From 30 May to 7 June 2026, several women religious theologians from different continents and congregations gathered in Nemi to build relationships and place their theological expertise at the service of consecrated life.

Sister Maria Rita da Silva, from the Congregation of the Sisters Messengers of Divine Love, who participated in the Symposium, shared her experience with us.

What contribution can women religious theologians make to building a more synodal Church, and how can the theology of consecrated life support this process?

Synodality is a tool, a means that the Church offers us so that we can contribute even more to this idea, to this sense of being the People of God: a people who are chosen and baptized, who have their own voice, their own space, and their own place. Through this tool, it is possible to reach every reality and to enable all Christians to have a voice, to have their own space, and to express their opinions in relation to the realities and needs of the Church. In other words, it means being close to people at the grassroots.

And consecrated life wishes to be this sign, this instrument that enables us to collaborate even more with the Church in the work of evangelization. We are present at the grassroots, and we can concretely help our people to feel that they are Church, to feel heard with all our attention. We can therefore bring these realities and these responses into the Church and make it possible for everyone to have their own place, their own voice, and their own space. Everyone, everyone, everyone, as Pope Francis reminds us.

What does this Symposium represent for you, both personally and professionally?

This Symposium of Women Religious Theologians, promoted by the USG, is an excellent space for exchanging experiences, listening to one another, sharing our knowledge, and collaborating so that religious life throughout our world can be heard.
We are women, and there are many of us, yet we still need greater space to share our reality, our identity, our feminine genius, not only within the Church, but also in the fields of theology and research.