One year after the election of Pope Leo XIV to the See of Peter, the UISG remembers with gratitude the beginning of his ministry as the 267th Bishop of Rome.

May 8, 2025 remains a date etched in the heart of the Church and of millions of faithful around the world: after days of prayer and discernment, the Conclave elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who chose the name Leo XIV, inaugurating a pontificate marked from the very beginning by a strong appeal for peace, fraternity, and hope.

That day, shortly after 7:00 p.m., the new Pope appeared on the central Loggia of Saint Peter’s Basilica to offer his first greeting to Rome and to the world: “Peace be with all of you!” These words were welcomed with enthusiasm and deep emotion by the millions of faithful gathered in Saint Peter’s Square and by those following the event throughout the world.

Many Superiors General and sisters, gathered in Rome for the 23rd UISG Plenary Assembly, also experienced that historic moment together. In the assembly hall, live images from Saint Peter’s Square were projected on a large screen: when the white smoke appeared shortly after 6:00 p.m., the sisters burst into joyful applause, songs, and alleluias, sharing with the universal Church the emotion of the election of the new Pontiff.

In his first address, Pope Leo XIV spoke words that, one year later, still resonate with strength and relevance: “I would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, to reach your families, all people, wherever they may be, all peoples, the whole earth. Peace be with you! This is the peace of the Risen Christ, a disarmed and disarming peace, humble and persevering. It comes from God, God who loves us all unconditionally.”

Returning to the Heart

The first major occasion on which Pope Leo XIV met consecrated women and men from around the world was last October 10, during the Jubilee dedicated to them. After welcoming them “with an embrace that comes from the heart,” he told them:

“United with Jesus, your small lights become like the trace of a luminous path within the great plan of peace and salvation that God has for humanity. For this reason, to you, daughters and sons of Founders, I offer a heartfelt exhortation to ‘return to the heart,’ as the place where you can rediscover the spark that inspired the beginnings of your history, entrusting to those who came before you a specific mission that does not fade and that today is entrusted to you. Indeed, it is in the heart that the ‘paradoxical connection between self-worth and openness to others, between the deeply personal encounter with oneself and the gift of self to others’ is born (Francis, Encyclical Letter Dilexit nos, 18). It is in the interior life, cultivated in prayer and communion with God, that the best fruits of goodness take root according to the order of love, in the full promotion of each person’s uniqueness, in the appreciation of one’s own charism, and in the universal openness of charity.”

Leaven of Peace and Sign of Hope

On February 2, 2026, to celebrate the World Day for Consecrated Life, Pope Leo celebrated Holy Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica. During the homily, he addressed consecrated women and men, saying:

“Through the profession of the evangelical counsels and through the many services of charity that you offer, you are called to bear witness, in a society where faith and life seem increasingly distant from one another in the name of a false and reductive understanding of the human person, that God is present in history as salvation for all peoples (cf. Lk 2:30–31). You are called to witness that the young, the elderly, the poor, the sick, and prisoners all have, first of all, their sacred place on His altar and in His Heart, and that each one of them is at the same time an inviolable sanctuary of His presence, before whom we must kneel in order to encounter, adore, and glorify Him.”

The celebration concluded with words of thanks from the Pontiff, who told those present: “Today the Church thanks the Lord and thanks you for your presence, and encourages you to be, wherever Providence sends you, leaven of peace and a sign of hope.”

One year after the beginning of his pontificate, the UISG renews its closeness and communion with Pope Leo XIV, accompanying his ministry with the prayer and support of consecrated women throughout the world. Grateful for the words and gestures that continue to encourage consecrated life in its service to the Church and humanity, the sisters united in UISG entrust the Holy Father to the Lord, that his pontificate may continue to be a sign of peace, hope, and the Gospel for our time.

Artisans of Peace on the Peripheries of the World

In this time marked by conflicts, divisions, and deep human wounds, the UISG wishes to express its support for Pope Leo XIV in his tireless journey for peace. Embracing his call to build a “peace that is unarmed and disarming,” Superiors General and women religious throughout the world unite their voices with his prophetic appeal, committing themselves each day, on the peripheries of the world and in places of suffering, to be artisans of reconciliation, dialogue, and fraternity.

One year after the beginning of his pontificate, the UISG remains close to Pope Leo XIV in communion and solidarity, accompanying his ministry with the prayer and support of women religious around the world. Grateful for the words and gestures that continue to encourage consecrated life in its service to the Church and humanity, the sisters united in the UISG entrust the Holy Father to the Lord, that his pontificate may continue to be a sign of peace, hope, and the Gospel for our time.