Consecrated Virgins living in our midst

Many people know about Religious Life in the Catholic Church, but did you know that there are other types of Consecrated Life as well? 

​While Religious Life is the largest component of the Consecrated Life recognized by the Catholic Church, there is also an Order of Consecrated Virgins Living in the World, the Ordo Virginum. Unlike the celibate Religious who make vows within their communities and live the common life according to the spirituality of their Institute, these women live independently while consecrated through a holy resolution to be dedicated solely to the Lord their Bridegroom and obedient to the directives of the Bishop of their Diocese. They live according to the Rule of Life they draw up and they support themselves through their work in the world as does any independent person. 

Why would a woman choose to be a Consecrated Virgin instead of a Religious Sister? First of all, it is a call from God, a true vocation to follow the Lord and to be of service to His Church. Women who have other responsibilities, specific careers, or circumstances that would preclude them from entering a Religious community have found this vocation to be one specially suited to them. These women take up the task of praying for the Bishop and the needs of the Diocese, making them particularly close to the Diocese and its Bishop. 

We are blessed in our Diocese to have five women who have entered into the formation process to become Consecrated Virgins. Unlike single women living in the world, Consecrated Virgins make a public holy resolution during which they will be consecrated during the Holy Mass by the Bishop. (To be consecrated means being set apart exclusively for God.) This is a supernatural vocation that sets the woman apart for the needs of the people of her own time. Consecrated Virgins have assumed the docility of the Virgin Mary through prayer, contemplation, and a life of holiness that is open to the promptings of God’s grace and animated by charity for the sake of others. There are many exemplar virgin Saints after which the Consecrated Virgin can model her life for Christ, such as St. Catherine of Siena and virgin Saints from the early Church who are mentioned in the canon of the Mass such as St. Anastasia, St. Lucy, and St. Agatha. 

Since Consecrated Virginity lived in the world is new to many people, it seems helpful to provide some information about the why of such a way of life.Consecrated virginity is a way of being totally for Christ, to be married to Christ the Bridegroom of the Church, and to live the reality we will all, hopefully, experience in the life to come with Christ. As explained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "Virgins who, committed to the holy plan of following Christ more closely, are consecrated to God by the Diocesan Bishop according to the approved liturgical rite, are betrothed mystically to Christ, the Son of God, and are dedicated to the service of the Church. By this solemn rite…, the virgin is constituted . . . a sacred person, a transcendent sign of the Church's love for Christ, and an eschatological image of this heavenly Bride of Christ and of the life to come." (CCC 923)

When seeking to explain this vocation, the candidates for Consecrated Virginity expressed some important understandings:

• “When you look at me as a Bride of Christ, I am an icon of the Church as a Bride with Jesus as the Bridegroom.”
• “We receive the gift of love from Jesus and we are inspired to offer our complete love to Jesus.”
• “We are all invited into a personal relationship with God and the Consecrated Virgin is a witness pointing us to that reality.”
• “This vocation is the lived reality of which marriage is merely a sign of the union of Christ and His Church.”
• “Many of the Consecrated Virgins have embraced personal suffering in their vocation and provide a witness that suffering does not prevent anyone from being a Beloved One of God.”

The Consecrated Virgin, in her spiritual motherhood, is dedicated to Christ and His Church. Her heart is to be open to God’s people, showing forth facets of the love of the Church, our true Mother. Fundamental to her vocation is praying for the needs of the Church, in particular the needs of the Diocese, the Bishop and its priests. Like the priests, deacons, and Religious men and women in the Church, the Consecrated Virgins pray the Liturgy of the Hours (the official prayer of the Church), praying for the Church and with the Church. As one candidate said, “Our hearts are open for Christ’s people, as we walk with them in compassion, accompanying them.” 

This initiative of the Diocese of Calgary of offering the opportunity for women to become Consecrated Virgins according to the ancient practice of the Church is in line with the new evangelization and the Pastoral Renewal of the Diocese. Consecrated Virgins exemplify the accompaniment of the People of God and witness to Christ and His Church. 

Consecrated Virgins Candidates and Formators at Formation Retreat FCJ Christian Life Centre August 2024 representing five Dioceses in Canada: (from left to right): Wendy (Hamilton), Anna (Toronto formator), Erin (Ottawa formator), Niki (Hamilton), Francesca (Calgary), Paige (Calgary), Noëlle (Calgary), Lauretta (Calgary), Lee (Calgary), Manju (Hamilton), Sr. Dianne (Calgary formator).

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Written by Sr. Dianne Turner, Assistant Vocations Director.

​For more information about Consecrated Virgins or Religious Life in our Diocese, please contact Sr. Dianne in the Office of Vocations. Photo: Office of Vocations, 2024.