In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
Peace be with you!
Good morning and welcome! Best wishes, the new Mother General was elected, yesterday perhaps? When was she elected? Let us pray for her.

Dear sisters,

I am happy to share this moment with you, on the occasion of your General Chapter that you are celebrating, one hundred and ten years since the founding of your institute. I greet the new Superior General, as well as, with gratitude, the one who has concluded her service, and I welcome every one of you.

You come from all five continents, and this expresses the universality of the Church. Your mission, throughout many countries of the world, and the witness you offer in the most varied contexts, also attest to what the Holy Spirit has accomplished, starting from the prophetic insights of the founder, Blessed Giacomo Alberione, implemented fearlessly by the co-founder, the Venerable Tecla Merlo.

To proclaim and spread the Word, spending your life for the cause of the Gospel following Jesus the Master and seeking ways, tools and languages so that everyone may know and follow the Lord: this is the heart of your apostolate. Faced with the challenges of our time, this needs to be renewed and reinvigorated, so that the evangelical passion that inspires you may find its best expression.

It is not by coincidence that the theme you have chosen for the Chapter is: “Impelled by the fire of the Spirit, listening to contemporary humanity, we communicate the Gospel of hope”. Indeed, while the proclamation of the Gospel remains at the centre of the mission, it is equally true that it is not a question of communicating generic information or abstract truths, but of entering into real history, welcoming the questions and concerns raised by real life, speaking the languages of the women and men of our time.

I would therefore like to recommend that you adopt, with renewed enthusiasm, two important attitudes: to look up and immerse yourselves.

Look up, so that you can be impelled by the Holy Spirit. Your vocation and your mission come from the Lord, let us not forget. Therefore, personal commitment, the charisms we put into circulation, the zeal of the apostolate and the tools we use must never lead us to succumb to the illusion and presumption of self-sufficiency. The Spirit is the protagonist of the mission, the Spirit drives us forward, multiplying our talents, restoring us in our labours, warming our hearts when the joy of the Gospel grows cold, enlightening our steps and offering us creative insights, so that we can become capable of opening up new pathways for the communication of the faith.

The second attitude I recommend to you is that of immersing yourselves in, inside situations, because an upturned gaze is not an escape but, on the contrary, must help us to have the same compassion as Christ, who divested himself for us, descended into our flesh, lowered himself so as to enter the abysses of wounded humanity and to bring us the love of the Father (cf. Phil 2:5-11). In this way, propelled by the Spirit, you too are called to immerse yourselves in history, listening to humanity today; it is a matter of inhabiting the current culture and embodying yourselves in the real life of the people you meet. Your presence, the proclamation of the Word, the media you use – recalling in particular the publishing house you run with such dedication – all this must be a welcoming embrace for the sufferings and hopes of the women and men to whom you are sent.

Dear sisters, you offer a valuable service to the Church and to the world, working in publishing, in the digital world, in the management of bookshops, in radio and television projects and in biblical outreach. I know that the efforts to carry out these many activities are sometimes onerous, especially because today's complex situations require high-quality professional training which, unfortunately, sometimes conflicts with the fact that personal and material resources are scarce. But let us not be discouraged! I therefore invite you to reflect on how to keep the charism alive, even though this may require courageous and demanding choices. Indeed, there is a need for careful discernment regarding the work linked to the apostolate, on how it is to be carried out and the need to renew it with a balanced view able to bring together the richness of past history with current resources and gifts of each one of you, in a fruitful alliance between the different generations.

The communion engendered by this perspective will certainly help you to overcome the risk of division between life and apostolate. Indeed, you were born to communicate the Word, but it is necessary that this communication, transmitted in the pastoral sphere, also be a community lifestyle. We must be vigilant to ensure no separation between what we preach and our daily lives. Only in this way will you be faithful to the method of wholeness desired by your founder for the entire Pauline Family: Way, Truth and Life, Mind, Will and Heart. Then this unifying proposal, which appears prophetic in a fragmented world, will be coherent and credible.

Dear friends, I remind you of the encouragement you received from Pope Francis a few years ago: in this cultural and ecclesial winter we are going through, do not be afraid to risk and to continue your journey “with a contemplative gaze full of empathy for the men and women of our time, hungry for the Good News of the Gospel” (Address to the participants in the Eleventh General Chapter of the Daughters of Saint Paul, 4 October 2019). Look at the ardour of Saint Paul, his tireless joy in proclaiming Christ even in the midst of difficulties and persecution (cf. 2 Cor 6:4-10). Let yourselves be guided by the Spirit, and listen to humanity. Bring to everyone, especially the most fragile, the hope that comes from above and, as Don Alberione said, cultivate the joy of “extending the work of God in time and space” (The Publishing Apostolate, 159).

I pray for you, on the feast of the Guardian Angels, invoking the intercession of Mary Queen of the Apostles, and I bless you from my heart. Thank you.

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Holy See Press Office Bulletin, 2 October 2025