[[Hi Sister, I wondered if you are taken care of like all religious Sisters are taken care of: housing, food and other needs met financially and otherwise, education, vacation, retreat, insurance, transportation, etc? Does your diocese and parish take care of you and pay you?]]
Thanks for your questions. I have to take exception to the way the question is phrased. It sounds to me like you are mistaken in your understanding of Religious Sisters and their relationship to their congregation or order, etc. If so, it is a common misunderstanding. If not, my apologies for mishearing you.
First, think of the Sisters' community or congregation (institute) as a large extended family with all members contributing what they can to the common purse through their own work, etc. A Sister will do this from the day she enters or is received to the day she truly retires. It is from this common purse that all of the Sisters, including those who are retired, infirm, etc., are cared for and all expenses are covered. Today, women religious have also paid into the social security fund and thus qualify for Social Security, Medicaid, and sometimes other aid. Remember that a congregation husbands the funds that come into them carefully so that all members have access to what they need to live and minister.
Yes, that can include some forms of education (especially graduate level or other special training); most congregations today require candidates to have their undergraduate work done and be free of student loan debt before they enter the congregation. Even so, the money that comes to the congregation does so largely as a matter of the Sisters' earnings, careful investments, and some contributions or donations from benefactors. It is not so much that Sisters are "taken care of" as though they never work a day in their lives; rather, they join a really large extended family and work their entire adult lives supporting the "family" both in their living and in their ministering.
More, Sisters serve on the leadership team of their congregation to make decisions for the group for the future. With the assistance of the whole congregation, they make major decisions regarding the buying and selling of property, health care, building funds, spiritual needs of the Sisters, ongoing presence and ministry of the congregation in the larger community, and more. A community I have written about in the last year or two is the Sisters of the Holy Family. They have been planning for the "completion" of their lives, both individually and as a congregation; in doing this they demolished their Motherhouse to construct some smaller cottages for the Sisters and gave over some of their property for low-income housing, a park, in-home health care for seniors and the Sisters (On Lok), etc.
They worked with builders, contractors, architects, service providers, and caregivers as well as the City of Fremont over a period of years in bringing this series of projects to fruition. In all of this, the Sisters assured that the congregation's mission and charism would continue on even after all of the Sisters had gone home to God. All of this and more is supported by the Sisters themselves, from their own earnings, from donations, and from whatever prudent investments they make with those earnings and gifts. The Church does NOT support religious women any more than they support others' extended families in the diocese.
As for your question re me and other diocesan hermits, no, I am not supported by the Church or a religious congregation. Neither am I paid by my parish for the work I do there. I do spiritual direction on a sliding scale (which means some directees pay me something and others do not) and I receive money (SSI) due to disability. The diocese does not support me in any way, either financially, or via insurance coverage, housing, etc. The same is true for all diocesan hermits I know of. Each one supports him/herself as s/he can including housing, insurance, transportation, and so forth. The expenses I have for retreat, home visits, occasional workshops, etc come out of the money I save. (For religious Sisters belonging to a congregation their needs in these things are budgeted by the congregation for each Sister in a general way and the Sister then budgets for things in more specific ways. There are canonical requirements regarding retreat, for instance, so this is a congregational expense.)
I have answered this question before so you might also check out those answers. (I don't think they are much different, however, than what I have just written.) Also, for a more detailed account of what the Sisters of the Holy Family have done with their property in Fremont, CA check the labels to the right. The projects undertaken by the SHF are something I could not be prouder of; they speak really well of the strength, intelligence, and creativity of women religious in their faithfulness to the values they profess throughout their lives of generous ministry (especially religious poverty) even as they plan for completion. They deserve real respect for this.
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