Origins '' (
Barna da Siena, ) is standing on a wagon drawn by two
unicorns; her train of virgins is led by one holding a banner bearing the emblem of the white weasel or ermine, symbol of chastity in
medieval tradition (Master of the Paris Entries, ).
Chastity is one of the
Seven Virtues in Christian tradition, listed by
Gregory the Great at the end of the 6th century. Praise of chastity or celibacy as a religious virtue is already present in the
New Testament, especially in
1 Corinthians, in which
Paul the Apostle suggests a special role for virgins or unmarried women () as more suitable for "the things of the Lord" (). In
2 Corinthians 11:2, Paul alludes to the metaphor of the Church as
Bride of Christ by addressing the congregation: "I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ". In Christian
hagiography, there are numerous accounts of pre-Nicaean
virgin martyrs, such as
Margaret of Antioch,
Agnes of Rome,
Euphemia of Chalcedon and
Lucia of Syracuse. In the theology of the
Church Fathers, the prototype of the sacred virgin is the
Blessed Virgin Mary, consecrated by the
Holy Spirit at
Annunciation. Although not stated in the gospels, the
perpetual virginity of Mary was widely upheld as a dogma by the Church Fathers from the 4th century. The tradition of a ritual form of the consecration also dates to the 4th century, but it is widely held that a more informal consecration was imparted to consecrate women by their bishops dating from the time of the Apostles. The first known formal rite of consecration is that of
Saint Marcellina, dated AD 353, mentioned in by her brother,
Saint Ambrose. Another early consecrated virgin is
Saint Genevieve (). The earliest copies of the rite are from some of the earliest sacramentaries, like the 7th-century
Leonine sacramentary. During the medieval period, the rite of consecration was maintained by
nuns in monastic orders, such as the
Benedictines and
Carthusians. This consecration could be done either concurrently with or some time after the profession of solemn
vows. Among Carthusian nuns, there was the unique practice of these virgins being entitled to hand apart from a crown a
stole, and a
maniple,
vestments otherwise reserved to
clergy. In the
High Middle Ages, the
Consecratio Virginum is known for Benedictine and
Cistercian monasteries, it is mentioned in the Rule of Saint Clare of Assisi and its optional bestowing is also provided for in the constitutions of the first
Dominican nuns.
Modern history The modern revival of the rite of the consecration of virgins in the Catholic Church for women living outside of religious communities is associated with Anne Leflaive (1899–1987). The consecration of virgins after the fashion of the ancient Church was supported by certain French bishops in the early 20th century. Leflaive was directed towards this vocation by François de Rovérié de Cabrières, the
bishop of Montpellier. She received the consecration in the chapel of Carmel at
Paray-le-Monial on 6 January 1924, on her 25th birthday, by the
bishop of Autun, Hyacinthe-Jean Chassagnon. There was an increasing demand for such consecrations in the 1920s, and bishops requested clarification from the
Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life. The reply given on 25 March 1927 was in the negative. The Congregation forbade the revival of this type of consecration. The 1927 decree argued that the consecration of virgins living in the world () had long fallen out of use, and was in contradiction to the then current Canon Law of 1917. It was also argued that the official sanction of a vow of virginity in a "very imposing ceremony" might risk to lead the women so consecrated to judge their status as superior to those of nuns, whose solemn vows are not accompanied by similar ceremonies, and even to divert some women who would otherwise have chosen a monastic vocation. It was significantly due to Anne Leflaive's efforts over the following decades this ban was eventually rescinded in 1970. In 1939, Leflaive founded the secular missionaries of Catholic Action, an institute of celibate women or widows living in the world, which was, however, suppressed in 1946. Beginning in the 1940s, Leflaive was in contact with Angelo Roncalli, the future
Pope John XXIII, and with Giovanni Montini, the future
Pope Paul VI, who were receptive to her ideas. During the 1950s, Leflaive visited Rome once a year in order to lobby at the Vatican for the re-instatement of the rite of consecration of virgins. Leflaive published
Study of the Consecrations of Virgins in the Roman Pontifical in 1934, re-edited as in 1956, and as in 1968. At a time when the Reformed confessions began to introduce the
ordination of women, Leflaive strictly rejected such a possibility, arguing that "Christ and His Church offer to the woman a gift of great plentitude [sic]" in the form of the Consecration of Virgins, already inscribed in the
Roman Pontifical. In 1950, Pius XII issued
Sponsa Christi, an
apostolic constitution addressing the vocation of nuns and their role in preserving the separate patrimony of the early virgins. This revived interest in the consecration of virgins. In his apostolic constitution, Pius XII decreed that only nuns living in
enclosure were permitted to receive the liturgical consecration of virgins. In 1954, Pius cited in his encyclical as showing the importance of the office of those "who had vowed their chastity to God". In 1962, the rite
De Benedictione et Consecratione Virginum ("On the Blessing and Consecration of Virgins") was revised, the first such revision made since 1595. The
Second Vatican Council called for a further revision. In 1963, the Second Vatican Council requested a revision of the rite of the consecration of virgins that was found in the Roman Pontifical. The revised rite was approved by
Pope Paul VI and published in 1970. This consecration could be bestowed either on nuns in monastic orders or on women living in the world, the form of life that had been found in the early Church. The 1970 rite of states the following requirements for women living in the world to receive the consecration: "that they have never married or lived in open violation of chastity; that, by their prudence and universally approved character, they give assurance of perseverance in a life of chastity dedicated to the service of the church and of their neighbor; that they be admitted to this Consecration by the Bishop who is the local Ordinary." Consecrated virgins belong to the consecrated life. Those living in the world are not supported financially by their bishop, but must provide for their own upkeep. However, the early Church, a portion of the tithes went to the financial support of the virgins (Apost. Const. VIII. 30). Consecrated virgins work in professions ranging from teachers and attorneys to that of firefighter. In 1972, Elizabeth Bailey became the first virgin to be consecrated under the revised rite in England, and the first known consecrated virgin living in the world in Britain since the 3rd century. The number of consecrated virgins under the 1970 rite of consecration has grown into the thousands over the course of four decades. , the United States Association of Consecrated Virgins (USACV) gave an "educated guess" of a total number of 3,000 consecrated virgins in 42 countries. In a 2015 survey, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL) established an estimated number of 4,000 consecrated virgins in 78 countries, with a growing tendency, with a projected increase to about 5,000 by 2018. The 1970 decree states as a requirement that candidates "have never married or lived in open violation of chastity". While the lack of a strict requirement of virginity was only implied by omission in the 1970 document, the Vatican on 4 July 2018 released a clarifying statement, explicitly conceding that: "to have kept her body in perfect continence or to have practised the virtue of chastity in an exemplary way, while of great importance with regard to the discernment, are not essential prerequisites in the absence of which admittance to consecration is not possible." The statement was published in reaction to bishops requesting clarification due to the growing number of women showing interest in the vocation. The new clause leaves it to the "good judgement and insight" of the bishop to discern the suitability of a candidate to her vocation. The US Association of Consecrated Virgins released a statement calling the new guidance "shocking" and "deeply disappointing" as well as "intentionally convoluted and confusing": The instruction was published by the
Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in July, 2018. In June 2020, Pope Francis addressed a letter to the consecrated virgins on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the promulgation of the revised rite of the Consecration of Virgins, calling their vocation as "a sign of hope". ==Rite of consecration==