Founded 1865
The Sisters of St Mary live a vowed life in community, centered around the daily Eucharist and a modified five-fold Divine Office. Each sister has time daily for private prayer and study. Our way of life is a modern expression of traditional monastic practice including silent meals in common, plainchant in English for much of our corporate worship, a distinctive habit, and a measure of enclosure.
Our ministry is an outward expression of our vowed life of poverty, chastity and obedience. The specific nature of our work has changed over the years since Mother Harriet and our first sisters were asked to take charge of the House of Mercy in New York City in 1865. Being 'mindful of the needs of others', as our table blessing says, we have been led in many ways to care for the lost, forgotten and underprivileged. Today our work is primarily prayer, Benedictine hospitality, retreats, and Christian education, amicro-farm in Greenwich, NY, and care of orphans in Malawi. Sisters also go out from time to time to speak in parishes, lead quiet days and provide a praying community within the Diocese of Albany's Spiritual Life Center and the Diocese of Northern Malawi.
Name: Mother Miriam CSM
Mother Superior, assumed office 31 August 1996
Address: St Mary's Convent,242 Cloister Way, Greenwich, NY, 12834-7922, USA
Tel: +1 518 692 3028
Fax: +1 518 692 3029
Email: Click here for email
Website: www.stmaryseast.net
Founded 1935
Name: Reverend Mother TCG
Address: 5870 East 14th Street, Tucson, AZ, 85711, USA
Tel: +1 520 747 5280
Fax: +1 520 747 5236
Email: Click here for email
Founded 1910
The Order of St. Anne was founded in 1910 by Father Frederick Cecil Powell of the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Arlington Heights, Mass. The Sisters live a modified Benedictine Rule, dedicated to a life of prayer and good works beneficial to all people including children. The Sisters of St. Anne came to Chicago in 1921 invited by then rector of the Church of the Ascension, the Revd Stoskopf, to do parish work and other needed services in the Diocese of Chicago. The Chicago convent is autonomous, although Sisters live as part of the church of the Ascension.
According to our Rule ?the Order of St. Anne cannot be designated as professing exclusively the contemplative, the mixed or active spirit? since all three may be found within the Order. The principal of the Order is the life of God within it and whatsoever He may say to us ? whether to sit at His feet only or feed His lambs - which we must do. While our works are important, it must be kept in mind that God calls us to a life of prayer. The Sisters are involved in parish work, especially at the Church of the Ascension doing whatever is needed. The sisters also work with the homeless, alcoholics, addicts and other emotionally and mentally disturbed people. The sisters work as teachers, counsellors and hospital chaplains. A future plan is for a recovery home for addicts, alcoholics and emotionally disturbed women.
.Name: Sister Judith Marie OSA
Superior, assumed office 2007
Address: Convent of St Anne,1125 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, IL, 60610-2601, USA
Tel: +1 312 642 3638
Email: Click here for email
Website: www.sistersofstannechicago.org
Founded 1882
Ours is a mixed life, which means that we combine an apostolic ministry with a contemplative lifestyle. The Rule of the Sisterhood of the Holy Nativity follows the model of the Rule of St Augustine of Hippo. As such, we strive to make the love of God the motive of all our actions. The 'charisms', which undergird our life, are Charity, Humility, Prayer, and Missionary Zeal. Our work involves us with children's ministries such as Sunday School, Summer Camp and Vacation Bible School, as well as ministry to those we meet in everyday life.
Name: Sister Abigail SHN
Reverend Mother, assumed office 2012
Address: Bethlehem-by-the-Lake,W1484 Spring Grove Road, Ripon, WI, 54971-8665, USA
Tel: +1 920 748 5332
Email: Click here for email
Founded 1910
We are a small multi-cultural community of women committed to witnessing to the truth that, as Christians, it is here and now that we demonstrate to the Church and the world that the Religious Life lived in community is relevant, interesting, fulfilling and needed in our world and our times. We strive to recognize and value the diversity of persons and gifts. We believe that God has a vision for each one of us and that opportunities to serve the Church and the world are abundant. For this to become real, we know that our spirits and hearts must be enlarged to fit the dimensions of our Church in today's world and the great vision that God has prepared for our Order. We are especially grateful for our continuing ministry within the Diocese of Massachusetts.
