Spring & summer events
Spring & summer events
The NRVC will offer five workshops in Chicago July 9-24. All workshops begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m. The following courses will be offered, all of them on the campus of the Catholic Theological Union in the dynamic lakeside neighborhood of Hyde Park. Registration for Summer Institute will open in February.
Orientation Program for New Vocation Directors
July 9-13
Ethical Issues in Vocation and Formation Ministry
July 15-16
Behavioral Assessment 1
July 18-20
Due Diligence in Vocation Ministry
(for those involved in vocation ministry for four years or more)
July 18-20
Communication Skills to Promote Vocations
July 22-24
Our annual Summer Institute will offer five workshops at Catholic Theological Union (CTU) in Chicago, July 9-24, 2019. Choose to attend one or several workshops. Located in the popular Hyde Park neighborhood at 5401 S. Cornell Avenue, CTU is easily accessible from both Midway (MDW) and O’Hare (ORD) airports by shuttle, taxi, and Uber/Lyft. CTU is located on the South Side of Chicago, on the shore of Lake Michigan and the home of NRVC. Parking and lunch are included in your workshop registration for both residents and commuters.
This year we are offering two workshops simultaneously July 18-20 to provide a membership density experience. You will have the opportunity to network with more people at breaks and lunch to magnify your experience for a greater impact in your ministry.
For the convenience of participants, affordable housing is contracted through CTU. Enjoy the convenience of having a private air-conditioned bedroom and bathroom, along with linen service, wi-fi and continental breakfast. It is within walking distance of several restaurants for supper (they also deliver), Lake Michigan, Walgreens, Office Depot, the Post Office, and the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. The CTA bus comes frequently to go to the Chicago Loop just seven miles away. Limited rooms are available; make your overnight accommodations when you register for your workshop. Please do not call CTU for reservations as we are in a contract for blocked rooms.
If you need overnight accommodations at CTU, register as a resident (if you will drive to/from the workshops each day, register as a commuter). Reservations are contracted for arrivals after 3:00 p.m. the day before the workshop begins and check-out is at 9:00 a.m. the day after the workshop ends. This means you are responsible for the full payment of the room reservation, regardless of your arrival and departure date. Unfortunately, room reservations cannot be made for earlier arrivals or later departures. Please call us if you are traveling from overseas to check availability to accommodate your special needs. You can store your luggage at the NRVC offices until you are ready to leave on the day of your departure. If you are staying for the next workshop, you will not need to check out.
Please note that these accommodations are designed very simply for university students and short stays at an affordable rate of $115 per night, per person. If you need more amenities, make your reservation at local hotels located just a half mile away: LaQuinta Inn, Sophy Hyde Park Hotel, and Hyatt Place Chicago-South. Therefore, if you are staying elsewhere and do not need overnight accommodations at CTU, register as a commuter.
As per our custom, Mass is celebrated daily during all workshops. We rely on our ordained participants to preside and welcome all others to assist in liturgical leadership. All workshops begin with communal prayer and there is a Chapel located on campus for personal prayer. The local parish is within walking distance.
Registrations for workshops received after June 23 will incur a $100 late fee per workshop.
Cancellations for workshops and/or accommodations must be received in writing before June 23 to receive a full refund, less a $100 processing fee per workshop. After the deadline, all fees are non-refundable for the cancellation of workshops and/or accommodations.
I really liked the location in Chicago because there are so many places to go for food and entertainment. I liked the hands-on approach in all the workshops. I will be using ideas from the presentations in my daily work.
--Sister Carolyn Brink, RSM
Summer Institute provides a variety of religious communities/orders the opportunity for sharing of experiences and rich insights from the presenters.
Brother Stephen Kpunsa, F.M.S. from Poughkeepsie, NY
This year, NRVC is offering nine workshops intended for vocation ministers, formation teams, communicators, religious leadership, and others entrusted with the assessment of discerners and candidates. Workshops are designed from the NRVC three-component curriculum for those who wish to deepen their understanding of the complex theological, spiritual, psycho-sexual, ethical, and diversity issues often present in contemporary vocation ministry.
