Editing Nun (section)

=== Catholicism ===
[[File:Andrea Mantegna 019.jpg|left|thumb|upright|St. [[Scholastica]], sister of [[St. Benedict]] and founder of the [[Order of St. Benedict|Benedictine]] nuns]]
[[File:Hildegard of bingen and nuns.jpg|thumb|[[Hildegard of Bingen]] and her nuns]]
[[File:Maria Johanna von Zweyer c1800.jpg|thumb|Maria Johanna Baptista von Zweyer, Abbess of the Cistercian abbey of Wald]]
[[File:Armand Gautier - Three Nuns in the Portal of a Church - Walters 371383.jpg|thumb|''Three [[Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul]] in the Portal of a Church'', by [[Armand Gautier]]]]

In the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] tradition, there are many [[religious institute]]s of nuns and sisters (the female equivalent of male [[monk]]s or [[friar]]s), each with its own [[charism]] or special character. Traditionally, nuns are members of [[enclosed religious orders]] and take solemn [[religious vows]], while sisters do not live in the papal enclosure and formerly took vows called "simple vows".<ref>{{Cite web|title=What is the difference between a sister and a nun?|url=https://anunslife.org/how-to-become-a-nun/sister-or-nun|access-date=2019-03-04|website=anunslife.org|archive-date=2019-05-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531194958/https://anunslife.org/how-to-become-a-nun/sister-or-nun|url-status=live}}</ref>

As [[monastic]]s, nuns living within an enclosure historically commit to recitation of the full [[Liturgy of the Hours|Divine Office]] throughout the day in church, usually in a solemn manner. They were formerly distinguished within the monastic community as "choir nuns", as opposed to [[lay brothers#Lay sisters|lay sisters]] who performed upkeep of the monastery or errands outside the cloister. This last task is still often entrusted to women, called "externs", who live in the monastery, but outside the enclosure. They were usually either [[oblate]]s or members of the associated [[Third Order]], often wearing a different habit or the standard woman's attire of the period.

====Membership and vows====
In general, when a woman enters a [[religious order]] or [[monastery]] she first undergoes a period of testing life for six months to two years called a postulancy. If she, and the order, determine that she may have a [[vocation]] to the life, she receives the [[Religious habit|habit]] of the order (usually with some modification, normally a white veil instead of black, to distinguish her from [[Profession (religious)|professed]] members) and undertakes the [[novitiate]], a period (that lasts one to two years) of living the life of the religious institute without yet taking [[vows]].<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P25.HTM Canon 648] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200312111506/http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P25.HTM |date=2020-03-12 }}, CIC 1983</ref> Upon completion of this period she may take her initial, temporary vows.<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P26.HTM Canon 656] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706161824/http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P26.HTM |date=2017-07-06 }}, CIC 1983</ref> [[Temporary vows]] last one to three years, typically, and will be professed for not less than three years and not more than six.<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P26.HTM Canon 655] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706161824/http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P26.HTM |date=2017-07-06 }}, CIC 1983</ref> Finally, she will petition to make her "perpetual profession", taking permanent, [[solemn vow]]s.<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P26.HTM Canon 657] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706161824/http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P26.HTM |date=2017-07-06 }}, CIC 1983</ref>

