St. Justini Martyr

Religious life, born in the East during the first centuries of Christianity, remains a gift the Church has received from the Lord and offers as a stable way of life to those called by God to profess the evangelical counsels. Within canonically erected institutes, it is marked by liturgical life, public profession of the counsels, fraternal life in common, and witness to the union of Christ and the Church. Religious life serves the Church’s mission of evangelization and is called, in its many forms, to signify God’s charity in the language of our time. Secular institutes seek the perfection of charity and the sanctification of the world from within it, while societies of apostolic life pursue their particular apostolic purpose and strive for charity according to their constitutions. Through consecration, these members give themselves more intimately to God’s service and to the good of the Church, offering a witness that the world is transfigured and offered to God through the spirit of the beatitudes.

In the Church, sacred ministers and lay faithful both serve the Church’s saving mission. Christ sends the apostles and their successors in his mission; the Pope, successor of St. Peter, serves as head of the college of bishops and Pastor of the universal Church, while bishops are visible sources and foundations of unity in their particular Churches. With priests and deacons, bishops teach the faith, celebrate divine worship—especially the Eucharist—and guide God’s people as pastors. Laypeople are called to bring the vigor of their Christian spirit into the world, living their Baptism and Confirmation in personal, family, social, and ecclesial life. They witness to Christ in every circumstance and, through self-denial and holiness, work to uproot the rule of sin in themselves and in the world. Some faithful also consecrate themselves to God through the evangelical counsels, serving God and the good of the whole Church.