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Pope Leo’s letter to the Conference of Major Superiors of Men in the United States
on their 70th anniversary
“One in Christ: Communal Life Today,”
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To the Very Reverend Frank Donio, S.A.C.
Executive Director
Conference of Major Superiors of Men
in The United States of America
I was pleased to learn that the Conference of Major Superiors of Men will celebrate its seventieth anniversary during the 2026 National Assembly in Phoenix, Arizona.
I send cordial good wishes to all those taking part.
As you celebrate seven decades of fostering collaboration among male religious leaders in the United States, it is an opportune moment to express gratitude to God for the blessings received over the years.
By providing a space for dialogue and supporting the leadership of your member communities, you have helped reinforce the public witness of consecrated men who devote their lives to serving the Gospel.
As you reflect on this year’s theme, “One in Christ: Communal Life Today,” consider community life “as a place of sanctification and a source of inspiration, witness and strength in your apostolate”
(Pope Leo’s address to Four Religious Institutes, 18 September 2025).
It is precisely through sharing everything in common—including material goods, spiritual experiences, apostolic ideals, and charitable service—that the hidden presence of the risen Lord is made manifest among you.
(See footnote below: St. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata, 42)
I hope these days of reflection, dialogue, and prayer allow you to find ways to strengthen the fraternal bonds within and between your institutes.
In this way, you will be able to continue offering a united, joyful, and authentic witness to Christ in the various communities and apostolates where you serve.
With these sentiments, I assure you of my spiritual closeness and entrust the National Assembly to the loving intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.
I impart my apostolic blessing to all present, which I willingly extend to all in the congregations you represent.
From the Vatican, 16 July 2026 – LEO PP. XIV
Footnote
(St. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata. Paragraph 42)
“Fraternal life in love”
42. Fraternal life, understood as life shared in love, is an eloquent sign of ecclesial communion.
This way of life is practiced with special care in religious institutes and societies of apostolic life, where community living takes on special significance.
The dimension of fraternal communion is also present in Secular Institutes and in forms of the consecrated life lived individually.
Even hermits, in their profound solitude, do not withdraw from ecclesial communion; rather, they serve that communion through their specific charism of contemplation.
Consecrated virgins live out their consecration in a special relationship of communion with the particular and universal Church.
The same is true of consecrated widows and widowers.
By practicing evangelical discipleship, all these people commit themselves to fulfilling the Lord’s “new commandment” to love one another as he has loved us
(John 13:34 – A new commandment[a] I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.).
Love led Christ to give himself completely, even making the ultimate sacrifice on the cross.
Similarly, there can be no true unity among his disciples without unconditional mutual love, which requires a willingness to serve others generously and welcome them as they are without judgment. (Matthew 7:1-2 –“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.), and an ability to forgive up to “seventy times seven”
(Matthew 18:22 – Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven).
Consecrated persons, who become “of one heart and soul” (Acts 4:32 – Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common.) through the love poured into their hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5 –hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.), experience an interior call to share everything in common: material goods and spiritual experiences, talents and inspirations, apostolic ideals and charitable service.
“In community life, the power of the Holy Spirit at work in one individual passes at the same time to all.
“Here, each person enjoys his own gift and makes it grow by sharing it with others, and each person enjoys the fruits of another’s gift as if they were his own.” In community life, then, it should be evident that fraternal communion is more than an instrument for carrying out a specific mission; it is a God-enlightened space in which to experience the hidden presence of the Risen Lord. (Matthew 18:20 – where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”).
This comes about through the mutual love of all community members, a love nourished by the Word and the Eucharist, purified in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and sustained by praying for unity—the special gift of the Spirit to those who obediently listen to the Gospel.
The Spirit himself leads the soul into communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3 – that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship[a] with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.). This communion is the source of fraternal life.
The Spirit guides communities of consecrated life as they carry out their mission of serving the Church and all humanity in accordance with their original inspiration.
From this perspective, Chapters (or similar meetings) are of special importance, whether particular or general.
At these meetings, Institutes elect Superiors according to the norms set out in their Constitutions.
They also discern the best ways to preserve and adapt their charism and spiritual patrimony to changing historical and cultural situations, in the light of the Spirit.
