Sister Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus

Who are the Sister Adorers?

To support the work of the Institute, in 2001 Divine Providence brought about the formation of a community of contemplative sisters dedicated to adoration of the Royal Heart of Jesus Christ Sovereign Priest. Leading a non-cloistered contemplative life, the Sisters Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus offer their daily prayers and sacrifices particularly for the priests of the Institute and the souls entrusted to them.

Like the priests and oblates of the Institute, the sisters hold St. Francis de Sales, St. Benedict, St. Thomas Aquinas as the guiding lights of their spirituality, and they additionally hold St. Jane de Chantal, St. Magaret Mary, and St. Madeleine-Sophie Barat as particular patrons for the sisters. Through the Institute’s principal patroness, the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title of the Immaculate Conception, the sisters seek to conform their lives and their whole beings to the Royal Heart of Our Lady’s Divine Son—thus their motto, In Corde Regis — "in the Heart of the King".

Their days are centered around prayer: Holy Mass and the Divine Office in the traditional Latin form, one hour of mental prayer in the morning and adoration in the afternoon, the Rosary and other devotions. Punctuating this rich life of prayer are periods of manual labor and intellectual training, including instruction in Gregorian chant, Latin, spirituality, philosophy, theology, Church doctrine and history as well as learning arts such as embroidery, lace-making, and the care of liturgical vestments and altar linens.

Apostolate

Being a semi-contemplative, semi-active community, the professed Sisters give themselves to apostolic work such as teaching catechism and teaching in schools of the Institute, serving spiritual retreats preached by the canons of the Institute, and serving wherever the Canons need their assistance, according to God’s Providence. The goal is not only the material good; rather, the sisters seek to share their life of adoration with the world around them, so that Christ the King reigns in every heart and in every aspect of society.

The Adorers of the Royal Heart have the special vocation to pray for the sanctification of priests, especially those of the Institute of Christ the King, and to support them in their apostolates, through their work but most of all through their life consecrated and offered to God.

More information: Sister Adorers.

Vocations to the Priesthood

Formation

The obligatory formation for all our candidates to the holy priesthood is comprised of a one-year course of Spirituality, a two-year course of Philosophy, and a four-year course of Theology.

This academic program is taught by professors from Roman Universities, the Sorbonne, the IPC Philosophical Faculty in Paris, and our own priests who have academic degrees. Candidates to the priesthood must also know or learn over the course of his formation at least two languages other than his own. For those who speak English, these include French and, of course, Latin.

The intellectual formation of our seminarians is accompanied by a thoroughly human formation, which includes general culture, priestly manners, and an extensive amount of daily practical work in the house and around the outside grounds.

This combination is very efficient for the complete education of mind and body which we want to give our seminarians. A purely intellectual formation is never sufficient for a priest.

His personality would certainly remain insufficiently formed if it did not include a profound prayer life and the humility to accept practical duties and fulfill them well.

A Community Lifestyle

For young men, it is especially important to learn that everyone who lives in a family, whether it be a small or large community, has to take on responsibilities for others.

At the same time, he also must learn to integrate his life into the discipline which serves as the foundation of true charity toward others.

It is not always easy, and it requires sacrifice and mortification of the will. However, in the end, through free obedience and hard work, this discipline gives joy and satisfaction.

Prayer Life

Without any doubt, the most important element in seminary life is daily contact with Our Lord through Holy Mass, the Divine Office, the Rosary, and personal meditation.

The seminarians come to know not only the history and the rubrics of the Sacred Liturgy, but also its inner meaning and great power for their spiritual lives. Every single gesture of the Classical Liturgy has a profound signification. Every detail matters when it comes to our relationship with the Lord.

The personal faith of our seminarians has to be measured by the objective holiness of the liturgical mysteries and by the unchangeable truth of the Catholic Faith. Subjective piety and objective grace have to form a unity linked by the celebration of the Traditional Latin Liturgy.

Neither exterior formalism nor pietism can survive when a seminarian, under the guidance of the authority of the Church which is represented by his superiors, strives in his liturgical participation and his interior life to "do what the Church does." This authentic Roman Catholic harmony between the subjective and the objective, between nature and grace, between the human and the Divine is a fruit of obedience towards the tradition that the Lord Himself has given and guarantees to Holy Mother Church.

As our founder, Monsignor Gilles Wach, STD, frequently quotes, "We do not save the Church, the Church saves us." She does so because She follows the directions of our Lord Himself who has died for our redemption on the Cross and who has founded the Church as the instrument to prolong His salvation through the centuries. In its seminary, the Institute of Christ the King wishes to form faithful "administrators of the Holy Mysteries" who do nothing else than what Christ wants them to do for souls: bring them to Him through the sacraments of the Church.

Our Seminary

Our seminary building at Gricigliano in Tuscany, Italy includes living quarters for the seminarians, an enormous refectory, large kitchen, classrooms and a conference hall with up-to-date teaching equipment. Learn more about our seminary.

Requirements for Prospective Candidates

To enter the Institute of Christ the King’s formation program to the oblatehood, candidates must:
• Be between the ages of 18 and 40
• Have a high school diploma or equivalent, and/or working experience
• Have a two-page resume, which includes date of birth, main schooling and working experiences, and a photograph
• Have the recommendation of at least two priests

Fulfilling these requirements, prospective candidates may email our U.S. Provincial Headquarters in Chicago to contact the vocations director.

