Renewing the Church by Renewing the Priesthood
Comprehensive support services for priests, helping them to be emotionally healthy and spiritually alive — while guiding Church leaders to build environments that sustain their flourishing.
Highlighted In
EWTN Radio Interview
Matt Robinson, founder of The Shepherd Within, joins EWTN’s Ave Maria Radio to discuss the state of the priesthood and how to strengthen it in the United States.
Forming the Man, Reforming the System: Featured in CUA Press
Matt’s recent work is featured in “Rebuilding Trust: Clergy Morale in the Wake of the Abuse Crisis,” published by The Catholic University of America Press. His chapter, co-written with Bishop Edgar da Cunha of the Diocese of Fall River, explores the intersection of emotional intelligence, human formation, and institutional renewal as pathways to priestly health and holiness.
The Personal Transformation: Human Formation as Emotional & Social Intelligence
Finally, the Human Formation Priests Have Always Deserved.
The Shepherd Within helps priests develop the human formation skills seminary never fully taught (but your priesthood requires) — the inner competencies that sustain joyful, resilient, and effective ministry.
What makes our approach unique is that it’s built on the EQ-i 2.0 framework — the world’s most scientifically validated model of emotional and social intelligence. Often called the platinum standard of human effectiveness, this model identifies 15 measurable skills that determine how well we understand ourselves, relate to others, and respond to life’s challenges.
These 15 skills provide a perfect complement to the Church’s vision of human formation. We translate theological ideals into practical, evidence-based habits that can be learned, practiced, and measured. In other words, we turn human formation theory into human formation results.
Through professional emotional intelligence coaching designed specifically for Catholic priests, you’ll learn how to:
Understand and regulate emotions
Resolve conflicts with assertiveness and communicate authentically
Lead with confidence, compassion, and composure
Build deeper fraternity and healthy relationships
Resist stress for sustainable ministry
Integrate your emotional, spiritual, and pastoral life
Because before you are a priest, you are a human being — and grace builds on nature. When human formation becomes the true foundation (the pillar “underneath” the pastoral, spiritual, and intellectual pillars), everything changes.
The Collective Transformation: Institutional & Organizational Change
Building Systems That Sustain the Shepherd
Individual strength isn’t enough to sustain priestly wellbeing, holiness, and success. Priests flourish when the institutions and environments around them are supportive and conducive to success. Remember: a person's environment always wins in the long run (no matter how strong that priest is personally). It’s not sustainable to expect priests to flourish while putting them in a bad environment.
That’s why The Shepherd Within partners with dioceses, seminaries, and religious communities to foster wholesale organizational realignment that promotes priestly flourishing and the fundamental priestly mission (i.e., to continue Christ’s redemptive work on earth).
Through organizational consulting and culture change initiatives, we help Church leaders:
Build spiritual coalitions around the desired institutional and organizational change.
Evaluate and strengthen their systems of clergy support and formation.
Build emotionally intelligent leadership teams.
Create healthy rectory and workplace environments.
Integrate best practices in change management and human formation.
Align mission, structure, and pastoral outcomes.
Church attempts at renewing the priesthood fail because they focus only on the priest himself and not the environment surrounding the priest. We change that through organizational change expertise.
The Connection Between these Two Pillars
Our mission is simple:
To form the humanity of the inner shepherd and reform the structures that sustain him.
🕊️Hope in Action
Emotional Intelligence Answers the Church’s Call for Deeper Human Formation. Here’s how.
Approximately 50% of priests report symptoms of burnout, such as emotional exhaustion, physical distress, and even loss of joy in ministry.
👉 Emotional intelligence is proven to prevent and reverse burnout, fostering resilience and renewed passion for one's vocation.
Priests experience mental illness, trauma, and addiction at rates similar to the wider population.
👉 Emotional intelligence is linked to enhanced emotional awareness and self-regulation, promoting mental health, inner healing, and reducing chronic stress.
Priests are contracting chronic illness at twice the rate of the American male population.
👉 Higher emotionally intelligent individuals are more likely to engage in positive health behaviors—regular exercise, balanced diet, abstaining from smoking/drinking, successfully coping with stress, anger, and resentments—while avoiding risky ones.
Leadership demands in the Church are greater than ever, and priests are expected to step into complex leadership roles earlier in their ministry.
👉 Higher emotional intelligence is directly linked to transformational leadership among clergy—enabling them to navigate conflict, inspire teams, build thriving communities, and lead as shepherds after Christ’s own heart.
Fatherhood is the priest’s fundamental identity, yet the most neglected formation topic.
👉 Priests are called to be spiritual fathers—guiding, nurturing, and protecting the flock entrusted to them. But without emotional intelligence, it’s a struggle to enter fully into this role. Emotional intelligence equips priests with the self-awareness, emotional maturity, and relational skills to father souls after Christ’s own heart.
Ministry disillusionment and vocational fatigue are rising concerns.
👉 Priests with strong emotional intelligence report higher ministry satisfaction, lower emotional exhaustion, and greater vocational resilience.
