Ecclesiae sponsae imago: Instruction on the Order of Consecrated Virgins Aids in Implementing Canon 604 and the Rite of Consecration

Very early in the life of the Church, as early as New Testament times, some Christian women chose to forego marriage and embrace lifelong virginity for the love of Christ. By the fourth century, a solemn liturgical rite of consecration of virgins was in use. These consecrated virgins continued living in their family homes, that is, “in the world.” With the rise of cenobitic monasticism, more women chose to dedicate themselves to Christ through this communal form of life. Over time, the rite of consecration of virgins became available only to nuns. While the ordo virginum for women living in the world (in saeculo) was revived in 1970 with the revised rite of consecration, little guidance was provided for bishops on how to establish and oversee this vocation within their dioceses. The only universal law addressing consecrated virginity was the brief praenotanda to the 1970 Ordo consecrationis virginum and a single canon in the 1983 Code of Canon Law. Bishops petitioned the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life to issue an instruction on the consecration of virgins in saeculo. The Congregation responded in 2018 with the instruction Ecclesiae sponsae imago. This article reviews the law regarding consecration of virgins as found in canon 604 and the praenotanda to the rite and then focuses on the main points of the instruction, beginning with the introduction and proceeding through each of its three sections. The summary of each section is followed by the author’s own canonical commentary.