Pope Leo XIV encourages two women’s religious congregations meeting for their General Chapters to root their renewal in prayer and the encounter with the Risen Christ.
By Vatican News
Pope Leo XIV, on Thursday, greeted participants in the General Chapters of the Religious of Jesus and Mary and the Missionary Sisters of Saint Charles Borromeo, Scalabrinians, encouraging them to live their meetings as moments of renewal rooted in prayer, listening, and the encounter with the Risen Lord.
Welcoming the Superiors and Chapter delegates in audience, the Pope expressed gratitude for their service and offered his best wishes to the newly elected Superiors General. He recalled that the two congregations “were born in different circumstances yet from the same love for the poor,” united by a shared charism of compassion.
“Where it all begins”
Reflecting on the themes chosen for the respective Chapters – “Jesus himself drew near” (Lk 24:15) and “Wherever you go, I will go” (Ruth 1:16) – the Pope said these express both God’s initiative and the human response.
“In Saint Luke,” he noted, “we see Jesus joining the disciples of Emmaus and walking with them, leading them to recognise him in the breaking of bread.” In Ruth, by contrast, “we see the young Moabite woman who, though she could have done so, does not abandon her mother-in-law Naomi, but follows her to a foreign land to care for her to the very end.”
He recalled that both Saint Claudine Thévenet, founder of the Religious of Jesus and Mary, and Saint Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, together with Blessed Assunta Marchetti and Venerable Giuseppe Marchetti, founders of the Scalabrinian Sisters, faced times of great trial.
“The secret of such fidelity,” the Pope affirmed, “is found in their encounter with the Risen Jesus. That is where it all began for them and also for you.”
Prayer, silence, and listening
Highlighting the significance of the General Chapters, Pope Leo XIV invited the sisters to let Jesus “walk alongside you and help you to re-read your history in the light of Easter.”
“In a Chapter,” he said, “the most important insights are gained on our knees, and what matures in the meeting rooms needs to be sown and sifted before the Tabernacle and in listening to the word.”
He urged the participants to “give plenty of space to prayer and silence throughout the course of your work,” reminding them that “it is only by listening to the Lord that we learn to truly listen to one another.”
Seeking the face of God in those who suffer
Quoting Pope Francis and Saint John Paul II, Pope Leo XIV called on the sisters to seek “the face of God in our brothers and sisters in need” and to see in each person “a promise, a hope, an epiphany of the divine presence.”
“This requires courage,” he said, “to let ourselves be challenged by the presence of those who suffer, without fear of abandoning our own security, and to venture, if the Lord asks it, onto new paths.”
