Why are there so many different religious communities in the Catholic Church?
Why are there Benedictines, Dominicans, Franciscans, Jesuits, Augustinians and countless other religious communities in the Church? Because of “the movement of the Spirit” and the circumstances of human history. From the beginnings of the Church individuals were inspired by the Gospel of Jesus to become his disciples. But discipleship can be expressed in different ways given the personality and unique circumstances of each person and the needs of the times. The founders of the great religious communities – Benedict, Francis of Assisi, Dominic, Ignatius Loyola, and Augustine – had a faith vision (charism) that was attractive and meaningful enough to draw others to them. Someone once compared religious communities to a bunch of flowers. These flowers, which represent the teachings of the Gospel, are the same for everyone. But each person, if given these flowers, would arrange them slightly differently, creating different patterns from the same basic materials. It is the same with religio
