Dublin, Ireland
Celebrating Forty Years
The Religious Formation Ministry Programme (Loreto House) is a one-year renewal programme offered by the Association of Leaders of Missionaries and Religious of Ireland (AMRI). Since 1982 the RFM Programme has become renowned for its excellence. Participants minister in every continent throughout the world. Female and male religious, together with diocesan clergy, find a space to learn from each other in an atmosphere that treasures diversity and encourages personal renewal.
Are you longing to embark on a life-changing journey of inner transformation and experiential learning? Are you seeking to integrate the human, spiritual, pastoral and intellectual dimensions of formation? Are you looking to develop your pastoral leadership and teamwork skills? Are you open to a Gospel-rooted, deeply incarnational, faith-based challenge? Are you willing to launch into an inter-national, inter-cultural and inter-congregational adventure?
If your answer is YES then contact us at rfmploretohouse@gmail.com today! We would be delighted to tell you more about the Religious Formation Ministry Programme, address any specific queries you may have and guide you along the application process. Applications for the 2024/25 RFM Programme are now closed.
Celebrating its forty-first year the RFM Programme offers space for:
We are delighted to announce that Sr. Jennifer Burke RJM, who has been a member of the RFMP Team for the past three years, has been appointed as Director. She embraces this new role with passion and enthusiasm and we wish her every blessing.
We acknowledge the wonderful contribution made by Sr. Josephine Enenmo OLA, former RFMP Director, and we send her best wishes as she leaves RFMP to take up the role of Provincial in her home Province of Nigeria.
We welcome Sr. Angèle Nkamsi MSHR to the RFMP Team and look forward to sharing the richness and experience she will bring to the experience.
Jennifer, Donal and Angèle are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our new group of participants in mid-September 2024.
Intercultural Day 2024
Session on Laudato Si'
Group with Seán Ruth on Femininity and Masculinity
Kathleen McGarvey on Inter-Religious Dialogue and Islam
Paddy Greene on Dreams
Pastoral Placement Social Evening
Sean O'Baioll
Visit of Friends
The RFM Programme addresses the task of preparing women and men in a cross-cultural setting for the ministry of leadership, initial formation, and ongoing formation. Many religious and priests also choose the Programme for renewal and discernment during a time of transition. The Programme offers unique opportunities for human development and personal transformation and enables participants to engage with current realities in the Church and the world with greater skill and confidence. All this happens through the many and varied presentations given on different aspects of theology, spirituality, prayer, psychology, and pastoral practice.
The Team looks forward to welcoming new participants on Thursday 19th September 2024. You can arrive from 1.00pm to begin at 1.30pm.
Our location for the moment continues to be; Willow Park House, Rock Road, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, A94 TW98.
Please apply in time for your visa and try to arrive in Ireland at least two weeks in advance in order to rest and find your way around Dublin.
From its inception the RFM Programme has incorporated the very best available contemporary insights in spirituality, theology, cosmology, psychology, social justice, and group dynamics thus giving participants a vision of formation and leadership which energises and renews them as they return to take up their roles in whichever ministry they have been appointed to. RFMP has become renowned for its excellence and participants minister on every continent. The RFM Programme continues to develop and adapt to meet the needs of participants in a rapidly evolving universe. In the rich and challenging environment of diverse cultures, worldviews and experiences, RFMP aims to create an inclusive, welcoming community which seeks to read the signs of the times from a Gospel perspective. In 2022 the RFM Programme celebrated its fortieth year in existence.
The RFM Programme is process oriented. By this we mean that time is given for personal reflection which allows each participant ample opportunity to assimilate new insights and learnings. Each participant will be assigned a mentor from the team who will accompany him/her throughout the year at RFMP. Regular group work in various forms is a hallmark of the RFM Programme. Full participation is mandatory. Although no formal examinations take place, participants will be required to write reflection papers on relevant topics throughout the year. We expect that each participant gives his/her full attention to the RFM Programme while at the same time enjoying the rich social and cultural life Ireland has to offer.
The RFM Programme follows the September to June academic year and welcomes male and female consecrated persons and priests from all over the world. We aim to provide a robust experience of Human, Spiritual, Intellectual and Pastoral formation in the context of the new reality of the Church and world.
RFMP is non-residential.
Participants find accommodation with their own religious communities in Dublin or with a sponsoring community or local parish. We provide participants with a list of suitable accommodation from which they can make their own choice. Our excellent facilities in Loreto House provide ample space and opportunities for participants to interact with each other, form friendships and relax together.
Participants who come from warm climates will need to adjust to the colder temperatures in Ireland. It is advisable to bring warm clothing in preparation for the wet winter months. Although snow doesn’t fall every year it is rare that such snowfalls are very heavy or last for a long time. In the past some participants have taken great delight in experiencing snow for the first time.
For all information please follow the link www.irishimmigration.ie.
For further information and application forms please contact:
The Director
Religious Formation Ministry Programme
Willow Park
Rock Road
Blackrock
County Dublin
Ireland
A94 TW98
Tel: + 353-1-2107921
Email: rfmploretohouse@gmail.com
For almost two decades, the beautiful Willow Park House situated on the grounds of Blackrock College, has been a warm and welcoming “home” for the hundreds of women and men, religious and priests, from all corners of the world who have embarked upon the Religious Formation Ministry Programme (Loreto House) journey. As we bid farewell to the place this summer we extend a deep word of gratitude to the Spiritan Congregation for their dedicated support of the RFM Programme for so many years.
And so a new chapter opens in the history of Loreto House as it moves to St. Raphaela’s Campus, Kilmacud Road Upper, Stillorgan, Co. Dublin A94 TP38. We acknowledge the generosity of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus who responded to our appeal for a new premises earlier this year. The relocation will take place over the summer months and we will be ready in mid-September to welcome the approximately twenty international participants already processing their visa applications and eagerly preparing for the 2024-2025 session.