Prior (ecclesiastical) in the context of "Mother superior"

Augustinians are members of several religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written about 400 A.D. by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13th centuries:

• Various congregations of Canons Regular follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, embracing the evangelical counsels and leading a semi-monastic life, while remaining committed to pastoral care appropriate to their primary vocation as priests. They generally form one large community which might serve parishes in the vicinity, and are organized into autonomous congregations.
• Several orders of friars who live a mixed religious life of contemplation and apostolic ministry. The largest and most familiar is the Order of Saint Augustine (O.S.A.), founded in 1244 and originally known as the Hermits of Saint Augustine (O.E.S.A.). They are commonly known as the Austin Friars in England. Two other orders, the Order of Augustinian Recollects (O.A.R.) and the Discalced Augustinians (O.A.D.), were once part of the original Order under a single Prior General. The Recollects, begun in 1588 as a reform movement in Spain to recover the Order's eremitical roots, became autonomous in 1612. At the 100th General Chapter of the Order held in Rome in May 1592, those seeking reform of their way of life came to be called the Discalced (barefoot) and were authorized to seek their goals as an semi-independent branch. They were raised to the status of a separate mendicant Order in 1610.

There are also some Anglican religious orders created in the 19th century that follow Augustine's rule. These are composed only of women in several different communities of Augustinian nuns.

The Monastery of the Holy Cross (Portuguese: Mosteiro da Santa Cruz), also known as the Church of the Holy Cross, is a National Monument in Coimbra, Portugal. Because the first two kings of Portugal are buried in the church it was granted the status of National Pantheon.

Founded in 1131 outside the protecting walls of Coimbra, the Monastery of the Holy Cross was the most important monastic house during the early days of the Portuguese monarchy. Saint Theotonius founded this community of Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra and served as their first prior. The monastery and church were erected between 1132 and 1223.

A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They are found in the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, and Anglican Communion. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or the Charterhouses). Houses of canons & canonesses regular also use this term, the alternative being canonry. Mendicant houses, of friars, nuns, or tertiary sisters (such as the Friars Preachers, Augustinian Hermits, and Carmelites) also exclusively use this term.

In pre-Reformation England, if an abbey church was raised to cathedral status, the abbey became a cathedral priory. The bishop, in effect, took the place of the abbot, and the monastery itself was headed by a prior.

Fra' Philippe de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam (1464 – 21 August 1534) was a prominent member of the Knights Hospitaller at Rhodes and later Malta. Having risen to the position of Prior of the Langue of Auvergne, he was elected 44th Grand Master of the Order in 1521.

He commanded the Order during Sultan Suleiman's long and bloody Siege of Rhodes in 1522, when 600 knights and 4500 soldiers resisted an invading force of about 100,000 men for six months, but eventually negotiated the capitulation and the departure of the knights on New Year's Day 1523 to Crete.

Frutolf of Michelsberg (died 17 January 1103) was a monk in Michelsberg Abbey in Bamberg, Germany, of which he became prior. He was probably a native of Bavaria.

Frutolf was possibly a teacher of the quadrivium in the monastery, but principally a librarian and manuscript copyist. In this capacity he was responsible for a substantial increase in the stock of the Michelsberg library. Some of the manuscripts he copied are still extant.

Theotonius (c. 1082 - 1162) was a Canon Regular and royal advisor. He is noted in Portugal, for being the first prior of the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Coimbra, Portugal. He is celebrated as the reformer of religious life in Portugal, and is the first Portuguese saint.

Augustine of Canterbury (early 6th century – most likely 26 May 604) was a Christian monk who became the first archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English".

Augustine was the prior of a monastery in Rome when Pope Gregory the Great chose him in 595 to lead a mission, usually known as the Gregorian mission, to Britain to Christianize King Æthelberht and his Kingdom of Kent from Anglo-Saxon paganism. Kent was likely chosen because Æthelberht commanded major influence over neighbouring Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in addition to his marriage to Bertha, a Frankish princess, who was expected to exert some influence over her husband. Before reaching Kent, the missionaries had considered turning back, but Gregory urged them on, and in 597, Augustine landed on the Isle of Thanet and proceeded to Æthelberht's main town of Canterbury.