Vatican City, May 15, 2008 / 08:19 am
On May 14, five hundred women from around the world arrived in Rome for the beginning of the second International Congress-Pilgrimage for consecrated virgins. The consecrated women, who belong to Ordo Virginum, were addressed on Thursday morning by Benedict XVI, who encouraged them to be witnesses of the industrious hope, of joy, and of peace that comes from their total gift of self.
Although the Order of Virgins exists in the Church now, Benedict XVI noted that it wasn’t until Vatican Council II that this way of life resurfaced in the Church. "However, it has ancient roots that go back to the beginnings of evangelical life when, in an unprecedented novelty, the hearts of certain women began to open to a desire for consecrated virginity: in other words, the desire to give one's entire being to God, which had had its first extraordinary fulfillment in the Virgin of Nazareth and her 'yes'," he said.