Editing Religious vows (section)

==== In the Catholic Church  ====
{{canon law}}
{{Main|Consecrated life (Catholic Church)}}
{{See also|Solemn vow}}
In the [[Catholic Church]], the vows of members of religious orders and congregations are regulated by canons 654-658 of the [[Canon law (Catholic Church)|Code of Canon Law]]. These are public vows, meaning vows accepted by a superior in the name of the Church,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/cic_index_en.html|title=Code of Canon Law: Table of Contents|website=The Holy See|accessdate=Apr 23, 2023}}</ref> and they are usually of two durations: temporary, and, after a few years, final vows (permanent or "perpetual"). Depending on the order, temporary vows may be renewed a number of times before permission to take final vows is given. There are exceptions: the [[Jesuits]]' first vows are perpetual, for instance, and the [[Sisters of Charity]] take only temporary but renewable vows.

Religious vows are of two varieties: [[simple vows]] and [[solemn vows]]. The highest level of commitment is exemplified by those who have taken their solemn, perpetual vows. There once were significant technical differences between them in [[canon law]]; but these differences were suppressed by the current [[1983 Code of Canon Law|Code of Canon Law]] in 1983, although the nominal distinction is maintained. Only a limited number of religious congregations may invite their members to solemn vows; most religious congregations are only authorized to take simple vows. Even in congregations with solemn vows, some members with perpetual vows may have taken them simply rather than solemnly.

A perpetual vow can be superseded by the pope, when he decides that a man under perpetual vows should become a bishop of the Church. In these cases, the ties to the order the new bishop had are dissolved as if the bishop had never been a member; hence, such a person as [[Pope Francis]], for example, has had no formal ties to his old order for years. However, if the bishop was a member in good standing, he will be regarded, informally, as "one of us", and he will always be welcome in any of the order's houses.

There are other forms of [[consecrated life]] in the Catholic Church for both men and women. They make a public profession of the [[evangelical counsels]] of chastity, poverty, and obedience, confirmed by a vow or other sacred bond, regulated by [[canon law]] but live consecrated lives in the world (i.e. not as members of a [[religious institute]]). Such are the [[secular institute]]s, the [[diocesan hermits]] (canon 603) and the [[consecrated virgin]]s (canon 604). These make a public profession of the evangelical counsels by a vow or other sacred bond. Also similar are the [[societies of apostolic life]]. Diocesan hermits individually profess the three evangelical counsels in the hands of their local ordinary. 
Consecrated virgins living in the world do not make religious vows, but express by a public so-called ''sanctum propositum'' ("holy purpose")<ref>CIC, Can. 604 ''Hisce formis vitae consecratae accedit ordo virginum, quae sanctum propositum emittentes Christum pressius sequendi, ab Episcopo diocesano iuxta probatum ritum liturgicum Deo consecrantur, Christo Dei Filio mystice desponsantur et Ecclesiae servitio dedicantur.''</ref> to follow Christ more closely. The prayer of consecration that constitutes such virgins "sacred persons" inserts them into the Ordo Virginum and likewise places them in the consecrated life in the Catholic Church.