ISL is one of the oldest centers in the United States offering a course in personal spiritual growth and training in the art and skill of spiritual direction. The Institute for Spiritual Leadership was founded in Chicago Illinois, USA in 1974 by Paul Robb, a Jesuit priest, theologian and psychologist, who recognized that forming competent, compassionate spiritual leaders involves balancing their professional development with the deepening of their own personal and spiritual lives. For 30 years women and men from around the world have come to ISL to discover a unique integration of these two aspects of spiritual growth.

Single, married and divorced women and men, individuals in religious communities and clergy representing a broad spectrum of Christian denominations and cultural and ethnic backgrounds have found ISL a welcoming place. Each year participants in the intensive Spirituality for Self and Service programs find at ISL a sacred space in which to enter deeply into their own conversion process, discern their call to service and advance in personal and professional skills. Others who attend short programs, retreats or workshops experience the ISL staff’s unique and caring ability to create “a sacred space for growing” wherever these events are held.