Vow of Enclosure

The vow of enclosure is a religious vow taken by some Poor Clare sisters in addition to the three ordinary vows of religion: obedience, poverty and chastity.

Description

When a Poor Clare takes this vow, she may not leave the monastery except for doctor's appointments, civil duties, or emergencies. Some sisters, known as 'externs' do not take this vow and are therefore able to leave the building to do charitable works.

The Poor Clare Nuns constitute the second branch of the Franciscan Order, founded in the thirteenth century by St. Clare under the inspiration of St. Francis of Assisi.

Consecrated life in the Catholic Church
Types	Secular clergy Consecrated virgin Hermit Religious institute Orders Monastic Cenobitic Enclosed Idiorrhythmic Canons Regular Mendicants Second Orders Clerks Regular Congregations Secular institute Society of apostolic life
Vows	Evangelical counsels Poverty Chastity Obedience Profession Solemn vow Vow of silence Vow of enclosure
Monastery	Abbey Cloister Convent Hermitage Priory Refectory List
Prayer	Contemplation Liturgy of the Hours Mass Meditation Mysticism Rosary
Habit	Clerical clothing Coif Cornette Scapular Vestment
Members	Abbot Abbess Brother Monk Friar Nun Master of novices Novice Oblate Postulant Provincial superior Prior Superior general
Other	Asceticism Tonsure Vocational discernment
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