About IPS

The Institute of Pastoral Studies (IPS) educates adults for professional ministry, spiritual development, and faith-based leadership in diverse professions. Through their course of study, personal integration, and spiritual formation, students develop real-world knowledge and skills in theological reflection, ministerial practice, and ethical judgment.

The educational vision that guides IPS is the prophetic practice of ministry in religious settings; the faithful practice of service in professional settings; and the development of creative resources for communities of faith and service. Our mission grows from a commitment to action in the service of faith, spirituality, and justice. These three words shape the educational experience at IPS:

· To educate professional ministers in pastoral leadership, counseling, and ministries of chaplaincy, education, social justice, spiritual direction and pastoral care, calling the church and society to its prophetic identity.

· To provide professionals and service-providers with ethical and spiritual resources for their calling within their life’s work in the service of justice.

· To be an educational resource to religious and spiritual communities in metro Chicago, the nation, and worldwide, and to function as a visible embodiment of the Catholic Jesuit tradition for academic professional education at Loyola and around the nation.