United States Conference of Secular institutes

Laywomen

Apostolic Oblates

Website

 

Founded: Rome, Italy, 1947; established in the U.S., 1962; approved as a secular institute of pontifical right Dec. 8, 1994.

 

Purpose: To promote the universal call to holiness through the specific apostolate of the Pro Sanctity Movement.

 

Contact:
Agnes Rus
45-30 195th St
Flushing NY 11358
agnesrus@aol.com

Caritas Christi

 

Website

 

Founded: Marseilles, France, 1937. Approved as a secular institute of pontifical right Mar. 19, 1955.

 

Purpose: To form and give to the Church, contemplative and apostolic laywomen, consecrated to God in the Church and for the Church, to make God known and loved in all settings of life.

 

Contact:
Therese Druart
5410 Connecticut Ave. NW Apt. 506
Washington, DC 20015
202-363-2839

 

Company of St. Ursula

 

Website

 

Founded: Brescia, Italy, 1535, by Angela Merici; an international federation linking most Companies was approved as a secular institute, 1958; began in the U.S. in 2000.

 

Purpose: By life-long promises, members commit to share God’s love for the world, making Christ better known, and infusing the spirit of the Gospel into our surroundings.

 

Contact:
Mary-Cabrini Durkin
3021 Fairfield Apt B7
Cincinnati OH 45206-1452
csu@fuse.net

 

Crusaders of Mary

 

Website

 

Founded: Spain, Dec. 8 1956. Approved as a Secular Institute of Pontifical Right on May 13, 2000.

 

Purpose: Our mission is oriented to evangelize, through an incisive presence in all the secular realities. Looking at Christ, we seek holiness in our professional work, with special attention to the youth, young people and families.

 

Contact:
3706 15th Street, NE
Washington DC, 20017,
1 (267) 230 29 25 
washington@cruzadasdesantamaria.org

Desales Secular Institute

 

Website

 

Founded: Vienna, Austria, 1947; approved as a secular institute of diocesan right, 1964

 

Purpose: The personal sanctification of its members living in the world according to the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales and the application of this spirituality in institute, missionary, parish, and community apostolates depending on our different life situations.

 

Contact:
Kathy Tierney
2021 Woodcrest Rd
Indianapolis IN 46227
317-385-5971
desalessecular@gmail.com

 

Don Bosco Volunteers

 

Website

 

Founded: 1917 by Bl. Philip Rinaldi; approved as a secular institute of pontifical right, Aug. 5, 1978.

 

Purpose: Following the charism of St. John Bosco, in an effort to renew society from within, members bring their talents to a variety of apostolates, particularly on behalf of the youth.

 

Reserves: We don’t reveal to other persons that we are consecrated. This enables us to operate better and more effectively, particularly in those realities at the border, where our declared belonging to an institute could be met with considerable prejudice. By not explicitly revealing our consecration, we have the possibility to call attention to the signs of God’s presence, rather than ourselves.

 

Contact:
DON BOSCO VOLUNTEERS
P.O. BOX 334H
SCARSDALE, NY 10583
Email: seculardbv@aol.com
(914) 837-5009

 

Family of Mary of The Visitation

 

Website

 

Founded: Vietnam, 1976, USA, 2004. Secular Institute of diocesan right.

 

Purpose: As faith-filled vowed women, we help people to strengthen their faith and meet social needs, with a preferential option for the poor. We live our consecration in social and professional settings, by taking advantage of good educational opportunities (i.e. science, company, schools and hospitals) to sanctify the world.

 

Contact:
Mary Lien Do
P.O. BOX 1138
GARDEN GROVE, CA 92842
714-932-4190
fmvisitation@gmail.com

 

Father Kolbe Missionaries of The Immaculata

 

Website

 

Founded: Bologna, Italy, in 1954, by Fr. Luigi Faccenda, OFM Conv; approved as a secular institute of pontifical right, Mar. 25, 1992.

 

Purpose: Live the fullness of baptismal consecration, strive for perfect charity and promote the knowledge and veneration of Mary.

 

Contact:
Rumela Camanga
531 E Merced Ave
West Covina CA 91790
fkmissionaries@gmail.com

Institute of The Heart of Jesus

 

Website

 

Founded: France, 1791. Approved as secular institute of pontifical right on April 4, 1999

 

Purpose: Single women or widows consecrate themselves to God through the evangelical vows, prolonged prayer, mutual support in regular gatherings for discernment and accountability. Formation is fundamentally Ignatian but members may embrace spiritualities of other Catholic tradition.

 

Contact:
Beth Schwartze
1314 Lowe St, Columbia, MO 65203
(573) 819-1512
bschwartze@gmail.com

 

Jesus Caritas Fraternity

 

Website

 

Founded: France, 1952. Approved as a Secular Institute of pontifical right December 8 1999. Currently present in 5 continents.

 

Purpose: Because of Jesus and the Gospel we want to express the tenderness of God in the daily life of our lives through the spirit of “Nazareth” which was the originality of Charles de Foucauld’s vocation: to recognize our ordinary existence as the place where we live our consecration. All our life, however silent, the life of Nazareth, the life of the desert, as well as public life should be preaching the gospel by example.

 

Contact:

Anna Le

16791 E Main St.

Tustin, CA 92780

phucanna2011@gmail.com

Madonna della Strada/Our Lady of The Way

 

Website

 

Founded: Vienna, Austria, 1936. Approved as a secular institute of pontifical right, 1953.

