Abbess
An abbess (Latin: abbatissa) is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey.[1]
Description
In the
Roles and responsibilities
Abbesses are, like abbots, major superiors according to canon law, the equivalents of abbots or bishops (the ordained male members of the church hierarchy who have, by right of their own office, executive jurisdiction over a building, diocesan territory, or a communal or non-communal group of persons—juridical entities under church law). They receive the vows of the nuns of the abbey; they may admit candidates to their order's novitiate; they may send them to study; and they may send them to do pastoral or missionary, or to work or assist—to the extent allowed by canon and civil law—in the administration and ministry of a parish or diocese (these activities could be inside or outside the community's territory). They have full authority in its administration.
However, there are significant limitations.
- They may not administer the Holy Orders.
- They may make provision for an ordained cleric to help train and to admit some of their members, if needed, as altar servers, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, or lectors—all ministries which are now open to the unordained.
- They may not serve as a witness to a marriage except by special rescript.
- They may not administer Penance (Reconciliation), Anointing of the Sick (
- They may preside over the Liturgy of the Hours which they are obliged to say with their community, speak on Scripture to their community, and give certain types of blessings not reserved to the clergy. On the other hand, they may not ordinarily preach a sermon or homily, nor read the Gospel during Mass.
- As they do not receive episcopal ordination in the Catholic, Orthodox and Oriental Churches, they do not possess the ability to ordain others, nor do they exercise the authority they do possess under canon law over any territories outside of their monastery and its territory (though non-cloistered, non-contemplative female religious members who are based in a convent or monastery but who participate in external affairs may assist as needed by the diocesan bishop and local secular clergy and laity, in certain pastoral ministries and administrative and non-administrative functions not requiring ordained ministry or status as a male cleric in those churches or programs).[1]
There are exigent circumstances, where due to Apostolical privilege, certain Abbesses have been granted rights and responsibilities above the normal, such as the Abbess of the
During the Middle Ages (7th–10th centuries) in the Catholic Church, greater restrictions on abbesses' spiritual independence gained pace. Instruments of church authority, from papal bulls down to local sanctions, were increasingly used to restrict their freedom to dispense blessings, administer sacraments, including the veiling of nuns, and publicly read the gospels or preach. Such spiritual—and even temporal—authority had in earlier church history, largely been unremarkable. As Thomas Oestereich, contributor to the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), makes clear, abbesses' past spiritual authority was increasingly seen as the "usurpation" of corresponding priestly power, and a solely male privilege. He gives an example of the attitude toward such practice, from the 9th century, which persists in church administrative control into the modern era:[1]
Thus, in the Capitularies of Charlemagne, mention is made of
certain Abbesses, who contrary to the established discipline of the Church of God, presume to bless the people, impose their hands on them, make the sign of the cross on the foreheads of men, and confer the veil on virgins, employing during that ceremony the blessing reserved exclusively to the priest,
— Louis Thomassin, Vetus et Nova Ecclesae Disciplina, pars I, lib. II, xii, no. 17.all of which practice the bishops are urged to forbid absolutely in their respective dioceses.
Similarly, in 1210,
History
Historically, in some Celtic monasteries, abbesses presided over joint-houses of monks and nuns,[2] the most famous example being Saint Brigid of Kildare's leadership in the founding of the monastery at Kildare in Ireland. This custom accompanied Celtic monastic missions to France, Spain, and even to Rome itself. In 1115, Robert, the founder of Fontevraud Abbey near Chinon and Saumur, France, committed the government of the whole order, men as well as women, to a female superior.[2][5]
In
In the
In 1997,[update] it was estimated the Catholic Church had around 200 presiding abbesses.[4]
See also
- List of abbots and abbesses of Kildare
- Fraumünster Abbey
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oestreich (1913).
- ^ a b c d e f Chisholm 1911.
- ^ Hoiberg 2010, p. 11
- ^ a b Henneberry 1997, p. 8
- ^ Fletcher (2007).
- ^ Rambler 2010
- ^ Hunt, Julie (21 July 2020). "Nuns: powerful women of the Middle Ages". Swissinfo. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
General and cited references
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Abbess". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 11. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- Fletcher, Adrian (2007). "The Royal Abbey of Fontevraud". Paradox Place. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.[better source needed]
- Henneberry, Thomas E. (1997). "Abbess". In Johnston, Bernard (ed.). Collier's Encyclopedia. Vol. I: A to Ameland (1st ed.). New York: P. F. Collier. LCCN 96084127.
- Hoiberg, Dale H., ed. (2010). "Abbess". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1: A-ak Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. LCCN 2002113989.
- Oestreich, Thomas (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. pp. 7–10. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- Rambler, Nash (11 May 2010). "Last of Her Kind: Princess Sophia Albertina of Sweden & Norway". The Esoteric Curiosa. Retrieved 8 May 2015.[better source needed]