# Society of apostolic life

Part of a series on the :
Catholic Church :
St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City :
Overview :
Pope: Francis
Hierarchy
History (timeline)
Theology
Liturgy
Sacraments
Mary :
Background
Jesus Christ
Crucifixion
Resurrection
Ascension
Early Christianity
Peter
Paul
Fathers
History of the Catholic Church
History of the papacy
Ecumenical councils
Magisterium
Four Marks of the Church
One true church
Apostolic succession :
Organisation
Holy See
Roman Curia
College of Cardinals
Ecumenical councils
Episcopal polity
Latin Church
Eastern Churches
Canon law :
TheologiesDoctrine
God
Trinity
Father
Son
Holy Ghost
Consubstantialitas
Filioque
Divinum illud munus
Divine law
Decalogus
Ex Cathedra
Deificatio
Realms beyond the States of the Church
Heaven
Purgatory
Limbo
Hell
Paschal mystery
Passion of Jesus
Crucifixion of Jesus
Harrowing of Hell
Resurrection of Jesus
Ascension of Jesus
Blessed Virgin Mary
Mariology
Veneration
Immaculate Conception
Mater Dei
Perpetual virginity
Assumption
Dormition
Titles
Queen
Apparition
Mediatrix
Salvation
Baptism of desire
Baptism of blood
Divine grace
Outside the Church there is no salvation
Infused righteousness
Invincible ignorance
Justification
Means of grace
Merit
Mortal sin
Satisfaction
Moral influence
Sanctification
Synergism
Venial sin
Ecclesiology
College of Bishops
Deposit of faith
Infallibility of the Church
Mystical Body of Christ
Papal primacy
People of God
Perfect community
Subsistit in
Other teachings
Josephology
Morality
Body
Lectures
Sexuality
Apologetics
Amillennialism
Original sin
Hypostatic union
Predestination
Seven deadly sins
Beatific vision
Saints
Dogma :
Texts
Bible
Old Testament
New Testament
Official Bible
Vulgate
Sixtine Vulgate
Sixto-Clementine Vulgate
Nova Vulgata
Peshitta
Apostles' Creed
Nicene Creed
Athanasian Creed
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Papal bull
Apostolic exhortation
Epistula Encyclica :
Philosophy
Cardinal Virtues
Just war
Natural law
Catholic ethics
Personalism
Probabilism
Social teaching
Philosophy of canon law
Philosophers
Virtue ethics
Schools
Augustinianism
Scholasticism
Thomism
Scotism
Occamism
Christian humanism
Molinism
Neo-scholasticism
Traditionalist Catholicism
Sedevacantism :
Worship
Liturgy
Eastern Catholic liturgy
Mass
Divine Liturgy
Holy Qurbana
Holy Qurbono
Liturgy of the Hours
Liturgical year
Sacraments
Baptism
Penance
Eucharist
Confirmation
Anointing of the Sick
Matrimony
Holy orders
Prayer
Devotions
Bible
Biblical canon :
Rites
Latin liturgy:
Roman
Post-Vatican II
Tridentine
Use of Sarum
Anglican Use
Zaire Use
Gallican
Ambrosian
Braga
Mozarabic
Eastern Catholic liturgy:
Alexandrian
Antiochene
West Syriac
Malankara
East Syriac
Armenian
Byzantine :
Miscellaneous
Antipopes
Anti-Catholicism
Criticism
Deism/Pandeism
Ecumenism
Monasticism
Relations with:
Islam
Judaism
Orthodoxy
Protestantism :
Societal issues
Art
Evolution
Health care
HIV/AIDS
Homosexuality
Sexual abuse
Music
Nazi Germany
Politics (in the United States)
Role in civilization
Science
Sex and gender roles
Slavery
the Age of Discovery :
Links and resources
Index
Outline
Glossary
Category
Media
Templates
WikiProject
Vatican City portal :
Catholic Church portal :
vte :
A society of apostolic life is a group of men or women within the Catholic Church who have come together for a specific purpose and live fraternally. It is regarded as a form of consecrated (or "religious") life.
This type of organization is defined in the 1983 Code of Canon Law under Canons 731–746. Under the 1917 Code of Canon Law, which preceded the current one, this manner of life was referred to as a society of common life.

