25th World Day for Consecrated Life

Today, February 2, the Fest of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, the Church celebrates the XXV World Day of Consecrated Life. At the moment, there are 649,000 women religious and 184,000 men religious in the whole world. Amongst them, some 2,700 Marist Brothers have embraced this vocation and dedicated themselves to fulfilling the dream of St Marcellin Champagnat of making Jesus Christ known and loved, working especially with children and young people on the margins.

In his Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata, Pope St John Paul II stated that “the consecrated life is at the very heart of the Church as a decisive element for her mission, since it “manifests the inner nature of the Christian calling”and the striving of the whole Church as Bride towards union with her one Spouse” ”.

Regarding religious brothers and consecrated life, the Vatican document, “Identity and Mission of the Religious Brother in the Church” underlines that “The Religious Brother and Sister, by participating in the saving mystery of Christ and the Church, are permanent reminders for all Christian people of the importance of the total gift of self to God and a reminder that the mission of the Church, respecting the various vocations and ministries within it, is one and is shared by all”.

Concerning the mission of the Marist Brothers, the XXII General Chapter highlighted that “our vocation implies an availability to go anywhere in our worldwide family, working alongside the poor, especially children and young people, to transform the world. o being brothers is a call to be signs of humanity in all its fulness, which implies healing the wounds of our own lives, promoting the dignity of each person, and caring for our common home.”

United with Pope Francis, who will celebrate a televised Mass in the Vatican at 17.30 Italian time, we ask the Lord to inspire religious to be a prophetic voice and beacon of hope in this troubled world.