Catholic Life · Vocations

What Is the Difference Between a Priest, a Monk, a Friar and a Nun?

Who Is Who?

Many people use the words “priest,” “monk,” “nun” and “sister” interchangeably. Even Catholics often mix them up. Yet they describe quite different ways of life. Here is a straightforward guide.

The basic distinction is between two different things:

Holy Orders: bishops, priests and deacons, who are ordained.
Consecrated life: monks, friars, brothers, nuns and sisters, who take vows.

Some people are both: a Franciscan friar may also be ordained a priest. But the two are distinct.

The Ordained: Bishops, Priests and Deacons

Holy Orders is a sacrament, conferred by a bishop through the laying on of hands (CCC 1536–1600). It has three degrees.

Bishops are successors of the apostles. They lead a diocese, ordain priests, and have the fullness of the priesthood.

Priests celebrate Mass, hear confessions, anoint the sick and lead parishes. There are two main kinds:

Diocesan priests (also called secular priests) belong to a diocese and serve under its bishop, usually in parishes. They promise celibacy and obedience to the bishop, but they do not take a vow of poverty; they can own property and are paid a modest stipend.
Religious priests belong to a religious order, such as the Jesuits, Dominicans or Franciscans. They take religious vows as well as being ordained, and usually live in community.

Deacons are ordained to serve. They can baptise, preach, witness marriages and conduct funerals, but cannot celebrate Mass or hear confessions. Men preparing for the priesthood are first ordained transitional deacons. Permanent deacons remain deacons for life, and can be married men, ordained after their marriage.

In the Latin Church, priests are normally celibate. In many Eastern Catholic Churches, married men may be ordained priests (see What Are the Eastern Catholic Churches?).

Consecrated Life: The Three Vows

Members of religious orders publicly profess the three evangelical counsels (CCC 914–933):

Poverty: owning nothing personally, sharing everything in common.
Chastity: living celibately, giving their whole heart to God.
Obedience: submitting their will to God through their superiors and the rule of their community.

Some orders add a fourth vow particular to their mission, such as the Jesuits’ special vow of obedience to the Pope regarding missions, or a vow of stability for Benedictines.

Monks

A monk lives in a monastery, usually for life, in a community devoted mainly to prayer and work. Monks follow a monastic rule, most often the Rule of St Benedict. Their day is shaped by the Liturgy of the Hours, sung together at set times, from before dawn to night.

Benedictines, Cistercians and Trappists are monks. Some monks are ordained priests; many are not. The head of a monastery is usually an abbot.

Some monks are hermits, living largely in solitude, like the Carthusians.

Friars

A friar (from the Latin frater, “brother”) belongs to one of the mendicant orders founded in the Middle Ages. Unlike monks, who stay in one monastery, friars are sent out to preach, teach and serve wherever they are needed, living in community in houses called friaries or convents.

The main orders of friars are the Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites and Augustinians. Many friars are priests; some are lay brothers.

Brothers

A religious brother takes vows in a religious community but is not ordained. Many orders include both priests and brothers. Some congregations consist entirely of brothers, often dedicated to teaching or care, such as the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the De La Salle Brothers, who founded many Catholic schools in Australia and elsewhere.

Nuns and Sisters

The words are often used interchangeably, but strictly they mean different things.

Nuns are women who live a contemplative life in a monastery, usually enclosed (cloistered), devoted mainly to prayer. Benedictine nuns, Poor Clares and Carmelite nuns are examples. They rarely leave the monastery, and visitors often speak with them through a grille.

Sisters belong to active or apostolic congregations. They live in community but work in the world: in schools, hospitals, parishes and among the poor. The Sisters of St Joseph, founded in Australia by St Mary MacKillop, the Sisters of Mercy and the Missionaries of Charity are examples.

The head of a community of nuns or sisters is often called an abbess, prioress or mother superior.

Other Forms of Consecrated Life

Not every consecrated person lives in a religious house.

Consecrated virgins are women consecrated by the bishop who live in the world, supporting themselves, while dedicating their lives to Christ.
Members of secular institutes take vows or promises but live and work in ordinary settings, often without visible signs of their consecration.
Hermits may live alone under the guidance of the bishop.

Habits and Titles

Habits are the distinctive clothing of religious: the brown of Franciscans, the white of Dominicans, the black of Benedictines. Many active sisters now wear simpler clothes or a modified habit.

Titles vary too:

Priests are usually called Father.
Monks are often called Dom (for Benedictines) or Father or Brother.
Friars are Father if ordained, Brother or Fra if not.
Nuns and sisters are called Sister or, for superiors, Mother.

Why So Many Kinds?

The variety reflects the many gifts the Holy Spirit gives the Church. Some are called to pray for the world from behind monastery walls; others to teach, nurse, preach or serve the poor in the streets. Together they show the many faces of a life given entirely to God.