This morning at the Vatican Press Centre, there was a Press Conference held to present the Holy Father's Instruction on the Order of Consecrated Virgins.
Consecrated virgins are images of the Church, the bride of Christ. In this way, the decree of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship which, acting on the mandate of Blessed Paul VI, promulgated the new Rite of Consecration of Virgins, which presented consecrated women in the Order of Virgins. That was the 31st of May 1970. As it was in the apostolic communities and in the Patristic era, after centuries had passed, it was finally possible for women to receive this consecration while remaining in their own ordinary lifestyles, not merely reserved for nuns.
The Instruction Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago, which the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life presents today, examines that definition. After the liturgical Rite and the norms contained therein, the Instruction is the first document of the Apostolic See which deepens the physiognomy and the discipline of this form of life.
In two years, in 2020, the restored Rite will celebrate its 50th anniversary: in the past half-century, with the rediscovery of the particular Church (diocese), this particular female vocation has been known and loved all over the world. Consecrated virgins are present on all continents, in numerous dioceses, and they offer their own witness of life in every field of society and within the Church. In 2016, during the Year of Consecrated Life, an approximation estimated that there were more than fifty thousand consecrated virgins in the world, and that number continues to grow.
The Instruction concerning the Ordo virginum is intended to respond to requests received from numerous Bishops and consecrated virgins in recent years which have been presented to the Congregation for Consecrated Life concerning the vocation and the witness of the Ordo virginum, its presence in the Church and in the world, and - in particular - concerning vocational formation and discernment.
Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago seeks to help and to discover the beauty of this vocation, and to contribute to demonstrating the beauty of the Lord who transfigures the lives of so many women who live this commitment every day.
Today, I wish to express a wish, a wish that consecrated virgins will gather here in Rome from all corners of the world for a new international gathering in 2020, in order to celebrate with Peter the 50th anniversary of this Rite.
Remarks prepared by His Eminence, João Braz de Aviz
Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life
and Societies of Apostolic Life
Consecrated virgins are images of the Church, the bride of Christ. In this way, the decree of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship which, acting on the mandate of Blessed Paul VI, promulgated the new Rite of Consecration of Virgins, which presented consecrated women in the Order of Virgins. That was the 31st of May 1970. As it was in the apostolic communities and in the Patristic era, after centuries had passed, it was finally possible for women to receive this consecration while remaining in their own ordinary lifestyles, not merely reserved for nuns.
The Instruction Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago, which the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life presents today, examines that definition. After the liturgical Rite and the norms contained therein, the Instruction is the first document of the Apostolic See which deepens the physiognomy and the discipline of this form of life.
In two years, in 2020, the restored Rite will celebrate its 50th anniversary: in the past half-century, with the rediscovery of the particular Church (diocese), this particular female vocation has been known and loved all over the world. Consecrated virgins are present on all continents, in numerous dioceses, and they offer their own witness of life in every field of society and within the Church. In 2016, during the Year of Consecrated Life, an approximation estimated that there were more than fifty thousand consecrated virgins in the world, and that number continues to grow.
The Instruction concerning the Ordo virginum is intended to respond to requests received from numerous Bishops and consecrated virgins in recent years which have been presented to the Congregation for Consecrated Life concerning the vocation and the witness of the Ordo virginum, its presence in the Church and in the world, and - in particular - concerning vocational formation and discernment.
Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago seeks to help and to discover the beauty of this vocation, and to contribute to demonstrating the beauty of the Lord who transfigures the lives of so many women who live this commitment every day.
Today, I wish to express a wish, a wish that consecrated virgins will gather here in Rome from all corners of the world for a new international gathering in 2020, in order to celebrate with Peter the 50th anniversary of this Rite.
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