Church Comes Together in St. Peter’s Square to Celebrate Jubilee of Consecrated Life
An overflow crowd of religious sisters and brothers, monks and contemplatives, members of secular institutes, the Ordo Virginum, hermits, and members of “new institutes” from around the world converged on St. Peter’s Square on Thursday morning, October 9, 2025, to join with Pope Leo XIV in celebrating the Jubilee of Consecrated Life.
During his homily, Pope Leo XIV urged religious men and women to be “truly poor, meek, hungry for holiness, merciful,” and to “seek, ask, and knock” for God’s gifts, embodying the prophetic role of religious life. The pope spoke of “God as the fullness and meaning of our lives. For you—for us—the Lord is everything.” He reminded us that “an authentic experience of God always gives rise to generous outpourings of charity.” This can be seen in the lives of the founders and foundresses of the various orders and congregations present.
The pope concluded by urging all the religious “to treasure and cultivate what you have received. … Keep the simplicity of the ‘least ones’ of the Gospel,” in the words of St. Paul VI. “May you succeed in discovering this anew in an interior and closer relationship with Christ and in your direct contact with your brethren.”
