This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the Assembly of the Federation of Capuchin Poor Clares of Italy.

The following is the address delivered by the Pope to those present at the meeting:

Address of the Holy Father

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you! And one might also say, “peace and good”!

Dear sisters, brothers, good morning and welcome to you all!

I am very happy to meet you and to share with you this moment of reflection. We shall derive inspiration from the Liturgy of today, Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist.

In his Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul exhorts us thus: “Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience … you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call” (Eph 4: 1-2, 4).

It is a call to fidelity, to which your Federation responds in accordance with the charism of Saint Clare and Saint Francis, through contemplative prayer, poverty and total adherence to the Gospel. To this end, the work you have carried out in revising and updating the Constitutions is commendable; these documents bring together the contributions of many. They reaffirm that “the first and principal task of all religious is the contemplation of divine realities and constant union with God in prayer” (Constitutions, 60; cf. CIC, can. 663). As Saint Clare wrote to Saint Agnes of Bohemia: ‘Place your mind in the mirror of eternity; place your soul in the splendour of glory; place your heart in the figure of the divine substance; and through contemplation, transform your entire being into the image of the Divine One Himself” (Third Letter to Blessed Agnes of Bohemia, 12–13; FF 2888).

And it is indeed with the “mind in the mirror of eternity” that I invite you to look both at the present time, with its struggles and uncertainties, and at the challenges of your “little world”, rich in its past and called to look to the future with hope. The decline in vocations, in particular, might lead some to make choices of withdrawal or compromise. But I wish to repeat to you what I have said about the future of the dioceses and seminaries in Italy. Let us try to change our perspective when considering this reality. Its challenges, in fact, can help us to discover or rediscover unexpected potential, “not so much in terms of numerical strength but in terms of the quality of the offering” (Address to pilgrims from the dioceses of Tuscany, 11 October 2025). Today’s Gospel reminds us of this, saying: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Mt 9:12). The decline in the number of community members, and the resulting fear of losing one’s autonomy, must not cause distress or rob us of hope, but rather spur us on to a renewal of our way of life and to an even greater commitment to the spiritual accompaniment of those who knock on the doors of monasteries, so as to foster joyful and vibrant communities in which to experience intimacy with God, kindness, communion and authentic relationships. Vocations do not arise from the application of organizational strategies, nor from campaigns drawn up at a desk, but from prayer, from familiarity with the Gospel, from silence, from knowing how to accept one another with our imperfections (cf. Gal 6:2), and from feeling part of a whole that creates unity. And to do this, the Lord does not ask us to be flawless, but to allow ourselves to be moulded by his grace, humbly, day by day.

This offers us a cue to speak about another important theme: that of formation, both initial and ongoing. Form yourselves and others in a cloistered life lived in a spirit of profound communion amongst yourselves and with the Church; in a silence which, in a society dominated by haste and noise, makes people feel the need for times and spaces in which to pause and discern, without fear of missing the “fleeting moment”.

After all, this is also the specific missionary dimension of the cloistered vocation. Psalm 19, also taken from today’s Liturgy, reads: “There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world” (vv. 3-4). Formed in the school of the Gospel, the Lord calls you to be His witnesses in silence and contemplation, placing you within history as a living and prophetic memory of the Good News.

As Sisters of Saint Clare, moreover, you have a special message to proclaim, which is conveyed first and foremost through observance of the Rule and your Constitutions. It is part of your very being and your mission to live the Gospel by renouncing all that belongs to the world, turning wholly and constantly towards the first and only Love of your life. This entails sobriety, detachment from material things, self-surrender in obedience, and transparency, in a life that is simple yet also radical and demanding – a precious sign of fidelity, especially in a globalized and restless world where the desire and ability to “put down roots” seem to have been lost (cf. Francis, Apostolic Constitution Vultum Dei quærere, 35).

Therefore, dear sisters, I would like to conclude by returning to a question from your Federal Assistant: “Can cloistered women’s monasteries offer answers to the questions of meaning facing humanity today?” To answer this, four means were indicated which I consider important: mutual listening; koinonia, as a communion of purpose, to avoid isolation; diakonia, to serve and work together; and martyria, to bear witness to the Gospel. I leave these with you as sure paths for your journey.

Dear sisters, I thank you for what you do and for what you are: torches and sentinels for the Church and for the world (cf. Francis, Message to Contemplative Religious, 21 November 2018), signs of the presence of the Kingdom of God on earth.

I am glad to have met you and, invoking the intercession of Mary, Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi and Blessed Maria Lorenza Longo, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing to you.