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Some women and men live their vocation as priests, sisters or brothers within a religious community. As people who make solemn vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, religious may actively engage in service to the world or they may live in a contemplative community set apart from the world. Either way, religious men and women are dedicated to serving God and God's people, guided by prayer, as members of a community.
Each particular community, while sharing many similar characteristics, also has a unique charism that identifies them and gives their lives a special focus. Some are large international orders; others are more local communities. Many follow special spiritual traditions of saints such as St. Francis and St. Clare, or St. Dominic and St. Catherine.
Sunday, February 7 is World Day for Concescrated Life! Please pray for our sisters, brothers, and priests in consecrated religious life.
Contemplative Orders
Some religious are contemplative orders, whose members focus on prayer, meditation, worship, and service within their community. These nuns and monks in many ways live apart from the rest of the world, pray and follow penitential practices for the world and the Church, and engage in self-supporting work. Examples include the Trappists and the Carmelites.
Active or Apostolic Orders
Many more religious men and women are part of active or apostolic orders. These communities are out in the world, and actively serve God's people in a wide variety of ways. These sisters, brothers and religious order priests may be teachers, health care workers, parish ministers, missionaries, or people working with the poor. Their ministry is done in connection with their religious community, and in the context of prayer.
Priests may be either a religious order priest or a diocesan priest. A religious order priest may be involved in a great variety of ministries over time, yet always is connected to his religious order through community life and prayer. Most diocesan priests spend most or all of their priesthood by serving the people of God within the parishes of the diocese.
Retirement Collection for Religious
This national collection is taken in our parishes each December. This is an important way for us to say Thank You to the many religious who have served our parishes and schools over the years, and our now needing assistance in their later years.
Check out this Compass article on Sr. Germaine Paider, OSF, and how she continues to serve at age 94!
More Information
Follow the links below for a listing of the religious orders serving in our diocese who are part of the North Eastern Wisconsin Vocation Ministers Alliance:
Religious Communities of Women
Religious Communities of Men
Contact the Diocesan Vocations Department
Check out the Catholic Religious Vocation Network Website for Vision Guide to religious communities.
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Vocations 