Frequent Vocation Questions

Request a Vocations Packet 

If you would like to learn more about vocations in the Institute of Christ the King, please contact our U.S. Provincial Headquarters by email.

Vocations to the Clerical Oblatehood

Formation

Candidates for oblatehood within the Institute must complete a five-year training program consisting of introductory Latin and French, thorough instruction in the traditional Liturgy and the Institute's spirituality, and ongoing study of Church doctrine and history. Some are also asked to pursue practical or academic studies pertaining to their talents and responsibilities within the Institute.

Oblates begin their formation with two years of candidacy in one of the Institute’s houses in their native country. After the second year of practical and academic training, an oblate will receive a cassock, surplice and biretta with the Institute's signature blue pom-pom. At the discretion of their superiors, established oblates may receive minor orders, and perhaps even the sub-diaconate or diaconate.

From there, formation continues until candidates are made full members of the Institute of Christ the King and receive the silver choir Cross of St. Francis de Sales, indicating they have made formal promises to the Prior General and offered their life-long service to the Church through the Institute. Oblates wear this cross when assisting in the choir for the Holy Mass, Adoration and Divine Office.

Requirements for Prospective Candidates

To enter the Institute of Christ the King’s formation program to the oblatehood, candidates must:
• Be between the ages of 18 and 40
• Have a high school diploma or equivalent, and/or working experience
• Have a two-page resume, which includes date of birth, main schooling and working experiences, and a photograph
• Have the recommendation of at least two priests
Fulfilling these requirements, prospective candidates may email our U.S. Provincial Headquarters in Chicago to contact the vocations director.

Frequent Vocation Questions

Request a Vocations Packet

If you would like to learn more about vocations in the Institute of Christ the King, please contact our U.S. Provincial Headquarters by email.

Vocations to the Sister Adorers

Formation

Upon entering the Sister Adorers, a young lady is called a postulant. Wearing a simple black dress and the postulant cross, without vows or religious name, postulancy is a year of discernment in which the young lady begins to learn the life of a Sister Adorer at the house of novitiate in Naples, Italy.

At the end of this time of initial discernment, following the guidance of her superiors and spiritual director, she will be invited to receive the Holy Habit and enter the Novitiate. It is during this ceremony that the sister receives her new religious name.

The novitiate is a period of several years dedicated to deepening the interior life and life of virtue, particularly the virtues of humility, obedience, generosity, and charity, in further discernment and in preparation to offer herself entirely to God through the holy vows.

Requirements for Prospective Candidates

To discern a religious vocation with the Sister Adorers, a young lady must already be 18 years old. For girls who are not yet 18, the recommendation is to pray and give oneself to all the virtues appropriate for a young lady in her current state in life: obedience and respect to parents, charity toward siblings, faithfully fulfilling chores and studies.

It is through the practice of little virtues in the here and now that a soul can best prepare herself for responding to whatever vocation God calls her to in the future.

Frequent Vocation Questions

Learn more about a Vocation with the Adorers

Lay Society

A glorious fruit of the Institute of Christ the King’s meticulous offering of the traditional sacraments and Liturgy; exemplary formation of priests, oblates and sisters; and jubilant charism, is our rapidly growing lay population, most especially among the young. More and more young people—individuals and families—who have never before experienced anything like the classical Roman Liturgy, are powerfully attracted by its profoundness and beauty and are everywhere requesting its greater availability.

They also delight in the rediscovery of the Church’s traditional liturgical calendar—with its treasury of seasons, feast days, and observances—which gives structure and meaning to the passing year, and helps families more effectively infuse Catholic culture into their lives and homes.

Parents take great consolation in availing their children of the abundant graces provided through the traditional rites of Baptism, Confession, First Holy Communion, Confirmation, Matrimony and, in some cases, Holy Orders, and the catechism par excellence they receive from Institute priests through classical Liturgy, classes and spiritual direction.

At apostolates throughout the world, the Institute’s radiant charism cultivates a fertile environment in which lay groups and activities spring and flourish.

The Society of the Sacred Heart

​The Society of the Sacred Heart is the formal lay association within the spiritual family of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. Through membership in the Society, lay faithful participate in the spirituality of the Institute, help to sustain its apostolic work, and participate in spiritual retreats and gatherings organized locally and nationally by Society chaplains. Youth events and retreats in the spirit of the Institute are also offered.

In this holy endeavor, members of the Society of the Sacred Heart place themselves under the spiritual direction of the priests of the Institute of Christ the King and are supported by their prayers as well as those of our oblates, seminarians and the Sister Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus.

Admission

Interested lay faithful can become members of the Society of the Sacred Heart by contacting the Institute apostolate nearest to them or by contacting us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Recommended Reading

For those interested in becoming a part of the Society of the Sacred Heart, we invite you to read the works of one of the patron saints of the Institute, Saint Francis de Sales, particularly his book Introduction to the Devout Life. As the Doctor of Divine Charity, St. Francis had a special devotion to the Heart of Jesus. Through his writings and saintly example, he demonstrates how the infinite treasures of wisdom and grace contained in the most Sacred Heart of our Divine Savior are made readily available to us in our everyday lives in a truly extraordinary way.

Learn more about the Society of the Sacred Heart.

Read extracts from the Society of the Sacred Heart's constitutions.