In the branches of the [[Benedictine]] tradition, (Benedictines, [[Cistercian]]s, [[Camaldolese]], and [[Trappist]]s, among others) nuns take vows of stability (that is, to remain a member of a single monastic community), obedience (to an [[abbess]] or [[prioress]]), and conversion of life (which includes poverty and celibacy). In other traditions, such as the [[Poor Clares]] (the [[Franciscan]] Order) and the [[Dominican Order|Dominican nuns]], they take the threefold vows of [[poverty]], [[chastity]] and [[vow of obedience|obedience]]. These are known as the 'evangelical counsels' as opposed to 'monastic vows' proper. Most orders of nuns not listed here follow one of these two patterns, with some Orders taking an additional vow related to the specific work or character of their Order (for example, to undertake a certain style of devotion, praying for a specific intention or purpose).<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|title=Mother Teresa, who becomes a saint on Sunday, began her life as a nun in Dublin|language=en-US|newspaper=The Irish Times|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/mother-teresa-who-becomes-a-saint-on-sunday-began-her-life-as-a-nun-in-dublin-1.2777022|access-date=2018-02-14|archive-date=2017-12-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206200349/https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/mother-teresa-who-becomes-a-saint-on-sunday-began-her-life-as-a-nun-in-dublin-1.2777022|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news|title=Nun in iconic Italy quake photo shares her story of survival|language=en|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nun-in-iconic-italy-earthquake-photo-shares-her-story-of-survival/|access-date=2018-02-14|archive-date=2017-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201133025/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nun-in-iconic-italy-earthquake-photo-shares-her-story-of-survival/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Bridgettine sisters b.jpg|right|thumb|[[Bridgettines|Bridgettine Sisters]] at the [[March For Life in Washington, D.C.]], January 2009]]
[[File:MotherTeresa 094.jpg|right|thumb|[[Mother Teresa]], founder of the [[Missionaries of Charity]]<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />]]

Cloistered nuns ([[Carmelites]], for example) observe "papal enclosure"<ref name=":5">[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P28.HTM Canon 667] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200312111521/http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P28.HTM |date=2020-03-12 }} §3, CIC 1983, SCRIS instruction, "Venite seorsum" August 15, 1969, in AAS 61 (1969) 674–690</ref> rules, and their nunneries typically have walls separating the nuns from the outside world. The nuns rarely leave (except for medical necessity or occasionally for purposes related to their contemplative life) though they may receive visitors in specially built parlors, often with either a grille or half-wall separating the nuns from visitors. They are usually self-sufficient, earning money by selling jams, candies or baked goods by mail order, or by making liturgical items (such as vestments, candles, or hosts to be consecrated at Mass for Holy Communion).

They often undertake contemplative ministries – that is, a community of nuns is often associated with prayer for some particular good or supporting the missions of another order by prayer (for instance, the Dominican nuns of [[Corpus Christi Monastery]] in [[the Bronx]], New York, pray in support of the priests of the [[Archdiocese of New York]]). Yet religious sisters can also perform this form of ministry, e.g., the [[Maryknoll]] Missionary Sisters have small houses of [[contemplative]] sisters, some in mission locations, who pray for the work of the priests, brothers, and other sisters of their congregation, and since Vatican II have added retreat work and spiritual guidance to their apostolate;<ref>{{Cite news|title=Sister Grace Corde Myerjack – Maryknoll Sisters|language=en-US|work=Maryknoll Sisters|url=https://www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-grace-corde-myerjack/|access-date=2018-05-24|archive-date=2018-05-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180524222158/https://www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-grace-corde-myerjack/|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Sister Disciples of the Divine Master]] are also cloistered sisters who receive visitors and pray in support of their sister congregation,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Vocation: Sister Disciples Of The Divine Master|url=http://www.pddm.us/p.promise94.php|access-date=2018-05-24|website=www.pddm.us|archive-date=2018-05-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180524222526/http://www.pddm.us/p.promise94.php|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Daughters of St. Paul]] in their media ministry.

====Leadership====
A [[canoness]] is a nun who corresponds to the male equivalent of [[Canon (priest)|canon]], usually following the Rule of St. Augustine. The origin and rules of monastic life are common to both. As with the canons, differences in the observance of rule gave rise to two types: the [[canoness regular]], taking the traditional religious vows, and the secular canoness, who did not take vows and thus remained free to own property and leave to marry, should they choose. This was primarily a way of leading a pious life for the women of aristocratic families and generally disappeared in the modern age, except for the modern [[Stift#Stift as endowment for unmarried Protestant women|Lutheran convents]] of Germany.

A nun who is elected to head her religious house is termed an [[abbess]] if the house is an abbey, a prioress if it is a monastery, or more generically may be referred to as "Mother Superior" and styled "Reverend Mother". The distinction between abbey and monastery has to do with the terms used by a particular order or by the level of independence of the religious house. Technically, a [[convent]] is any home of a community of sisters – or, indeed, of priests and brothers, though this term is rarely used in the United States. The term "[[monastery]]" is often used by The Benedictine family to speak of the buildings and "convent" when referring to the community. Neither is gender specific. 'Convent' is often used of the houses of certain other institutes.

