The Second Vatican Council's call for the renewal and adaptation of religious life, as expressed in the Decree Perfectae Caritatis, has had a significant impact on consecrated life, particularly apostolic religious life. The document Ecclesiae Sanctae established the guidelines for the implementation of the decree and emphasised the necessity of consulting specific sections of Lumen Gentium and Gaudium et Spes. Besides the impact of these two documents, the Council's call for the renewal of religious life implied a simultaneous two-way movement of ressourcement and aggiornamento, leading to impressive renewal, but also some unforeseen challenges. This paper will focus on one such unanticipated, rather unintended, impact of Vatican II on the apostolic religious life, and highlight the need for a renewed focus on understanding the theology of the religious apostolate in the present context.