The Rule of the Order of St Anne says our houses may be small, but our hearts are larger than houses. Our community has always been 'people-oriented' and we derive a sense of joy and satisfaction in offering hospitality at our Convent, at the Bethany House of Prayer and in our beautiful chapel. Always constant in our lives are our personal prayer and our corporate worship, our vows of Poverty, Celibacy and Obedience, our commitment to spiritual growth and development of mind and talents, and our fellowship with one another and other Religious communities, as friends and sisters.
Name: Sister Ana Clara OSA
Superior, assumed office 1992
Address: 25 Hillside Avenue , Arlington, MA, 02476-5818, USA
Tel: +1 (781) 643 0921
Fax: +1 (781) 648 4547
Email: Click here for email
Founded 1866
The Society of St John the Evangelist was founded in the parish of Cowley in Oxford, England, by Richard Meux Benson in 1866. A branch house was established in Boston in 1870. The brothers of the N. American Congregation live at the monastery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, near Harvard Square, and at Emery House, a rural retreat sanctuary in West Newbury, Massachusetts. They gather throughout the day to pray the Divine Office, and live under a modern Rule of Life, adopted in 1997, which is available online at www.ssje.org. At profession, brothers take vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience.
SSJE's guesthouses offer hospitality to many. Young adults may serve for year as Monastic Interns. Guests may come individually or in groups for times of silent reflection and retreat. SSJE brothers lead retreats and programs in their own houses and in parishes, dioceses throughout North America. SSJE brothers also serve as preachers, teachers, spiritual directors and confessors. One of the brothers, Thomas Shaw, is Bishop of Massachusetts. Each year, SSJE brothers serve as chaplains for pilgrimages in Israel/Palestine sponsored by St George's College, Jerusalem. In recent years, brothers have been leading retreats and teaching in Anglican churches and seminaries in Kenya and Tanzania. Nearer to home, they are engaged in part-time ministries with students and young adults, the Deaf, Asian-Americans, and those in Twelve-step Programs.
Name: Geoffrey Tristram SSJE
Superior, assumed office 4 May 2010
Address: The Monastery,980 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA, 2138, USA
Tel: +1 617 876 3037
Email: Click here for email
Website: www.ssje.org
Founded 1855
(Boston Convent founded 1873)
The Society of St Margaret is an Episcopal Religious Order of mission-focused sisters living an ancient tradition with a modern outlook. Our lives as Sisters are guided by the principle, “Love first, Love midst, Love last.” We take vows of poverty, celibate chastity, and obedience; listening for the voice of God in all circumstances.
Our mission of hospitality calls us to welcome people to our houses for times of refreshment and renewal, Our mission of service calls us to move out beyond our dwelling places to serve those in need, to go where God leads and to share Christ’s light. We strive to live a balanced life of active work and contemplative prayer, and are committed to partner with those who share our passion for a world of justice, mercy and peace.
The central work of the community is worship and prayer and the Eucharist provides the pattern for our daily lives. As Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, so our lives are taken, blessed, broken, and given through our varied ministries. As we work with children, care for the elderly, and do parish work, we seek always to live as Christ’s hands and heart in this world.
Name: Sister Kristina Frances SSM
Mother Superior, assumed office in 2021
Address: St Margaret's Convent,50 Harden Hill Road, PO Box C, Duxbury, MA, 02331-0605, USA
Tel: +1 781 934 9477
Fax: +1 781 934 0837
Email: Click here for email
Website: www.societyofstmargaret.org
Founded 1865
The Western Province of the Community of St Mary was set apart as a separate branch of the community in 1904. We share a common Rule, but have separate administration. Our basic orientation is toward a life of prayer, corporate and personal, reaching out to the Church and the world according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We live singly or in small groups, each sister using her gifts for ministry as she feels led with the support of the whole group.
Name: Sister Letitia Prentice CSM
President, assumed office January 1992
Address: St John's-on-the-Lake,840 N. Prospect Avenue #504, Milwaukee, WI, 53202, USA
Tel: +1 404 239 7908
Email: Click here for email
Founded 1985
Wisconsin Tax Exempt No. : ES-31183
The Order of Julian of Norwich is a contemplative semi-enclosed Religious order of nuns and monks in the Episcopal Church, living together in one house. We profess traditional vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, with the added vow of prayer 'in the spirit of our Blessed Mother Saint Julian', the fourteenth-century English anchoress and our patron.
The ministry of the Order to the Church is to be a community of prayer and contemplative presence, expressed in communal liturgical worship in chapel and in the silence and solitude of the cell. Gregorian Chant is used for most of the four-fold Divine Office of the Book of Common Prayer. The Eucharist is the centre of our life, the genesis of our work of contemplative and intercessory prayer. This primary apostolate supports a limited exterior apostolate of spiritual direction, writing, and offering retreats.
Founded in 1985 by the Revd John Swanson, the Order was canonically recognized by the Episcopal Church in 1997, and is affiliated with the Conference of Anglican Religious Orders in the Americas. For further information on the Order or its affiliates, please address the Guardian.
Name: Revd Mother Hilary Crupi OJN
Guardian, assumed office 30 April 2010
Address: 2812 Summit Avenue, Waukesha, WI, 53188-2781, USA
Tel: +1 262 549 0452
Email: Click here for email
Website: www.orderofjulian.org
Founded 1852 (in UK) 1874 (in USA)
The Community of St John Baptist was founded in England in 1852. The spirit of the Community is to 'prepare the way of the Lord and make straight in the desert a highway for our God.' We follow the call of our patron through a life of worship, community, and service.
Our Community is made up of monastic women, who share life together under the traditional vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Our life includes daily participation in the Eucharist and the Divine Office, prayer, and ministry to those in need. We also have married or single Oblates, who commit themselves to a Rule of life and service in the Church, and Associates, who make up the wider family of CSJB.
We live by an Augustinian Rule, which emphasizes community spirit. Those who live with us include Oblates and friends, as well as our pony, dog, and cat. Our Retreat House and guest wing are often full of persons seeking spiritual direction and sacred space. Our buildings are set in a beautiful wooded area.
Our work includes spiritual direction, retreats, hospitality, youth ministry and ordained ministry (two sisters are priests). The Community participates in a mission in Africa, helps the homeless, and works in parishes.
Name: Sister Eleanor Francis CSJB
Sister Superior, assumed office 14 December 2009
Address: PO Box 240,82 W. Main Street, Mendham, NJ, 7945, USA
Tel: +1 973 543 4641
Fax: +1 973 543 0327
Email: Click here for email
Website: www.csjb.org
Founded in 1969
The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory was founded on Holy Cross Day 1969, by Richard Thomas Biernacki, after consultation with many Episcopal and Roman Catholic Religious. The first brothers made their profession of vows in the New York monastery of the Visitation Sisters. Later that year, Bishop Horace Donegan of New York recognized the Brotherhood as a Religious community of the Episcopal Church.
The community is open to clergy and laity, without regard to marital status. Gregorian Friars follow a common Rule, living individually, in small groups, or with their families, supporting themselves and the community through secular or church-related employment.
The Rule requires the Holy Eucharist, the four Offices of the Book of Common Prayer, meditation, theological study, Embertide reports, the tithe, and participation in Annual Convocation and Chapter.
The Postulancy program takes a minimum of one year; Novitiate at least two years, after which a novice may make First Profession of Annual Vows. Members are eligible for Life Profession after five years in Annual Vows.
Gregorian Friars minister in parishes as liturgists, musicians, clergy, artists, visitors to the sick, administrators, sextons, and teachers. A number serve the diocesan and national church. For those in secular work the ?servant theme? continues, and many are teachers, nurses, or administrators, sharing the common goal of the consecration of each brother?s lifetime through prayer and service.
Name: Richard Thomas Biernacki BSG
Founder and Minister General, assumed office 14 September 1969
Address: Brotherhood of St Gregory,St James's Rectory, 2627 Davidson Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10468, USA
Email: Click here for email
Website: www.gregorians.org
Founded 1952
Each person is given an invitation to follow Christ. The Sisters of our monastic community respond to that invitation by an intentional living out of the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience within the structure of a modified Augustinian Rule. Through the vow of poverty, we profess out trusting dependence upon God by embracing voluntary simplicity and responsible stewarship of creation. Through chastity, we profess the sanctity of all creation as the primary revelation of God. Through obedience, we profess our desire to be dependent on God's direction and to live and minister in ways that respect all creation, both now and for generations to come.
Compassionate, respectful love is God's gift to life. Prayer and the worship of God are the lifeblood and heart of our Community and the source of inspiration for all that we undertake. Through our prayer, worship, and creastive talents we encourage others to seek God. through our ministries of hospitality, retreat work, spiritual direction, and education for sustainable living, we seek to grow in love and communion with all whose lives touch us and are touched by us. We also provide spiritual support for women and men who wish to be linked with our Community as Associates. By adopting a personal rule of life, they extend the Community's ministry through prayer, worship and service.
