Religious Organization with a Non-Profit Business or Services

Adrian Dominican Sisters• Type: Dominican religious institute. Non-Profit / Business Role: Historically founded and sponsored non-profit schools, literacy centers, and healthcare ministries, transitioning many into independent public-good non-profits.
Bon Secours Sisters (Sisters of Bon Secours) Type: Religious congregation of Catholic sisters. Non-Profit / Business Role: Sponsors and operates non-profit health care, community services, and social outreach networks.
Alexian Brothers / Congregation of Alexian Brothers Type: Catholic religious institute of brothers and lay associates. Non-Profit / Business Role: Long involved in operating non-profit hospitals, health systems, and residential care facilities.
La Trappe d’Oka refers to the Abbey of Notre-Dame du Lac, a historic Roman Catholic Trappist monastery (Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, or O.C.S.O.) located in Oka, Quebec, Canada. Cheese making and selling.
Monastero Suore Cisterci (Italy): Located near Vitorchiano, north of Rome, a community of about 80 Cistercian nuns organically farms and produces natural and orange wines to support their monastery.
Tuscan Monasteries (Italy): Historic sites like the Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, the Monastery of Camaldoli, and the Abbey of San Michele Arcangelo have produced regional wines (such as Sangiovese and Merlot blends) for generations.
Via Caritatis (France): Benedictine monks at St. Madeleine’s Abbey in Le Barroux collaborate with local growers and vintners to craft the “Via Caritatis” (Way of Charity) wine brand.
American Monasteries and Producers: Communities such as Our Lady of New Clairvaux in California produce award-winning vintage wines, while specialized vineyards like the O.N. Vineyard and producers like Gadela Wines make canon law-compliant sacramental wines for church use.
Abbey Caskets: Owned and operated by the Benedictine monks of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana, this ministry dates back to 1854 and was officially established in its current form in 1999. They offer handcrafted solid wood caskets, cremation urns, and keepsake crosses directly to the public.
Holy Assumption Monastery: Located at Holy Assumption Monastery, the sisterhood handcrafts simple, sustainable FSC-certified wood caskets featuring removable upper and lower lids designed for Orthodox and traditional viewings.
Jesuits (Society of Jesus): Famous for founding a global network of high schools and universities focused on forming the whole person, morally, spiritually, and intellectually (e.g., Loyola High School).
De La Salle Christian Brothers: Founded to provide human and Christian education to the young, especially the poor. They are in France but are also known in Quebec as Frères des écoles chrétiennes.
Ursuline Sisters: One of the oldest female teaching orders, historically serving as a backbone for local diocesan and parish schools.
Piarists: Founded specifically for free education, dedicated to helping impoverished children.
Salesians of Don Bosco: Dedicated to the vocational, moral, and spiritual education of youth and working-class children