Pallotti Institue of Lay Leadership and Research at Nagamalai-Pudukkottai, Madurai, popularly known by its abbreviation PILLAR. Founded in 1999, PILLAR is a centre for residential training programs as well as day programs which could be of religious or secular in nature. The house is not rented to corporates. There are 104 rooms for guests, 4 conference halls to accommodate 200, 100, 60 and 40 respectively. The house is well connected with the civil society. It arranges lectures on environmental issues, Tamil Medicine, war in Sri Lanka, Tamil language as unifying force for Tamils, etc. PILLAR Centre also offers two other facilities:

1. Ernst Leuninger Library: Situated within the Pillar Center this institute today boasts of a collection of over 8000 standard volumes focusing mostly on social and secular It subscribes to 80 standard journals and 9 dailies. Offering OPAC facility its books are made available to scholars and students. Documentation section of the library has a collection of ca. 2 lakh news clippings and articles on social and church related themes.
2. Meditation Hall and Sacred Grove: These two spaces within Pillar Campus are much sought after by people seeking communion with nature and solitude.