Practicing the Order of Widows: A New Call for an Old Vocation

This essay argues for a renewed institution of an ancient Christianpractice, the Order of Widows. Drawing on the Roman Catholictradition's recent writings on the elderly, particularly the1998 document from the Pontifical Council for the Laity entitled"The Dignity of Older People and their Mission in the Churchand in the World," I argue that we find within the Roman Catholictradition advocacy for a renewed understanding of the vocationof the elderly within the Church. Building on this, I then tracein the broadest of outlines some elements of what a renewalof the Order of Widows might look like. In doing so, it becomesclear how this new ecclesial practice addresses health issuesof older women (devaluation, marginalization, loss of voice,impoverishment, debilitation, loneliness, isolation, and euthanasia).More importantly, such a practice moves beyond principles todemonstrate a concrete alternative. As such it would providea powerful witness to the very culture the Church seeks to transform.