Prophets on the Bus? The Transformation of Women Religious’s Self-Understanding since the Second Vatican Council

Although the documents of the Second Vatican Council never refer to religious life as prophetic, it has become more and more common since the Council for both official church statements and women religious themselves to do so. This essay examines this evolution in papal and curial documents, and among women religious in the United States and elsewhere, notably in Latin America, where the term seems first to have come into prominence. The implications of this development are considered, potential difficulties addressed, and helpful recent modifications noted.