The Madonna House Apostolate is a Catholic Christian community of laypeople and priests, all of whom take lifelong promises of poverty, chastity, and obedience and who are dedicated to loving and serving Jesus Christ in all areas of life.

[2] Catherine de Hueck Doherty (1896–1985), foundress of the Madonna House Apostolate, was born in Russia to wealthy, deeply Christian parents.

[9] Following the annulment of her marriage,[10] Catherine wed the successful Irish-American newspaper reporter Eddie Doherty, and this union became a source of contention in Friendship House.

[12] To avoid further division, and shattered by yet another rejection, Catherine and Eddie withdrew[13] to the village of Combermere, in Ontario, intending to quietly live out their retirement.

[13] The young men and women who came, desiring to give their lives to God, were eventually joined by priests, who brought credibility and protection.

[15] At the 1952 Lay Congress in Rome, Cardinal Giovanni Montini (later Pope Paul VI) suggested to Catherine that Madonna House stabilize itself with vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

The call to "preach the Gospel with one's life", however, transforms every activity, from work, to meals, to sports and other forms of recreation into an expression of love for God and neighbor.

[29] The call to poverty, however, is rooted in Doherty's belief in the need for Madonna House members to depend completely on God, both materially and interiorly.

"In essence, ordinary, simple work done for the benefit of God and neighbour gives everyone at Madonna House meaning, no matter who you are.

"[29] Sobornost is a Russian word referring to a unity of heart, mind, and soul that develops in a group when each person is listening to and is surrendered to the Holy Spirit.

[32] The Russian word for 'desert', poustinia, in its Madonna House form, and as described in her classic work Poustinia: Encountering God in Silence, Solitude and Prayer, refers to a small, sparsely furnished cabin or room where one typically spends twenty-four hours in prayer and fasting, reading Scripture and listening for God's word in one's heart.

[34] An "apostolic farm," St. Benedict's Acres, provides much of the food for the community and teaches members and guests working there to learn to know God in a deeper way as they care for the land for which they are the stewards.

[39] In Canada, these houses are presently found in Combermere (St Joseph's Rural Apostolate), Ottawa, Toronto, and Windsor, Ontario; Regina, Saskatchewan; Edmonton, Alberta; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Whitehorse, Yukon.

International houses are currently located in Carriacou, Grenada, West Indies; Robin Hood's Bay, England; Resteigne, Belgium; and Krasnoyarsk, Russia.