Name: Sisters Helena Marie, Faith Margaret & Catherine Grace CHS
Community Council, assumed office June 2001
Address: 454 Convent Avenue, New York, NY, 10031-3618, USA
Tel: +1 212 666 8249
Fax: +1 801 655 8249
Email: Click here for email
Website: www.chssisters.org
Founded 1913
The Oratory of the Good Shepherd is a society of priests and laymen founded at Cambridge (UK), which now has province in North America, Australia, Southern Africa and Europe. Oratorians are bound together by a common Rule and discipline; members do not generally live together in community. The brethren are grouped in 'colleges' and meet regularly for prayer and support, and each province meets annually for retreat and chapter. Every three years, the General Chapter meets, presided over by the Superior of the whole Oratory, whose responsibility is to maintain the unity of the provinces.
Consecration of life in the Oratory has the twin purpose of fostering the individual brother's personal search for God in union with his brethren, and as a sign of the Kingdom. So through the apostolic work of the brethren, the Oratory seeks to make a contribution to the life and witness of the whole Church.
In common with traditional communities, the Oratory requires celibacy. Brothers are accountable to their brethren for their spending and are expected to live simply and with generosity. The ideal spiritual pattern includes daily Eucharist, Offices, and an hour of prayer. Study is also regarded as important in the life. During the time of probation which is for two years, the new brother is cared for and nurtured in the Oratory life by another brother of his College. The brother may then, with the consent of the province, make his first profession, which is renewed annually for at least five years, though with the hope of intention and perseverance for life. After five years, profession can be made for a longer period, and after ten years a brother may, with the consent of the whole Oratory, make his profession for life.
Name: Philip Hobson OGS
Provincial assumed office August 2005
Address: 151 Glenlake Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M6P 1E8, Canada
Email: Click here for email
Website: www.ogs.net
Founded 1945
Registered Charity Number : US Government 501(c)(3) organization
The Order of St Helena witnesses to a contemporary version of traditional monasticism, taking a threefold vow of Poverty, Celibate Chastity and Obedience. Our life in community is shaped by the daily Eucharist and fourfold Office, plus hours of personal prayer and study, and from this radiates a wide range of ministries.
As an Order, we are not restricted to any single area of work but witness and respond to the Gospel, with individual sisters engaging in different ministries as they feel called by God and affirmed by the community. Our work is thus wonderfully varied: sisters work in parishes as priests or as pastoral assistants; they lead retreats, quiet days and conferences; work with the national Church and various organizations; offer spiritual direction;are psychotherapists; teach; serve in hospital chaplaincies and community service programs. Seven sisters are ordained priests.
In 1997, the Order adopted a new style of governance and no longer has a superior or single sister as head. Instead, the Order was led by a four-member Leadership Council, with responsibility and ultimate authority vested equally in all four members. Since 2007, the Council has had three members.
Name: Sisters Mary Lois, Carol & Ellen Francis OSH
Leadership Council
Address: Convent of St Helena,3042 Eagle Drive, Augusta, GA, 30906, USA
Tel: +1 706 798 5201
Fax: +1 706 796 0079
Email: Click here for email
Website: www.osh.org
Founded 1884
The Order of the Holy Cross is a Benedictine monastic community open to both lay and ordained. The principles governing the Order's life are those of The Rule of St Benedict and The Rule of the Order of the Holy Cross, written by its founder James Otis Sargent Huntington.
The liturgical life of each house centers around the corporate praying of the Daily Office and the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Members are also expected to spend time in private prayer and meditation.
The work of the Order is varied, depending on the nature of the household and the gifts and talents of its members. Houses vary from traditional monastic centers with active retreat ministries to urban houses from which brothers go forth to minister. A small number of brothers live independently as Monks Not In Residence.
Members are engaged in preaching, teaching, counseling and spiritual direction, parish and diocesan support work, the arts, evangelism, hospice care, and ministry with the homeless. The South African community administers educational and scholarship programs for local children and operates a primary school.
Name: Robert Leo Sevensky OHC
Superior, assumed office 2008
Address: Holy Cross Monastery,PO Box 99, 1615 Rt. 9W, West Park, NY, 12493-0099, USA
Tel: +1 845 384 6660
Fax: +1 845 384 6031
Email: Click here for email
Website: www.holycrossmonastery.com
Founded 1919 (USA)
The Province of the Americas of SSF was founded as the Order of St Francis in 1919 by Father Claude Crookston, who took the name Father Joseph. Under his leadership the community developed, based first in Wisconsin and then on Long Island, New York.The Order originally combined a monastic spirituality with a commitment to missions and evangelizing. In 1967, the OSF friars amalgamated with the Society in the UK and became the American Province of SSF.
