Catholic congregations in France are institutions, approved by bishops or popes, which have been created over time in response to the needs or crises of the Church, and are an illustration of the Church's evolution. Novices, aspiring to religious life, become monks by making a lifelong commitment to the three Vows of obedience, chastity and poverty.
Monks, nuns and religious people live in a community whose life is organized by a rule. This is why they are considered, in a broad and somewhat inaccurate sense, to form the regular clergy. However, nuns are not canonically part of the clergy, and strictly speaking, monks who have not received holy orders are lay people.[1]