Since 1893, the Norbertine Community of St. Norbert Abbey has played an important role in the development of the local Church  and beyond, witnessing to an authentic encounter with Christ Jesus especially through common prayer and self-emptying service. In 2021, as the Order celebrates the 900th anniversary and St. Norbert Abbey nears 125 years as a Community, we recognize that the challenges facing our Church are great. Yet we are reminded of the hope of the Second Vatican Council that “in the restoration and promotion of the sacred liturgy…  full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else; for it is the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit” (SC, 14). 

The establishment of the Liturgical Institute seeks to respond to this call by providing ongoing liturgical formation, fruitful participation in worship, and response to this experience in love through daily lives of justice and service. The Institute will directly respond to the needs of the local Church and beyond by answering the call of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy to aid the local Churches, their liturgical commissions and ordinaries, through the ministry of an “Institute for Pastoral Liturgy” (SC, 44).

By providing outreach including: engaging formation events and ministry training, support and development of the liturgical arts and sacred music, prayerful sacramental-focused retreats for clergy and laity,  effective resources (seasonal, prayer, and lectio divina), and welcoming hospitality and support, the Liturgical Institute will enrich the Church by supporting both clergy and the laity in their experience of liturgical understanding and missionary experience. This includes consideration not just to the rites or sacred music or principles themselves, but towards the ars celebrandi, the art of celebration and enactment.