Join the Movement

Restoring the

Family of God

A Church without women religious is like a home without a mother.

With dwindling numbers of women religious present in the life of the average Catholic, it is critical for every member of the Body of Christ to be attentive to the need for restoration in the family of God. When we lose the presence of consecrated women, we are like a home without a mother. We are all invited to be Friends of the Bridegroom - upholding the beauty of consecrated life and pointing out the voice of the Bridegroom calling women to Himself in spousal life.

We believe that vocations flourish within an ecosystem of healthy families, priests, and consecrated men and women. Each person in their particular vocation helps to build a culture of vocations, upholding the dignity of one another and restoring the family of God.

Oftentimes, in a local church, women religious are the missing piece of the healthy ecosystem. Identifying a team of people who desire to see religious life renewed and restored can have a huge impact on the local community as they encounter the gift of spiritual motherhood.

Begin a Cohort.

If your heart burns with a desire to support the renewal of women’s religious life, we would invite you to consider beginning a Friends of the Bridegroom cohort in your area.

This is not limited to anyone with a particular title or state in life. We know Friends of the Bridegroom who are young moms, pastors, diocesan leaders, single young adults, and seasoned apostolate leaders. What they have in common is a desire to see renewal in the Church, especially through the renewal of women’s religious life.

They do what they can within their particular sphere of influence to cultivate a culture of vocations, where the Church is seen, once more, as the Family of God. This comes about through growing in awareness, cultivating encounters, and ensuring accompaniment.

Pillars of a Culture of Vocations

  • Awareness

    Before a vocation can be realized, it has to be known as an option. The first stage of cultivating a culture of vocations is expanding your personal and community awareness of the beauty of religious life and how it fits within the ecosystem of the Church- the Family of God.

  • Encounter

    Once the community is more aware of the beauty of religious life, they need meaningful encounters with women religious. These encounters foster renewal in the heart of the Church, far beyond simply cultivating vocations. The hearts of volunteers, priests, and families are all transformed through the presence of the brides of Christ. In this environment, vocations naturally flourish.

  • Accompaniment

    We begin with the end in mind and a posture of hope. We are confident that the Lord is calling women to Himself in consecration, and we want to be ready to support them through loving accompaniment. We know that women will need loving support from the early stages of growing in prayer to discerning with a particular community.

Identify Cohort Members

Beginning this entire process with prayer will be bedrock and foundation for everything that follows. Begin praying the daily prayer for renewal and ask the Holy Spirit to inspire your heart and the hearts of those He is calling in your community.

From a foundation of prayer, you will begin to see people emerge that have a heart for the renewal of religious life. 

Cohort Member Characteristics:

  • Are animated by religious life and the desire to have women religious present at the parish and in the world

  • Would be willing to have their hearts shaped by the vision of Friends of the Bridegroom and work toward the renewal and expansion of religious life

  • Are generous with their time and creative in their resources

  • Are harmonious, willing to learn, and willing to pray

  • Single, married, and consecrated persons all offer rich resources for a team 

  • Would be willing to meet monthly or every two weeks for a year-long term 

Cohort Activities:

  • Meets together to learn about the ecosystem of vocations and the eschatological realities of religious life (awareness)

  • Learns how to support and grow religious life in their local community (awareness)

  • Plans events to bring religious sisters to the local community (encounter)

  • Identifies people within the local community who can accompany women discerning a call to religious life (accompaniment)

Gather the Cohort

Planning a Cohort Meeting: A Guide for Forming a Friends of the Bridegroom Cohort

After you have identified your team, plan a simple event to bring them together to share the vision and hear their desires and insights as well. Your team could be as small as three or four people or as large as 12-15 people. For tips and resources, including bulletin letters and agendas other cohorts have used, use the guide below: