A long round of applause rose from the over 120 superiors general of religious orders and congregations gathered around Pope Francis on the occasion of their annual gathering in Rome on 29 November 2013, when they listened to his announcement: «I have decided to dedicate a year special, 2015, to consecrated life! 

Although completely unexpected, this announcement brought together the expectation and hope that consecrated people around the world had had in their hearts for a long time: that consecrated life would once again shine in the Church like a "precious pearl" that is sometimes too hidden and often little valued and appreciated. 

The positive, even enthusiastic echoes that immediately reached Rome following the announcement of this decision by Pope Francis resonated like a cry of liberation and joy.

The immediate occasion that inspired the announcement of this Year was the desire to celebrate the 50 years since the publication of two important documents issued by the Second Vatican Council: the constitution on the Church "Lumen gentium" which in chapter VI dealt with the religious, and the decree “Perfectae caritatis” entirely dedicated to religious life.

The Vatican dicastery that takes care of this area of ​​the Church's life immediately set to work to give substance to this decision of the Pope. 

There are three main objectives that have been identified for this special year, which opened last November 29th with a well-attended prayer vigil in the Basilica of S. Maria Maggiore in Rome and then with the solemn celebration in the Basilica of St. Peter on Sunday November 30th. 

Look at the past with gratitude. It is not difficult to recognize the enormous amount of good done over the past centuries by the men and women members of the countless religious families that gradually arose and spread everywhere. 

Live the present with passion. Those who decide to consecrate their lives to the Lord in a religious institute do so in response to a call from God: conquered by his love, they have discovered that it is worth leaving everything else behind, that is, the beautiful things of the world, affections and riches, to follow Christ and live like him. If the heart is full of passion for Jesus and for the Gospel, then one can face everything, even the most difficult life conditions, with the certainty that God's help will never be lacking.

Embracing the future with hope. We are well aware of the critical aspects that accompany consecrated life even today: numerical decline and aging of members due to the decrease in vocations, bad testimony of some who have not lived their vocation faithfully, difficult comparison with a world that in many respects is distant from the mentality of the Gospel, struggles to manage the works. But those who have chosen God as the greatest ideal of life are not frightened, do not allow themselves to be overcome by pessimism even in the face of these tiring aspects, but always trust in the faithfulness of God who never fails to keep his word, who always ensures the his help, who can draw good even from our mistakes and negative circumstances.

What does Pope Francis expect from the consecrated men and women of the world, in this special year dedicated to them but also in the future? He explained it well in a letter addressed to them, dated 21 November 2014.

"May it always be true that where there are religious there is joy." How much we need to meet people who, having found the source of true joy in God, show it to everyone in the world by speaking and acting, even with a serene and luminous face, to bring a little light and consolation in a many times sad and disconsolate. How awful to see sad religious men and nuns! It means that the totalitarian choice for Christ and for the Gospel that they one day made does not make them happy, does not help them to realize themselves as men and women. And so they lose their power of attraction, no one wants to join them, and even what they preach and the testimony of the good they do loses effectiveness.

«I expect you to wake up the world, to be prophets!». The Gospel always has a power to challenge the current mentality, because it proposes choices and values ​​that often go against the grain of what the world thinks, that is, those who live as if God did not exist. This is what Pope Francis expects from consecrated people: alert and vigilant people, well rooted in present history, who with their lifestyle recall the values ​​of the Gospel, without fear of going against the grain.

«May you be men and women of communion». Jesus came into the world to tell us that God is our Father and that we are all his children and therefore brothers and sisters among us. Those who take the Gospel seriously live for universal brotherhood, to alleviate tensions and conflicts, to value what unites more than what divides, to make differences an opportunity for growth rather than an obstacle to coexistence. 

«I still await from you what I ask of everyone: to leave oneself to go to the outskirts of the world». Humanity, even more so those who are not inside the Church or do not believe, awaits hope: gestures of solidarity for those who are rejected by wealthy societies, words of meaning for those who have lost the taste for life, health and bread for those who cannot access to essential health goods and services, closeness for those who feel abandoned, welcome for those who are rejected by their homeland or family... Religious have often been the first to rush to the most distant suburbs to bring concrete and supportive love in the name of Christ .

An exhilarating and challenging program, therefore, that Pope Francis envisages for all consecrated men and women in the world, in this Year of Consecrated Life.