An unmarried woman who only took the (temporary) vow of purity and placed herself under the spiritual guidance of a priestIn the Roman Catholic Church, the priest is an unmarried man ordained as a priest by the bishop, which gives him the right to administer the six other sacraments: baptism, confirmation, confession, Eucharist, marriage, and the anointing of the sick., usually a Jesuit, to lead a thoroughly spiritual life. They lived in their own houses in the city, sometimes together with relatives. In our regions, this was the Jesuits’ response to the fact that they had no female order. In Protestant areas, where monasteries had been abolished, this was a way out for women who aspired to a monastic life.
