Abbess, honorific title. She is the superior of a monastery of nuns, or a community or chapter of canonesses, like the Abbess of Remiremont in Lorraine.

Although the communities of virgins consecrated to God are older in the Church than those of monks, nevertheless the institution of abbesses is more recent than those of abbots. The first virgins who devoted themselves to God, dwelt in their fathers’ houses. During the fourth century, they gathered together in monasteries, but they didn’t have their own church; it was only during the time of Saint Gregory that they began to have churches which became a part of their convents. The abbess was formerly elected by her community, they were chosen from among the oldest and the most capable of governing; they received the blessing from the Bishop and their authority was lifelong.

The abbess has the same rights and the same authority over her nuns that regular abbots have over their monks. See Abbot.

Abbesses cannot in reality, because of their gender, perform the spiritual functions associated with the priesthood, whereas abbots regularly performed these functions. However, there are some examples of some abbesses who have the right or rather the privilege of committing a priest who performs these functions for them. They even have a kind of episcopal jurisdiction like some abbots, who are exempt from the visit of their diocesan Bishops. See Exemption.

The Abbess of Fontevraud, for example, has the superiority and the direction, not only over the nuns, but also over all the clergy who depend on her abbey. These clergy people are under her authority and take their assignment from her.

In France, most abbesses are appointed by the king. There are, however, many abbeys and monasteries that are conferred by election and are exempt from the king’s appointment, like the Monasteries of Saint Claire.

It is necessary to note, that although the French king had appointments over convents, it is not however in virtue of the treaty between the Pope and the king; because the bulls that the Pope gives these abbesses, show that the king wrote in favor of the appointed nun and that most of the religious community agreed to her election, in order to conserve the ancient law as much as possible. According to the Council of Trent, those who were elected abbesses should be forty years old and have spent eight years in the convent, or have spent at least five years in the convent and be thirty years old. Following the rules of the kingdom, all superior and consequently any abbesses must have ten years of experience in the convent or held a religious office for six years. M. Fleury, Institution au droit ecclsiastique.

Father Martene, in his Traité des Rites de l’Eglise , Volume II, page 39, observes that some abbesses, in the past, listened to their nuns’ confessions. He adds that their excessive curiosity carried them so far that it became necessary to repress it.

Saint Basil, in his Règles abregées  [1], interrogative 110, volume II, page 453 permits an abbess to hear, with the priest, the confessions of her nuns. See Confession.

It is true, as Father Martene observes in the place cited, that until the 13th century not only the abbesses but the laypersons sometimes heard confession, mainly in the case of necessity, but these confessions were not sacramental and also had to be heard by the priest. They were introduced by the great devotion of the faithful who believed that by humbling themselves, God would take into account their humiliation, but as they turned to abuse, the Church was obligated to suppress them. There is, in some monasteries, a practice called la Coulpe  [2], which is a remnant of this ancient practice.

Notes

1. Most likely referencing Les Regles Monastiques by Saint Basil

2. Probably a reference to "Battre sa coulpe" [To beat out one's own sinful guilt"], beating one's chest while offering one's mea culpa. See Littré's Dictionnaire de la langue française (1872-77).