The traditional dress for women in religious communities consists of a [[tunic]], which is tied around the waist with a cloth or leather belt. Over the tunic some nuns wear a [[scapular]] which is a garment of long wide piece of woolen cloth worn over the shoulders with an opening for the head. Some wear a white [[wimple]] and a veil, the most significant and ancient aspect of the habit. Some orders – such as the Dominicans – wear a large rosary on their belt. Benedictine abbesses wear a cross or crucifix on a chain around their neck.

After the [[Second Vatican Council]], many religious institutes chose in their own regulations to no longer wear the traditional habit and did away with choosing a [[religious name]]. [[Canon law (Catholic Church)|Catholic Church canon law]] states: "Religious are to wear the habit of the institute, made according to the norm of proper law, as a sign of their consecration and as a witness of poverty."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Code of Canon Law – IntraText|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P28.HTM|access-date=2018-02-14|website=www.vatican.va|archive-date=2018-02-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220201602/http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P28.HTM|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Distinction between a nun and a religious sister ====
{{See also|Religious sister (Catholic)}}

Although usage has varied throughout church history, typically "nun" (Latin: ''monialis'') is used for women who have taken [[solemn vow|"solemn" vow]]s, and "sister" (Latin: ''soror'') is used for women who have taken "simple" vows (that is, vows other than solemn vows).

During the first millennium, nearly all religious communities of men and women were dedicated to prayer and [[contemplative prayer|contemplation]]. These [[monasteries]] were built in remote locations or were separated from the world by means of a [[precinct wall]]. The [[mendicant orders]], founded in the 13th century, combined a life of prayer and dedication to God with active works of preaching, hearing confessions, and service to the poor, and members of these orders are known as [[friars]] rather than [[monks]]. At that time, and into the 17th century, Church custom did not allow women to leave the [[cloister]] if they had taken religious vows. Female members of the mendicant orders ([[Dominican Order|Dominican]], [[Order of Saint Augustine|Augustinian]] and [[Carmelite]] nuns and [[Poor Clares]]) continued to observe the same enclosed life as members of the [[Monasticism|monastic orders]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Catholic Encyclopedia: Mary Ward|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15551c.htm|access-date=2018-02-14|website=www.newadvent.org|archive-date=2021-09-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904122241/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15551c.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Originally, the vows taken by profession in any religious institute approved by the Holy See were classified as solemn.<ref name=":5" /><ref name="Vermeersch">[http://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Religious_Life Arthur Vermeersch,  "Religious Life"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115054809/http://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Religious_Life|date=2012-01-15}} in ''[[The Catholic Encyclopedia]]'', Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. Accessed 18 July 2011.</ref> This was declared by [[Pope Boniface VIII]] (1235–1303).<ref>"Illud solum votum debere dici solemne ... quod solemnizatum fuerit per suceptionem S. Ordinis aut per professionem expressam vel tacitam factam alicui de religionibus per Sedem Apostolicam approbatis" (C. unic. de voto, tit. 15, lib. III in 6, quoted in [https://archive.org/stream/religiouscongreg00frer#page/16/mode/2up/search/%22Illud+solum+votum+debere+dici+solemne%22 Celestine Anthony Freriks, ''Religious Congregations in Their External Relations''], p. 17).</ref> The situation changed in the 16th century. In 1521, two years after the [[Fourth Lateran Council]] had forbidden the establishment of new religious institutes, [[Pope Leo X]] established a religious [[monasticism|Rule]] with simple vows for those [[third order|tertiaries]] attached to existing communities who undertook to live a formal religious life. In 1566 and 1568, [[Pope Pius V]] rejected this class of congregation, but they continued to exist and even increased in number. After at first being merely tolerated, they afterwards obtained approval.<ref name="Vermeersch" /> Finally in the 20th century, [[Pope Leo XIII]] recognized as religious all men and women who took simple vows.<ref>Constitution "Conditae a Christo" of 8 December 1900, cited in [http://www.dom.edu/export/sites/dominican/mcgreal/volumeone/DaHCHAP11.pdf Mary Nona McGreal, ''Dominicans at Home in a New Nation'', chapter 11] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927150743/http://www.dom.edu/export/sites/dominican/mcgreal/volumeone/DaHCHAP11.pdf|date=2011-09-27}}</ref> Their lives were oriented not to the ancient monastic way of life, but more to [[social service]] and to [[evangelization]], both in [[Europe]] and in mission areas. Their number had increased dramatically in the upheavals brought by the [[French Revolution]] and subsequent [[Napoleonic]] invasions of other Catholic countries, depriving thousands of religious of the income that their communities held because of inheritances and forcing them to find a new way of living the religious life. But members of these new associations were not recognized as "religious" until [[Pope Leo XIII]]'s Constitution "Conditae a Christo" of 8 December 1900.<ref>Cited in [http://www.dom.edu/export/sites/dominican/mcgreal/volumeone/DaHCHAP11.pdf Mary Nona McGreal, ''Dominicans at Home in a New Nation'', chapter 11] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927150743/http://www.dom.edu/export/sites/dominican/mcgreal/volumeone/DaHCHAP11.pdf|date=2011-09-27}}</ref>

