The The Institute on Religious Life (IRL) promotes and supports the growth, development, and renewal of the consecrated life—particularly vowed religious life—as a gift to the Church and an evangelical witness to the world. We include and engage bishops, clergy, religious, consecrated and lay faithful in a collaborative apostolate of prayer and service, guided by the magisterial teachings and rich heritage of the Church.

Rev. John A. Hardon, S.J., established the IRL in 1974, and inspired its work, in response to the Holy See's plea to help save religious life in the United States. He was aided by outstanding co-founders and by early collaborators, including Blessed Mother Teresa, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, and many others. While others were resigned to a generation of turmoil in religious life, the IRL's founders persevered in hope. They weren't content to sit back and watch the dire predictions come true. They rolled up their sleeves and began to build and prepare for a much brighter future. Today, the IRL has expanded to meet the needs of established orders and a growing number of emerging religious communities and other institutes of consecrated life. The supernatural hope of the IRL's founders--which, to many, seemed foolhardy at the start--is beginning to come to fulfillment. (from the Web site)

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