Religious sister in the context of Ann Margaret O'Hara

A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Those residing in a convent are known as conventuals. Alternatively, convent means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican Communion.

Karen Armstrong (born 14 November 1944) is a British author and commentator known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and mystical Christian faith. She attended St Anne's College, Oxford, while in the convent and graduated in English. She left the convent in 1969. Her work focuses on commonalities of the major religions, such as the importance of compassion and the Golden Rule.

Armstrong received the US$100,000 TED Prize in February 2008. She used that occasion to call for the creation of a Charter for Compassion, which was unveiled the following year.

A religious brother (abbreviated Br. or Bro. as a title) is a lay male member of a religious institute or religious order who commits himself to following Christ in consecrated life, usually by the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Equivalent to a religious sister, a religious brother typically lives in a religious community and works in a ministry appropriate to his capabilities.

A brother might practice any secular occupation. Some religious institutes are composed only of brothers; others are made up of brothers and clerics (priests or ministers, and seminarians).

Mary of the Divine Heart (Münster, 8 September 1863 – Porto, 8 June 1899), born Maria Droste zu Vischering, was a German noblewoman and religious sister of the Catholic Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd. She is best known for having influenced Pope Leo XIII to consecrate the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope Leo XIII called the solemn consecration "the greatest act of my pontificate".

She was beatified by Pope Paul VI in St. Peter's Square on 1 November 1975.

The Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, also known as the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, is a Catholic religious order that was founded in 1835 by Mary Euphrasia Pelletier in Angers, France. The religious sisters belong to a Catholic international congregation of religious women dedicated to promoting the welfare of women and girls.

The Congregation has a representative at the United Nations, and has spoken out against human trafficking.

The Missionaries of Charity (Latin: Congregatio Missionariarum a Caritate) is a Catholic centralised religious institute of consecrated life of pontifical right for women established in 1950 by Mother Teresa. As of 2023, it consisted of 5,750 members of religious sisters. Members of the order designate their affiliation using the order's initials, "M.C." A member of the congregation must adhere to the vows of chastity, poverty, obedience, and the fourth vow, to give "wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor". Today, the order consists of both contemplative and active branches in several countries.

Missionaries care for those who include refugees, former prostitutes, the mentally ill, sick children, abandoned children, lepers, people with AIDS, the aged, and convalescent. They have schools that are run by volunteers to teach abandoned street children and run soup kitchens as well as other services according to the community needs. These services are provided, without charge, to people regardless of their religion or social status.