These workshops are in line with the mission of the National Religious Vocation Conference (NRVC) to provide membership with educational opportunities, resources, and other supportive services that strengthen and enhance the practiced ministerial skills of those serving in vocation ministry. NRVC strongly suggests that vocation ministers participate in continuing educational opportunities not only to attend to their own vocation and faith formation and to further develop their professional competencies, but to keep up-to-date on trends, issues, skills, and best practices in the field of vocation ministry.
Orientation Program for New Vocation Directors, July 9-13
Ethical Issues for Vocation and Formation Directors, July 15-16
Behavioral Assessment 1, July 18-20
Due Diligence in Vocation Ministry, July 18-20
Communication Skills to Promote Vocations, July 22-24
Behavioral Assessment 2, October 8-9
Behavioral Assessment 1, October 11-13
Orientation Program for New Vocation Directors, October 15-19
The Art of Accompaniment and Discernment, October 21-23
Workshops are open to NRVC members at a discounted rate and for non-members at an affordable price. All NRVC workshops (which includes lunch) are consistently priced at $175 per day per NRVC member, regardless of the topic or speaker. Non-members pay $260 (an additional 50%) per person per day for each workshop. If you would like to become a member to receive the discounted rate, click here. Overnight accommodations are $115 per night for anyone in need of housing regardless of membership status. Registration begins in early February.
Registrations for workshops received after the following dates will incur a $100 late fee per workshop:
Summer Institute: The late fee begins on June 23
Fall Institute: The late fee begins on September 22
Cancellations for workshops and/or accommodations must be received in writing before the dates listed below receive a full refund, less a $100 processing fee per workshop. After the deadline, all fees are non-refundable for the cancellation of workshops and/or accommodations.
Summer Institute: The cancellation deadline is June 23.
Fall Institute: The cancellation deadline is September 22.
To assist NRVC members with their professional development, the Misericordia Scholarship Fund is available. Scholarship funds can be applied to NRVC workshops, however they do not cover the cost of transportation, accommodations, meals, or personal expenses. If you need financial assistance to attend an NRVC workshop, please email Sr. Debbie at debbiesscm@nrvc.net for an application.
The programme was very well organized. I appreciated the schedule and the interaction from the presenters and participants. Everything was close in proximity, access to food, Mass, internet, etc.
—Sister Winfridah Chileshe, R.S.C. from Dublin, Ireland
I appreciated Sr. Debbie’s knowledge, helpfulness, insights and generosity. I feel the members of our vocation and leadership team ought to attend these workshops.
--Sister Cheryl Wint, O.S.F. from Honolulu, Hawaii
On this 62nd anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, also liturgically known as Good Shepherd Sunday, we are invited to pray for and promote all vocations. Initiated by Saint Paul VI during the Second Vatican Council in 1964, the purpose of this day is to help all of us respond to God's call and to support in prayer all those who are discerning how to best respond to the needs of today in the vocation God calls them to be.
Participating in parish life is a way individuals can discern their vocation and receive prayerful support from parishioners. Matter of fact, people in parishes are more likely to encourage someone to discern their vocation than their own family members! Consider connecting with parishes and asking for opportunities to share information and resources about religious vocations. Examples include:
Many parishes and religious institutes commemorate this day by praying for vocations and supporting vocation promotion events. Considering that 73 percent of women and men professing final vows participated in one or more parish activities and 88 percent served in one or more parish ministries before entering religious life, our presence and participation in activities that mark this special day are essential.
Of particular note, respondents to the 2020 NRVC/CARA Study of Recent Vocations to Religious Life reported that the day-to-day rhythm of communal prayer is paramount in community life. Below are the types of prayer preferred by newer entrants:
Prayer is essential in all of our lives, join a global effort in praying for vocations on May 11, 2025!
"I think it was the 80-year-old Brothers, the wisdom figures of the community that were always the first in the Chapel and the last at the dining room table. I would always try to get there before them and never could. They were always there and you could count on them."
"I've noticed in the last ten years that young people seem to have a deeper interest in spirituality and what is their purpose in life. I don't know what brings that change about, I don't know whether it is the Holy Spirit at work, which I'm assuming that it would be, but there does seem to be a different attitude."
"I find most rewarding is our truly deep desire to seek God together and what God is calling us to in this time and place. I also deeply appreciate our prayer that sustains us."
"The most rewarding aspect of religious life is our community living. In community, we pray, live, recreate, and minister together. Our cohesiveness and sense of identity as religious serving others as ministers of the Gospel is wonderful!"
Cultivate within our hearts, minds, and spirits--our very selves--the disposition to fully live out our vocations, which have been planted in our hearts through our baptism,
And grant us the grace to say yes to our call daily, irrespective of how we may feel from moment to moment.
Let us know that we can come to You as we are, wherever we are, and as we accompany those discerning Your call. Help us to hear and
Listen to Your voice amid the various voices vying for our attention so that we may take the right actions that lead to abundant life.
Ignite in us a hope-filled passion for service, using our gifts to bring your Reign to fruition today and always.
Never let us forget that all we have are indeed gifts from You and that we are called to
Give all we are and have in love and service to You in our sisters and brothers. Amen.
Please note: NRVC members can download these resources in the Member Toolbox as a benefit or purchase them through these links.
I Hope You Find prayer card in Spanish
Hearing God's Call: Thirty days of vocation discernment booklet
Listening to the Call prayer cards
Responsibilities of Members for Vocation Ministry Handout
VISION Vocation Network articles on prayer
Resources offered by the USCCB
Resources offered by Serra International
Rosary for Vocations with the Luminous Mysteries
In this sense, the World Day of Prayer for Vocations has a synodal character: amid the variety of our charisms, we are called to listen to one another and to journey together in order to acknowledge them and to discern where the Spirit is leading us for the benefit of all.
At this point in time, then, our common journey is bringing us to the Jubilee Year of 2025. Let us travel as pilgrims of hope towards the Holy Year, for by discovering our own vocation and its place amid the different gifts bestowed by the Spirit, we can become for our world messengers and witnesses of Jesus’ dream of a single human family, united in God’s love and in the bond of charity, cooperation and fraternity.
This is, in the end, the goal of every vocation: to become men and women of hope. As individuals and as communities, amid the variety of charisms and ministries, all of us are called to embody and communicate the Gospel message of hope in a world marked by epochal challenges.
-Pope Francis, World Day of Prayer for Vocations, 2024
2024 World Day of Prayer for Vocations Papal message
2023 World Day of Prayer for Vocations Papal message
2022 World Day of Prayer for Vocations Papal message
2021 World Day of Prayer for Vocations Papal message
2020 World Day of Prayer for Vocations Papal message
2019 World Day of Prayer for Vocations Papal message
2018 World Day of Prayer for Vocations Papal message
2017 World Day of Prayer for Vocations Papal message.
2016 World Day of Prayer for Vocations Papal message.
2015 World Day of Prayer for Vocations Papal message.
2014 World Day of Prayer for Vocations Papal message.
2013 World Day of Prayer for Vocations Papal message.
2012 World Day of Prayer for Vocations Papal message.
2011 World Day of Prayer for Vocations Papal message.
2010 World Day of Prayer for Vocations Papal message.
2009 World Day of Prayer for Vocations Papal message.
2008 World Day of Prayer for Vocations Papal message.
Religious Brothers Day is held annually on May 1, the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker. All religious brothers are recognized during this international event. Prayer services and reflections for celebrating this day are available at ReligiousBrothers.org
Mark your calendars for a virtual celebration on May 1, 1 pm and 7 pm CDT, hosted by the Brothers Think Tank composed of NRVC, RBC, CMSM, and RFC members. All are welcome to both events!
Some other ways to celebrate Religious Brothers Day are:
"The laughter, the prayer, age was never an issue for me. The one thing that was consistent was the relationships and the mentorships. And that real sense of just being Brother. Centered in Christ, first and foremost, and then with the community life, being able to take it to the apostolate and to give witness, as a community, was probably the best thing" (about being a Brother).
"To see these men, priests and brothers, working together on a project that seemed worth doing. They were very, very much individuals, unique, bringing very different things to the work, bringing different gifts to a work that seemed desperately in need of being well done."
"I did not know religious life where I was growing up because there was no religious around the area. It wasn't until later in life that I found out that there was religious, and there were also religious Brothers. That's really what attracted me to the community was more of the sense of family, the sense of prayer, and a sense of equality."
The NRVC has published a series of Abundant Hope videos which includes Brothers. The following videos are publicly available to share for Religious Brothers Day and at other events to promote the vocation of Brother:
Brothers of the Christian Schools
Brothers of the Christian Schools, Eastern North America
Brothers of the Sacred Heart, Province of the United States
Christian Brothers Conference, Regional Office
Congregation of Christian Brothers (Edmund Rice Christian Brothers)
De La Salle Christian Brothers, Midwest
De La Salle Christian Brothers, San Francisco, New Orleans
Hospitaller Brothers of St. John of God
Augustinian Friars, Western Province
Augustinians of the Assumption
Benedictine Monks, Assumption Abbey
Benedictine Monks, Christ the King Priory
Benedictine Monks, Glastonbury Abbey
Benedictine Monks, Mount Michael Abbey
Benedictine Monks, Newark Abbey
Benedictine Monks, Portsmouth Abbey
Benedictine Monks, Saint Procopius Abbey
Benedictine Monks, Saint John Abbey
Benedictine Monks, Saint Meinrad Archabbey
Canons Regular of the Holy Cross
Capuchin Franciscans, Custody of Puerto Rico
Capuchin Franciscans, Province of St. Joseph
Carmelite Fathers and Brothers, Province of St. Elias
Carmelite Friars, Most Pure Heart of Mary Province
Congregation of the Holy Spirit
Congregation of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood
Congregation of the Resurrection, CA
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Discalced Carmelite Friars, Oklahoma Province of St. Therese
Dominican Friars, Saint Martin de Porres
Franciscan Friars of the Atonement
Franciscan Friars, Conventual, Our Lady of Consolation
Franciscan OFM Friars - U.S. 6
Jesuit Fathers and Brothers, Central and Southern Province
Jesuit Fathers and Brothers, East Province
Jesuit Fathers and Brothers, Midwest Province
Jesuit Fathers and Brothers, Western Province
Josephite Fathers and Brothers
Marianists, Province of Meribah
Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers
Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette
Missionaries of the Precious Blood
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Canada
Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity
Missionhurst Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Nortbertines of St. Norbert Abbey
Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, Wilmington-Philadelphia
Order of Friar Servants of Mary
Order of the Most Holy Trinity
Pallotines, Immaculate Conception Province
Pallotines, Mother of God Province
Passionists, Holy Cross Province
Passionists, Paul of the Cross Province
Priests of the Sacred Heart, Dehonians
Redemptorists, Edmonton-Toronto Province
Salesians of Don Bosco, Eastern Province
Salesians of Don Bosco, Western Province
Society of Jesus, East Province
Trappist Cistercian Monks, New Clairvaux
Catholic Sisters Week (CSW) invites all to celebrate women religious from March 8-14. CSW is an annual celebration that began in 2014 to honor women religious with a series of events that instruct, enlighten, and bring greater focus on the lives of these incredible women. It’s a chance to recognize all that sisters are, knowing that as more young women meet women religious, more will follow their example.
Visit the CSW website to learn about this event, find something happening online or near you, and join in honoring women religious. Plan an event of your own and spread the word. You can post your event for others to see here.
Additional resources are at Global Sisters Report Resources, Communicators for Women Religious, and A Nun's Life Ministry
NRVC has published 77 videos centered on the theme of Abundant Hope. All the videos can be accessed directly through the National Religious Vocation Conference YouTube Channel and shared publicly to amplify religious life. Ideas: share one video a day on your social media platforms throughout Catholic Sisters Week; show one a day in classrooms, on campuses, at board meetings, and parish events. The NRVC partnered with Franciscan Media, SOAR! and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to produce the videos.
Updated on: 2022-01-26
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