A secular institute is a form of consecrated life in the Church that permits men and women to give their lives to God answering a vocational calling. This vocation is recognized in the Catholic Church since 1947.

Three conditions are necessary for a secular institute to exist:

Apostolate is the work every Christian must realize to establish the Kingdom of God. Having encountered the love of Jesus Christ, every baptized person wishes that everyone could experience conversion that takes hold of one’s whole life. For a secular institute member, this conscience is even greater and becomes life’s raison d’être.

Single laymen and priests can become consecrated members of the Pius X Secular Institute. They give their whole life to the Lord and to the specific mission of the Institute, through the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience and through a promise of apostolate.

Since the foundation’s beginnings, other people joined the group as Family members. They are the associate members: single men and women, priests, and married couples. They dedicate themselves to live out the mission according to their state of life by giving themselves to the Lord through the spirit of the evangelical counsels.

The difference between the consecrated and associate members can be found in the form of commitment and not according to the mission that is lived out.

Consecrated members dedicate their life to God to live out the mission professing the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. Through this consecration, a true covenant of love is established between God and the member. In this covenant, God promises to be faithful to the member and he, in turn, answers the call with generosity. Consecrated members are “the heart of the Pius X Secular Institute”.

Associate members, having felt the call to love God more fully, fulfill this call through a commitment in which they express their desire to live the mission according to the spirit of the evangelical counsels. This commitment helps the associate single laypersons and priests as well as the associate married couples to journey towards holiness to which all are called.

During many years, the Pius X Secular Institute members tried to put words on their spiritual identity. In time, through a discernment process, they have finally been able to achieve a this work, finding a definition in which all members — consecrated and associate — are able to recognize themselves. 

It’s a long and exacting job that must be continually be recasted. Through meetings, exchanges, discussions, we have defined five points which manifest our concrete way to live in the world and in the Church.

The Five Major Points of our Spiritual Identity:

• A personal encounter with Jesus Christ, Savior and Apostle;

• A desire to make Jesus Christ known through an intense apostolic zeal;

• A need for a total giving of oneself that takes the whole person in the service of Jesus Christ;

• An apostolic mission that gives the concern to reach the working classes, especially the little and the poor, so that Jesus be better known, loved and served;

• An apostolic spirituality that nourishes a whole life in the service of Jesus Christ.

In an attempt to more clearly define our spiritual identity, these five points are developed more extensively in the document Our Spiritual Identity. May this document be a source of inspiration so that the Pius X Secular Institute vocation and mission be better known and thus better lived.

There are Institute members living in Canada, the United States, Haiti, Colombia, Bolivia, Honduras and Venezuela. Members live out the mission dedicating themselves in various fields: medical field, education, community work, business, apostolic works, pastoral ministry, prison work, etc., but always having a special attention for the poorest. Where mankind is found, a Pius X Secular Institute member can be found to proclaim to him the Good News of the Gospel.

Members meet as a team on a weekly basis around the person of Jesus to listen to Him, pray together and share on their apostolic and spiritual life. These meetings, centered on the meditation of the Word of God, is the place where our Family spirit grows and where everyone can become enthusiastic for the apostolate that is being realized.

In Canada, there are teams in the province of Quebec in different regions: Quebec City, Montreal, Beauce, Saguenay and Lac St-Jean. Furthermore, there is a team in the Windsor (Ontario) region as well a member living in New Brunswick.

In the United States, there are teams in the Manchester (New Hampshire) region.

In Colombia, there are members living in Popayán, Cali, Medellín and Ibagué.

In Haiti, one consecrated lay member lives in Port-au-Prince.

In Guatemala, a consecrated lay member lives in the capital and teams are being formed in various parts of the country.

In Bolivia, a consecrated lay member lives in Potosí.

In Honduras and Venezuela, there are candidates who are initiating their formation.