Religious Life: A Mystery in Christ and the Church is a compilation of Catholic Church documents relating to religious life, based primarily on the Second Vatican Council and subsequent papal and ecclesiastical documents. Edited by Sister M. Rose Eileen Masterman C.S.C., the book serves as a study and collection of official documents that expound and redefine religious life (consecrated life) in light of the theology and pastoral guidance of the Second Vatican Council. Its purpose is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the nature and purpose of religious life as a mystery in Christ and the Church and an essential theological and canon law reference source for men and women religious, and anyone interested in the foundations of Catholic religious life after Vatican II.