Vita Communis: The Common Life of the Secular Clergy

by Jerome Bertram

Vita Communis - 'the common life' - is the term used for community life among priests and other clerics, as opposed to monks and friars. While monasticism is familiar, few are aware that pastoral ('secular') priests have lived in communities for most of the Church's history. Many people have suggested that they could do so again, and that this might help with some of the problems facing solitary priests in the modern world. By exploring what was done in the past, we can suggest what might work in the future, learning from the successes as well as the failures of previous priestly communities. The story of secular canons in the Western Church, as opposed to those who were canons in religious orders, has often been told in terms of their contribution to architecture, literature, and the apostolate. Here, however, the author, building on his earlier work devoted to the medieval rules governing the secular common life, has provided a narrative of the essential shape of the canonical life from its origins down to the present time, and this for a general readership. He thus demonstrates the persistent desire of many secular clergy to live in community. At a time when priests are fewer and more isolated, this work will provide useful models for developing structures of mutual support for the secular clergy of our time. Abbot Geoffrey Scott

Genres: History

330 pages, Paperback

First published July 27, 2009

Reviews

[Fr. Peter Mottola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended to all diocesan priests, those members of "the Order of which Our Lord Himself was the Founder". This historical overview of clerical life through the centuries shows that the clergy have always lived in common, in groups of at least several persons, until very recent times. Fr. Bertram judges the experiment of priests living alone as a failure and continual danger ("It would be impossible to think of any model of diocesan priestly life that could be worse than the one we have at present"), which thesis needs no defending to anyone interested in reading this book. The book concludes with some practical recommendations for priests of the 21st century. Although the final chapter is marred somewhat by comments about the 'reform of the reform' which already seem outdated, these are in no way central to the theme of the book and do not merit a reduction below a five-star rating, although a slightly revised edition is to be hoped for in the future.

An easy read, there are nonetheless many hundreds of footnotes for those who wish to plumb the sources.

Also recommended to seminarians and those discerning priesthood.

[Kevin de Ataíde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent historical survey of the community life of the secular clergy, the norm for centuries after the apostolic period and now practically extinct. The Second Vatican Council recommended community life for the secular clergy, but the concept has not fully been taken up, nor its possibilities fully explored. Could there be a revival in the future? The book aims to furnish such a revival, should it come, with a variety of historical approaches that have worked in various periods of Church history. As an interesting side result, the book explains the eccentricities of the older Oxford colleges and such schools as Eton, as well as the origins of the more recent incarnations of colleges of secular priests, like Manning's Oblates of S. Charles (Borromeo) and the later Missionaries of the Mill Hill in Westminster. The book is well recommended for clergy and church students who have an inclination towards community life but do not wish to take religious vows, in particular vows of poverty.