what is the modern equivalent of { abbess} ?

old time {A female superior or governess of a nunnery, or convent of nuns, having the same authority over the nuns which the abbots have over the monks }

Question

what is the modern equivalent of { abbess} ?

 old time {A female superior or governess of a nunnery, or convent of nuns, having the same authority over the nuns which the abbots have over the monks }

Answer

The meaning of abbess:

Mother Superior, the superior of a group of  Catholic nuns

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Hi I am a Catholic. An abbess is called a Mother Superior nowadays.

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The word abbot is still used, but most of the time (I believe) you would hear "mother superior".   Somebody can correct me, but I think that an abbess is the mother superior to an abbey.  I could be wrong here, as I am not Catholic.

Answer

Hi...

The female superior in spirituals and temporals of a community of twelve or more nuns. With a few necessary exceptions, the position of an Abbess in her convent corresponds generally with that of an Abbot in his monastery. The title was originally the distinctive appellation of Benedictine superiors, but in the course of time it came to be applied also to the conventual superior in other orders, especially to these of theSecond Order of St. Francis (Poor Clares) and to these of certain colleges of canonesses. 
The modern equivalent is "the superior of a covent"