Nearly 16,000 people from about one hundred countries gathered in Rome to celebrate the Jubilee Year of Consecrated Life on 8–11 October 2025. Among the pilgrims who walked through the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica and took part in the Holy Mass presided over by Pope Leo XIV was a small group from Finland: two Ursuline Sisters, Sister Malgorzata and Sister Renata, and Florence Schmitt, a consecrated virgin from Turku.
We arrived in Rome already on Tuesday, 7 October, to make all practical arrangements before the official programme began the following evening in St Peter’s Basilica.
A shared calling
On Wednesday morning we visited the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. After the security check, we moved forward slowly in prayer, passing by the tomb of Pope Francis. Because of the crowd, stopping was hardly possible. We attended Holy Mass in a side chapel of the basilica, at whose main altar stands the beloved icon Salus Populi Romani — “Protectress of the People of Rome” — depicting the Blessed Virgin and the Child Jesus.
After lunch we continued towards St Peter’s Basilica. Via della Conciliazione was filled with pilgrims from every corner of the world. Our small group joined one carrying the flag of Lebanon. Passing through the Holy Door in the midst of the crowd was a moving experience. Each of us carried many prayer intentions, and the time spent there allowed us to remember everyone by name. Before the programme began, we were also able to go to confession.
The common prayer, led by Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime SDB, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, began at 7 p.m. and focused on four themes: hope, peace, patience, and joy. The prayer included songs, meditations, testimonies, music, and moments of silence. St Peter’s Basilica was filled to capacity — people of every nation, language, and form of consecrated life, a crowd reminiscent of the vision in the Book of Revelation.
Thursday morning brought the solemn Mass on St Peter’s Square, celebrated by Pope Leo XIV. The long queues began early, yet the atmosphere remained joyful and peaceful. After the Mass the pope greeted the faithful from his popemobile. We waved our Finnish flag, which looked beautiful against the bright Roman sky.
In the afternoon we met in small groups to practise “Conversation in the Holy Spirit”, reflecting on questions such as: What causes anxiety and discouragement in your life today? The sharing was deep and sincere, showing how the Holy Spirit can work even among complete strangers. In the evening participants were invited to various cultural events across Rome.
The jubilee of hope
Friday’s programme began with Holy Mass in Paul VI Hall, celebrated by Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue. Afterwards Sister Simona Brambilla MC, Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, welcomed the participants and reflected on the image of the yobel, the ram’s horn announcing the jubilee year in the Jewish tradition — a symbol of consecrated life as a living channel of God’s breath. “Different people, cultures, experiences, and charisms,” she said, “are like many yobels, each with its own unique sound, yet called to play together the symphony of the Jubilee of Hope.”
The morning continued with video testimonies titled Seeds of Hope and artistic performances by the Sonia Nifosi Studio — Branches of Hope and Symphony of Peace — combining art, music, and prayer.
Father Giacomo Costa SJ, consultant to the General Secretariat of the Synod, invited us to see the jubilee journey as a movement “from me to us.” “Faith,” he said, “always opens paths toward communion. We are called to overcome the individualism of mission and to walk together.”
Later that morning the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network was presented as a sign of unity in diversity, preceding the long-awaited meeting with the Holy Father.
The highlight of the day was Pope Leo XIV’s address, centred on the spirit of synodality as the essential path for the Church today. He urged men and women in consecrated life to remain faithful to this journey, to live an enthusiastic mission shaped by daily dialogue and renewal, to be witnesses of communion, to share the joy of vocation, and to practise forgiveness. “Work,” he said, “to become day by day more expert in synodality, for in this way the Church recognises the face of Christ walking with us.”
The day concluded with a prayer for peace held simultaneously in churches across Rome and in many languages under the theme Many tongues – one heart for peace. United in contemplation, the communities ended the day as witnesses to a mission that inspires and renews life in the world.
The feast of peace and communion
Saturday, the closing day, turned its focus to peace. After a day dedicated to hope, the participants gathered again in Paul VI Hall to reflect on the urgent need for peacemakers in a time of widespread conflict.
The day began with Holy Mass presided over by Cardinal Ángel F. Artime SDB. In his homily he urged all consecrated persons to be “prophets of hope” and “bearers of living water”. He emphasised that true fruitfulness in consecrated life comes from listening to and safeguarding the Word of God, following the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Recalling the opening day of the Second Vatican Council, the cardinal remembered Saint John XXIII and encouraged everyone to listen to the Holy Spirit with simplicity and courage, to preserve goodness as a universal language, and to remain both free and obedient.
The morning continued with a reflection on peace by Sister Teresa Maya, former president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. Her talk interwove moments of song, dance, and video. She encouraged consecrated persons to become active builders of peace — shalom — through genuine encounter with the world, especially with the poor and the marginalised, following the example of Saint Francis of Assisi. Peace, she said, is not merely the absence of conflict but a spiritual gift that requires constant reconciliation, historical memory, and the humility to recognise our own fragility. In polarised societies, consecrated persons are called to create ecosystems of peace through networks of culture and religion, transforming their communities into laboratories of nonviolence that bear witness to God’s Kingdom.
The programme of the Jubilee Year for Consecrated Life concluded that evening at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.
Conclusion
Although we did not always understand everything precisely, the atmosphere of encounter, joy, and kindness — from fellow participants to police officers, restaurant staff, and street sweepers — made this pilgrimage an unforgettable experience.
Written by Sister Renata, Sister Malgorzata (Helsinki) and Florence Schmitt (Turku).
Photos from participants’ own cameras.
(This is a slightly shortened version of the original Finnish text.)