Home · Faith · Sep 30 archive
Pope Leo XIV Urges Nuns to Maintain Silence Amid Noisy World
Confirmed
In Short: Pope Leo XIV urged contemplative nuns to maintain silence in a world characterized by speed and noise during a private audience on Sept. 24.
Pope Leo XIV urged contemplative nuns to maintain silence in a world characterized by speed and noise during a private audience on Sept. 24.
The pontiff emphasized the importance of silence, calling it a fundamental value of cloistered life and a precious service to the Church.
Leo invited the nuns to listen to what the Spirit is asking of the Dominican contemplative life today, rather than focusing on maintaining empty structures.
In his address, Leo encouraged the sisters to remain faithful to their charism of silent contemplation and become more attentive to themselves, the outside world, and God.
An Italian Dominican nun, Giordano, was selected to help revise the constitutions of Dominican nuns after the Second Vatican Council.
Like his audience to a delegation from the Federation of Capuchin Poor Clare Nuns of Italy on Sept. 25, the pope’s message to the nuns highlighted the importance of spiritual commitment despite a decline in vocations.
Pope Leo XIV will be the first pope in history to venerate the Holy Tunic, believed to be the garment worn by Jesus during his Passion, during a youth vigil in Paris.
What this adds
Pope Leo XIV’s encouragement to the nuns to uphold their commitment to silence comes amid a noisy world and aging religious communities.
The pontiff’s message to the nuns adds to his previous calls for spiritual commitment and perseverance in the face of declining vocations.
The Holy Tunic will be displayed at the close of a youth vigil during the Pope's visit to France, marking a rare public veneration of the relic.
Background
In his message for the 112th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Leo XIV highlighted the vulnerability of children and teenagers who are often subjected to violence and exploitation during migration.
Pope Leo XIV encouraged the Capuchin Poor Clare Nuns of Italy to remain hopeful and to renew their spiritual commitment despite a decline in vocations during an audience on September 25.
What's confirmed
- Pope Leo XIV urged contemplative nuns to maintain silence in a world characterized by speed and noise during a private audience on Sept. 24.
- The pontiff emphasized the importance of silence, calling it a fundamental value of cloistered life and a precious service to the Church.
- Leo invited the nuns to listen to what the Spirit is asking of the Dominican contemplative life today, rather than focusing on maintaining empty structures.
- In his address, Leo encouraged the sisters to remain faithful to their charism of silent contemplation and become more attentive to themselves, the outside world, and God.
- An Italian Dominican nun, Giordano, was selected to help revise the constitutions of Dominican nuns after the Second Vatican Council.
- Like his audience to a delegation from the Federation of Capuchin Poor Clare Nuns of Italy on Sept. 25, the pope’s message to the nuns highlighted the importance of spiritual commitment despite a decline in vocations.
- Pope Leo XIV will be the first pope in history to venerate the Holy Tunic, believed to be the garment worn by Jesus during his Passion, during a youth vigil in Paris.
What's still developing
- “[Silence] is particularly important in a world characterized by speed, where everything must be immediately visible and every void must be filled in a hurry,” Leo said.
- “Keeping silence is an act of the will that engages the whole person and helps to cultivate solid relationships, because they are animated by the Word of God,” he added.
- The Pope will be joined by more than 80,000 young people who have registered for the Youth Vigil to be held at Paris' Stade de France soccer stadium.
- The National Catholic Register reports that Pope Leo will be the first pope in history to venerate the relic, which is usually viewable only through a small glass window and is only rarely exposed for public veneration.
- “Their names may not be known to the world, but they are well known to God,” he said.
- Pope Leo recalled the witness of martyrdom of Catholics who gave their lives for the faith in recent years in Iraq, Syria, and other parts of the Middle East scarred by violence.
- “The universal Church looks upon your communities with affection and recognizes in their perseverance, in their faith lived through trials and in their courage in service, a precious testimony for the entire Church.” Courtney Mares is Vatican editor for OSV News.