The [[1917 Code of Canon Law]] reserved the term "nun" (Latin: ''monialis'') for religious women who took solemn vows or who, while being allowed in some places to take simple vows, belonged to institutes whose vows were normally solemn.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CIC 1917: text – IntraText CT|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/LAT0813/_P1D.HTM#6T|access-date=2018-02-14|website=www.intratext.com|archive-date=2019-05-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515010057/http://www.intratext.com/IXT/LAT0813/_P1D.HTM#6T|url-status=live}}</ref> It used the word "sister" (Latin: ''soror'') exclusively for members of institutes for women that it classified as "[[Congregation of Papal Right|congregations]]"; and for "nuns" and "sisters" jointly it used the Latin word ''religiosae'' (women religious). The same religious order could include both "nuns" and "sisters", if some members took solemn vows and others simple vows.

The new legal code of the Catholic Church which was adopted in 1983, however, remained silent on this matter. Whereas previously the code distinguished between orders and congregations, the code now refers simply to religious institutes.

Since the [[1983 Code of Canon Law|code of 1983]], the Vatican has addressed the renewal of the contemplative life of nuns. It produced the letter ''Verbi Sponsa'' in 1999,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Verbi Sponsa (13 May 1999)|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccscrlife/documents/rc_con_ccscrlife_doc_13051999_verbi-sponsa_en.html|access-date=2018-11-22|website=www.vatican.va|archive-date=2018-12-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181213201128/http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccscrlife/documents/rc_con_ccscrlife_doc_13051999_verbi-sponsa_en.html|url-status=live}}</ref> the apostolic constitution {{Lang|la|[[Vultum Dei quaerere]]}} in 2016, and the instruction ''Cor Orans'' in 2018<ref>{{Cite web|title="Cor Orans" – Implementing Instruction of the Apostolic Constitution "Vultum Dei quaerere" on women's contemplative life, of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life (1 April 2018)|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccscrlife/documents/rc_con_ccscrlife_doc_20180401_cor-orans_en.html|access-date=2018-11-22|website=www.vatican.va|archive-date=2018-11-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102203408/http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccscrlife/documents/rc_con_ccscrlife_doc_20180401_cor-orans_en.html|url-status=live}}</ref> "which replaced the 1999 document ''Verbi Sponsa'' and attempted to bring forward the ideas regarding contemplative life born during the Second Vatican Council".<ref>{{Cite news|date=2018-11-22|title=Contemplative nuns roll with the changes under Pope Francis|language=en-US|work=Crux|url=https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2018/11/22/contemplative-nuns-roll-with-the-changes-under-pope-francis/|url-status=dead|access-date=2018-11-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122120445/https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2018/11/22/contemplative-nuns-roll-with-the-changes-under-pope-francis/|archive-date=2018-11-22}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Irmã Rosália Sehnem IFPCC7.JPG|Sister Rosália Sehnem of the [[Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity]]
File:Nun on a motor-bike 2 - by Francis Hannaway.jpg|A sister of the Theresienne Sisters of [[Basankusu]] wearing a brightly coloured habit, riding a motor-bike, [[Democratic Republic of Congo]], 2013<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://stbasankusu.blogspot.co.uk/ |title=The Theresienne Sisters of Basankusu (La congrégation des soeurs thérésiennes de Basankusu) |access-date=2014-05-09 |archive-date=2014-05-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512232302/http://stbasankusu.blogspot.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
File:An Ugandan nun teaching during a community service day.jpg|A Ugandan nun teaching during a community service day
</gallery>

