The Vita Consecrata Institute is a 4-week program of spiritual renewal and graduate-level studies in spirituality and the theology of the consecrated life, for religious, priests, and other consecrated persons.  You may attend the whole four-week program or either of the two-week sessions.  Students may take the courses for credit towards a master's degree or audit the courses for personal enrichment.  The VCI is especially recommended for religious preparing for vows or formation, or for leadership roles in their institutes.  The VCI is co-sponsored by the Institute on Religious Life and the Christendom Graduate School, and it is held at Christendom's beautiful Front Royal, Virginia campus on the banks of the Shenandoah River.

 Registration is now open.  To register online, please use the following link: 

REGISTER HERE

 Scholarships for the VCI are available. 

Please contact the IRL Office at (847) 573-8975 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

LAST YEAR'S 2025 SUMMER COURSES IN VIRGINIA WERE AN INSPIRING AND REFRESHING SPIRITUAL RENEWAL

FOR STUDENTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD!

The Vita Consecrata Institute (VCI), a program of graduate level studies, centers on the theology of the consecrated life, as reflected in the mission and life of the Church. Held at Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, the VCI is an intense, yet rewarding, academic program rooted in the documents of the Second Vatican Council, and the magisterial teaching and the rich historical tradition of the Roman Catholic Church.

The VCI consists of 2 two-week sessions and is ideal for priests, religious, and other consecrated persons wishing to pursue further academic studies, those interested in a sabbatical, religious in formation, and those preparing for perpetual vows. This program is designed to assist all participants grow in a deeper understanding and appreciation of the consecrated life as "a gift of the Father to His Church through the Holy Spirit" (VC, no.1).  

2025 Session I Attendees, Teachers, and Administrators

Session I: Sisters of the Immaculata from Australia!

Session II Attendees

Prayer in Christendom's beautiful new Christ the King Chapel

Session II Attendees on a field trip to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

in Washington, DC

You can listen to past VCI courses online ! 

Past audio recordings of the courses (2002-Present) are available for purchase as MP3 file downloads. The courses are typically 10 or 20 one-hour lectures, with each lecture being a separate MP3 download. Each course is priced at $30.00 or less.

Click here for a list of available courses (current through Summer 2025)

Click here to order online using the ReligiousLife.com shopping cart. A link will be automatically sent via email to your inbox via Dropbox.

Please call the IRL office at 847-573-8975 if you have any questions.

2025 Session II Attendees, Teachers, and Administrators

Please consider joining us for next summer's VCI!

Here is what two of the participants said about their experience:

I would recommend this program to all religious in all stages of formation, not only because of the exceptional instructors and subject matter, but moreover because of the spirit in which the program is run -- it is that Spirit of contemplation which draws us together as one community, not merely many different religious institutes, but one large institute of religious communities, as one community of God."

I have never had such a profound, educational, and enjoyable experience in a classroom.

From Fr. Thomas Nelson, O.Praem., the IRL National Director:

The Vita Consecrata Institute can benefit any priest, religious, or consecrated person. Not only does it provide opportunity for graduate credit, but its greatest benefit is the awakening of renewed fervor to the grace of one's vocation. It is a program to which even novice directors will want to bring their novices. The coming together of many religious of various congregations adds to the richness of the experience."