by Mother Margaret Mary, C.K.
On May 1, I joined for the first time a representative group of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR), flying to the Eternal City to participate in a series of meetings with various Congregations of the Roman Curia. Though I had been to Rome on pilgrimage, this new mission to represent the CMSWR to the Vatican was a blessing in a very different way.
The CMSWR, composed of the major superiors of 116 communities of women religious in the United States, was founded in 1992 in response to the Second Vatican Council’s call for the renewal of religious life based on discipleship to Jesus Christ. Its purpose is to provide mutual support in sustaining among the members the transcendent nature and the essential elements of religious life (common life, common prayer, communal apostolates, etc.).
Erected by the Holy See’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL), the CMSWR remains accountable to this Congregation, who follows with great interest the development and activities of the councils of major superiors and seeks to collaborate with them in the service of the Church. For this reason, the CMSWR Executive Committee travels to Rome each year to meet with the Sacred Congregation, report on its activities and receive guidance where needed. The sisters also visit other Offices and Congregations of the Roman Curia.
Although we usually go in January, a postponed trip allowed us to participate in the International Assembly of the Union of Major Superiors, gathering with religious superiors from everywhere in the world. Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, prefect of the CICLSAL, and Archbishop José Rodríguez Carballo, secretary, addressed the assembly, reminding us of the crucial importance of formation for the members, and the necessity to properly prepare those who have the responsibility of accompanying and guiding the new members of our communities and of discerning the authenticity of the vocations of those who desire to join us. A vocation to religious life is a gift and a call from God, not something we can choose and determine for ourselves.
We were also reminded that our authority, modeled on Jesus Christ, is for service, and listening is an essential aspect of that service. In the exercise of our authority, we are to foster freedom and maturity—living as true disciples of Christ. With the Church’s current focus on the Synod on Synodality, the importance of listening and of collaboration was frequently stressed. As religious who are called to be “experts in communion” according to the vision of Vatican II, we were asked to bear witness and to help others in the Church live the synodal way. “Be who you are!”
It was a joy to be able to share with the Holy See the happy news that religious life is not dying out in the United States. The sisters in our CMSWR member communities total approximately 5,700, with almost 900 of those in initial formation (postulants, novices and temporary professed). We live and serve in at least 140 different dioceses in the United States and in more than 70 dioceses in other countries. We are small, but we are growing rather than diminishing, and that is a sign of hope!
Other highlights include attendance at the Wednesday General Audience, where we had seats very close to the Holy Father; Mass and cappuccino with Father James Morin of the Diocese of Lincoln and Lincoln seminarian Matthew Schilmoeller; and a tour of the North American College. A great joy for me was the opportunity to pray at the tomb of St. Ignatius of Loyola in the Church of the Gesu, and to participate in the celebration of Mass right next to the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle in the Clementine Chapel of St. Peter’s Basilica. To be so close to the tombs of so many saints! To gaze on such beauty! I want all of my sisters to have such an opportunity.
Another beautiful highlight was our time at the Domus Sanctae Mariae Guadalupe, the CMSWR House of Studies in Rome. Responding to the desire of Pope John Paul II for Councils of Major Superiors throughout the world to establish houses of studies for women religious in Rome, the CMSWR opened Domus Sanctae Mariae Guadalupe in 1999. The Domus offers a residence where sisters from various member communities in the United States can live the common life together while studying or working in Rome. In addition, CMSWR offers at the Domus several short programs. A number of the School Sisters of Christ the King have participated in the Summer Renewal Programs over the years and have been deeply enriched by these experiences of the Church.
Our short stay at the Domus was for me a first-hand experience of another of the goals of the Domus—the development of genuine friendships and communion, and strong collaboration among member communities. What a blessing and a joy to experience the loving communion among the sisters and with the priests who come from the North American College to celebrate daily Mass for the sisters at the Domus! Please God, we will be able to continue to provide this Rome study opportunity for our sisters, which fosters the enriching and fortifying of religious life and the Church in America.
CMSWR has proven to be a vital resource for the ongoing revitalization of religious life, placing our collective feminine genius at the service of the Church and one another and serving to promote and support the new evangelization. For more information, visit the website at cmswr.org.
It seems fitting to conclude with words of our Holy Father, Pope Francis to the major superiors gathered in Rome: “Welcome the time we live as a gift from God... With Mary, with a brisk step, with faith, go ahead! I bless you from the heart, I bless your communities, especially the most vulnerable members, and I bless those who benefit from the work you do. And, please, do not forget to pray for me.”
