Pope Leo XIV calls contemplative life the 'beating heart' of the Church's mission

Pope Leo XIV received the International Commission of Dominican Contemplative Nuns at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican on September 30, 2026. He defended the value of silence in religious life and said the contemplative vocation does not sit on the margins of the Church's mission but is its "beating heart."

Silence as an act of will and freedom

In his address, the pope said "silence is an act of the will that involves the whole person," and that it is essential for building solid relationships animated by the Word of God. "To keep silence is to create spaces of freedom and truth, where the voice of the one who 'does not count' can be heard, and where wisdom and generosity mature," he said.

He spoke of an age in which "everything must be visible immediately and empty spaces are filled quickly."

A tradition of prayer and study

The pope recalled that the first Dominican women's communities, guided by the writings of Jordan of Saxony, the first master general of the Order of Preachers, "devoted themselves to contemplative prayer and study, contributing in this way to the preaching charism of the Dominican friars."

The pope said he was glad to receive the nuns following the recognition of the heroic virtues of Sister María Petra Giordano, a Dominican nun.

Aging, vocations and finances

The pope also raised "the difficulties many contemplative communities face, such as the aging of their members, the shortage of new vocations and the financial problems linked to the management of large properties."

He offered no financial remedy. "Rather than focusing solely on preserving empty structures, the nuns must listen to what the Holy Spirit is asking of Dominican contemplative life today," he said.

Listening to the Spirit

Quoting St. Catherine of Siena, the pope said: "Before there are things to manage, there is a call to answer, a fire that burns and cannot be left to die."

He encouraged the nuns to "continue their service to the Church with confidence, in communion and discernment, faithful to tradition while remaining open to what is new."

"Your service is precious: continue to be contemplatives, capable of bringing the world before God," he said, asking them to be "guardians of silence and of peace in a world that often seems to forget them."