In his Letter to Consecrated Persons for the Year of Consecrated Life (29 November 2014), Pope Francis invited all ‘charismatic families’ to recall with gratitude ‘their beginnings and their historical development’. He also urged the laity, particularly those who ‘feel called, in their lay state, to share in the same charismatic reality’ as a religious institute, to ‘learn from the experiences of other charismatic families’, so as to ‘enrich and support one another’. This appeal by the Pope has set in motion a process towards the rediscovery and appreciation of the presence of the laity not only ‘alongside’, but ‘within’ religious families.
It is increasingly recognised that no charism is sufficient in and of itself. Every charism, entrusted to a founder or foundress, is intended for the whole People of God and, only if it is welcomed and brought to life by the various members of the People of God, can it realise its full potential.
Along this path, relationships are developing—marked by communion and complementarity—between religious and laypeople who share the same charism. Mutual understanding and appreciation, a sense of affinity for one another and for each other’s journeys, and the sharing of gifts are the foundations currently being laid for the realisation of common missions, capable of bearing witness to the prophetic power of a baptised life, rooted in the Gospel of Jesus, in the Church, and in the service of our brothers and sisters.