Our lives are structured around our times together of formal prayer and the Eucharist, which give our lives a focus. Brothers engage in a wide variety of ministries: community organizing, missions, work in parishes and institutions, counselling and spiritual direction, study, the arts, serving the sick and infirm and people with AIDS, the homeless, workers in the sex industry, political work for the rights of people who are rejected by society. We come from a wide variety of backgrounds and cultural traditions. Living with each other can be difficult, but we work hard to find common ground and to communicate honestly with each other. God takes our imperfections and, in the mystery of Christ's body, makes us whole.
Name: Jude SSF
Minister Provincial, Province of the Americas, assumed office May 2005
Address: San Damiano,573 Dolores Street, San Francisco, CA, 94110, USA
Email: Click here for email
Website: www.s-s-f.org
Founded 1898
The Community of the Transfiguration, founded in 1898 by Eva Lee Matthews, is a Religious community of women dedicated to the mystery of the Transfiguration. Our life is one of prayer and service, reflecting the spirit of Mary and Martha, shown forth in spiritual, educational and social ministries. The Mother House of the community is located in Cincinnati, Ohio, where our ministries include hospitality, retreats, a school, a retirement/nursing home and a recreation center. The community also offers a retreat ministry on the West Coast; and in the Dominican Republic, the Sisters minister to malnourished children and their families through medical clinics and a school.
The Sisters live their life under the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The motto of the community is Benignitas, Simplicitas and Hilaritas - Kindness, Simplicity and Joy.
Name: Sister Teresa Marie CT
Mother Superior, assumed office 24 June 2008
Address: 495 Albion Avenue, Cincinnati, OH, 45246, USA
Tel: +1 513 771 5291
Fax: +1 513 771 0839
Email: Click here for email
Website: www.ctsisters.org
Founded 1958
The Society of St Paul began in Gresham, Oregon in 1958. Early ministry included nursing homes, a school, and commissary work in the Mid-East and Africa. In 1959, SSP was the first community for men to be recognized by the canons of ECUSA. The brothers live a life of prayer and are dedicated to works of mercy, charity and evangelism. In 1976, the order moved to Palm Desert, California, providing a retreat and conference center until 1996. In 2001, the brothers moved to St Paul's Cathedral in San Diego. In particular, we are involved at St Paul's Senior Homes and Services, the Uptown Faith Community Services, Inc., Dorcas House, a foster home for children whose parents are in prison in Tijuana, Mexico, and St Paul's Cathedral ministries.
Name: The Revd Canon Barnabas Hunt SSP
Rector, assumed office 1989
Address: 2728 Sixth Avenue, San Diego, CA, 92103-6397, USA
Tel: +1 619 542 8660
Email: Click here for email
Founded 1865
The Community of St Mary began in New York in 1865. It was the first women's monastic community founded in the United States, and now has three provinces. The Southern Province has its mother house in Sewanee, Tennessee, and a branch house in the Mountain Province, Philippines. The primary focus of our life together is prayer and worship. The sisters gather four times a day for corporate prayer. We nourish ourselves spiritually through meditation, spiritual reading, Bible study and retreats. The sisters take the three-fold vows of simplicity, chastity and obedience. We live in community and hold all things in common. We choose to live a simple life and endeavour to treat God?s creation with care. Hospitality and mission are important components of our community?s life.
Name: Sister Madeline Mary CSM
Leader, assumed office 2013
Address: St Mary's Convent,1100 St Mary's Lane, Sewanee, TN, 37375-2614, USA
Tel: +1 931 598 0046
Fax: +1 931 598 9519
Email: Click here for email
Website: st-mary-conventsewanee.org
Founded 1939
St Gregory's Abbey is the home of a community of men living under the Rule of St Benedict within the Episcopal Church. The center of the monastery's life is the Abbey Church, where God is worshipped in the daily round of Eucharist, Divine Office, and private prayer. Also offered to God are the monks' daily manual work, study and correspondence, ministry to guests, and occasional outside engagements.
Name: Rt Revd Andrew Marr OSB
Abbot, elected 2 March 1989
Address: St Gregory's Abbey,56500 Abbey Road, Three Rivers, MI, 49093-9595, USA
Tel: +1 (269) 244 5893
Fax: +1 (269) 244 8712
Email: Click here for email
Website: www.saintgregorysthreerivers.org