Italy: number of consecrated widows on the rise
July 30, 2015
The number of consecrated widows in Italy has risen to 200, and an additional 100 are in formation, according to a report in Avvenire, the newspaper owned by the Italian Episcopal Conference.
In his 1996 apostolic exhortation on consecrated life, St. John Paul II wrote that "again being practiced today is the consecration of widows, known since apostolic times, as well as the consecration of widowers. These women and men, through a vow of perpetual chastity as a sign of the Kingdom of God, consecrate their state of life in order to devote themselves to prayer and the service of the Church."
Avvenire reported that the late Cardinals Carlo Martini and Salvatore Pappalardo did much to promote consecrated widowhood in Italy. The newspaper also reported that the Vatican will release a document on consecrated widowhood later this year.
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