Jubilee Gathering of Hope Bearers

Conference of Religious in PNG & SI

Port Moresby, Saturday, July 26, 2025

Dear brothers and sisters,

my warmest greeting to all of you!

In Illo uno unum

In He the one Christ we are one

1 - I would like to begin this “Jubilee meeting”, the first of the Apostolic Nuncio with all of you, with the motto of Pope Leo XIV that he chose when he became Bishop in 2014: In Illo uno unum - In He the one Christ we are one. These four words say a lot about the origin of his vocation and his ministerial service to the Church.

The new Pope is a religious, belonging to the Order of Saint Augustine, of which he was Prior General from 2001 to 2013. His vocation and spirituality have their roots in the teachings of Saint Augustine. Already in his first greeting to the crowd from the Loggia delle Benedizioni he had said: “I am a son of Saint Augustine, an Augustinian.”

That motto encapsulates St. Augustine’s vision of the Church and its connection with Christ: In He the one Christ, we are one! For St. Augustine, the Church and Christ are one, so much so that he speaks of a “Christus totus, caput et corpus” (“Total Christ, head and body”). Sometimes he uses the name Christus without adding anything else: “Not only have we become Christians, but we have become Christ himself.” Other times he uses the word “unum” to indicate the union of the Son of God with the Father and also to designate the union of Christians in Christ: “Not He a single individual and we a multitude, but we, a multitude, become one in Him who is one.” Precisely: in Illo uno unum.

2 - From these considerations it appears very clear what place unity occupies in the mind of Pope Leo. The call for the unity of all in Christ is often present in Pope Leo’s speeches, starting with his inauguration homily. He thus summarized his “program” with these simple words: “I was chosen without any merit and, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother who wants to be a servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, who wants us all united in one family. Love and unity: these are the two dimensions of the mission entrusted to Peter by Jesus.”

Dear Religious, last February you celebrated the annual assembly of the Conference of Religious of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, which unites the two existing male and female Conferences. 47 institutes of consecrated life belong to it. We are now awaiting the Roman approval of the Statutes. This is an important step, from which it becomes even more evident how important it is to assume the evangelizing mission in a spirit of unity.

3 - A challenging and demanding testimony is entrusted to you. You are witnesses of a journey of Christian life that leads to perfection. Of course, you look to the highest peak of the state of perfection: union with God! But the stages of the journey also have their importance and are part of a pilgrimage towards the ultimate goal.

So, your path of perfection can be lived as “already and not yet”! This means that your consecration of life is an “already”: the Church has recognized the goodness of your disposition and your will, accepting and blessing your religious profession. You have received a special charism and with it you are committed to building the Kingdom of God, above all with your work and your testimony.

Perfection then is a state of becoming, growing, not yet complete. Isn’t the Kingdom of God like this too? It is already present and operating; but it is not yet fully realized in the world, it is being realized. Therefore, there is a dimension of “not yet” that must push every religious person to continue, to remain in the initial purpose, to persevere and hope, to work and pray so that the journey can conclude at the final goal.

So, for a religious person, this duality of “already and not yet” helps to live with hope and commitment: one can already enjoy a taste of heaven on earth, but one is also aware that the journey towards the full realization of the Kingdom is still ongoing. I would say that your spiritual life is like a balance between gratitude for what one already has and supplication for what one still awaits with faith.

4 - Here is the value of your testimony. It will be effective and contagious, visible and encouraging if it is like a light projected towards its ultimate necessary good: God and his mystery of Trinitarian communion. It will be a beautiful testimony if it succeeds in spreading this light and making all the other brothers in faith feel how close God is and how much God loves, how much He loves us, how much we are all “one” in Him. It will be a beautiful testimony if it succeeds in transmitting true love for Christ and for the Church; if it succeeds in arousing thoughts and projects of mercy, justice and peace, harmony and brotherhood, showing with its actions that faith is not just something to be said, but also and above all to be lived and lived joyfully.

Never forget that you are credible only if you are good witnesses of the Gospel and its message that redeems man from slavery and makes him truly free. In essence, you are evangelizers and missionaries above all with the testimony of an authentic Christian life and with the coherence between what you believe and what you live.

All this is what the Church expects from those who have consecrated themselves in a special way. I pray for this: that also in this country the presence of consecrated men and women may be a true treasure and a blessing; may it be an effective service to the mission of the Church; may it be a grace that opens the heart; may it be an example of profound unity, fraternal harmony, collaboration and understanding.

May God protect you and bless you!

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church, be for you a model of consecration and the tender presence of Christ in moments of despair and difficulty!

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