Prioress
A woman who is head of a religious house known as a priory, or the second person in authority of an abbey. An abbess is a woman who is the head of an abbey. In an abbey, the prioress may be selected by the abbess, elected by the community, or named by the general chapter of the religious order.
Glossary definitions provided courtesy of Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, NY,(All Rights reserved) from “An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians,” Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, editors.