A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the School of Canon Law of the Catholic University of America (420 pages). Judith M. Stegman, JCD

Drawing from analogous ecclesial law for both marriage and for institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life, and in response to the expansion of the Ordo virginum throughout the world since 1970, this study proposes juridic principles that may be applied in the development of norms to govern the Ordo. Chapter one probes the theological underpinning of mystical espousal to Christ by examining the mystery of virginal nuptial love in the Most Holy Trinity, in the Blessed Virgin Mary, and in God’s bond with created man, revealed in both the Old and New Testaments. Chapters two and three study ecclesial law and liturgy in the development of the Ordo virginum as a stable way of life, from the earliest days of the Church to today. Employing a canon-by-canon analysis, chapter four considers analogous application of marriage law in the 1983 code to the mystical espousal to Christ that characterizes the Ordo virginum, and chapter five follows by considering an analogous application of the law on consecrated life to the Ordo.

The study concludes by proposing thirty-four principles to guide the development of norms for the Ordo virginum in the following areas: juridical/theological identity; validity of consecration; governance; admission and formation of candidates; obligations and rights of members; apostolate; and separation of members from the Ordo virginum.