==== United States ====
{{main|Catholic sisters and nuns in the United States}}

Nuns and sisters played a major role in American religion, education, nursing and social work since the early 19th century.<ref>Margaret M. McGuinness, ''Called to Serve: A History of Nuns in America'' (2015) [https://www.amazon.com/Called-Serve-History-Nuns-America/dp/0814795579/ excerpt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204212832/https://www.amazon.com/Called-Serve-History-Nuns-America/dp/0814795579 |date=2017-02-04 }}</ref> In Catholic Europe, convents were heavily endowed over the centuries, and were sponsored by the aristocracy. There were very few rich [[American Catholics]], and no aristocrats. Religious orders were founded by entrepreneurial women who saw a need and an opportunity, and were staffed by devout women from poor families. The numbers grew rapidly, from 900 sisters in 15 communities in 1840, 50,000 in 170 orders in 1900, and 135,000 in 300 different orders by 1930. Starting in 1820, the sisters always outnumbered the priests and brothers.<ref>{{cite book|last1=O'Toole|first1=James M.|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780674034884|title=The Faithful: A History of Catholics in America|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|year=2008|isbn=9780674034884|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780674034884/page/104 104]|url-access=registration}}</ref> Their numbers peaked in 1965 at 180,000 then plunged to 56,000 in 2010. Many women left their orders, and few new members were added.<ref>Margaret M. McGuinness, ''Called to Serve'' (2013), ch 8</ref> Since the [[Second Vatican Council]] the sisters have directed their ministries more to the poor, working more directly among them and with them.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sisters of Mercy: Spirituality, Resources, Prayer and Action|url=https://www.sistersofmercy.org/spirituality/|access-date=2018-02-14|website=Sisters of Mercy|language=en|archive-date=2017-01-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131081851/http://www.sistersofmercy.org/spirituality/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Canada ====
{{main|Catholic sisters and nuns in Canada}}

Nuns have played an important role in Canada, especially in heavily Catholic Quebec. Outside the home, Canadian women had few domains which they controlled. An important exception came with Catholic nuns, especially in Québec. Stimulated by the influence in France, the popular religiosity of the [[Counter Reformation]], new orders for women began appearing in the seventeenth century. In the next three centuries women opened dozens of independent religious orders, funded in part by [[Religious dower|dowries]] provided by the parents of young nuns. The orders specialized in charitable works, including hospitals, orphanages, [[maternity home|homes for unwed mothers]], and schools.<ref>Thomas Carr, Jr., "Writing the Convent in New France: The Colonialist Rhetoric of Canadian Nuns", ''Quebec Studies'' (2009), Issue 47, pp 3–23.</ref>

