SPIRITAN

What SPIRITAN does

The Spiritans — formally the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (C.S.Sp.) — are a Catholic religious congregation of approximately 3,000 members (missionaries) founded in 1703 by Claude-François Poullart des Places in Paris, with a 1848 merger with the Society of the Holy Heart of Mary under François Libermann shaping the present congregation. They operate from a Generalate headquarters in Rome, Italy, and are governed by a Superior General (currently Alain Mayama, elected 2021) and General Council. The congregation functions as a non-profit missionary order with no commercial products, technology platform, or revenue-generating intellectual property. Its activities span evangelization, education, healthcare, social services, and justice/peace advocacy, delivered through parish ministries, schools, formation houses, and direct service in underserved communities.

The congregation's core "products" are missionary personnel, formation programs, and spiritual/educational services. The Spiritans run seven dedicated formation centres globally: Villa Notre-Dame (Italy), Chevilly and Rennes (France), Chemichemi ya Uzima (Kenya), Mater Christi (Burkina Faso), Silva (Portugal), and SIST-Attakwu (Nigeria). The formation system produces trained priests and brothers who are then assigned to circumscriptions (provinces, delegations, missions) worldwide. The organization does not operate on a commercial pricing model; it is funded by donations, Church support, and self-generated resources, with members taking vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Its GTM is community-led, driven by vocations recruitment, formation programs, and missionary appointments.

The congregation serves neglected and abandoned communities in over 60 countries across six continents (Europe, Africa, North and South America, Asia, and Oceania), with a particularly deep footprint in Africa — where they have produced numerous bishops and have three representatives in the Angolan Episcopal Conference. The Spiritan family extends beyond the core congregation to include the Spiritan Sisters (Spiritaines, founded 1851 in Mauritius by Sister Eugénie Kaps), lay Spiritan Associates participating in governance (including 4 at the XXI General Chapter), and affiliated organizations such as VIVAT International (UN advocacy) and AEFJN (Africa-Europe Faith and Justice Network). The organization maintains a digital presence through its trilingual website (spiritans.net), YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram channels.

Name

SPIRITAN

Legal name

Congregation of the Holy Spirit

Website

https://spiritanroma.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1703

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Spiritans (Congregation of the Holy Spirit) are a Catholic missionary congregation of nearly 3,000 members founded in 1703, serving neglected communities in over 60 countries across six continents through evangelization, education, healthcare, and social services, funded by donations and Church support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious and Missionary Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (81311), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Religious Orders & Monastic Communities (Monasteries, Convents) (BPAGAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Missions & Evangelism Organizations (Domestic & International) (BPAGAJAE), Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG), Seminaries (Graduate Theology & Ministry) (EDAHAKAA)

Keywords

• Catholic missionary congregation
• Religious missionary order
• Christian evangelization services
• Missionary formation programs
• Religious education services

Headquarters

HQ city

Rome

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Support: The congregation operates through donations from benefactors, Church support, and self-reliance initiatives. Members take vows of poverty and the congregation relies on shared resources for its missionary activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans) is a Catholic religious congregation of nearly 3,000 missionaries serving in over sixty countries on six continents. Its fundamental offerings include evangelization, formation programs for new members, parish ministries, educational institutions (schools, seminaries), healthcare and social services delivered to neglected and abandoned communities, and advocacy for justice and peace.

Product overview

SPIRITAN (Congregation of the Holy Spirit) is a Roman Catholic missionary congregation founded in 1703, not a commercial product or technology company. The organization operates as a missionary religious order serving approximately 3,000 members in over sixty countries across six continents. Their activities include evangelization, formation programs at various centers (Italy, France, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Portugal, Nigeria), education, health services, and justice and peace work. The spiritans.net website serves as an informational portal for news, formation resources, history, and administrative information for the congregation and its circumscriptions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Missionary Evangelization Service Direct evangelization and pastoral ministry delivered by Spiritan missionaries in parishes and communities across 60+ countries, primarily serving neglected and abandoned populations in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and underserved regions of Europe.
• Spiritan Formation Programs Initial and ongoing formation programs for Spiritan members, delivered across seven formation centres worldwide (Italy, France, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Portugal, Nigeria), covering spirituality, missionary charism, theology, and pastoral preparation.
• Educational Institutions and Schools Operation of training centres, professional and technical schools, boarding schools, and seminary formation programs serving local communities in countries where Spiritans are present.
• Parish Ministries and Pastoral Services Parish-based ministry services including serving as parish priests, conducting religious instruction, administering sacraments, and operating churches and community centres in underserved regions.
• Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Advocacy Social justice and peace advocacy including work at the United Nations through VIVAT International in Geneva, interreligious dialogue, and engagement with networks such as the Africa-Europe Faith and Justice Network (AEFJN) in Brussels.

