Overview
- Pope Leo XIV sent a prerecorded video to the Leadership Conference of Women Religious' 70th-anniversary assembly on Wednesday, Aug. 12, offering prayerful good wishes and assuring participants of his prayers.
- He praised the long record of sisters' ministry in evangelization, education, and care for the poor and said their witness can help 'wake up the world' to counter a 'globalization of indifference.'
- The pope encouraged members of religious life to become 'experts in synodality,' endorsing the assembly's listening-based, communal-discernment format as a way to hear the Holy Spirit about consecrated life.
- He urged sisters to engage young people and promote vocations by introducing youth to religious life and helping them hear and respond to God's call.
- More than 1,300 U.S.-based leaders are attending the Orlando assembly and speakers including Sr. Simona Brambilla and Sr. Nathalie Becquart have amplified Vatican-linked calls for synodal leadership and renewed outreach, a development that could shape future formation and recruitment efforts in U.S. religious communities.