not quite sure exactly what lay nuns do.
In the past (as far back as the middle ages), some religious communities had a kind of hierarchy of membership.
Choir sisters were women who typically came from an educated, wealthy family. These sisters were able to read Latin and thus able to chant and recite the prayers that were central to the Divine Office. Their ministry was typically teaching.
Lay sisters, or lay nuns, were young women, mostly from country areas, who did not have the advantage of education or wealth. They did not say the Divine Office in Latin, but generally said a certain number of Pater Nosters instead. They did the heavy domestic work of the Monastery – which was heavy in those days because of the lack of running water and electricity, and all the modern conveniences we have today. Lay sisters were not allowed to vote or have a voice in the affairs of the community.
This “two-class” system is no longer practiced in religious communities. Today, all members are equal members of the community with no “classes” or privileges based on education or wealth.
For more information, check out the article Overcoming two-class systems from the website of the sisters of Saint Benedict’s Monastery in Saint Joseph and the monks of Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville. Also, my thanks to Sister Mariam, ocd, of Saint Thomas Carmelite Monastery in Auckland, New Zealand, for her advice in writing this post.
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Very good description of the difference between choir sisters and lay sisters – indeed, at times, the lay sisters were considered the ‘servant class’ of religious life. But I suspect that there were many places where the work of the lay sisters was considered in a favorable light as a particular type of vocation. I think this distinction is related to the distinction made between the vocations of priest or brother. Some cannot see why a man would not want to be a priest and really want to be a brother. The Redemptorists, the male congregation with which I am most familiar, has both priests and brothers. Brothers have chosen there role in response to a call to a particular vocation. And today, at least in the Redemptorists, brothers have a very wide scope of work and service. Some are even charged with being the rector (superior) of a house community which includes priests.
Thanks, Sister Hildegard. I actually have another post coming soon on Extern Sisters but didn’t want to get them confused with Lay Sisters.
Hope my previous comment got posted. My labor may have just been commited to cyberspace because of an incorrect key stroke.
Anyway, back to nuns. Although the distinction is no longer made between choir and lay sisters, there still are provisions made in many contemplative orders for extern sisters. Extern sisters do those jobs which require dealing with the public and perhaps leaving the monastery on a more frequent basis – answering the door, seeing to workers, shopping, etc.
I remember hearing about choir sisters and lay sisters. I believe most orders who immigrated to America abolished this distinction in their congregations from the start. It still continued in Europe for quite some time, though. I’m not sure till when or even if it still exists in some places.
Sr. Hildegard may be able to shed more light on this subject, but I believe that traditionally monastic nuns in Europe, although they occassionally took on individual students on and off (example – Hildegard of Bingen being raised and educated by a nun or anchoress), never became anything other than contemplative nuns. They did not change over into teaching or nursing orders for example. The Benedictines in Europe are all contemplatives to this day as far as I understand whereas the Benedictines in this country do indeed have outside ministries such as teaching, nursing, journalism, administration, etc. The break within this tradition occurred because there was a need for these women to serve immigrant populations in the early years – especially German immigrants as far as the Benedictines were concerned.
When I first read the question, I was wondering whether the initial poster was also asking about third orders, associates, oblates, etc. I guess if she was, she’ll chime in and post again.
dee
Thanks, Dee. Always good to hear from you.
That’s a good point about how the questioner might have meant “lay sister”. I’ll have to write more about the other vocations you mentioned. Stay tuned!
Dear Sister,
Is there an age limit for becoming a nun?
Hi Valerie, It varies across communities as to what the age limit is. Typically it is 18-40, and a number of communities accept women up to their 50s, some even a bit older though these are on a case-by-case basis. If you are in the upper age range you may want to check out my post Becoming a Nun After 40ish Blessings, Valerie.
Sister Julie
Thank you, Sister Julie, for posting this. I am singing in the opera Suor Angelica by Puccini and I’ve been researching things to get a better understanding of the opera.