The Sulpicians are not a religious community but a society of apostolic life. What is a society of apostolic life?
Societies of apostolic life are associations in the Church whose members pursue a common mission without taking vows and who live as a community under Church-approved regulations called constitutions. So when you join the Sulpicians, you remain a diocesan priest; you do not become a religious. At the same time, you become a member of a community of diocesan priests dedicated to priestly formation. You might also want to know that the Sulpicians are both a clerical society and a society of pontifical right. This means that Sulpicians must be priests and that the constitutions of the Sulpicians have been approved by the Holy See.
