Pope Leo XIV welcomed the Servants of Mary in Rome for their 215th General Chapter. The Pope encouraged them to be bearers of friendship and peace. He highlighted the importance of embracing the Gospel, the Rule of St. Augustine, and listening to the cry of the poor. Pope Leo emphasized the significance of returning to their roots while looking towards the future.
21 days ago
Pope Leo XIV welcomed members of the Servants of Mary religious order in the Vatican on November 24, 2025, during their 215th General Chapter in Rome.1 He praised their faith and service, urging them to return to their foundational roots while looking toward the future to enrich the Church.1
The Pope encouraged the Servants of Mary to act as bearers of friendship and peace in a divided world marked by conflicts, wealth disparities, cultural differences, race, and religion.1 He highlighted their origins, founded not by a single person but by several individuals united by strong friendship in Christ, positioning them as reconcilers like the original "Seven" in their communities.1
Pope Leo XIV emphasized that living the Gospel involves intense love for God and others, drawing from St. Paul's admiration for devotion to Christ.1 He advised turning to the Rule of St. Augustine, their Constitutions, and historical spiritual patrimony as interpretive keys, aided by the Holy Spirit, to understand God's Word.1
The Pope described listening to the poor's cry as a moment of grace that provides profound meaning for religious life.1 This attentiveness should guide their presence where suffering is greatest, fostering right choices that unite heaven and earth in passion for God and humanity.1
Central to their tradition are three pillars: fraternity to promote unity, service to the vulnerable—including migrants, prisoners, the sick—and commitment to integral ecology for creation and persons.1 Pope Leo urged continued cultivation of Marian spirituality through prayer and devotion to Our Lady, who stood faithfully at the Cross.1
In concluding, the Holy Father invoked Mary's intercession to help the Servants remain beside modern "crosses" of suffering, offering comfort, communion, help, and affection to those in need.1 He imparted the Apostolic Blessing before the audience ended.1
How does the Catholic Church define the role of lay religious communities?
The Catholic Church's teachings on lay religious communities emphasize the distinct yet complementary vocation of the laity within the broader mystery of the Church. While the term "lay religious communities" is not always used verbatim in magisterial documents, it aligns closely with structures like secular institutes, third orders, and certain associations or movements where lay faithful live out a consecrated life in the world, professing the evangelical counsels (poverty, chastity, and obedience) without entering the fully religious state of cloistered or monastic life. These communities enable laypeople—defined as all the baptized faithful excluding those in Holy Orders or the approved religious state—to pursue holiness and apostolic mission amid secular realities, acting as a "leaven" for evangelization. This role underscores the Church's vision of the laity as active participants in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly offices of Christ, particularly by sanctifying temporal affairs from within. Drawing from Vatican II and subsequent papal teachings, the Church highlights their contribution to the renewal of society, family, and professions, while maintaining clear distinctions from clerical and religious vocations to avoid clericalism or confusion of states.
At its core, the Church distinguishes the laity from clergy and religious to affirm their unique secular character, which forms the basis for any lay religious expression. According to the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), the laity comprises "all the faithful except those in holy orders and those in the state of religious life specially approved by the Church." This definition, echoed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, underscores that lay faithful are incorporated into Christ through Baptism, sharing in His mission to the world in a particular way: by engaging in temporal affairs and ordering them according to God's plan. They live in ordinary family and social circumstances, working as a leaven to sanctify the world from within, making Christ known through lives of faith, hope, and charity.
This secular vocation is not a diminishment but a positive calling, as articulated in Christifideles Laici. Pope John Paul II notes that the Second Vatican Council moved beyond negative definitions (e.g., laity as "non-clergy") to a positive vision: the lay faithful fully belong to the Church's mystery, seeking the Kingdom "by engaging in temporal affairs and ordering them according to the plan of God." In lay religious communities, this vocation takes on a more structured, consecrated form, where members commit to the evangelical counsels through sacred bonds, yet remain immersed in the world. Such communities are not an "intermediate state" between lay and religious life but a distinct expression of lay consecration, fostering co-responsibility in the Church's mission. The Statutes of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life further promote this by encouraging lay associations, movements, and communities to deepen their doctrinal understanding and active participation in evangelization, catechesis, liturgy, and works of mercy.
The Church recognizes specific canonical forms for lay religious communities, primarily through secular institutes, which emerged as a providential response to modern needs for consecrated life in the world. Established by Pope Pius XII in Provida Mater Ecclesia (1947), these institutes allow laypeople (and sometimes diocesan priests) to live a "life perfectly and entirely consecrated" to God while remaining in secular professions and society. Members profess the evangelical counsels privately, observing communion suited to their "particular secular way of life," and act as leaven by ordering temporal things according to the Gospel. This structure proliferated quietly in the 20th century, taking various forms—some independent, others linked to religious orders—and opening apostolates inaccessible to traditional religious due to their cloistered or ministerial focus.
Vatican II's Decree on the Renewal of Religious Life (Perfectae Caritatis) affirms the value of religious life undertaken by laypeople, such as brothers' communities, which maintain a lay character even if some members receive Holy Orders for pastoral needs. These are "complete in [themselves]" as states of evangelical counsel profession, contributing to education, healthcare, and other ministries. Similarly, Vita Consecrata (1996) describes secular institutes as new charisms from the Holy Spirit, where members blend consecration with worldly presence to transfigure culture, economy, and politics through the Beatitudes. They ensure the Church's effective societal presence, witnessing grace amid temporal realities.
Beyond secular institutes, lay religious communities can include third secular orders (e.g., linked to Franciscan or Dominican traditions) and ecclesial movements, as noted in the Directives on Formation in Religious Institutes. These movements, often lay-initiated, share spiritualities with religious institutes but operate independently, promoting intensive Gospel living and evangelization. The Instruction on Fraternal Life in Community encourages collaboration between religious and laity in such groups, fostering exchange of gifts—lay insights into worldly affairs enriching religious radicality, and vice versa—while respecting distinct vocations and avoiding cohabitation that blurs boundaries. The Dicastery's statutes limit involvement in third orders to apostolic matters, deferring governance to other curial bodies.
The primary role of lay religious communities is apostolic: to evangelize "in the world and from within the world," illuminating temporal orders with Christ's light. As Lumen Gentium explains, their secular engagement allows them to sanctify professions, family, and society as insiders, bearing witness to the Gospel's power. This fulfills the Church's call for laity to be "signs of courage and intellectual creativity" in education and culture, as seen in Ex Corde Ecclesiae, where lay involvement in Catholic universities exemplifies this mission.
In ecclesial communion, these communities complement other states of life—clergy, religious, and laity—without overlap. Christifideles Laici portrays all as laborers in Christ's vineyard, with lay states recalling the salvific importance of earthly realities for priests and religious. Pope John Paul II, in addresses to religious and bishops, stressed that lay religious vocations express the Church's holiness, contributing originally to evangelization and ministry through total consecration. They combat clericalism by affirming lay dignity and shared Baptismal responsibility. The Dicastery animates this by promoting lay initiatives in temporal sectors, per Gaudium et Spes, while evaluating new ministries.
Challenges arise in maintaining identity amid modern movements. Vita Consecrata warns against blurring consecrated life with lay states, urging clear charismatic transmission. Yet, their fruitful exchange strengthens the Church, as in shared formation programs that build co-responsibility.
In summary, the Catholic Church defines the role of lay religious communities as a vital expression of the lay vocation: consecrated yet secular, they profess evangelical counsels to evangelize and sanctify the world from within, complementing the Church's diverse states of life. Rooted in Baptism, their mission orders temporal affairs to God's plan, fostering holiness in society. While secular institutes provide the canonical framework, broader associations and movements extend this call, always in fidelity to magisterial teachings. For deeper exploration, consulting a spiritual director or diocesan office is recommended to discern personal involvement.