Difference Between Monastic And Cloistered Orders?

[Kayte Postle]

So this may seem a silly question to ask, but it has been plaguing me. What is the difference between monastic orders and cloistered orders? I know what a cloistered order entails, and I know that most monastic orders are cloistered. So I guess I'm foggy on what monastic orders entail.

[Fr. Antony Maria OSB]

From my knowledge, all cloistered orders are monastic, but not all monastic orders are cloistered. Yes, all monastic orders will have a cloister into which other people are not normally allowed, but often they will have an outside apostolate. For example, many Benedictine houses run a school of some sort. Benedictines are monastic, and they have a cloister, but they are not strictly cloistered in the sense that their sole apostolate is prayer and making jam/Eucharistic bread, etc.