The Cenacle Sisters is an international Congregation whose mission is to assist men and women in the awakening and deepening of faith. It was founded in La Louvesc, France in 1826. The founders St. Therese Couderc and Fr. Stephen Terme responded to the needs of people whose faith had been tested by the French revolution. The Cenacle Sisters continue the work of their founders, responding to the spiritual needs of people in many countries.

The congregation derives its name from the Latin coenaculum, meaning dining room, which refers to the Upper Room where Christ ate the Last Supper with His disciples. According to tradition, our Lady, the holy women, and the disciples returned to that room after the Ascension of Christ and “with one accord devoted themselves to prayer,” (Acts 1.14) as they awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit of Pentecost.

This interval of prayer is seen as a prototype of a retreat, when men and women withdraw from ordinary activities to pray, and await a new visitation of the Holy Spirit.

The Religious of the Cenacle serve the Church mainly through retreats and spiritual direction, using especially the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, through religious education, and through other forms of spiritual apostolate.

Today, the Cenacle Sisters carry on their ministries in 85 houses in 14 countries.



We work for the transformation of the world by awakening and deepening of faith, with and for the people of our time.

Our Life

PRAYER – COMMUNITY – MINISTRY

      Our prayer is directed to an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on us. After the ascension of Jesus, his friends, along with Mary his mother, gathered in the Cenacle (or Upper Room) and “with one accord devoted themselves to prayer” (Acts 1:14). We join gladly with them in a prayer which is to permeate our lives and flow out to others.

     

      Community might seem impossible in a world fraught with division and hatred. In fact, only the Spirit of Love can bring about true community. “That all may be one,” Jesus prays. “That they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one” (John 17).

      This kind of unity is possible only when we can gaze on the world and on each other with God’s eyes, when we can see God’s goodness in all things.

     

      Our ministry is both awesome and humbling, because it always has to do with faith and prayer. This is a ministry which never ceases to amaze us, because it has to do with how God works in our lives, and it touches on the deepest nature of the human person.

      It may take the form of retreats, spiritual direction, religious education, or other spiritual ministries. You may find us proclaiming the Gospel amid the beauty of nature or in the heart of the city, for Christ is present everywhere.

Our Work

RETREATS – SPIRITUAL DIRECTION – ADULT FAITH FORMATION

Jesus Christ continues to call those wom he chooses, inviting them to surrender their life to him in faith, to be ready to follow him wherever he leads for the greater glory of the Father. Our aim is to make the Gospel known to the people of our time by the ministry confided to us. To this end, we find Cenacle sisters working with individuals and groups as:

  • Spiritual directors
  • Retreat facilitators
  • Campus ministers
  • Pastoral ministers
  • Religious educators
  • Theology professors
  • Counselors
  • Formators

Cenacle Sisters maintain retreat houses and spirituality centers throughout the world to provide places of quiet and reflection where discernment and personal faith development can take place. The Cenacle ministry is also extended to parishes and dioceses wherever Cenacle sisters are serving.



To prepare for Cenacle life and ministry, a woman is helped in attaining her own integration and religious identity by the Cenacle Formation Program. The program provides personal formation through ongoing spiritual direction, individualized plans of study and supervised experiences. The nature of her apostolate demands continuing formation throughout her life.

A woman interested in the Cenacle life receives personal direction and preparation before her acceptance to the pre-novitiate. This period prepares her for formal entrance to the novitiate which usually lasts for two years. The novitiate for the Region of Philippines-Singapore is presently located at Villa Therese, Loyola Heights , Quezon City, Philippines.

Click here to find out more about the Cenacle Vocation.