Sr. Maria Louise Edwards shares her daily reflections from HOPE 2025, a powerful international gathering of Catholic sisters under 65 held June 3–7 at the Fraterna Domus retreat center near Rome, Italy. Coordinated by the The Leadership Collaborative, HOPE 2025 brought together nearly 200 sisters from six continents—and over 100 more online—to explore the future of religious life and women’s leadership in the Church.
Sr. Maria Louise attended alongside Sr. Grace Marie Del Priore as sisters from around the world connected across cultures and languages (English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese) to listen, connect, rejoice, lament, and lead into the future for religious life and the Church.
Day 1: We Are Hope
We did not gather in Rome because we have hope. We gathered because we are hope. These words opened the HOPE 2025 conference of women religious under the age of 65, held at the Fraterna Domus retreat center just outside Rome. Over 190 sisters from around the world—representing every continent except Antarctica—gathered in person, with another 108 sisters joining via Zoom, to listen, dream, and welcome the future of religious life.
Recalling that this Jubilee Year is dedicated to being Pilgrims of Hope, we are discovering that hope is not simply an outcome or a vague optimism. It is a way of living, relating, and transforming.
In response to what Pope Francis has described as a growing “global indifference,” religious sisters today are forming a Global Sisterhood—stretching across languages, cultures, and borders—to create a space where encountering Jesus forms bonds of kinship that spread like Pentecostal fire.
I, Sr. Maria Louise, arrived with a quiet hope to receive new energy. I wondered: What can I learn? How might I be changed by this encounter? And already, that hope is stirring—through prayer, conversation, and the simple joy of being with sisters from around the world. I also brought a desire to offer something: welcome, connection, presence. These, too, have begun to unfold.
One of the most powerful moments of the first day came during a time of prayer and reflection. A musical group, comprised of women from 14 different countries, wove together excerpts from the charisms of every congregation represented at the conference. Through music and spoken word, these charisms were revealed as gifts of the Holy Spirit—woven together in a tapestry of grace. It was especially moving to hear our Felician charism flowing together with so many others—a reminder that our way of life is both particular and shared, distinct and deeply interconnected.
Here are some of the thoughts and phrases that emerged from the day and that sacred time of prayer:
This is our dream.
Across oceans and deserts, we join our hands to walk together.
A world of hope is not a fantasy—
if only we learn to live for one another.
Charisms are not decorations.
They are sacred responsibilities:
to build the Church,
to embody the Gospel
in this fragile, beloved world.
The charity of Christ impels and urges us— not to comfort, but to justice with peace.
Not just to speak, but to become the stirring.
Words may stir. But actions attract.
We see the need, and we move.
Love without distinction,
all for Jesus,
all for the life of the world,
because He is what transforms.
Offer compassion,
so that all may be one.
Make God’s love visible,
so that all may have life.
We commit our lives
to the transforming power of hope.
I am so grateful to be here alongside Sr. Grace and so many other sisters in this global witness of sisterhood, Gospel courage, and transformation.
Day 2: From Solos to Symphony
The theme that stayed with me from Day 2 was the call to move from solos to symphony—from “I” to “you,” from isolated voices to shared harmony. This is the only way for religious life to move forward: together.
We began with Mary Magdalene at the tomb—grieving, uncertain, and searching. It is right to mourn the loss of companions, and to grieve the letting go of structures that once felt stable. But Mary reminds us that our Spouse has always been inviting us to seek him together.
Our vocation calls us to walk in communion—not alone, not ahead, but with one another—rediscovering the Lord in relationship. Throughout the day, we returned to the truth that authentic community begins when we make space in our hearts for the other. “Empty yourself to make space for the other,” said Chiara Lubich, foundress of the Focolare Movement. “Only then do I become more fully myself.” “I am created as a gift for the person next to me.”
For that reason, each day we are invited to renew a pact of mutual love—not symbolic, but real: small acts of presence, listening, humility. Living for one another is not optional—it is essential.
As the day went on, a deeper question emerged: We often ask, What am I called to become? But just as vital is: What am I called to give? This is the shift—from expression of self to gift of self.
Speakers reminded us that in earlier decades, we rightly claimed our voices as women in religious life. But today, the Spirit calls us deeper—not to lose our voices, but to weave them into harmony. True transformation begins when we step into another’s shoes—when we listen with the heart.
In a world building walls, we are called to be a living symphony. To turn fear into love. To move not in solos, but in communion. To build bridges, not walls. This is the sound of hope.
