Learn the difference between priests, nuns, religious sisters, friars, and monks in this breakdown of Catholic religious life.

Sources:

CIC Can. 1191 (A vow defined): https://www.vatican.va/archive/codiu....
1 Corinthians 7 (St. Paul on marriage): https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corint...
CIC Can. 277 (Catholic Priests are obliged to be celibate): https://www.vatican.va/archive/codiu...
CIC Can. 285 (A priest must not live lavishly): https://www.vatican.va/archive/codiu...
CIC Can. 533 (Priests live in rectories): https://www.vatican.va/archive/codiu...
Matthew 19 (Jesus advises the rich young man to forego property): https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/19
FAQs Priesthood, Ordination, Seminary (The vows of a priest): https://www.usccb.org/beliefsandtea...
St. Benedict: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedic...
The Order of St. Benedict: https://osb.org/ourroots/abriefhis...
Marriam Webster (Mendicant Definition): https://www.merriamwebster.com/dicti...
St. Conrad Province Our History (History of Franciscans): https://www.capuchins.org/ourhistory
St. Patrick Priory (History of Dominicans): https://stpatrickpriory.org/history/
Conception Seminary (The distinction between brother, monk, priest): https://www.conceptionabbey.org/pries...
Source for me saying friaries are built in cities rather than outside them: I’ve stayed in a few.
Marriam Webster (Friar means brother): https://www.merriamwebster.com/dicti...
Jesuit FAQ: https://beajesuit.org/faqs/
Vatican News (Saint Scholastica): https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/...
Vatican News (Saint Clare): https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/...
Sisters of Mercy website (Sisters aren't the same as nuns): https://www.sistersofmercy.org/faq/wh...
Canon Law Made Easy (More details on sisters vs. nuns): https://canonlawmadeeasy.com/2009/03/...
History Today: A Woman Jesuit and the Mother of the Church in Canada (The Jesuits don't have female members); https://jesuites.ca/stories/historyt...
Missionaries of Charity (It’s an all female order): https://www.missionariesofcharity.org...
Secular Third Orders: https://religiouslife.com/resource/th...
Note that this resource lists the wrong canon, they mean CIC 303 under the current code: https://www.vatican.va/archive/codiu...
Dominican Third Orders: https://www.op.org.au/aboutthedomin...
Resource saying that they don’t take the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience: https://catholicstand.com/laydominic...

Image Credits:
“Roman Catholic monks of the Order of Saint Benedict singing Vespers on Holy Saturday at St. Mary's Abbey in Morristown, New Jersey.” by John Stephen Dwyer (Creative Commons AttributionShare Alike 3.0 Unported)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

Stained glass window in the Saint Felix Church in Laissac by Krzysztof Golik
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...