Madonna House

What Madonna House does

Madonna House Apostolate is a Catholic religious community founded in 1947 in Combermere, Ontario, Canada, by Servant of God Catherine Doherty. It operates as a nonprofit ecclesial family of laymen, women, and priests living consecrated life under the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience, modeled after the Holy Family of Nazareth. The organization's core offering is a portfolio of spiritual formation experiences delivered at its Combermere headquarters and a network of mission and poustinia houses in Canada, the United States, France, Barbados, and Russia. These experiences include live-in guest stays, clergy retreats, family retreats, priesthood discernment programs, the Cana Colony family summer camp, on-site shops and tours, and prayer-directive poustinia (silent-desert) retreats.

The community is sustained primarily through donations, with separate Canada and US/International giving pages, and secondarily through a small publications e-commerce arm. Its content portfolio includes Catherine Doherty's book Poustinia (a spiritual classic published through 28 printings across 4 editions and translated into 16 languages), Fragments of My Life, Grace in Every Season, the monthly Restoration newspaper, and the Ora podcast distributed on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and RSS. Distribution is bottom-up: a WordPress-based website, organic social media across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, and YouTube, and on-site physical retail at Combermere. The organization has no disclosed technology stack, no AI components, no APIs, and no external funding; it is structurally a donation-supported religious community rather than a commercial enterprise.

Name

Madonna House

Legal name

Madonna House Apostolate

Website

https://madonnahouse.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Madonna House Apostolate is a Catholic religious community founded in 1947 in Combermere, Canada, offering spiritual formation retreats, live-in guest programs, and Catholic publications (including the 16-language classic Poustinia), funded by donations and supported by a worldwide network of mission houses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious and Spiritual Formation Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAJAC

Religious Orders & Monastic Communities (Monasteries, Convents)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Religious & Faith-Based Organizations

SECONDARYBPAGAJAL

Places of Worship & Religious Facilities Operations (Cemeteries, Retreat Centers, Pilgrimage Sites)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Religious & Faith-Based Organizations

SECONDARYMPAJAHAI

Denominational & Community Periodicals (Church Magazines, Diocesan/Temple Newsletters)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/Religious & Spiritual Publishing

Keywords

• Catholic spiritual formation
• Religious retreat programs
• Contemplative community life
• Catholic publishing
• Vocation discernment

Headquarters

HQ city

Roanoke, VA

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Support: Madonna House operates as a Catholic religious community funded primarily through donations from supporters. The organization accepts donations through both Canada and US/International donation pages.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Madonna House Apostolate is a Catholic religious community offering spiritual formation through live-in guest experiences, clergy retreats, family retreats, priesthood discernment programs, and family summer camps at its Combermere, Canada headquarters and global mission houses. It also publishes Catholic spiritual books (including the classic Poustinia), a monthly newspaper (Restoration), and a podcast (Ora).

Product overview

Madonna House Apostolate is a Catholic religious community organization offering a portfolio of spiritual formation programs and publications. The core offering consists of live-in guest experiences, clergy retreats, family retreats, vocation discernment programs, Cana Colony family summer camp, and shops/tours at their Combermere, Canada headquarters and multiple mission houses worldwide. Their publications arm produces books including the spiritual classic 'Poustinia' (translated into 16 languages), 'Fragments of My Life', 'Grace in Every Season', the monthly 'Restoration' newspaper, and the 'Ora' podcast available on major platforms. The organization focuses on serving Christ in the poor through community life modeled after the Holy Family of Nazareth.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Live-in Guests Program An experience program where guests join the Madonna House community for extended stays, participating in daily life, prayer, and work alongside members. Intended for individuals discerning consecrated community life.
• Clergy Retreat Retreat program specifically designed for priests and clergy seeking spiritual renewal and reflection within the Madonna House community setting.
• Family Retreat Retreat program for families to experience together the Nazareth way of life, prayer, and community at Madonna House.
• Discern Priesthood Program Vocation discernment program for those considering priesthood, offering guided reflection and experience within the Catholic priesthood vocation.
• Cana Colony Family Summer Camp A family summer camp program held at Cana Colony, offering Catholic family recreation and spiritual formation activities.
• Shops and Tours Visitor experience program allowing guests to tour the Madonna House facilities and visit the on-site shops selling books, crafts, and related items.
• Poustinia (Book) Spiritual classic book authored by Catherine Doherty on Eastern Christian spirituality for Western man, originally published in 1975. Translated into sixteen languages and available from Madonna House Publications for $19.95.
• Fragments of My Life (Book) Book publication by Catherine Doherty available from Madonna House Publications for $17.95.
• Grace in Every Season (Book) Book publication available from Madonna House Publications for $23.95.
• Restoration (Newspaper) Monthly Catholic newspaper published by Madonna House, featuring spiritual reflections, articles, and community news.
• Ora Podcast Podcast of Madonna House Publications, available on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and RSS feed, featuring spiritual reflections and community stories.
• Poustinia Houses / Mission Houses Madonna House foundations staffed by two or three people with a mandate to pray and fast for the diocese, Church, and world, and to welcome guests for poustinia experiences. Located in Canada, the US, Barbados, France, and other countries.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Focolare Movement: International Catholic spirituality movement with communities in over 190 countries focused on unity, consecrated life, and spiritual formation. Comparable for its multi-country presence, lay/women/priest membership model, and retreat/program offerings.
• L'Arche International: Global faith-based intentional community network founded by Jean Vanier, with houses across multiple countries offering live-in community experiences for people with and without disabilities. Closely comparable to Madonna House as a Catholic-rooted community model with international mission houses and lived consecrated community.
• Taizé Community: Ecumenical Christian monastic community in France known for hosting young adult pilgrims and weekly contemplative prayer. Comparable to Madonna House as a Christian community emphasizing silence, prayer, hospitality, and publishing/spiritual formation resources.
• Catholic Worker Movement: Faith-based Catholic movement of intentional communities (houses of hospitality and farms) founded by Dorothy Day, focused on serving the poor through voluntary poverty. Directly parallels Madonna House's mission of consecrating community life to serve Christ in the poor.
• Community of Jesus (Orleans, MA): An ecumenical religious community following the evangelical counsels with members living in common life, hosting worship, retreats, and publishing. Closely mirrors Madonna House's structure of lay/women/priests community with retreat programming and liturgical publishing.

Regional players

• Iona Community: Ecumenical Christian community on the Isle of Iona in Scotland combining monastic life, publishing, and social justice. Comparable faith-based community-publishing-retreat hybrid, though with a Scottish rather than North American focus.

Others

• Ave Maria Press: Catholic publishing house of the United States Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross, originally publisher of 'Poustinia' in 1975. Ecosystem partner/enabler rather than direct competitor; closely tied to Madonna House through its signature publication.

Emerging players

• Cursillo Movement: Catholic lay-led movement organizing short three-day retreats (cursillos) and follow-up small groups for spiritual formation. Overlaps with Madonna House's retreat offerings but emphasizes lay evangelization rather than consecrated community life.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/madonnahouse
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/madonnahousecanada
• Facebookfacebook.com/MadonnaHouse
• Instagraminstagram.com/madonnahouse.apostolate
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/madonna-house

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Madonna House