Quantifiable outcome

• 69.3% of PME students completed international or intercultural missions
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered moderate, minor and core.

• VIVAT InternationalmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerVIVAT International is an NGO with membership of 13 Catholic Religious Congregations working in 120 countries for promotion of human rights through advocacy. Fr. Andrzej Owca, CSsP, works at VIVAT's Geneva Regional Office doing advocacy work at the United Nations.
• AEFJN - Africa-Europe Faith and Justice NetworkmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerAEFJN promotes fairer economic relations between Africa and the European Union in Brussels. Fr. Chika Onyejiuwa, CSsP, serves as Executive Secretary. The organization supports African-driven advocacy and interfaith initiatives.
• Comboni Missionary SistersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Spiritans celebrated Pentecost 2026 at the chapel of the Comboni Missionary Sisters, indicating a collaborative relationship in shared missionary spaces.
• Spiritan Sisters (Spiritaines)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Spiritan family includes the congregation of sisters founded by Sister Eugénie Kaps, active in missionary work since 1851 in Mauritius. They share the same charism and work collaboratively in various missions.
• Lay Spiritan AssociatescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThousands of lay people share Spiritan Spirituality and Mission. They participate in General Chapters (4 Lay Spiritan Associates at XXI General Chapter), regional congresses, and local fraternities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Society of African Missions (SMA): A Catholic missionary society founded for the evangelization of Africa, with parallel origins in 19th-century European missionary expansion. Operates parishes, schools, and formation houses in West and East Africa, overlapping with Spiritan territory.
• Mill Hill Missionaries: A British-founded Catholic missionary congregation serving in Africa, Asia, and South America, with analogous formation houses and a similar footprint of accepting confreres from multiple nationalities. Compares directly to the Spiritans' intercultural community living model.
• Society of Jesus (Jesuits): The largest Catholic male religious congregation, with a comparable global footprint of Jesuits serving in parishes, schools, and social-justice ministries across 100+ countries. The Spiritans share the Jesuits' model of missionary deployment, intellectual tradition, and emphasis on education and formation.
• Redemptorists (Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer): A Catholic missionary congregation founded in 1732 for evangelization of the poor and most abandoned, with a particularly strong presence in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Shares the Spiritans' explicit charism of serving neglected communities and running parishes, schools, and formation centres.
• Salesians of Don Bosco: A Catholic religious congregation dedicated to youth education and missionary work, with strong presence in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Highly comparable to the Spiritans in operating schools, technical training centres, and parishes in underserved communities.
• Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers): A Catholic missionary society dedicated to evangelization in Africa, with similar formation programs, circumscription structures, and emphasis on inculturated ministry. Directly comparable to the Spiritans' African footprint and anointing of local clergy.
• Comboni Missionaries: A Catholic congregation founded specifically for missionary work in Africa, with comparable charism and target geographies. The Spiritans already share missionary spaces with the Comboni Missionary Sisters (Pentecost 2026 celebration), confirming direct co-missionary collaboration.
• Congregation of the Holy Cross: A Catholic religious congregation with parallel missionary origins, running parishes, schools, and universities in Africa, India, and the Americas. Comparable governance (Superior General, General Chapter) and formation structure.

Broad incumbents

• Franciscan Order (Order of Friars Minor): A much larger and older Catholic religious order with a global missionary presence. While broader in apostolate (includes wandering ministry, ecology, and academic institutions), the Spiritans share the Franciscan-adjacent emphasis on serving the poor and living among the marginalized.
• Dominican Order (Order of Preachers): A Catholic religious order with a long missionary tradition, an emphasis on preaching and education, and a global network of convents and parishes. Comparable to the Spiritans in combining intellectual formation with itinerant missionary work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@spiritans-net
• Facebookfacebook.com/spiritans.net
• Instagraminstagram.com/spiritans_net
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/spiritan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

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 SPIRITAN