Storymap: Bold and Faithful: Meet today's religious

Chicago, August 24, 2023— The National Religious Vocation Conference (NRVC) recently launched Bold and Faithful: Meet Today’s Religious, an interactive storymap that continues to tell the story of the vitality of Catholic Religious Life Today. Developed in collaboration with Catholic vocation resource providers A Nun’s Life Ministry, Global Sisters Report in the Classroom, Called & Consecrated, and VISION Vocation Network, the storymap is designed for use by individuals considering a religious vocation and for parishes, campuses, and classrooms to promote vocations and connect those in religious life to everyday Catholics.

Featuring audio, video, articles, an interactive events calendar, and a religious institute map, the 2023 Bold and Faithful storymap is a companion resource, along with 2021 Religious Life Today storymap, to the NRVC’s 2020 Study on Recent Vocations to Religious Life. The 2020 study found that men and women continue to answer the call to religious life. New entrants are attracted by prayer, community life, and mission; are culturally diverse and committed to living simply in solidarity with the poor; and are filled with abundant hope.

The Bold and Faithful: Meet Today’s Religious storymap animates these study results by showcasing who today’s religious are, where they serve, the events they sponsor, and the ways they live out the spirit, or charism, of their religious institutes.

“Whether you work with discerners, campus ministers, parish catechists, religious leadership, Catholic donors, or others desiring to learn more about religious life and how to promote religious vocations, the Bold and Faithful storymap has something for everyone,” says Sister Dina Bato, S.P., Director of Membership for the National Religious Vocation Conference and member of the storymap taskforce. “The NRVC is exceedingly grateful to the GHR Foundation for supporting our efforts to shine a light on recent vocations to religious life and the lasting legacy of the men and women who choose to answer the call to vowed religious life.”

Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/MeetTodaysReligious.

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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 nearly 1,000 members by providing continuing education, resources, and services for professional growth.

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.

A Nun’s Life Ministry helps people discover and grow in their vocation by engaging questions about God, faith, and religious life in a vibrant online community.

Global Sisters in the Classroom shines light on the mission and ministry of Catholic women religious around the world through lesson plans that include action ideas and compelling prayer to bring new learning alive. Teacher guides provide context and activities to launch group discussions.

Called & Consecrated, is a bilingual, online curriculum that tells the story of Catholic Sisters in the United States and beyond. Each unit includes prayer resources, articles, videos, links to additional online resources, and pre- and post-lesson notes for teachers and catechists.

VISION Vocation Network, a multilingual publication of the NRVC, is the most comprehensive resource available in print and online for those seeking information about Catholic religious life or discerning a vocation as a Catholic sister, nun, brother, or priest.