CONSECRATED LIFE – FEBRUARY 2026

Dear Sisters, Daughters of the Church and of Mother Ascensión Nicol Goñi,

Sustained by grace and guided by the motto that illuminated the Jubilee Year 2025, “Pilgrims of Hope on the Way of Peace,” we feel called to transform this time into an offering of prayer for the Church and for the world, emphasizing the urgency of peace, a theme deeply connected to the Synodal Journey, and encouraging consecrated persons to walk together, rooted in the love of Christ, offering the world a light of hope and service.

We come once again, on this feast of consecrated life, which finds its true meaning in the celebration of the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple, to share these brief words with you, born of faith and gratitude. This year we remain on the same spiritual path, affirming with renewed conviction that consecrated life is a journey toward Christ, sustained by a firm hope in the face of the challenges of our time.

We respond to the urgent need for peace through a life of dedication, becoming living signs of Christian hope, as Pope Leo XIV exhorted us. Celebrating consecrated life each year highlights the offering of oneself to God and recognizes the richness of vocations and the joy of serving others, our brothers and sisters.

As we celebrate the 30th World Day for Consecrated Life this year, we take this opportunity to pay tribute to all those who, with their unwavering commitment, have contributed to the mission of the Church, in particular our pioneer sisters, such as Ascension Nicol, whose feast we will celebrate this month, and our Dominican Missionary Sisters of the Rosary, who continue to enrich the mission of evangelization with their diversity. The present time invites us to broaden our perspective and deepen our discernment, facing with sound judgment and a critical spirit the technological advances and the challenges that touch the heart of our lives as individuals and consecrated women: the sisters who are growing older and their passing (death), the decline in vocations, the resistance to missionary assignments, the risk of complacency… These realities raise legitimate questions about our future as young women on a journey, the vitality of our missions, and the proclamation of the Gospel. However, amidst these concerns, paths of hope and renewal emerge, manifested in the intercultural experience we are living with joy, in the generous dedication of our sisters who assume various responsibilities within the congregation, in the growth of our formation programs, and in so many subtle signs of the Spirit’s action.

We greet you with affection, dear sisters, our heroes, because you continue to risk everything for Christ, generously giving yourselves for the sake of our formation and vocation. They learn to contemplate everything with eyes of faith and with a trusting openness to Providence, whose fruits are eloquently manifested in our common life.

With this humble note, we express our sincere gratitude and encourage you to keep alive the flame of hope, received in our baptism, confirmed in our consecration, and nourished by the charism entrusted to us and bequeathed by our founders.

May our commitment in this constantly changing world, and our role as consecrated women called to synodality, continue to guide our steps toward courageous decisions and universal fraternity.

With Pope Leo XIV, we proclaim:

“This is the hour of love! With the light and strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on the love of God, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the Word, allows itself to be challenged by history, and becomes a leaven of unity for humanity.” (Pope Leo XIV, May 18, 2025)

Happy Feast of Consecrated Life!