EUROPE/ITALY - Assembly of the International Union of Superiors General: Thank you Pope Francis, welcome to Pope Leo

by Pascale Rizk

Rome (Agenzia Fides) - About 900 nuns from around the world gathered in Rome from May 5 to 9 to participate in the 23rd Assembly of the International Union of Superiors General, dedicated to the theme "Consecrated Life: a hope that transforms."
Founded on December 8, 1965, the last day of the Second Vatican Council, the International Union of Superiors General – a body that unites the superiors general of religious institutes and societies of apostolic life – celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. At the conclusion of the assembly, which takes place every three years, consecrated women from all over the world witnessed together the end of the Conclave and the election of the new Pope, Leo XIV.
It was 6:09 p.m. on Thursday, May 8, when the hall of the Hotel Ergife, where the assembly was held, erupted with joy upon the announcement that "white smoke" was rising from the chimney on the roof of the Apostolic Palace. A few minutes earlier, Sister Mary Barron, the outgoing president of the UISG and a member of the Dicastery for Evangelization (Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches), had commemorated May 8, 1994, when the Algerian martyrs suffered martyrdom in Hennaya, Algeria. Two of them, Brother Henri Vergès and Sister Paul-Hélène Saint-Raymond, had been murdered in the library of the diocese of Algiers, in the casbah, on May 8, 1994.
"Pope Francis was a friend of the poor and forged bonds of friendship with all religions of the world. He was also humble, choosing humility as his throne and simplicity as his language," read Sister Barron in the message on Pope Francis's death, sent by the local Muslim community, the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles, a sign "of the transforming hope offered by the authentic witness of the Christian message." The message went on to emphasize that Pope Francis's pontificate “was a breath of fresh air, fragile but tenacious, with a heart that listened more than a voice that imposed. Today it is not only the Church that weeps, but all of humanity.”
Martyrdom, love for Christ until the end, and dedication to the poor were some of the many themes discussed during the Assembly. From the Colombian Amazon, across the border between Mexico and the United States, to Myanmar, the Superiors General shared the testimonies of their sisters serving in lands of suffering and conflict. “The moon does not dominate, does not blind, it remains in the company of the stars, it dwells in the heaven of communion, and for this very reason, it becomes an image of the Church today: it reflects a light that is not its own, like consecrated women who shine only if they are oriented toward the Lord,” stated Sister Simona Brambilla, a Consolata missionary recently confirmed by Pope Leo XIV as Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, in her address.
“Night,” she added, “is not only darkness. It is also the space of creativity, of intuition, of birth. As on Easter night, it is the time of the birth of a new life, small, fragile, but full of hope.” In a world that fears the night, consecrated life reminds us that it is precisely there that God speaks, where hope germinates, where prophecy takes shape."
In their final declaration, the Superiors General expressed their gratitude for the dynamism that Pope Francis has brought to consecrated life and renewed their commitment as women of peace, present at the foot of the cross, at the borders, who keep watch in the night; women who accompany and foster evangelical and inclusive communities, and who, even in old age and illness, continue to be signs of hope. (Agenzia Fides, 10/5/2025)

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