LET US START THIS NEW PHASE OF WUCWO TOGETHER AS ARTISANS OF HUMAN FRATERNITY FOR PEACE. 

Dear Friends,

There are so many blessings received in recent days by WUCWO!  There is so much to thank the Lord for!

Let's start from the audience with Pope Francis, on May 13, WUCWO Day. About 1,900 women participated and listened to his words and guidelines. (Audience of the Holy Father with WUCWO). The Holy Father affirmed that "the identity of women is in danger" due to cultural policies and ideologies that "ignore the beauty with which they were created", and stressed the need for greater appreciation of their capacity for relationship and giving". He encouraged us to recover the elements that characterise their identity and their role in the family and in society: "Where there is no woman, there is loneliness… that breeds sadness and all manner of harm to humanity".

He also spoke about the urgent need to find peace in the world, a peace that “begins within the heart”. He encouraged us to live like Mary, generating and protecting life, relating with others with tenderness and compassion, and combining three languages: that of the mind, that of the heart and that of the hands. He invited us to live the fullness of being women, with the awareness of feeling chosen and protagonists in God’s work in union with Jesus; a union that “must manifest in the communion with the Church, with my family or my organisation… We must ‘pray’ deeds and put ‘prayer’ to work”.

To conclude, the Pope mentioned “the essence of synodality, what makes us feel co-responsible for the wellbeing of the Church, to know how to integrate differences and work in ecclesial harmony” and expressed his gratitude for our work in WUCWO, encouraging us to go forward “listening to the cries of our world and being docile to the voice of the Spirit” (cf. Address of the Holy Father to WUCWO, 13th May 2023).

Encouraged by his words, we started the Assembly in Assisi with the extraordinary participation of 832 women from 67 member organisations of WUCWO from all continents. In addition, we had 18 Ecclesiastical Assistants who accompanied and helped us in making our Eucharists something unforgettable.

During the Assembly we delved into various aspects of women’s participation and journey towards a synodal Church, with excellent speakers and panels. Furthermore, we approved the new resolutions which will be the lines of action that will guide our work in the next years (resolutions 2023-2027). The moments of prayer, study and reflection, sharing of experiences, decision making and social gathering, as well as the so special Eucharists and the 3 cultural events will surely last in the memory and in the hearts of many of us.

With the Assembly, a period of almost 5 years culminates; a period in which WUCWO overcame enormous challenges and accomplished great achievements, for which we thank the Lord. Our gratitude and appreciation also to our former president, María Lía Zervino, her Executive Committee, the Board and the great Secretariat team for all their work and commitment.

We start now, with renewed energy and hope, a new period for which I have had the honour of being elected President General. I am grateful for the trust placed in me and I ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten me for guiding, in the best possible way, the work of this great organisation for the next 4 years.

I am convinced that we must consolidate all the good that has been done and continue with the professionalisation of WUCWO in all its areas. We will work to ensure that our organisations have the necessary tools to help them implement the resolutions approved, according to their possibilities and circumstances. My dream is that WUCWO and its organisations succeed in getting closer, listening to, and serving young women, so that they can respond to their needs and promote an enriching intergenerational dialogue. We will try to be especially close to the most vulnerable women.

In all this work, I will be wonderfully supported by the members of the new Board and Executive Committee (new Board and new Executive). I am also relying on our wonderful network of organisations and the more than 8 million women they represent. Most importantly, I count on your prayers; on the Church's Magisterium guidance and on the light of the Holy Spirit and Mary Queen of Peace, who will be walking with us, leading us and giving us strength.

I invite you to start together this new period of the life of WUCWO and to assume, with renewed joy and hope, the commitment to be, in our family, organisations and communities, “artisans of human fraternity for world peace”.

Warm greetings,

Mónica Santamarina

President General of WUCWO