religious order

Cultural  

1. In Christianity, a group of men or women who live under religious vows. The three vows commonly taken are to relinquish all possessions and personal authority (vows of poverty and obedience) and not to engage in sexual relations (a vow of chastity). Religious orders are found in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, and, although rarely, in Protestant churches. The Franciscans, Jesuits, and Trappists are religious orders.

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religious order

Or you might have been at the table of the Little Sisters of the Poor, a religious order of Roman Catholic sisters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

The most-publicized proposal, filed by Catholic religious order Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, received just 12.5% support.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

According to Dr. Ilko, the Augustinians' close relationship with forests, mountains, and coastal areas was key to their survival as a religious order.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 2, 2026

A religious order ran the institution, at a time of moral taboos when there was a social stigma around pregnancies outside of marriage.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2025

She was a member of a religious order that prohibited autopsies, but the doctors very much wanted to know what was replicating inside her.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston