Vision Statement

The National Religious Vocation Conference has a vision to set the world ablaze with the fire of God’s love through the prophetic, joyful witness of religious sisters, brothers, and priests as radical disciples of Jesus.

Mission Statement

The National Religious Vocation Conference is a catalyst for vocation discernment and the full flourishing of religious life as sisters, brothers, and priests for the ongoing transformation of the world.

Purpose

To accomplish its mission, the National Religious Vocation Conference, in collaboration with its members and strategic partners, provides professional development, advocacy, education, resources, and networking opportunities to support vocation ministry and religious life.

Values

In presenting religious life as a viable, prophetic option that remains mystery and gift, the NRVC seeks to:

1. Provide professional development, best practices, and shared wisdom to animate the elements of vocation ministry: encounter, invitation, and accompaniment;
2. Foster a culture of vocations in a spirit of collaboration, joy, and hope to inspire and be inspired by the minds and hearts of the young church;
3. Celebrate the charism of each Catholic religious institute as part of the mission of Jesus; and
4. Grow and nurture an intercultural approach to vocation ministry.

Strategic Goals 2019-2023

• Enhance collaborative efforts for engaging the culturally diverse young church in discerning and impacting the future of religious life.
• Provide leading-edge resources, formation, and research to advance the field of intercultural vocation ministry, assessment skills, and discernment to religious life.
• Increase the visibility and awareness of the NRVC to fulfill our mission. 
• Create the organizational structure and financial model needed to sustain and grow NRVC.

More about NRVC

The National Religious Vocation Conference is a professional organization of vocation ministers that promotes vocation awareness, invitation, and discernment to life as a religious sister, brother, or priest. NRVC reflects all forms of religious life and provides educational opportunities, resources, and other supportive services for spiritual, professional, and personal growth. NRVC has an annual membership of nearly 1,000 women and men representing over 300 religious institutes, organizations and dioceses, most of whom are vocation ministers for religious congregations. 

NRVC's Global Reach infographic

Contact Us

National Religious Vocation Conference (NRVC)
5416 South Cornell Avenue
Chicago, IL 60615-5664
Phone: 773.363.5454
Email: nrvc@nrvc.net
Click here to see a map showing where we are located.

We are pleased to announce the publication of the Religious Life Today Storymap based on the NRVC's 2020 Study on Recent Vocations. The Religious Life Today Storymap brings the research to life and we hope to inspire broad engagement around the results of this Study.

Please be assured of the viability of religious life today.

As you scroll through the features of the storymap, we hope you will experience renewed hope in the future of religious life.

We are: 

• the official religious vocation conference in the United States as recognized by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USSCB.)
   
• the professional organization for religious vocation directors whose primary goal is to help women and men discern a religious vocation, assess candidates interested in becoming Catholic sisters, brothers and priests, and welcome new members to religious life.
   
• 1000 members strong representing 300+ religious institutes and organizations in 23 countries.
   
• providing those in vocation ministry the tools they need to effectively promote vocations,  invite others to consider religious life, and assist in the discernment process.
   
• creating exceptional programming, training and resources for spiritual and personal growth which positively impact the future of religious life.
   
• educating connecting and inspiring all those interested in the future of religious life, including thousands of young Catholics exploring religious vocations each year.
   
• initiating and sponsoring groundbreaking research on religious life, including the 2020 and 2009 Recent Study on Vocations, the 2012 Study on Educational Debt and Religious Vocations, 2014 Study on Cultural Diversity, and the 2015 Study on the Role of Family. 
   
• publishing award-winning resources including VISION Vocation Guide, VocationNetwork.org, VocationMatch.com, and HORIZON Journal.
   
• in need of your help to successfully create a culture of encounter, engagement, and vocations to showcase the future vitality of religious life.

Donate today!

For more information contact
Phil Loftus, Director of Development
ploftus@nrvc.net

Conrad N. Hilton Foundation grant, 2023-2025

Grappling with interculturality continues to emerge as a need among our members.  Thanks to a generous three-year grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Catholic Sisters Initiative, the National Religious Vocation Conference (NRVC) is pleased to announce it will implement two key projects from the NRVC’s 2019-2023 strategic plan to advance our understanding of interculturality and anti-racism. 

The first objective is to support a series of intercultural workshops that elevate the culturally mindful skills of NRVC organizational leaders by embracing intercultural humility and anti-racism as a lifelong pursuit. Members of the National Board, Member Area Coordinators, staff, and key partners will work with consultants and subject matter experts over two years to learn (and unlearn) more about their understanding of interculturality, specifically 1) cultural values, 2) perceptions of power, 3) cultural wealth, and 4) communication dynamics. This project will use the NRVC Curriculum, 2014 NRVC/CARA Study of Incorporating Cultural Diversity into Religious Life Study, the NRVC Incorporating Cultural Diversity Committee, and the NRVC African American Vocation Committee, to provide insights to recommend consultants and workshop content.

