Particle.news
Download on the App Store
3 ARTICLES
·
5d ago

Female Religious Leaders Convene in Rome as Cardinals Begin Papal Conclave

Nearly 900 superiors of women’s religious orders strategize on sustaining Pope Francis’s vision while reaffirming prayers for the next pope.

FILE - Nuns talk in front of Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti's Moses statue, part of a funerary monument he designed for Pope Julius II inside San Pietro in Vincoli Basilica in Rome, July 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
Image

Overview

  • The International Union of Superiors General, representing over 450,000 nuns globally, is holding its plenary assembly in Rome this week.
  • The gathering coincides with the papal conclave, where 133 male cardinals will elect a successor to Pope Francis.
  • Sister Mary Barron, UISG president, urged sisters to pray for a pope who will further Francis’s vision of an inclusive, listening church.
  • Sister Nathalie Becquart, the first woman appointed undersecretary to the Vatican’s Synod of Bishops, attended the assembly, symbolizing incremental progress for women in church leadership.
  • Discussions emphasized sustaining social ministries, addressing declining vocations, and advocating for greater inclusion within the male-dominated Catholic hierarchy.