From Vatican 1 October 2010

SECRETARIAT OF STATE

Mrs. Karen Hurley

President

World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizatons

Dear Mrs. Hurley

The Holy Father was pleased to be informed that the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organization it’s celebrating its Centenary this year with an Assembly in Jerusalem from 5 to 12 October, and he sends cordial greetings and prayerful good wishes to all who gathered for this significant initiative.

Noting that you have chosen as the title for your Assembly the words of the Risen Lord, “You will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8) His Holiness gives thanks for the many blessings that have been bestowed on the Church through the witness of faithful Catholic women living and working in the world, transforming it from within, and proclaiming the Gospel in the word and in deed. In its one hundred years of history, the members of WUCWO have contributed to the Church’s mission at local, national and international levels, according to the special dignity and vocation of women, enriching the Church with “the fruits of feminine holiness” (Mulieris Dignitatem, 31). The Holy Father invokes a fresh outpouring of the Spirit’s gifts upon your Organization, so that it may continue to foster the unique contribution of women to the life and mission of the Church, both in the public sphere and in the home.

Commending all those present at the Assembly and their families to the loving intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, the Holy Father gladly imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of unity and peace in the Risen Lord

Your sincerely in Christ

Secretary of State