 

Purpose: Members pursue individual apostolates, seeking to manifest Christ in life and work with Mary and St. Ignatius in the spirit of thanksgiving with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

 

Contact:
Judy Salcedo
51 Chestnut St
Rochelle Park NJ 07662
201-282-7292
judaysalcedo@yahoo.com
www.saecimds.com

 

Missionaries of The Kingship of Christ

 

Website

 

Founded: Assisi, Italy, 1919, by Armida Barelli and Agostino Gemelli OFM as a Franciscan secular institute for women; approved as a secular institute of pontifical right, 1948.

 

Purpose: To give witness to Gospel values in work, family, civic, social, and spiritual environments in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi.

 

Contact:
Message us on our website

 

Oblate Missionaries of Mary Immaculate

 

Website

 

Founded: Canada, July 2, 1952; approved as a secular institute of pontifical right on March 24, 1984

 

Purpose: Charism: A constant availability to the Will of the Father to live the charity of Christ everywhere through service, with the help of Mary.
Mission: Like Christ, to manifest the unconditional love of God the Father to everyone by revealing the signs of his presence at the heart of daily life.
Identity: Women who remain in their milieu while continuing to exercise their trade, their profession; who are consecrated laypersons, in the service of the mission, here or elsewhere; of various cultures.

 

Contact:
Pauline Labbe
56 Brookfield St
Lawrence, MA 01843
(978) 687-9399
pjlabbe1@juno.com

Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary

 

Website

 

Founded: Germany, Oct. 1, 1926, by Fr. Joseph Kentenich; approved as a secular institute of pontifical right, May 20, 1948.

 

Purpose: For the moral and religious renewal of society, to be Mary for our world today. Members practice a Marian spirituality as a means of growing in love for God and consecrating the world to him.

 

Contact:
Emily Kenkel
W284N404 Cherry Ln
Waukesha, WI 53188
(262) 522-4200
vocation@schsrsmary.org

 

Priests

Institute of The Heart of Jesus

 

Website

 

Founded: Paris, France, 1791; approved as a secular institute of pontifical right, Feb 2, 1952.

 

Purpose: For diocesan priests who wish to pursue holiness through the evangelical vows, prolonged prayer, and fraternal support. Formation is fundamentally Ignatian but priests may embrace spiritualities of other Catholic traditions.

 

Contact:
Fr. Enrique Sera
1964 Orange Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
(949) 574-7400
ejsera@gmail.com

Opus Spiritus Sancti

 

Website

 

Founded: Germany in 1950; approved as a secular institute of diocesan right, April 1970.

 

Purpose: To live our charism in fraternal community, stamped by the character of the Easter-Pentecost event. Priests work and pray for a new Pentecost through lives shared with one another, by our hope-filled vision, reconciling love, and missionary zeal.

 

Contact:
Msgr. Ed Girres
P.O. Box 245
West Bend, IA 50597
girres14@gmail.com

Schoenstatt Fathers

 

Website

 

Founded: 1965, but with roots back to Oct. 18, 1914, founding day of the Schoenstatt Movement by Fr. Joseph Kentenich; approved as a secular institute of pontifical right, June 24, 1988.

 

Purpose: To serve the needs of the Schoenstatt Family in all their different communities, promoting and cultivating Schoenstatt’s original spirituality with priestly inspiration and guidance.

 

Contact:
Fr Christian Christensen
225 Addie Roy Rd
Austin, TX 78746
frchristian@schoenstatt.us

Voluntas Dei

 

Website

 

For: Priests & Laymen

 

Founded: Trois-Rivieres, Canada, on July 2, 1958, by Fr. Louis-Marie Parent, OMI; approved as a secular institute of pontifical right, 1987.

 

Purpose: Members share in the Church’s mission that has been sent by Christ to make known and to communicate to all peoples God’s unconditional love.

 

Contact:
Thomas A. Crangle
201-988-2541
TomCrangle.IVDEI@GMail.com
voluntasdeiusa.org

Aspiring Institutes

Blessed Trinity Missionary Institute

 

For: Women

 

Founded: Philadelphia, 1950, by Dr. Margaret Healy according to the inspiration of Fr. Thomas Augustine Judge, CM; approved as a pious union in 1964 for women. 

 

Purpose: We preserve the faith among people who are spiritually neglected and work to develop a missionary spirit in the laity

 

Contact:
Rosa Tirado
Phone: 718-440-7641

Email: roniltirado@earthlink.net

 

Franciscan Missionaries of Jesus Crucified



Website

 

For: Men & Women

 

Founded: 1987, in New York by Louise Principe; approved as an association of the faithful, 1992.

 

Purpose: To provide an opportunity for persons with disabilities, to live a life of total consecration in the pursuit of holiness, and the apostolate of service to the Church and to those who suffer in any way.

 

Contact:
Alice Ann Cortez
536 N Crooked Ln,
Benson AZ 85602
520-586-9140

Volunteers With Don Bosco

 

Website

 

For: Men 

 

Founded: 1994, in Rome by Fr. Egidio Viganò, Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco; approved in 1998 as an association of the faithful aspiring to become a secular institute

 

Purpose:Drawing inspiration from the charism of St. John Bosco, members strive to imitate his pastoral style and follow Christ radically through consecration in secular life. Their aim is to build a better society following the Gospel and living the Salesian spirit.

 

Contact:
Fr John Puntino, SDB
7A Kingsview Blvd
Etobicoke M9R 1T5
Ontario, Canada
cdb.vocations@gmail.com