How the Nuns Came to Be

In the United States, there are two canonically approved organizations for leaders of congregations of women religious. The majority (80 percent) are members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, headquartered in Silver Spring, Md. The remaining congregations belong to the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, based in Washington, D.C.

Both groups can trace their history to 1950 when Pope Pius XII convened the First General Congress of the States of Perfection, calling to Rome the superiors of religious orders throughout the world.