Isolation and loneliness in single rectory living continue to affect many priests.
👉 Emotional intelligence is strongly linked to emotional closeness and better communication, leading to deeper friendships, authentic priestly fraternity, healthy relational intimacy, and stronger relationships with parishioners.
Chaste celibacy remains a profound and challenging aspect of priestly life.
👉 Affective maturity is a prerequisite for healthy chaste celibacy. Emotional intelligence develops the affective maturity essential for coping with attraction, living celibacy with joy, and integrating one’s sexuality in a healthy, virtuous way.
A Priest’s Experience with The Shepherd Within
“I would not be where I am today as a priest, happier and healthier than I've ever been, and more excited to be a priest today without Matthew’s help.”
Who We Serve
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Priests
We work directly with individual priests who want to grow — men ready to reach new levels of leadership and confidence by mastering the same emotional intelligence skills used by Fortune 500 leaders — as well as those seeking renewal and stability.
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Church Leaders
We partner with dioceses, seminaries, religious communities, and Church Institutions to build systems that form and sustain priests for healthy, lasting ministry — and to provide comprehensive clergy support services that strengthen every stage of priestly life.
How We Serve: Our Core Offerings
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We partner with Church institutions — dioceses, seminaries, and religious communities — to strengthen both people and systems. Every service is grounded in the conviction that emotional intelligence is the lived expression of human formation, and that organizational structures must actively support the flourishing of priests.
Clergy offices are often stretched thin, and vicars for clergy balance multiple responsibilities. The Shepherd Within supplements your efforts through comprehensive clergy support services and offers strategic consulting to enhance the systems, culture, and structures that sustain healthy, effective priests.
Consulting for Dioceses & Religious Orders
Strategic consulting to design and strengthen comprehensive clergy support systems, align personnel and formation practices, enhance crisis response, and create a healthy organizational culture around priests.
Seminary Faculty Training & Culture Development
Formation and training for seminary faculty and formation advisors in understanding and applying emotional and social intelligence frameworks within priestly formation.
This includes practical tools for evaluating measurable benchmarks in seminarians, fostering honest and transparent communication, and creating a seminary culture marked by trust, accountability, and authentic human growth. This culture does not happen by default, it happens by design.Summertime Seminarian Formation
Structured coaching and oversight that bridge the summer gap, ensuring seminarians grow in emotional and social maturity while meeting clearly defined human formation benchmarks.
Seminarian Admissions Human Formation Assessment
Comprehensive emotional and social maturity assessments that provide vocation directors with actionable insights for selection, formation planning, and ongoing accompaniment.
Newly Ordained Program
Personalized first-year coaching for newly ordained priests, guiding them through the transitions of priestly life with attention to boundaries, resilience, and balanced ministry.
New Pastor & Parish Administrator Program
Formation and coaching for priests in their first year of leadership, focusing on emotionally intelligent, people-centered, and mission-driven pastoral leadership.
360° Reviews & Development Feedback
Structured multi-source emotional and social intelligence feedback that gives priests a clear picture of their strengths and growth areas, coupled with individualized action planning for ongoing formation.
Targeted Support & Consulting for Priests in Difficulty
Specialized coaching and human formation support for priests facing significant personal or ministerial challenges — helping them regain stability, confidence, and renewed purpose.
We also consult with dioceses and religious superiors in assessing a priest’s suitability for ministry, developing individualized remediation or wellness plans, and discerning appropriate timelines and conditions for safe and effective return to ministry.
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Dynamic talks and interactive sessions for clergy convocations, seminary workshops, and presbyteral days. Topics include human formation, spiritual fatherhood, emotional and social intelligence, burnout prevention, leadership, and more.
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Individual Coaching
One-on-one personal development and emotional/ social intelligence coaching for resilience, growth, and priestly well-being. Priests or seminarians gain tools to prevent burnout, strengthen humanity, and integrate emotional intelligence into ministry. -
Group Coaching
Small, intentional groups of priests or seminarians meet for guided reflection, emotional and social skill development, and fraternity. Growth happens best in community.
The Shepherd Within LLC provides comprehensive priest support services and organizational reform consulting to strengthen priestly life and transform the Church. We partner with dioceses, seminaries, and religious communities to build systems that form and sustain healthy, holy priests—and we work directly with priests through personal, evidence-based human formation coaching that integrates theology, psychology, and pastoral practice. This is the missing piece for bishops, religious superiors, clergy offices, and seminary leaders—a partner who provides world-class structure, support, formation, and accountability that their priests need to truly flourish.
Meet Matt
Hi, I’m Matt—the founder and coach behind The Shepherd Within.
With Master’s degrees in Theology, Psychology, and Business Administration, and professional certifications in Emotional Intelligence, Compassion Fatigue, Life Coaching, Church Management, and Organizational Change Management, I bring a unique blend of theological insight, psychological expertise, and practical experience to my work with priests.
