Religious communities have existed for centuries in Italy, home to monks and nuns living in abbeys (a type of monastery) of various orders. These abbeys were used for religious activities and to provide work opportunities for both the religious order and oblates.

Oblates are individuals, either laypersons or clergy, who, while not specifically members of a religious order, had individually affiliated themselves with a monastic community of their choice. The term oblate – from the Latin oblatus – refers to someone who has been offered.