The second day of the UISG 2025 Plenary Assembly started with a reflection on consecrated life as a sign of transformative hope. Sr. Simona Brambilla, Consolata Missionary and ex-Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, compared the current time to a night in which religious life is called to shine like the moon: "Not with its own light, but reflecting the light of Christ, in the company of the stars, inhabiting the sky of communion".

Sr. Brambilla emphasized that consecrated life finds its prophetic strength precisely in fragility and smallness, which allow it to be an authentic sign in a world that favors power and visibility. Participants shared experiences and questions about prophetic leadership and authentic formation, highlighting the importance of "creating safe spaces in which one can open the suitcase of the heart".

In the afternoon, the UISG President Sr. Mary Barron presented the UISG strategic plan 2025-2031, the result of a synodal process that identified the strengthening of religious life and the prophetic voice in the ecclesial and social sphere among the priorities.

The three guidelines that carry forward the activities and life of the UISG are:

• Give priority to consecrated life
• Enrich the Church with the gift of charisms
• Be a prophetic voice in a broken world, with an open gaze towards the most marginalized.

In addition, the UISG is committed to supporting ongoing projects and to carrying out new ones, in response to emerging global challenges. One of them was launched during the session: The Anna Trust Catholic Sisters’ Elder Fund to support elderly religious women. The UISG and four congregations together with the Hilton Foundation are behind the project.

“The elderly sisters represent wisdom, and their witness is a treasure for all of us,” Mother Elda said during the presentation.
The Assembly will continue on Wednesday, the day the Conclave begins. United in prayer with all the faithful for the next Pope, the Superiors General will explore the role of religious women as bearers of hope in difficult situations and their witness in a synodal Church.

We welcomed guests such as Sr. Nathalie Becquart, Under-Secretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, and Fr. Aitor Jiménez Echave, C.M.F., Under-Secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. In addition, Fr. Mario Zanotti, Secretary General of the Union of Superiors General and Fr. Arturo Sosa, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, took part.

See the photo album of the second day