Pope Leo XIV warns Dominican nuns against a 'spirit of survival'
Falling vocations, more deaths and the cost of large properties can push communities into isolation, Pope Leo XIV told the International Commission of Dominican Contemplative Nuns on September 30, 2026
Pope Leo XIV warned of the "temptation of the spirit of survival" during an audience with the International Commission of Dominican Contemplative Nuns on September 30, 2026. He spoke about the pressures on these communities, among them a "decline in vocations, an increase in deaths and financial difficulties arising from the management of large properties."
The crisis facing contemplative communities
The pope said the Dominican contemplative nuns face a threefold crisis: fewer young women entering, more deaths than new members, and property holdings that cost money without bringing in comparable income.
He said those accumulated difficulties can lead to "isolation and a reduction of their commitments, with the false belief that they can subsist on the limited resources they have left."
The temptation of a spirit of survival
The pope said "the temptation of the spirit of survival creeps in, leading to isolation and a reduction of commitments." That mentality, he said, "can be harmful to the contemplative life."
From maintaining structures to listening to the Spirit
The pope asked the nuns "not to focus on how to maintain structures that are emptying out," and told them: "Listen, rather, to what the Spirit is asking today of Dominican contemplative life."
St. Catherine of Siena as a reference point
The pope pointed to St. Catherine of Siena, a Dominican who lived through a period of deep crisis in the Middle Ages. He reminded the nuns that there is "a call to which they must respond," beyond any administrative concerns. That call, in Catherine's words, is the "fire that burns and that cannot be allowed to die."
Religious life in a time of change
The audience is part of a wider reflection on religious life and "the need to adapt to the present time while maintaining the essence of the contemplative mission." Similar pressures affect other contemplative orders in different countries.
The pope placed "listening to the Spirit and the community" ahead of "mere institutional survival."
A call to conversion
He called the nuns to a conversion: from fear to trust, from withdrawal to listening, from management to prayer. He said the difficulties are real but cannot dictate the spiritual response.
