With song, prayer and ritual, leaders of women's religious congregations from around the world concluded five days of meetings in Rome earlier this month, affirming their commitment to the process of synodality and embracing a journey of vulnerability that they believe is vital for the renewal of the Church, religious life and their own communities, reports Global Sisters Report.
The pledge was a culmination to the May 2-6 plenary of the International Union of Superiors General, during which numerous sisters, theologians and speakers voiced their support for Pope Francis' vision of a synodal church that embraces its early historical roots, affirms the need for diversity, listens, and is more welcoming to those on society's margins.
Women religious look through their plenary materials on the final day of the 2022 plenary of the International Union of Superiors General in Rome. PHOTO: GSR/Chris Herlinger.
The 23-word commitment, spoken in unison by the 520 sisters attending the plenary in person and silently by another 200 or so who attended online, reads: "I commit myself to live vulnerable synodality through service as a leader, animating it within the community, together with the people of God."
The plenary brought a strong sense of communion among the sister-leaders participating, UISG President Sr Jolanta Kafka of the Claretian Missionary Sisters said in an interview after the gathering ended.
Sr Jolanta said she needed more time to reflect on the plenary but that there was a clear call for a paradigm shift in the approach to leadership — for transformation, not just change. The shift is to be more respectful, more inclusive and less hierarchical.
"Always, the plenaries give light" that lasts, she said.
Sr. Patricia Murray, executive secretary of UISG and a member of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as the Loreto Sisters, agreed.
"We've reached a very deep place after these five days," she told GSR as the plenary drew to a close. "A very deep place. It's a paradigm shift."
The sisters' public affirmation and final reflections came a day after the sisters attended a May 5 papal audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican in which he praised their leadership on synodality and warned against congregational renewal that risks being "frozen in time."
"The Church does not want frozen nuns. That's useless," Francis told the sisters. "The challenge is that consecrated life has to be integrated into a Church — not a frozen church, but a real church."
He also encouraged the sisters to seek ways to fully participate in the synodal process and invite others to do so in their local parishes and their communities and organisations.
Throughout the plenary, sisters also explored new paradigms and approaches of leadership for the Church, their congregations and themselves. The theme of vulnerability resonated with participants, many of whom came to the UISG assembly battered by the strains of leading during a pandemic, war, natural disasters, upheavals in ministries, and the stresses of religious life. Repeatedly, they heard messages of renewal and transformation from speakers, UISG leadership and each other as they met in small groups in person and online.
Throughout the final day, participants said they believed that together, the UISG attendees had struck the right notes on the need for change within the Church.
This is an abridged form of an article by Chris Herlinger, Gail DeGeorge and Christopher White, published in Global Sisters Report. See the full story here.