==== Early modern Spain ====

Prior to women becoming nuns during early modern Spain, aspired nuns underwent a process. The process was ensured by the [[Council of Trent]], which [[Philip II of Spain|King Philip II]] (1556–1598) adopted within Spain.<ref name="Schmitz 375–399">{{Cite journal|last=Schmitz|first=Timothy J.|date=2006-01-01|title=The Spanish Hieronymites and the Reformed Texts of the Council of Trent|journal=The Sixteenth Century Journal|volume=37|issue=2|pages=375–399|doi=10.2307/20477841|jstor=20477841}}</ref> King Phillip II acquired the aid of the [[Hieronymites|Hieronymite order]] to ensure that monasteries abided by the decrees of the Council of Trent.<ref name="Schmitz 375–399" /> This changed the way in which nuns would live.<ref name="Lehfeldt 1009–1030">{{Cite journal|last=Lehfeldt|first=Elizabeth A.|date=1999-01-01|title=Discipline, Vocation, and Patronage: Spanish Religious Women in a Tridentine Microclimate|journal=The Sixteenth Century Journal|volume=30|issue=4|pages=1009–1030|doi=10.2307/2544609|jstor=2544609}}</ref> One edict of the Council of Trent was that female monasteries be enclosed in order to limit nuns' relationship with the secular world.<ref name="Lehfeldt 1009–1030" /> Enclosure of monasteries during this time was associated with chastity.<ref name="Lehfeldt 1009–1030" /> Another decree issued by the Council of Trent was that religious devotion be "true and voluntary".<ref name="Lehfeldt 1009–1030" /> A male clergy member would ask the aspiring nuns if whether or not their vocation was "true and voluntary" in order to ensure no enforced conversion.<ref name="Lehfeldt 1009–1030" />

To be considered as a nun, one must have the economic means to afford the convent dowry.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Lehfeldt|first=Elizabeth A.|date=2000-01-01|title=Convents as Litigants: Dowry and Inheritance Disputes in Early-Modern Spain|url=https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clhist_facpub/3|journal=Journal of Social History|volume=33|issue=3|pages=645–664|doi=10.1353/jsh.2000.0027|jstor=3789215|s2cid=144464752|access-date=2019-12-14|archive-date=2020-08-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809071204/https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clhist_facpub/3/|url-status=live}}</ref> During this time convent dowries were affordable, compared to secular marriages between a man and a woman.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Evangelisti|first=Silvia|title=Nuns: A history of convent life, 1450–1700|publisher=Oxford; New York : Oxford University Press|year=2007}}</ref> Typically during early modern Spain many nuns were from elite families who had the means to afford the convent dowry and "maintenance allowances", which were annual fees.<ref name=":0" /> Monasteries were economically supported through convent dowries.<ref name=":0" /> Convent dowries could be waived if the aspiring nun had an artistic ability benefiting the monastery.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Taggard|first=Mindy Nancarrow|date=2000-01-01|title=Art and Alienation in Early Modern Spanish Convents|journal=South Atlantic Review|volume=65|issue=1|pages=24–40|doi=10.2307/3201923|jstor=3201923}}</ref>

Once an aspiring nun has entered the convent and has the economic means to afford the dowry, she undergoes the process of apprenticeship known as the novitiate period.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lavrin|first=Asuncion|title=Brides of Christ: Conventual life in colonial Mexico|publisher=Stanford University Press, 2008.|year=2008|location=Stanford, Calif.|pages=49}}</ref> The novitiate period typically lasts 1–2 years, and during this time the aspiring nun lives the life of a nun without taking the official vows.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lavrin|first=Asuncion|title=Brides of Christ: Conventual life in colonial Mexico|publisher=Stanford University Press|year=2008|location=Stanford, Calif|pages=48}}</ref> As she lives in the convent she is closely monitored by the other women in the community to determine if her vocation is genuine. This would be officially determined by a vote from the choir nuns.<ref name=":0" /> If the aspiring nun passes the scrutiny of the women of the religious community, she then can make her [[solemn vow]]s.<ref name=":0" /> Prior to making the vows, the family of the nun is expected to pay the convent dowry.<ref name=":0" /> Nuns were also expected to renounce their inheritance and property rights.<ref name=":0" />

Religious class distinctions:
 
* Choir nuns: Usually from elite families, they held office, could vote within the convent, and were given the opportunity to read and write.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Evangelisti|first=Silvia|title=Nuns: A history of convent life, 1450–1700|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2007|location=Oxford|pages=30}}</ref>
* Lay-sisters: Lower-class women, assigned tasks related to the labour of the convent, generally were not given the opportunities to read and write, and paid a lower dowry.<ref name=":1" />