The Claretianum, officially the Claretian Institute of the Theology of the Consecrated Life, is an educational institute of the Roman Catholic Church in Rome founded by the Claretians. In the year 1935, the Collegio Claretiano was founded by the Claretian missionaries in Rome for the purpose of academic specialization. The Sacred Congregation of the Holy See for seminaries and universities, on 22 August, 1963, aggregated this centre of study to the Pontifical Lateran University. The centre was awarded the faculty to grant the academic title of the baccalaureate degree. After the Second Vatican Council, Claretianum – Institute of the Theology of Religious Life was erected and constituted by the Decree of the Sacred Congregation for the Catholic Education on 6 June 1971 and it was recognized as an institute of theological specialization of the Lateran University. From then on, the institute could award the degree of licentiate and doctorate in theology of consecrated life. Initially, the permission to do so had an experimental validity of four years. After the successful completion of the experimentation phase, the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, on 30 June 1975, with a special decree, declared the erection in perpetuity of the Institute of the Theology of Religious Life – Claretianum. According to the statues of the Pontifical Lateran University, approved by the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, on 20 December 1980, the institute Claretianum was incorporated into the Lateran University in the domain of the faculty of theology. The Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education on 21 November 1996, conceded the new denomination to the Institute as Institute of specialization in the Theology of Consecrated Life. After the necessary modifications of the statutes of the institute were made, the aforesaid Sacred Congregation, on 10 May 2003 gave recognition to the Master degree in Theology of Consecrated Life offered by the institute. From its very humble beginnings, the Institute has evolved into a major centre of research and study in the theology of consecrated life and has over the years rendered a valuable service to the Church and to Consecrated Life in particular. Thousands of consecrated persons have benefitted from pursuing their studies and research on the theology of consecrated life at this institute. Its mission is in being a centre of biblical and theological research on consecrated life, taking into account the historic-cultural, psycho-sociological and juridical aspects of consecrated life as well as the conditions in which the pastoral activities of the Church and of the consecrated persons take place. It proposes a two-year programme of studies on Consecrated Life, valid for the attainment of Diploma and Licence and also offers Doctoral degree in Theology of Consecrated Life. In addition, it also offers an Annual Course programme on Theology of Consecrated Life, conferring upon completion of the course a Diploma title and organizes every year a congress for the deepening of reflection and study on a chosen theme pertinent to Consecrated Life.
