Yves Congar, O.P.
French Domincan Friar /  Fraile Dominico Francés
(April 13, 1904-June 22, 1995)

To prepare lay women and men for ministry and leadership in the Church

An initiative of the Southern Dominican Province, the Congar Institute is a Catholic, not-for-profit organization that offers an array of consulting services to support ministerial formation. Our services are personalized, and we focus on providing practical and creative solutions to real-life needs and issues. Our approach is theologically grounded, and we value accompaniment and partnership. A high priority is given to inclusivity, especially of under-served communities and individuals who do not have access to traditional educational opportunities.

Building on 800+ years of the Dominican intellectual tradition and inspired by the life and work of Friar Yves Congar, OP, the Congar Institute seeks to further Congar’s vision of the church as a living sacrament of Christ’s presence in the world. Recognizing that all Christians are called through their baptism to participate in the church’s mission according to their gifts, we are committed to ensuring that lay women and men who are called to serve in ecclesial ministries and leadership roles have access to excellent formation.

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Vision

Inspired by the Dominican charism, all those called to ministerial leadership in the Body of Christ respond effectively to their vocation as missionary disciples.

Charism

The Congar Institute Embodies the Charism of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans)
St. Dominic came to recognize that the Good News is both a proclamation and a way of life. That is why he called the communities of Friars Preachers “the Holy Preaching.” Thus the late Dominican Friar Yves Cardinal Congar was moved to heal the divisions in the Body of Christ and to foster the vocation of all the baptized to be Preachers of Good News in being and action. The Congar Institute draws upon Congar’s vision. He devoted his life to retrieving the image of the church as a living sacrament of Christ’s presence in the world, the Body of Christ, and as a priestly people consecrating the world to God. The Second Vatican Council endorsed and developed Congar’s vision of a church where all the baptized are called to be apostles, where the lives of all the faithful bear witness to the kingdom of God, and where, through them, the light of the gospel is meant to illuminate every aspect of social experience. Like Congar himself, we believe that adult faith formation can and must transform each believer into an evangelizer, and that in this age of “new evangelization” the ministry of the church can and must discover how to be appropriately inclusive, empowering, and missionary.

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