University of Notre Dame
Religious Orders
Exploring Notre Dame’s Religious Communities
One cannot overstate the contribution members from various religious communities around the
world make to our University each year. It is through their leadership and guidance that Notre
Dame achieves what is sets out to do each year – creates and cultivates an authentic human
community graced by the Spirit of Christ. Over 100 members live and work on campus and
abroad supporting the rich tradition of Notre Dame as professors, campus ministers, hall rectors,
administrators, and so on. The fire behind their way of life is fueled by the governing
constitutions of their respective orders. As Hesburgh‟s famous novel proclaims, “God, Country,
Notre Dame,” – this is a core belief of his order and accordingly the heart and soul of his work.
To respectfully pay homage to these members, each of us should have at least a minimal
appreciation for the overriding principles shaping each member‟s order. From an administrative
standpoint, this understanding is essential.
General Terminology and Concepts
The following are a few nuggets of information for guidance. Conservative liberties have been
taken in some areas for instructional purpose only. The vast cultural and historical base of
the religious world makes it difficult to isolate terms with specific meanings.
There are two main distinctions between “Diocesan Priests” and “Religious Priests”.
1. Diocesan priests take the vow of chastity and obedience, while religious priest take an
additional vow of poverty. (Note: The vow of poverty takes on many forms, both as a
solemn and simple vow.) Either priest can bind himself to a modest and frugal life,
however, the formality of the oath is more prevalent amongst the religious priests.
2. Diocesan priests serve their respective bishops, while religious priests are obedient
towards the head of their communities. Both are considered ordained ministers
inspired by the Holy Spirit to act in the person of Christ.
„Congregation” refers to the community on whole, while “Order” refers to a specific
group within a community (i.e., Congregation of Holy Cross = Community; Priests of
Holy Cross = Order).
A woman religious is consecrated to God through a public, who is usually called a sister.
She is a lay woman consecrated to God in faith through her vows.
Given the Catholic character of Notre Dame, most religious members belong to a Roman
Catholic order, however, this does not hold true for everyone. Out of respect for the
other Christian faiths represented in the University, it is important to avoid assumption
that all religious employees are Catholic.
Congregation of Holy Cross
The University‟s religious population is mainly made up of, and initially founded upon, the
Catholic beliefs of the Congregation of the Holy Cross (CSC). Founded by Venerable Basil
Anthony Moreau and furthered by the vision of Rev. Edward Sorin, the CSC rejoices in its call
to “educate in the faith”. Its presence both on and off-campus is immeasurable and its
contributions over time unmatched. Currently, one third of our Officer base are members of the
CSC community.
The CSC is broken down into three distinct orders: Priests of the Holy Cross, Brothers of the
Holy Cross, and Sisters of the Holy Cross. The latter is considered separate for reporting
purposes, but shares the same apostolic commitments. Administratively, the order is distributed
across 22 Provinces and 9 Districts covering 15 countries on 5 continents. The CSC community
is governed by 8 constitutions which explore in detail its mission and principles. For further
details on the CSC, see www.vocation.nd.edu.
Controller’s Group Administrative Duties
Members belonging to a religious order take a vow of poverty. This vow requires members to
permanently turn over to their order “the fruit of their work or personal industry”, including
stipends of Masses, profits of any publication or invention, savings from funds distributed for
personal expenses, or other payment of services acquired while acting as an agent of the order.
Members give up their right to acquire, possess, use, or dispose of property except in accordance
with the will of their superior.
This set-up creates a unique tax situation requiring special treatment from payment services. For
federal income tax purposes, members are not required to include in gross income remuneration
for services performed on behalf of their order, assuming the entire amount is remitted to the
order (Section 3401(a)(9)). In addition, this income is exempt from social security tax (Section
3121(b)(8)(A)). By turning this income over to the order, ownership is effectively transferred to
the organization. Whether this income is taxable to the order depends upon the restrictions
imposed by section 511 of the IRS Code.
Payroll
From a payroll standpoint, the tax-exempt status of the religious members requires a few
extra steps to be taken to ensure the payments are made in line with IRS regulations. First,
religious members should be identified in the human resource and payroll systems as such so
payments generated are remitted to the order, not the individual.
As of July 1, 2000, religious members were not allowed to participate in the University‟s
TIAA-CREF plan as dictated by General Counsel. As a substitute for this loss of benefit, the
University will pay an additional 10% increase to each religious member‟s salary.
Accounts Payable
Reimbursements and other miscellaneous payments to religiously affiliated members are
handled much in the same way as ordinary payments. On exception is that all CSC
reimbursements are copied for Allen Utterback to ensure payments to individuals are
appropriately remitted to the order.
Unrestricted Fund
The Unrestricted Fund currently handles the CSC settlement each year. This settlement is
basically the net result of all the income and expenses generated by Corby Hall, the Grotto,
and the CSC employees over the course of the year, including payment for their salaries and
benefits. The salaries and benefits of the various members are maintained in a suspension
account over the course of the year. Budgets are charged monthly for their applicable payroll
expense.