This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament – Federation of the Holy Spirit.

The following is the greeting addressed by the Pope to those present at the meeting:

Greeting of the Holy Father

Dear Mother Alma Ruth del Espíritu Santo,
dear sisters Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament:

I am joyful to meet you during your pilgrimage in Italy, as you follow in the footsteps of Blessed Mary Magdalene of the Incarnation, on the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the Federation of the Holy Spirit.

Your presence is a shining witness to God’s freely-give love, which sows in the human heart a longing to seek and contemplate His face. It is the response to a deep yearning, beautifully expressed by the psalmist: “My heart says to thee, ‘Thy face, Lord, do I seek. Hide not thy face from me” (Ps 27:8–9).

That constant search for the face of God, which characterizes monastic life in a particular way, takes on a special nuance in the vocation you have received: it translates into a life completely dedicated to the continuous and silent adoration of a God who has become bread, and who invites us to unite with Him in the sacrifice of the altar, to form one body. “As Saint Augustine explained to the new Christians of his local Church, the bread and wine on the altar are the sacrament of the unity of the faithful in Christ” (Encyclical Letter Magnifica humanitas, 234). For this reason, there is a need for “a Eucharistic spirituality, that is, a spirituality of ecclesial unity in love” (ibid.).

Dear sisters, by manifesting within the Church the specific charism you have received from your foundress, you are called to be weavers of communion with the threads of prayer and work, of Eucharistic adoration and fraternal sharing within the monastery. May this time of grace which you are experiencing as pilgrims in the Eternal City and in the places where the Order originated renew and strengthen you, so that you may continue to radiate the beauty of the face of Christ in the Eucharist to the world.

May the witness of Blessed María Magdalena de la Encarnación inspire them to continue living out their consecration with renewed hope and a desire for holiness, remembering that fidelity to the ancient and ever-new wisdom of the Gospel is the best path for those who, guided by the Holy Spirit, dedicate themselves to loving God and their neighbour.

May the Lord bless you and may Our Lady of Guadalupe shelter you under her heavenly mantle. Thank you very much.