The Master of Arts in Pastoral Leadership (MAPL) is a 38-credit-hour accredited degree program geared toward lay Catholics who want to develop their knowledge and become more immersed in the Catholic intellectual tradition. By integrating academic coursework with pastoral formation, the MAPL curriculum addresses the challenges encountered in today’s culture and empowers co-workers in the Lord’s vineyard to excel at ministry.

MAPL is designed for lay people who are active in teaching, service, or ministry work and offers comprehensive theological formation directed toward the practice of ministry. In addition to coursework in theology, students engage in ongoing pastoral, human, and spiritual formation and complete a capstone project addressing specific ministry challenges and opportunities.

MAPL candidates who reside in the Archdiocese of New Orleans may also be eligible to apply to the lay ecclesial ministry commissioning process offered by ILEM and can complete their MAPL and ILEM requirements concurrently.