We must refuse to imagine the future of the Church without women religious.
It matters for all of us.
The mission of Friends of the Bridegroom is to renew the Church through the healing, renewal, and expansion of consecrated life and the priesthood.
A Problem and a Paradigm
Fr. John Burns explains the paradigm guiding the Friends of the Bridegroom.
Our Vision: To Restore the Family of God
A church filled with spiritual mothers, spiritual fathers, and holy families who run together toward the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.
Bride and Mother
Consecrated Women
Consecrated women are an icon of the Bride of Christ, of whom we are all members. As they abide in the love of their Divine Bridegroom, they become spiritual mothers after the example of Our Lady.
Bridegroom and Father
The Priest
In ordination, men are configured to Christ the Divine Bridegroom and stand as icons of His love. In union with Him, their entire lives are offered as a sacrificial gift of love to the Bride, the Church. With Christ, priests share in and reveal God’s fatherhood.
Icon of Divine Love
Holy Marriage
Lived out in the heart of the Church, sacramental marriage is an icon of the love between Christ and His Bride, the Church. Holy marriage stands as a sign of humanity’s great calling to enter into the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.
How we Serve
we foster a movement that draws together priests, religious, and laity to live in greater solicitude for the renewal of the church.
Healing and Renewal
At the foundation of the movement, Friends of the Bridegroom assists the ongoing renewal of existing religious communities. This happens primarily through a comprehensive set of retreats and seminars pertaining to spiritual health and communal flourishing.
Expansion - Vocations
A vocation is a gift for the whole Church. However, young women today often do not have religious sisters to locally accompany them in discernment, even as God continues to call women to spousal life with Him.
Friends of the Bridegroom assists local churches in establishing vocational cohorts that labor to restore the Family of God through the expansion of women’s religious life in their area.
Join the movement.
Friends of the Bridegroom is a growing community of believers committed to the renewal of the Bride of Christ through the renewal of women’s religious and consecrated life.