For years, I’ve walked closely with priests—as a seminarian, parish employee, and later as Director of Clergy Support for the Diocese of Fall River. I’ve seen firsthand the immense demands of priestly life and the toll they can take on emotional and spiritual well-being.
That’s why I founded The Shepherd Within: to bridge the gap between personal formation and institutional reform — to ensure every priest receives both the skills and the support systems needed to flourish. Too often, I saw priests sent for costly interventions when what they really needed was practical, compassionate support, a new skillset, and a better environment. My mission is to change that by providing the best human formation in the country and leading organizational change within Dioceses, Religious Orders, and Church Institutions to prioritize priestly health, holiness, and effectiveness in carrying out the priestly mission.
I believe the Church needs priests today who are authentically human and heroically sacrificial—spiritual fathers who “stand at the door and watch,” ready to protect and provide for their flocks. Thriving in priesthood isn’t just possible—it’s essential for the renewal of the Church’s mission.
On a personal note, I’m blessed to share life with my wife and our three beautiful children in Rhode Island. In rare moments of free time, I enjoy sneaking in a round of golf.
Father, may you know we love the man behind the collar—and that with the right support, you can flourish both personally and ministerially.
I look forward to walking with you!
What People Are Saying
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![Matthew Leonard, Catholic Evangelist & Founder of ScienceOfSainthood.com]()
Matthew Leonard, Catholic Evangelist & Founder of ScienceOfSainthood.com
"We don’t just need more priests. We need men properly equipped to answer God’s call. Matt’s work is desperately needed.”
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![Msgr. Roger J. Landry National Director, The Pontifical Mission Societies Priest of the Diocese of Fall River]()
Msgr. Roger J. Landry National Director, The Pontifical Mission Societies Priest of the Diocese of Fall River
“Matt Robinson has brought great intelligence, vitality, innovation, hard work and sincere concern for priests’ full flourishing to his service of the priests of the Diocese of Fall River. He couples a profound theological reverence for priests and the priesthood with a broad practical experience of the challenges and joys priests face every day. I’m happy to see that through The Shepherd Within he’s now going to use his many gifts to help even more priests experience renewal. “
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Fr. Scott Hastings, JCL, Vicar General, Moderator of the Curia, Archdiocese of Omaha
“I have had the chance to work with Matt for several years. I know him to be thoughtful, professional, relatable, and reasonable. He’s the kind of collaborator that I can easily recommend to brother priests.”
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![Father Herb Sperger, Former Director of Spiritual Formation, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Philadelphia]()
Father Herb Sperger, Former Director of Spiritual Formation, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Philadelphia
“So many priests today are dealing with extraordinary challenges. Often, they are responsible for large or multiple parishes, sometimes in addition to other ministerial responsibilities, and yet many times do not have the support they find themselves in need of. Matt's personal coaching - given his psychological and theological background, as well as his experience in ministry to priests - can provide them the opportunity to deal with the challenges they face, as well as to build up the inner resources they need in order to go forward in ministry with greater confidence in themselves. I highly recommend Matthew and his program, The Shepherd Within.”
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![Leslie DeLisle APRN, PMHCNS-BC, Psychiatric Nurse Practioner, Diocesan Consultant]()
Leslie DeLisle APRN, PMHCNS-BC, Psychiatric Nurse Practioner, Diocesan Consultant
“I’ve seen firsthand how Matt’s coaching helps priests regain balance, resilience, and joy in their vocation. The Shepherd Within meets a critical need in the Church today - supporting priests as men, leaders, and spiritual fathers.”
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![Fr. Thomas F.X. Hoar, SSE, President, St. Edmunds Retreat at Enders Island]()
Fr. Thomas F.X. Hoar, SSE, President, St. Edmunds Retreat at Enders Island
“Matt Robinson has many tools to help priests develop and maintain healthy, balanced, and prayerful lives in ministry.”
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![John Varieur, LMHC, Director of the Family Counseling Center]()
John Varieur, LMHC, Director of the Family Counseling Center
"The Shepherd Within offers a one-of-a-kind service that helps blend the knowledge of the business world with the wisdom of Church teaching. These principles have the ability to provide lifelong successful skills both on an individual level and when using them in ministering to others."
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![Fr. Richard McFadden, JCL, Judicial Vicar, Archdiocese of Philadelphia]()
Fr. Richard McFadden, JCL, Judicial Vicar, Archdiocese of Philadelphia
"I have known Matthew for nearly two decades, and have seen firsthand his abiding love of Christ and his Church. I am grateful that he is using his considerable talents in multiple disciplines to help priests grow into strong and capable shepherds."
“Animated by the spirit of Christ, this sacred synod is fully aware that the desired renewal of the whole Church depends to a great extent on the ministry of its priests.” (Decree on Priestly Training, Optatam Totius, Pope Saint Paul VI, 1965)
The renewal of the Church depends on renewed priests — and renewed priests depend on renewed humanity and renewed systems.
The Shepherd Within exists to form both: the humanity of the shepherd and the structures that sustain him. Only when heart and culture are reformed together can the Church’s mission truly flourish.