## Background

Members of apostolic societies prioritize mission over community life. According to the Vincentian priest Robert P. Maloney, community life should be strong enough to be supportive to those who have pledged to pursue the same apostolic purpose, and flexible enough to allow members to respond to the urgent needs of those they serve. In community, apostolic societies must maintain a balance between prayer and active works.
The work of various apostolic societies differs significantly from one another. They may focus on preaching, teaching, health-care, seminary education, foreign missions, retreat work, advocacy for justice, and many other objectives. Almost all apostolic societies had their origins in a need to be addressed that their founders recognized. Most apostolic societies focus on one or more aspects of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Vincent de Paul's, Congregation of the Mission and the Daughters of Charity belong to a group of societies founded in the 16th and 17th century to respond to increasing poverty in France. Vincent de Paul chose not to establish the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul as a religious order, as at that time, women religious were "enclosed" (cloistered), and that state was "not compatible with the duties of their vocation."
There are a number of apostolic societies, such as the Daughters of Charity, who make vows or other bonds defined in their constitutions to undertake to live the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
A community needs the written approval of a bishop to operate within his diocese. Clerics of a society of apostolic life are usually incardinated into the society and not the diocese, unless specified otherwise in its constitution (e.g. the Sulpicians who are members of both the society and diocese). Each community has a right to its own oratory.
Members of a society of apostolic life are allowed to own personal property, but must normally live in community with one another.
Canon law (Canon 731) speaks of such societies as being "comparable to institutes of consecrated life". They are regulated by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

## List
### Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right

A society of apostolic right can be approved by the Pope.

#### For men

* Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, M.M. (Maryknoll Fathers)
* Clerical Society of the Missionaries of the Holy Apostles, M.S.A.
* Clerical Society of Virgo Flos Carmeli, E.P.
* Companions of the Cross, C.C.
* Confederation of Oratories of Saint Philip Neri, C.O. (Oratory of Saint Philip Neri, Oratorians)
* Congregation of Jesus and Mary, C.I.M./C.J.M. (Eudists)
* Congregation of the Mission, C.M. (Vincentians, Lazarists)
* Glenmary Home Missioners, G.H.M.
* Guadelupe Home Missioners, M.G.
* Heralds of Good News, H.G.N.
* Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest I.C.R.S.S./I.C.K.S.P.
* Institute of the Good Shepherd
* Missionaries of Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, S.D.N.
* Mission Society of the Philippines, M.S.P.
* Missionaries of Africa, M.Afr. (White Fathers)
* Missionaries of the Holy Cross, M.S.C.
* Missionaries of the Precious Blood, C.PP.S.
* Missionary Society of Saint Columban, S.S.C.M.E. (Columban Missionaries)
* Oratory of France, C.O.I. (Oratorians of France)
* Paris Foreign Missions Society, M.E.P.
* Paulist Fathers, C.S.P.
* Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, P.I.M.E.
* Portuguese Missionary Society, S.M.P. / S.M.B.N.
* Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, F.S.S.P.
* Priestly Fraternity of the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo, F.S.C.B.
* Saint Francis Xavier Spanish Institute for Foreign Missions, I.E.M.E.
* Saint Joseph's Missionary Society of Mill Hill, M.H.M.
* Saint Patrick's Society for the Foreign Missions, S.P.S.
* Scarboro Foreign Mission Society, S.F.M.
* Society of African Missions, S.M.A.
* Society of Bethlehem Mission Immensee, S.M.B.
* Society of Foreign Missions: Société des Missions-Étrangères du Québec, P.M.E.
* Society of Priests of Saint James, P.S.J.
* Society of Priests of Saint Joseph Benedict Cottolengo, S.S.C.
* Society of Priests of Saint Sulpice, P.S.S., Society of Saint-Sulpice (Sulpicians)
* Society of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, S.S.J. (Josephites - which has a homonym)
* Society of the Catholic Apostolate, S.A.C. (Pallottines)
* Society of the Missionaries of Saint Francis Xavier, S.F.X. (Pilar Fathers)
* Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (Sodalitium of Christian Life), S.C.V. (defunct)
* Vincentian Congregation, C.V.
* Workers of the Kingdom of Christ, C.O.R.C.
* Yarumal Society for the Foreign Missions, M.X.Y. / I.M.E.Y.

#### For women

* Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi
* Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul
* Sisters of Social Service

### Society of Apostolic Life of Diocesan Right

The diocesan bishop must consent to the "erection of a house and establishment of a local community", and must also be consulted concerning its suppression.
* Apostolic Life Community of Priests in the Opus Spiritus Sancti, A.L.C.P./O.S.S. (Holy Spirit Fathers)
* Companions of the Cross, C.C.
* Korean Missionary Society, K.M.S
* Lay Consecrated Men Regnum Christi
* Missionary Society of Saint Paul of Nigeria, M.S.P.
* Missionary Society of St. Thomas the Apostle, M.S.T.
* Oblates of Saints Ambrose and Charles, O.Ss.C.A.
* Oblates of Saints Charles and Gaudentius of Novara, O.Ss.G.C.N.
* Society of Saint John Mary Vianney, S.J.M.V.
* Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity
* Work of the Holy Spirit, O.S.S.