(Greek: laikos, of or from the people)
Found in most of the orders of women. They seem to have been instituted earlier than the lay brothers, according to a life of Saint Denis written in the 9th century in which they are first mentioned. They originated through the same necessity as that of the brothers. In some orders they recite daily the Little Office of Our Lady, but usually their office consists of a certain number of Paters, Aves, and Glorias. Frequently they are skilled in artistic handicrafts, and some make efficient administrators of temporal possessions. Sister Marie Lataste of the Society of the Sacred Heart is an illustrious example of the piety generally characterizing this class of religious.