Holy Orders & Religious Life

• Bishops (Episcopate) receive the fullness of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, which integrates them into the Episcopal college and makes them visible heads of the particular Church entrusted to them. As successors of the apostles and members of the college, the bishops share in the apostolic responsibility and mission of the whole Church under the authority of the Pope.
• Priests (Presbyterate) are united with the bishop in sacerdotal dignity and called to be the bishop's prudent co-workers in the exercise of their pastoral functions. They gather around their bishop who bears responsibility with them for a particular church. They receive from the bishop the charge of a parish community or determinate ecclesial office.
• Deacons (Diaconate) are ordained into the ministry of service to the Church. Deacons do not receive the ministerial priesthood, but ordination confers on them the functions of the Ministry of the Word, Divine Worship, and Service of Charity under the pastoral authority of their bishop. [Catechism of the Catholic Church 1994 Reference: 1536,1595,1596]

Explore Priesthood

Explore Diaconate Ministry

• Deacon Formation Program
• FAQs about Deacons
• About the Diaconate Ministry

Additional Resources

• Although all religious vocations do not involve the sacrament of Holy Orders, the site, www.religiousministries.com, provides information for both men and women who may want to explore how God may be calling them into dedicated religious life.
• Catechism of the Catholic Church