Religious sister

The former Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Sister Ann Margaret O'Hara, SP, in 2006. In the background a painting of the congregation's foundress, Mother Théodore Guérin.

A religious sister (abbreviated: Sr.)^[1]^[2] in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to prayer and labor, or a canoness regular, who provides a service to the world, either teaching or nursing, within the confines of the monastery. Nuns, religious sisters and canonesses all use the term "Sister" as a form of address.

The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism (1995) defines "congregations of sisters [as] institutes of women who profess the simple vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, live a common life, and are engaged in ministering to the needs of society."^[3]^: 1194 As William Saunders writes: "When bound by simple vows, a woman is a sister, not a nun, and thereby called 'sister'. Nuns recite the Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office in common [...] [and] live a contemplative, cloistered life in a monastery [...] behind the 'papal enclosure'. Nuns are permitted to leave the cloister only under special circumstances and with the proper permission."^[4]

^ Ketchum, Dan (2017-09-29). "Etiquette With Nuns". Classroom. Leaf Group. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
^ Clevenger, Casey Ritchie (2020-05-15). Unequal Partners: In Search of Transnational Catholic Sisterhood. University of Chicago Press. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-226-69769-7.)
^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Saunders, William (2003). "The Meaning of the Terms Nun, Sister, Monk, Priest, and Brother". Catholic Education Resource Center. Archived from the original on 2018-05-29. Retrieved 2018-05-28.

[1] Ketchum, Dan (2017-09-29). "Etiquette With Nuns". Classroom. Leaf Group. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2022-03-31.

[2] Clevenger, Casey Ritchie (2020-05-15). Unequal Partners: In Search of Transnational Catholic Sisterhood. University of Chicago Press. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-226-69769-7.)

[:2-3] Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:0-4] Saunders, William (2003). "The Meaning of the Terms Nun, Sister, Monk, Priest, and Brother". Catholic Education Resource Center. Archived from the original on 2018-05-29. Retrieved 2018-05-28.

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