The second objective is to share intercultural learning with the wider NRVC membership and stakeholders. By providing further education and additional resources on belonging, dignity, and justice, the 2020 NRVC Statement on condemning racism and commitment to intercultural competence will continue to move from a statement to action steps to address microaggressions and unconscious bias in conversations, meetings, decision making, and the selection of future organizational leaders. Because workshop attendance does not immediately change mindsets, this project will also utilize the Intercultural Development Inventory to evaluate progress in learning and adapting appropriate behaviors to move further on the continuum. 

Thanks to the generosity of this Conrad N. Hilton grant, the NRVC can embark on an ambitious project involving 40 organizational leaders working together. They will share their learnings on cultural differences and commonalities to add to the body of knowledge in religious life which cultivates intercultural humility and anti-racism as a lifelong pursuit. These NRVC leaders will publish articles in the HORIZON Journal, VISION Magazine, create event handouts and checklists for the NRVC Member Guidebook, and/or record short videos. This project will conclude in 2025 with six intercultural workshops in NRVC Member Areas.

For more information about the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Catholic Sisters Initiative grant, please email Sister Deborah Borneman, SS.C.M. at debbiesscm@nrvc.net.

Media Coverage

Hilton grant will assist vocation conference's intercultural efforts, Global Sisters Report, written by Chris Herlinger, January 23, 2023.

Conrad N. Hilton Foundation grant, 2020-2022

The National Religious Vocation Conference is grateful to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation for a $200,000 grant which created sustainable solutions to build the future of NRVC in its leadership, mission, and vision. The NRVC Board and staff integrated the team leadership model with standards of accountability in its Articles of Incorporation, Constitution, Bylaws, Operations Manual, Board Handbook, Member Area Coordinator Manual, and Member Guidebook. 

In addition, through grant funding, 136 Catholic sisters participated in the 2020 Convocation and virtual Summer Institutes in 2021 and 2022 to enrich ongoing formation and lifelong education. As a result, over 50 Abundant Hope videos were recorded by newer entrants on how they experience intercultural and intergenerational vowed life. Through the Conrad N. Hilton grant, the NRVC extended invitations to the following partner organizations: Association of Latin American Missionary Sisters, Giving Voice, National Black Sisters Conference, the National Conference of Vicars for Religious, NAVFD, and Vocations Ireland.

Conrad N. Hilton Foundation grant, 2014-2016

The National Religious Vocation Conference is grateful to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation for a $2 million dollar grant to continue to build the organization’s capacity and sustainability. This generous grant provided  NRVC with additional personnel, the ability to create an effective development program, resources for the Year of Consecrated Life, and other important vocation-promotion services from 2014-2016). Details are here.  

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The GHR Foundation awarded a $200,000 grant to the National Religious Vocation Conference (NRVC) to provide extensive data mining and visual display of the responses to its 2020 Study on Recent Vocations, to be released in Spring 2020, which the GHR Foundation also helped fund.

With the goal of helping vocation directors in their ministry and using the most current data-mining and story-mapping software, NRVC will gather information on the newest entrants to religious life to create a vivid portrait of the characteristics, influences, and touch points that help shape the individual vocation journeys of men and women who chose to become Catholic religious sisters, brothers, and priests.

NRVC Development Director Mr. Phil Loftus recognizes this major gift “not only as an investment in NRVC, but as a commitment to using the latest technology to capture and share a fuller picture of religious life today. We are very grateful to GHR Foundation for their continued support of our mission."

NRVC hopes that the data-mapping program to be developed will have a broader application among religious communities and dioceses in creating up-to-date information about contemporary men and women religious and the ministries where they serve and the people whose lives are enhanced by their work.

The National Religious Vocation Conference (NRVC) was founded in 1988 as a professional organization of men and women committed to vocation awareness, invitation, and discernment to consecrated life as brothers, sisters, and priests. The NRVC serves its 1,000 members by providing continuing education, resources, and services for professional growth. The National Religious Vocation Conference serves as a catalyst for vocation discernment and the full flourishing of religious life as sisters, brothers, and priests for the ongoing transformation of the world.

GHR Foundation applies entrepreneurial creativity and universal Catholic values in the areas of health, education, and global development. Started in 1965 by Opus founders Gerald A. and Henrietta Rauenhorst, the Foundation seeks transformational change, and partners with the world’s experts to achieve impact. This results in a powerful exchange of ideas, and a community of thought leaders providing locally-driven solutions. GHR is anchored with a belief in responsibility, action, and the knowledge that we are all deeply connected. Despite global challenges, GHR meets each task with entrepreneurial optimism because the Foundation has seen the impact of strategic, thoughtful change.