At the conclusion of the Year of Consecrated Life
by Father Donato Cauzzo
With the solemn celebration in St. Peter's Basilica on Tuesday 2 February, presided over by the Holy Father Francis, this very special Year dedicated, by will of Pope Francis himself, to consecrated life will end. A long year, which lasted 14 months (it opened on 30 November 2014), which offered a great variety of initiatives in the Vatican and in many parts of the world. Even though we do not have precise data, we can believe that not only in Rome, but in every nation, and probably in every diocese of the Catholic world, there was a desire to celebrate in some way this special "time of grace" for consecrated men and women and for all the people of God. Is it already possible to attempt even a provisional assessment? Can we say that what Pope Francis expected from this Year has at least to some extent been achieved? It certainly wasn't a year of triumphalist celebrations. Even though, driven by Pope Francis' exhortation to "look at the past with gratitude", from every part of the world a great and unanimous thanks was raised to the Lord for the enormous good that consecrated people have done over the past centuries. But this was probably not the dominant note.
Almost everywhere it is recognized that this peculiar form of life in the Church is going through a period of shadows and lights, which requires more reflection and discernment than easy enthusiasm. In fact, there are not few, nor of little importance, the "areas of weakness" - as Pope Francis defined them - that can be found today in consecrated life. He himself exemplified some of them: «the resistance of some sectors to change, the diminished force of attraction, the not insignificant number of dropouts (...), the fragility of certain training itineraries, the concern for institutional and ministerial tasks to the detriment of spiritual life, the difficult integration of cultural and generational diversity, a problematic balance in the exercise of authority and in the use of goods". Among these listed, at least a word deserves the theme of the "diminished force of attraction": in other words, the numerical decrease of members, both male and female, of the Institutes of consecrated life. If in the years after the Second Vatican Council there was a strong decline in numbers - although not in all the Institutes to the same extent - due to the many people leaving the convents and monasteries (certainly one of the unexpected and painful effects of the conciliar reform), today the decline is due rather to the scarcity of new revenue. Although the number of abandonments has not completely ceased, and never will, the diminished capacity to attract new vocations is worrying.
This is above all the cause of the numerical decline in the members of the Institutes and the consequent increase in the average age of those who belong to them. Among the consequences, the burden of managing the works in which the charism of that Institute has historically expressed itself (e.g. schools, hospitals...) increases and the possibility of taking on new ministerial tasks in response to the needs of the Church and the " existential peripheries” towards which Pope Francis is pushing. But an important consideration must be added here. The decline in vocations is not homogeneous in the different geographical areas. It is very evident in Europe, also for obvious demographic reasons, in North America and Australia. However, in other areas of the world the trend is the opposite. In Africa, for example, the overall number of new vocations, both in apostolic institutes and in monasteries, has been growing slightly but constantly in recent years. Even more significant is the growth in the Asian continent. In some countries (just mention Vietnam) religious institutes are able to accommodate only a portion of the young men and women who ask to enter. In addition to gratitude for the past, Pope Francis urged us to "live the present with passion" and to "embrace the future with hope".
Many Institutes of consecrated men and women have well grasped the "provocation" of this special Year by activating training and refresher programmes, regional and global meetings, pilgrimages, studies and insights into their charism and the mission of the Institute, and so on. There were thus many opportunities to question themselves about their lives (Pope Francis had suggested to each institute "a serious check"), to savor the beauty of the choice made and renew the awareness of the commitments it entails, to listen more carefully to what God asks today, to continue to be faithful to the charism received from the Holy Spirit, for the good of the Church and the world. In addition to the many initiatives of the individual Institutes, many joint events, some organized directly in the Vatican and then in every corner of the world, have given the opportunity to thousands and thousands of consecrated men and women to meet each other. Pope Francis had specifically asked for it at the beginning: «I also expect communion between the members of the different Institutes to grow. Couldn't this Year be an opportunity to emerge with greater courage from the confines of one's own Institute to develop together, at a local and global level, common projects of training, evangelization and social interventions? In this way a real prophetic testimony can be offered more effectively." A wish promptly accepted, here in Rome by the Dicastery for consecrated life, and everywhere by individual dioceses, by continental and national Conferences of consecrated people, by universities and other ecclesial bodies. Hundreds and often thousands of men and women religious, nuns and monks, members of secular institutes have met, sometimes even for multi-day programmes, to share the joy of the identical life choice that unites them, to get to know better the respective charisms and traditions, to renew together their declaration of fidelity to God, to the Church and to humanity, to infect each other with the enthusiasm of following Christ and living for the Gospel.
If many consecrated men and women, especially young people, in this year have become re-passionate about the beauty of their own life choice, it does not appear illusory to look to the future with hope. The current one may prove to be a time of purification for a new flowering. The decline in numbers and the forced abandonment of works where the institutes have traditionally carried out their ministry is bringing a beneficial attitude of humility and even more creative audacity in seeking new and more current ways of embodying the charism of the founder. The observation of one's own fragility stimulates the search for forms of collaboration and mutual support between Institutes. The economic difficulties experienced by many lead to a more visible sobriety in personal and institutional life. Even the fall of the alleged "superiority" of the state of consecrated life compared to other forms of life in the Church (for a long time it was defined as the "state of perfection") is favoring proximity and communion with the rest of the people of God. And even if some Congregations are slowly dying out, new forms of consecration and new foundations are sprouting and growing in every part of the world. The Holy Spirit never ceases to embellish the Church with ancient and new charismatic gifts suitable for every age, so that the precious pearl of consecrated life continues to shine and bear witness to Christ. It is an incarnate Gospel stretched out in time and space, which continues to produce fruits of holiness within the people of God and of charity for a variety of needs of humanity in ours and in all times.