Do all Priests take a Vow of Poverty?

by Admin · June 25, 2024

By Fr Kenneth Doyle –

Question: We had a discussion the other day about some of the difficulties facing priests, and this question came up: Do all priests take a vow of poverty?

Answer: Priests who are members of religious orders – Franciscans, Dominicans, Jesuits, etc. – take a vow of poverty and own nothing; the houses they live in, the cars they drive, even the clothing they wear belong not to themselves but to the religious order.

Diocesan (sometimes called “secular”) priests do not take this vow. Diocesan priests are ordained for a specific geographic region and usually work in parishes. Diocesan priests are given a salary (usually including room and board) and are expected to pay their own expenses – food, clothing, etc. The cars they drive are usually owned by the parish they serve, but this is not always the case. Their medical expenses are usually paid for by the Priest’s medical fund. Their retirement is covered by the Priest’s provident fund.

Often retired priests, if they are healthy, supplement their income by helping out with services at local parishes, for which they receive a modest stipend.

The church’s Code of Canon Law states clearly that “clerics are to foster simplicity of life and are to refrain from all things that have a semblance of vanity” (Canon 282.1).

I mentioned some years that one of my heroes was Bishop Kenneth E. Untener of Saginaw, Michigan, who passed away in 2004. He kept all of his possessions in his small car and moved continually around his diocese, staying for a month at a time in each one of his diocese’s parishes. To me, Bishop Untener was a great example of someone who modelled his life on Jesus Christ, who “had nowhere to rest his head.”

Answered by Fr Kenneth Doyle