On its concluding day, the Jubilee for Consecrated Life turned its focus to Peace. Following a day dedicated to Hope, participants gathered in the Paul VI Hall to address the critical need for peacemakers in an age of widespread conflict.
The day began with a Eucharistic celebration presided over by Cardinal Ángel F. Artime, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. In his homily, the Cardinal urged attendees to be “prophets of hope” and “bearers of living water.” He emphasized that the true fruitfulness of consecrated life comes from listening to and safeguarding the Word of God, following the example of Mary. Marking the anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, Cardinal Artime recalled Saint John XXIII and invited the consecrated to listen to the Spirit with simplicity and courage, to preserve goodness as a universal language, and to remain both free and obedient.
The morning continued with a powerful reflection on peace from Sr. Teresa Maya, CCVI, former president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), which was interwoven with moments of song, dance, and video presentations. Sr. Teresa encouraged the consecrated to become active builders of peace—shalom—through authentic engagement with the world, especially with the poor and marginalized, following the example of St. Francis of Assisi.
She defined peace not as the mere absence of conflict but as a spiritual gift requiring ongoing reconciliation, historical memory, and a spirituality that can recognize one’s own fragility. In polarized societies, she said, consecrated persons are called to create ecosystems of peace through intercultural and interreligious networks. This calling, she noted, transforms their communities into laboratories of nonviolence that witness to the possibility of a different world, in line with the vision of the Kingdom of God.
The afternoon session featured a practical workshop on mediation and conflict management led by the team of Fr. David McCallum, SJ, director of the Discerning Leadership Program. The workshop provided valuable training aimed at strengthening the ability to build peace within one's own communities and contexts. Participants were invited to expand their conflict management styles, cultivate a culture of listening, and acquire skills to transform difficult conversations.
To conclude their Jubilee, approximately 4,000 consecrated men and women gathered at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. There, they passed through the Holy Door and renewed their profession of faith, with the Creed proclaimed from five continents accompanied by symbolic gestures.
Sr. Simona Brambilla, Prefect of the Dicastery, pointed to Mary as the ultimate model for consecrated life. A life in Mary's image, she explained, becomes, “...a space for deep reflection on history, a prophetic gaze on reality embodied by ‘women and men of the Beatitudes who, even in tribulation, already see the invisible.’ It becomes a place of dialogue and encounter, a bridge where diverse experiences and wisdoms can meet and exchange gifts; it becomes a safe and respectful environment where relationships of true reciprocity can flourish.”
In their final message, the participants committed to being a presence of listening and care in the world's most difficult places, vowing to build peace starting with the poorest and most invisible. With renewed hope and sharper tools for peace, they departed from Rome, ready to bring this “fruitful harmony in diversity” to the streets of the world. Sr. Simona Brambilla sent them off with encouragement:
“So let us go, brothers and sisters! Let us go, pilgrims of hope on the path of peace, carrying with us the lived experience to treasure in our hearts and to share with those we meet!”