The Jubilee of Consecrated Life officially began today, 8 October 2025, in Rome. The event, promoted by the Dicastery for Evangelization and the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, gathered more than 16,000 consecrated men and women from about 100 countries. They embarked on a pilgrimage of hope, passing through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica to live a moment of grace and communion. Among them were religious brothers and sisters, monks and contemplatives, members of secular institutes, those belonging to the Ordo virginum, hermits, and representatives of new forms of consecrated life.

The pilgrimage, which began in the early afternoon, unfolded in an atmosphere of prayer and reflection, accompanied by psalms and hymns of the jubilee journey. In the designated jubilee churches, pilgrims received the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a sign of God’s mercy that renews and restores hope.

At 7:00 p.m., a Prayer Vigil took place in St. Peter’s Basilica, presided over by Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, SDB, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. The vigil, centered on the theme Pilgrims of Hope on the Paths of Peace, included three moments of reflection and testimony, giving voice to the cries of the world and affirming the mission of consecrated persons as artisans of peace.

The first moment, Christ, Our Peace, Source of Hope, offered a meditation inspired by Charles Péguy, inviting participants to contemplate hope as a fragile yet resilient child carried on the shoulders of suffering and faith. A cloistered nun shared a reflection inspired by the image of a refugee child from Gaza, affirming that children torn from the arms of peace belong to all of us.

The second moment, Called to Be Peacemakers, echoed Madeleine Delbrêl’s call to a “passion for patience,” those small daily acts that wear down and purify the heart. A consecrated woman testified that patience burns most deeply when the temptation to believe that nothing will ever change threatens to extinguish hope.

The third moment, …and Pilgrims of Hope!, recalled the words of Christian de Chergé, the martyred Trappist of Tibhirine, as a hymn to a life freely given. A missionary sister shared her experience of serving among the poorest, saying: “Mission is not something we do, but something that transforms us. My life doesn’t just have a mission, my life is mission.”

After the proclamation of the Gospel of the Visitation, Sister Mary of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Jeanne Antide Thouret offered a testimony of “visitation” from the wounded lands of the Middle East, affirming: “Hope is not the absence of pain, but the presence of God in pain.”

In his homily, Cardinal Fernández Artime entrusted to Mary the living image of consecration: a force in motion, a womb that generates hope, a presence that stirs hearts from inertia. He reflected that in Mary’s journey to Elizabeth, we see the truest face of consecrated life, a readiness that becomes movement, encounter, and light, rekindling peace where hope falters.

The vigil concluded with a moment of silence and intercession for peace in the world. The voices of consecrated persons, united in the hymn Pilgrims of Hope, expressed the joy of a Church that continues to believe it is hope that keeps us moving forward.