During her keynote address at Congress, Susan Francois, CSJP, encouraged us to explore the question:
What is the task of the present generations of religious life, in this, our time?
In her own words:
Rooted and nourished by our own institutes and charism families, we embrace the emerging understanding of the charism of religious life and the power of global sisterhood and brotherhood as signs of prophetic hope for fractured times.
Following the Spirit’s leading, we are called to risk the bigness of smallness as we reseed religious life with an abundance of hope, connection, and possibility in this change of era. The rest, thankfully, is up to God.
So, what is the task of the present generations of religious life, in this, our time? We are called to seek and serve life. Not just religious life, but life in general.
In your ministry of initial and ongoing formation, I invite you to focus on sowing and nurturing the seeds of abundance, charism, connection, diversity, and sisterhood and brotherhood.
Sister Susan's reflection was one of the inspiring moments from this year's Congress. Father Peter Hill's keynote, Giving Witness: Living the Prophetic Nature of Religious Life, was another. We can't forget, either, raising over $1,000 for families at Holy Family Shelter in Indianapolis.
In these days together, we explored being truth-tellers, hope-bearers, and justice-seekers in a world in need of hope and prophetic witness.
These hope-filled days wouldn't have been possible without the generosity of our sponsors. The Conference wishes to recognize and thank our 2025 Congress sponsors. We are grateful for their support in helping fan the flames of hope!
In the coming weeks the Conference will make available resources from the convening. The Congress dashboard will include presentation texts and handouts, recordings, photos, and more. Constituents will be notified when these items are accessible online.
Whether you joined us in Indianapolis or not, thank you for giving the Conference the privilege of accompanying you on this courageous journey of holiness and wholeness.
Autumn blessings,
Ryan J. Hoffmann, D.Min.
Executive Director