Pilgrims of Hope, on the Path to Peace.

We would like to repeat and share with you the words of Pope Leo XIV addressed to the thousands of consecrated men and women from all continents who took part in the Jubilee of Consecrated Life. In Rome, from October 8 to 11, an ecclesial face of communion emerged, one capable of speaking to the heart of local Churches and the peripheries of the world.

"Thanks to your vitality and the witness of a life where Christ is the center and the Lord, you can contribute to 'awakening the world'! In this sense, it is always necessary to reaffirm how important it is for all of you to be rooted in Christ. Only in this way, in fact, will you be able to fruitfully accomplish your mission, living your vocation as part of the wonderful adventure of following Jesus more closely. In Him and among yourselves, your small lights become like the traces of a luminous path within the great project of peace and salvation that God has for humanity. Therefore, to you, daughters and sons of the founders and foundresses, I address a heartfelt exhortation to 'return to the heart,' as the place to rediscover the spark that animated the beginnings of your history, entrusting to those who preceded you a specific mission that does not pass away and that is entrusted to you today. It is indeed in the heart that 'the paradoxical connection between self-worth and openness to others, between the very personal encounter with oneself and the gift of self to others' occurs (Francis, Enc. Letter Dilexit nos, 18). It is in interiority, cultivated in prayer and communion with God, that the best fruits of goodness according to the order of love are rooted, in the full promotion of each person's uniqueness, in the appreciation of one's own charism, and in the universal openness of charity."

"There is a profound need for hope and peace that dwells in the heart of every man and woman of our time, and you, consecrated men and women, wish to be its bearers and witnesses through your lives, as diffusers of concord by word and example, and above all as people who bear within themselves, by the grace of God, the imprint of reconciliation and unity. Only in this way can you be, in the different settings where you live and work, builders of bridges and diffusers of a culture of encounter, in dialogue, in reciprocal knowledge, in respect for differences, with that faith that makes you recognize in every human being a single sacred and marvelous face: the face of Christ." (...)

"The commitment to universal fraternity, attention to the poorest, and the care of creation are central points that testify to your daily commitment to creating and promoting environments and structures of fraternity, where poverty is vanquished, where the dignity of the human person is placed at the center, and where the cry of the 'common home' is heard. (...) Throughout the centuries, consecrated life has always shown a particular interest and attention to them, to which, even today, your hidden daily action bears privileged witness."

(...) "A 'dialogue within' is entrusted to you today in a particular way, for a continuous renewal of the Body of Christ in relationships, processes, methods. Your life, your mode of organization, the often international and intercultural nature of your institutes, indeed place you in a privileged position to live daily values such as reciprocal listening, participation, the sharing of opinions and competencies, and the common search for paths according to the voice of the Spirit." (Jubilee of Consecrated Life, 10.10.2025)

"The Lord, to whom you have given everything, has rewarded you with so much beauty and richness, and I would like to exhort you to cherish and cultivate this treasure. Keep, as Paul VI wrote to religious, the simplicity of the 'little ones' of the Gospel. Know how to rediscover it in your interior and more heartfelt relationship with Christ, or in direct contact with your brothers and sisters. You will then know 'the thrill of joy caused by the action of the Holy Spirit,' which belongs to those initiated into the secrets of the kingdom. Do not seek to be among those 'wise and clever' [...] from whom these secrets are hidden. Be truly poor, meek, hungry for holiness, merciful, pure of heart, those through whom the world will know the peace of God." (Mass of the Jubilee of Consecrated Life, October 9)

Pope Leo XIV