In Vita Consecrata, the 1996 Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Saint John Paul II wrote of the different forms of consecrated life as "the many branches which sink its roots into the Gospel and brings forth abundant fruit in every season of the Church's life." These diverse forms include Monastic Life, the Orders of Virgins, Hermits, and Institutes completely devoted to contemplation, Apostolic Religious Life, Secular Institutes, Societies of Apostolic Life, and new or renewed forms of the consecrated life (cf. Vita Consecrata, 6-12).  Each form is described in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. 

For more on the Consecrated Life, please click here.