Vocations to consecrated virginity are growing, but they need support
Despite recent Vatican instructions, there's a lack of clarity and consistency in many dioceses
Consecrated virginity lived in the world — also called the Ordo Virginum, or just consecrated virginity — is the oldest form of consecrated life in the Church.
Saints Lucy, Agatha, and Agnes were consecrated virgins. They lived celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom as a convincing sign of the eternal realities that are offered in Christ. The early Church fathers called these women by a beautiful title: Bride of Christ.
But, as religious orders sprung up, the Rite of Consecration of Virgins fell into disuse until the 20th century, when many called for its revival.
A revised rite was promulgated in 1970, but it wasn’t until 2018 that the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life issued a landmark instruction on its implementation, Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago.
Though this instruction began to fill what was a gaping hole in the understanding of consecrated virginity and its regulation, it was exactly that— a beginning.
Since it is still somewhat of a novelty in many places, consecrated virginity has largely escaped the attention of wide swaths of the faithful, including many bishops and others responsible for vocational discernment and formation. And is often misunderstood.
This presents two imposing challenges: How can the Church, as a body, support a vocation that is still largely obscured in the public mind?
And, if women and formators don’t have adequate guidance and resources, how can this vocation fully unleash the force of its powerful witness in the world?
Well, there are a few possible answers which bishops should consider.